1st and 2nd July - Entebbe Botanical Garden [p.m. 1st Jul], Mabamba Swamp a.m. 2nd Jul then Mpanga Eco Reserve p.m.
1st July
Flights out were from Heathrow departing 30th Jun, via Dubai with Emirates. Having arrived at Entebbe airport in the middle of the day, we transferred to our accommodation, the Entebbe Traveller's Inn. After a short rest, Herbert took us to Entebbe Botanical Garden which was nearby, and gave a good opportunity to 'get our eyes tuned' to unfamiliar birds. The garden, which was more like a country park, was by a small inlet of Lake Victoria, so we happened upon a few water birds too. The first two birds were fairly common species, a Dark-capped Bulbul and an Eastern Plantain Eater. These were very quickly topped by a huge Black and White Casqued Hornbill which posed nicely and gave a good flight view. A couple of not quite so large Crowned Hornbills were up in a tree. At the other end of the scale, was a delightful Scarlet Sunbird. African Green Pigeon, Slender-billed Weaver, and Orange Weaver were added to the passerine list. On the shoreline of the inlet were a couple of Spur-winged Lapwings and on the grass, a Black-headed Heron and several Western Cattle Egrets. We also saw our first raptor in the form of a Lizard Buzzard sitting in a tree.
Flights out were from Heathrow departing 30th Jun, via Dubai with Emirates. Having arrived at Entebbe airport in the middle of the day, we transferred to our accommodation, the Entebbe Traveller's Inn. After a short rest, Herbert took us to Entebbe Botanical Garden which was nearby, and gave a good opportunity to 'get our eyes tuned' to unfamiliar birds. The garden, which was more like a country park, was by a small inlet of Lake Victoria, so we happened upon a few water birds too. The first two birds were fairly common species, a Dark-capped Bulbul and an Eastern Plantain Eater. These were very quickly topped by a huge Black and White Casqued Hornbill which posed nicely and gave a good flight view. A couple of not quite so large Crowned Hornbills were up in a tree. At the other end of the scale, was a delightful Scarlet Sunbird. African Green Pigeon, Slender-billed Weaver, and Orange Weaver were added to the passerine list. On the shoreline of the inlet were a couple of Spur-winged Lapwings and on the grass, a Black-headed Heron and several Western Cattle Egrets. We also saw our first raptor in the form of a Lizard Buzzard sitting in a tree.
2nd July
Above is an image of the embarcation point for Mabamba Swamp. So today we checked out early and had breakfast at the nearby Victoria Mall - we were so early we had to wait for them to open!. In the adjacent gardens we spied Red-chested Sunbird and overhead, a Shikra. We then drove from Entebbe around to the west and looped round to the above location where we split into 2 parties and set off in a couple of these wooden canoes powered by outboards. Basically the idea was to cruise slowly around to see what we could see, the main target being the infamous 'must see' bird - the Shoebill. After a short while our two 'canoes' headed in different directions to explore different channels, to maximise the chances of finding the target bird. One of the first birds seen from our canoe [Anne & myself and Abia, plus driver and a different guide], was an African Marsh Harrier doing a close fly by and allowing an nice flight shot. Other birds seen included Yellow-billed Ducks, Reed Cormorant, African Openbill, African Jacana, Long-toed Lapwing, and also [Western] Marsh Harrier. The swamp was mainly papyrus and perched close to the boat at one point was a smart aptly named Swamp Flycatcher. Shortly after this we rounded a corner into another channel and there it was - a huge grey bird with a massive bill that looked like an upturned boat! A Shoebill!! News was quickly relayed to our other canoe but whilst they were coming we had the bird to ourselves for about 5 minutes, allowing for some fabulous photos. Very soon there were about 6 canoes and many clicking shutters! Eventually we had had our fill of this magnificent heron and did some more cruising, together this time. A couple of good birds were soon found in the vegetation, the first being a Weyns's Weaver, a large colony of them in fact. Herbert was very pleased as he had never seen a breeding colony before. Near the same spot in a tree we found a colourful Papyrus Gonolek with its yellow crown, bright red underparts and white eye. Another weaver appeared - a Northern Brown-throated, and Pied and Malachite Kingfishers. A Purple Heron was more or less expected, and back at the embarcation point, a Hamerkop was sitting on the gunwhales of one of the moored canoes, and some delightful Red-billed Firefinches were hopping around on the shoreline.
Above is an image of the embarcation point for Mabamba Swamp. So today we checked out early and had breakfast at the nearby Victoria Mall - we were so early we had to wait for them to open!. In the adjacent gardens we spied Red-chested Sunbird and overhead, a Shikra. We then drove from Entebbe around to the west and looped round to the above location where we split into 2 parties and set off in a couple of these wooden canoes powered by outboards. Basically the idea was to cruise slowly around to see what we could see, the main target being the infamous 'must see' bird - the Shoebill. After a short while our two 'canoes' headed in different directions to explore different channels, to maximise the chances of finding the target bird. One of the first birds seen from our canoe [Anne & myself and Abia, plus driver and a different guide], was an African Marsh Harrier doing a close fly by and allowing an nice flight shot. Other birds seen included Yellow-billed Ducks, Reed Cormorant, African Openbill, African Jacana, Long-toed Lapwing, and also [Western] Marsh Harrier. The swamp was mainly papyrus and perched close to the boat at one point was a smart aptly named Swamp Flycatcher. Shortly after this we rounded a corner into another channel and there it was - a huge grey bird with a massive bill that looked like an upturned boat! A Shoebill!! News was quickly relayed to our other canoe but whilst they were coming we had the bird to ourselves for about 5 minutes, allowing for some fabulous photos. Very soon there were about 6 canoes and many clicking shutters! Eventually we had had our fill of this magnificent heron and did some more cruising, together this time. A couple of good birds were soon found in the vegetation, the first being a Weyns's Weaver, a large colony of them in fact. Herbert was very pleased as he had never seen a breeding colony before. Near the same spot in a tree we found a colourful Papyrus Gonolek with its yellow crown, bright red underparts and white eye. Another weaver appeared - a Northern Brown-throated, and Pied and Malachite Kingfishers. A Purple Heron was more or less expected, and back at the embarcation point, a Hamerkop was sitting on the gunwhales of one of the moored canoes, and some delightful Red-billed Firefinches were hopping around on the shoreline.
The embarcation area had a nice shelter which we used to sit and have our picnic lunch. We had a bit of time to wander around the area and find a few more birds, including a singing Tawny-flanked Prinia. We then moved on and dropped in at the Mpanga Ecological Reserve where we were shown round by a lady ranger. Birds seen included Blue-throated Rollers, Yellow-billed Barbet, Yellow-throated Tinkerbird, Hairy-breasted Barbet, Green Hylia and 2 Grey-throated Tit-flycatchers. Birded out we then made our way back to Kampala and tussled with the horrendous traffic and eventually reached the Kolping Hotel, our accommodation for the night. Here, we had a nice evening meal and did the list and then crashed in preparation for an early start for the long drive to Murchison Falls NP in the morning. Here's a small gallery of photos below. For more pictures go to the galleries page.