3rd - 5th July - Murchison Falls NP
Above - the ferry across the White Nile in Murchison Falls NP
3rd July
We rose at 05:30 for breakfast at 06:30 and left at 07:15 to avoid the Kampala rush hour [hours!]. This was to be a l-o-n-g drive 200+km on bumpy dusty dirt road. There are only a few tarmac roads in Uganda, mostly constructed by Chinese companies. We stopped at the very pleasant Kambalego Diner for a comfort stop and coffee. The grounds were very pleasant and produced some good birding – Mourning Collared Dove, African Green Pigeon, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Black-headed Gonolek, Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike, African Paradise-flycatcher, Yellow-throated Leaflove [Greenbul by some authorities but split by IOC], African Thrush, Little Weaver, and Village Weaver. We also had a very smart Red-headed Rock Agama.
Dragging ourselves away, on and on we drove, calling out occasional birds. Grey Crowned Cranes were often seen in roadside fields – this is the national bird of Uganda and very elegant they are too. We must have had a picnic lunch on the way at some point but the location and event are lost in time! We eventually arrived at the entrance to Murchison Falls National Park, where Herbert had to complete some formalities. Whilst there we had good views of Lesser Striped Swallows coming down to a muddy puddle.
We rose at 05:30 for breakfast at 06:30 and left at 07:15 to avoid the Kampala rush hour [hours!]. This was to be a l-o-n-g drive 200+km on bumpy dusty dirt road. There are only a few tarmac roads in Uganda, mostly constructed by Chinese companies. We stopped at the very pleasant Kambalego Diner for a comfort stop and coffee. The grounds were very pleasant and produced some good birding – Mourning Collared Dove, African Green Pigeon, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Black-headed Gonolek, Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike, African Paradise-flycatcher, Yellow-throated Leaflove [Greenbul by some authorities but split by IOC], African Thrush, Little Weaver, and Village Weaver. We also had a very smart Red-headed Rock Agama.
Dragging ourselves away, on and on we drove, calling out occasional birds. Grey Crowned Cranes were often seen in roadside fields – this is the national bird of Uganda and very elegant they are too. We must have had a picnic lunch on the way at some point but the location and event are lost in time! We eventually arrived at the entrance to Murchison Falls National Park, where Herbert had to complete some formalities. Whilst there we had good views of Lesser Striped Swallows coming down to a muddy puddle.
Formalities complete we entered the park proper. The roof was raised so we could stand up and see what was about whilst slowly driving and stopping to scan. White-faced Whistling Ducks were on open water, Helmeted Guineafowl strutted their stuff in the bush, Marabous and Hadada Ibises were common. 2 Palm-nut Vultures plus Hooded-, White-backed- and Ruppell’s Vultures, Brown- and Western Banded Snake-eagles, Wahlberg’s Eagle, a stunning Eastern Chanting Goshawk, exapnded our raptor list. A Black-bellied Bustard was right by the track side and African Wattled Lapwings, small Black-billed Wood-doves flushed from the side of the track. The ornithological bombardment continued with Diederic Cuckoo and White-browed Coucal, a small flock of Blue-naped Mousebirds, 4 huge Abyssinian Ground Hornbills, African Pygmy-, Grey- headed-, Woodland-, and Pied Kingfishers, 6+ Red-throated Bee-eaters.
We were of course also in savannah habitat so mammals also featured including Olive Baboons, Vervet Monkey, African Elephants, Hippos, Common Warthogs, many elegant Rothchild’s Giraffe, Cape Buffalo, Nile Bushbuck [not so obvious or numerous and quite shy], the diminutive Oribi antelope, Uganda Kob, Defassa Waterbuck and Lelwel Hartebeest. Sharp-eyed Granger also spotted a Side-striped Jackal hiding in the grass, just its head showing. It eventually walked out into the open and gave good views. Part way through this deluge of wildlife we had to cross the White Nile by a flat metal platform ‘ferry’ [see the header image] which was expertly guided crab-wise against the strong current to reach the other side, where we continued our drive and finally ended up at our accommodation – the lovely Pakuba Safari Lodge which overlooked the savannah and the Nile. The lodge was 60km from the park entrance, which gives some idea of the size of the park itself. White-rumped Swifts flew around above our heads as we unloaded and checked in. The day ended with a nice meal, the usual checklist and bed.
4th July
Full day in Murchison Falls NP. Early start again and we spent the morning on a bush drive on various tracks. Sharp-eyed Abia spotted a Leopard sitting in the fork of a tree. It was fairly distant but superb nonetheless. It eventually climbed down and ambled off through the grass, its camouflage being very effective. Other mammals comprised Banded Mongoose, 6 Spotted Hyenas, and Patas Monkey, and repeats of what we had seen on 3rd. The first new birds were a group of 3 Heuglin’s Francolin, and then we came across our first majestic Martial Eagle sitting at the top of a tree. This was closely followed by a Dark Chanting Goshawk. Another Black-bellied Bustard was seen then then we added the larger Denham’s Bustard, 2 Senegal Thick-knee, plus the now familiar Spur-winged Lapwing and African Wattled Lapwing. A Klaas’s Cuckoo was noted by some, and then our first little flock of Speckled Mousebirds. Other good finds were a group of Green Woodhoopoes and a Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, and then around 20 Northern Carmine Bee-eaters all in one area, which must have been good for insects. New birds kept coming as we ticked off Nubian, Cardinal and African Grey Woodpeckers in trackside trees, and then our first very smart Grey Kestrel and a Red-necked Falcon. New smaller birds included Northern Puffback, Black Cuckooshrike, a Flappet Lark, 6 White-headed Sawwings, a Buff-bellied Warbler, Brown Babbler, a White-fronted Black Chat, Beautiful Sunbird, a flock of 10 Red-billed Queleas and 4 nattily named Red-cheeked Cordonbleu.
Full day in Murchison Falls NP. Early start again and we spent the morning on a bush drive on various tracks. Sharp-eyed Abia spotted a Leopard sitting in the fork of a tree. It was fairly distant but superb nonetheless. It eventually climbed down and ambled off through the grass, its camouflage being very effective. Other mammals comprised Banded Mongoose, 6 Spotted Hyenas, and Patas Monkey, and repeats of what we had seen on 3rd. The first new birds were a group of 3 Heuglin’s Francolin, and then we came across our first majestic Martial Eagle sitting at the top of a tree. This was closely followed by a Dark Chanting Goshawk. Another Black-bellied Bustard was seen then then we added the larger Denham’s Bustard, 2 Senegal Thick-knee, plus the now familiar Spur-winged Lapwing and African Wattled Lapwing. A Klaas’s Cuckoo was noted by some, and then our first little flock of Speckled Mousebirds. Other good finds were a group of Green Woodhoopoes and a Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, and then around 20 Northern Carmine Bee-eaters all in one area, which must have been good for insects. New birds kept coming as we ticked off Nubian, Cardinal and African Grey Woodpeckers in trackside trees, and then our first very smart Grey Kestrel and a Red-necked Falcon. New smaller birds included Northern Puffback, Black Cuckooshrike, a Flappet Lark, 6 White-headed Sawwings, a Buff-bellied Warbler, Brown Babbler, a White-fronted Black Chat, Beautiful Sunbird, a flock of 10 Red-billed Queleas and 4 nattily named Red-cheeked Cordonbleu.
After a picnic lunch we had a 2 hour boat trip along the Nile to the Murchison Falls themselves. Birding from the boat produced Goliath Heron, Knob-billed Duck, Yellow-billed Stork, African Darter, Purple Heron, Great White-, Cattle- and Little Egrets, and Squacco Heron. Two nice finds were an African Black Crake, and a Lesser Jacana at the water’s edge, and African Fish Eagles sat in riverside trees giving their laughing call. Farther on we had 4 Rock Pratincoles resting on a rocky outcrop in the river. Eventually we reached a very turbulent area where we had to ‘park’ the boat in a sheltered spot and observe the falls from a distance. Whilst there, a small greyish bird was fly-catching from a riverside rock, and this turned out to be a Cassin’s Flycatcher in its classic habitat. Finally our time was up and we made our way back to the landing area. On the way Anne spotted something in the water near a reedy area – a Pangolin!! We drifted up very close. It was curled into a ball and floating in the water and looked very inanimate, so we were unsure whether it was alive or dead. According to info I have found they are very good swimmers and the rolling into a very tight ball is a defence mechanism, so it could have been OK. A much persecuted animal.
After a long day we finally made it back to the lodge just in time for dinner.
After a long day we finally made it back to the lodge just in time for dinner.
5th July
Another early start and a change of plan. Heavy rain was forecast for later and the area Herbert had had in mind to explore on the way to Masindi, our next destination, had notoriously bad roads on which he had experienced a near disaster on a previous trip in similar conditions. Instead we spent the morning on a bush drive in the so-called Delta area of Murchison Falls NP, aiming to get to the ferry by lunchtime. Game animals were again seen in good numbers and the first new bird for the list was Grey Heron, followed swiftly by a couple of African Sacred Ibis. A fantastic sight was a Martial Eagle on the ground with a large prey item, with an immature Palm-nut Vulture standing close by hoping for some scraps. We weren’t too close but lots of photos were taken and then the eagle got fed up with the attentions of the vulture and flew off with its prey, which was a very large Nile Monitor Lizard! Another good raptor was a Black Sparrowhawk [sometimes called Black Goshawk], sitting in a tree. A couple of Blue-spotted Wood-doves flushed from the track side, and African Cuckoo was another new bird for the list. Another large group of feeding Northern Carmine Bee-eaters were seen and then, much to Herbert’s delight, a couple of Southern Carmine Bee-eaters which have only recently started to appear this far north. The two are easily separated with good views by the green-blue head and throat of the Northern, whereas in Southern the green-blue is restricted to the crown and the throat is the same brilliant carmine red as the breast and belly. Other new birds included Green-backed Woodpecker, Ituri Batis, Tropical Boubou, Yellow-throated Longclaw, and a good number of small birds including weavers, waxbills and bishops.
Another early start and a change of plan. Heavy rain was forecast for later and the area Herbert had had in mind to explore on the way to Masindi, our next destination, had notoriously bad roads on which he had experienced a near disaster on a previous trip in similar conditions. Instead we spent the morning on a bush drive in the so-called Delta area of Murchison Falls NP, aiming to get to the ferry by lunchtime. Game animals were again seen in good numbers and the first new bird for the list was Grey Heron, followed swiftly by a couple of African Sacred Ibis. A fantastic sight was a Martial Eagle on the ground with a large prey item, with an immature Palm-nut Vulture standing close by hoping for some scraps. We weren’t too close but lots of photos were taken and then the eagle got fed up with the attentions of the vulture and flew off with its prey, which was a very large Nile Monitor Lizard! Another good raptor was a Black Sparrowhawk [sometimes called Black Goshawk], sitting in a tree. A couple of Blue-spotted Wood-doves flushed from the track side, and African Cuckoo was another new bird for the list. Another large group of feeding Northern Carmine Bee-eaters were seen and then, much to Herbert’s delight, a couple of Southern Carmine Bee-eaters which have only recently started to appear this far north. The two are easily separated with good views by the green-blue head and throat of the Northern, whereas in Southern the green-blue is restricted to the crown and the throat is the same brilliant carmine red as the breast and belly. Other new birds included Green-backed Woodpecker, Ituri Batis, Tropical Boubou, Yellow-throated Longclaw, and a good number of small birds including weavers, waxbills and bishops.
We continued driving and found ourselves in an open area known as the Murchison Delta area. As we drove along Abia suddenly spotted a Shoebill ahead of us in a swampy area. We carefully approached and then watched in amazement as it slowly walked through the marsh and suddenly lunged down, and came up with a huge Lungfish {Protopterus sp}, which is proceed to swallow whole, then spewed up a large bill-full of water, and eventually flew off. Quite impressive. Herbert told us that they sometimes bite off more than they can chew as it were, and have been know to choke to death as a result of trying to consume too large a prey item.
We finally got to the ferry and crossed the White Nile again and had our picnic in the shelter on the other side. Whilst sitting there I suddenly saw a large shape shoot by behind the riverside trees – it was a Giant Kingfisher, which obligingly landed in a bare tree near us, but only briefly for me to catch a shot as it quickly flew off again. Just in time we cleared up and then the heavens opened to torrential rain, so Herbert’s decision had been a good one. We waited for some time under shelter until the rain eased a little but then it was time to press on for the transfer to Masindi. We eventually left the rain behind and did a little roadside birding on the way, the main prizes of which were Moustached Grass-warbler, Brown-backed Scrub-robin and White-browed Robin-chat. We reached our hotel at Masindi at 5 p.m. An excellent dinner was followed by the long checklist then bed.