9th & 10th July - Kibale to Queen Elizabeth NP
9th July
Another transfer day today so an early start again. We birded for a while along the same road as yesterday afternoon. An open area by the road gave us 2 White-naped Pigeons atop a distant tree for which I used my mini scope for the only time in the trip! At the same spot Herbert called a couple of Sabine’s Spinetails flying in the distance. Very brief view but obviously Spinetails, and the other possible species, Cassin’s is very scarce. White-tailed Antthrush was another good forest bird to get. We continued on, starting the journey in earnest, spotting Mosque Swallow on the way. We were basically heading generally north again, the destination being Queen Elizabeth National Park. We stopped again at the same café in Fort Portal and we managed to get some good shots of the very colourful Variable Sunbird. At a nearby marshy area by a main river bridge we had the secretive Lesser Swamp Warbler. The journey continued by turning south on the main N>S road. We stopped for lunch at the delightful Ihamba Lodge by Lake George where we were able to bird for a while. Here we had a Water Thick-knee, the very common Northern Grey-headed Sparrow, and some Arrow-marked Babblers. We continued eventually along an incredibly poor tarmac road with huge potholes, where it was better to drive along the dirt at the side playing dodgems with the oncoming traffic doing the same thing. By late afternoon we entered part of the huge QE National Park and drove a track whilst it was still light. We soon saw a Red-necked Spurfowl, plus African Harrier-hawk, Martial Eagle and then an Augur Buzzard to boost the raptor list. Red-faced– and Carruther’s Cisticola were also seen. Finally we climbed up through a town on the escarpment and reached our lodge, the Enganzi Lodge, in a superb elevated position overlooking the vast savannah of QE NP. The steep steps up & down to the delightful thatched cottages were a bit of a struggle after tiring days in the field! Worth it tho’.
Another transfer day today so an early start again. We birded for a while along the same road as yesterday afternoon. An open area by the road gave us 2 White-naped Pigeons atop a distant tree for which I used my mini scope for the only time in the trip! At the same spot Herbert called a couple of Sabine’s Spinetails flying in the distance. Very brief view but obviously Spinetails, and the other possible species, Cassin’s is very scarce. White-tailed Antthrush was another good forest bird to get. We continued on, starting the journey in earnest, spotting Mosque Swallow on the way. We were basically heading generally north again, the destination being Queen Elizabeth National Park. We stopped again at the same café in Fort Portal and we managed to get some good shots of the very colourful Variable Sunbird. At a nearby marshy area by a main river bridge we had the secretive Lesser Swamp Warbler. The journey continued by turning south on the main N>S road. We stopped for lunch at the delightful Ihamba Lodge by Lake George where we were able to bird for a while. Here we had a Water Thick-knee, the very common Northern Grey-headed Sparrow, and some Arrow-marked Babblers. We continued eventually along an incredibly poor tarmac road with huge potholes, where it was better to drive along the dirt at the side playing dodgems with the oncoming traffic doing the same thing. By late afternoon we entered part of the huge QE National Park and drove a track whilst it was still light. We soon saw a Red-necked Spurfowl, plus African Harrier-hawk, Martial Eagle and then an Augur Buzzard to boost the raptor list. Red-faced– and Carruther’s Cisticola were also seen. Finally we climbed up through a town on the escarpment and reached our lodge, the Enganzi Lodge, in a superb elevated position overlooking the vast savannah of QE NP. The steep steps up & down to the delightful thatched cottages were a bit of a struggle after tiring days in the field! Worth it tho’.
10th July
A day in Queen Elizabeth National Park today. V. early breakfast at 6 a.m. and then off for a bush drive along various tracks in the park. Mammals featured heavily, with Baboons and Vervet Monkeys, a Spotted Hyena and the now familiar antelopes. The habitat comprised sandy tracks with scattered Acacia and other bushes and some more open areas. The by now familiar various eagles were in evidence, and then a Bateleur with its virtually non-existent tail and tilting from side- to-side flight and shortly after, a Lanner Falcon carrying prey. Grey-headed Kingfisher, Little-, Red-throated- and Olive Bee-eaters added colour as did Common Scimitarbill, a new bird. Senegal and Crowned Lapwings were breeding. Smaller birds featured White-headed Barbet, Northern Fiscal, Fork-tailed Drongo, African Blue Flycatcher, Croaking Cisticola with its jet black gape, Black-lored Babbler, and Yellow-billed Oxpeckers attending to the Buffalos. Baglafecht- and Holub’s Golden Weavers were added to the huge list of these confusing species, and a few male Pin-tailed Whydahs with their exceedingly long tails, were noted.
A day in Queen Elizabeth National Park today. V. early breakfast at 6 a.m. and then off for a bush drive along various tracks in the park. Mammals featured heavily, with Baboons and Vervet Monkeys, a Spotted Hyena and the now familiar antelopes. The habitat comprised sandy tracks with scattered Acacia and other bushes and some more open areas. The by now familiar various eagles were in evidence, and then a Bateleur with its virtually non-existent tail and tilting from side- to-side flight and shortly after, a Lanner Falcon carrying prey. Grey-headed Kingfisher, Little-, Red-throated- and Olive Bee-eaters added colour as did Common Scimitarbill, a new bird. Senegal and Crowned Lapwings were breeding. Smaller birds featured White-headed Barbet, Northern Fiscal, Fork-tailed Drongo, African Blue Flycatcher, Croaking Cisticola with its jet black gape, Black-lored Babbler, and Yellow-billed Oxpeckers attending to the Buffalos. Baglafecht- and Holub’s Golden Weavers were added to the huge list of these confusing species, and a few male Pin-tailed Whydahs with their exceedingly long tails, were noted.
We had our picnic lunch in a lodge overlooking the Kazinga Channel. In the afternoon we had a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel, a 32km long narrow channel, which links lakes Edward and George. This was very pleasant and quite productive. Three Nile Crocs were seen, including a huge adult animal. We got quite close to a herd of Hippos in the water, which submerged and had a bit of a shock when one decided to try & re-surface under our boat – it came up with quite a thump! The boat rocked alarmingly and the Hippo splashed to the surface to one side. Fortunately it hadn’t scored a direct hit amidships. We saw another Knob-billed Duck and then added a couple of African Spoonbill and Striated Heron to the list. Hamerkops were a-plenty and then a shallow shoreline had a large number of resting Pink-backed Pelicans and White-breasted Cormorants, and also Yellow-billed Storks. A couple of Black-winged Stilts and a diminutive Kittlitz’s Plover were new birds and we had a second African Black Crake which was photographable. Pied Kingfishers were incredibly numerous, and in the air above the water were a few Brown-throated Martins [Plain Martin in some authorities] plus Angolan Swallow and Wire-tailed Swallow. After the boat trip we did some more bush driving before returning to the lodge for a well-earned meal, the evening checklist and rest.