Uganda for Bird's Wildlife & Nature - Day 1: 20th July 2024

We left Norwich at 2.30pm on the 19^th on what would be the only flight that actually went to Schiphol that day during the chaos of the the global computer glitch.  Other flights were cancelled too and once in Amsterdam it was apparent that there were many stranded people at the airport.  We ambled through to our gate to Nairobi but amazingly boarded on time.  However the backlog then held us up and it was nearly an hour before we took off on our overnight flight.  All went smoothly and an African dawn was seen as we came into land but would we have enough time to make our connecting flight onto Entebbe?

At the top of the stairs a huge crowd was waiting to go through passport control so I snagged a young lady from Kenya Airways who was randomly pushing an empty wheelchair and asked if she could help get us through to our next imminent flight.  She was a star and we were quickly at the gate and boarding the plane whilst ticking off strutting Superb Starlings on the tarmac and Spur-winged Plovers on the greens.  Pied Crows were cruising around and a squadron of screaming Little Swifts played chase.

A final short flight and we were finally somehow in Uganda but the luggage (not being of Sapient Pearwood) had failed to keep up and would eventually arrive several hours later – but at least it did.

Matthew picked us up outside and the journey from the airport to our urban Papyrus Hotel quickly added a host of new birds as well as some familiar ones. Huge Marabou Storks stood incongruously on lampposts, pink flabby wattles dangling down while Hadada Ibises probed the grassy verges with Western Cattle Egrets. Grey Backed Fiscals were on the airport fences and White Headed Saw-wings and Angola Swallows became our first new hirundines.

The afternoon in the bijou hotel gardens produced Scarlet and Red-Chested Sunbirds, ludicrous Speckled Mousebirds, raucous Eastern Plantain Eaters, long-tailed Ruppell's Starlings, Baglafecht Weavers, Speckled and African Green Pigeons and Red-eyed Doves, Red-billed Firefinches, squeaky Red-headed Lovebirds, Meyer's Parrots and even two African Greys  - another of those 'pet shop' species I had longed to see in the wild.

Red-Chested Sunbird

Scarlet-Chested Sunbird

Ruppell's Starling

Speckled Mousebirds

Red-billed Firefinches were feeding young

Eastern Plantain Eaters - they don't eat plantains

Eastern Plantain Eater

Hadada Ibises

Northern Black Flycatchers hawked from the tree tops and fed speckled young and in the bushes there were Dark Capped Bulbuls (the yellow vented split from Common Bulbul), White Browed Robin-Chats hid in the shadows and popped out occasionally and pillar box red Black Headed Gonoleks with beady yellow eyes were seen while subtle African Thrushes hopped about the lawn. A pair of large Double Toothed Barbets joined our lunch time view and preened each other with those large ivory bills.

White Browed Robin-Chat - Roman Werpachowski

Dark Capped Bulbul

Dark Capped Bulbul

Black Headed Gonolek - Roman Werpachowski

Black Headed Gonolek

Black Headed Gonolek

African Thrush

African Thrush

Northern Grey Headed Sparrow

Northern Black Flycatcher

Double Toothed Barbets

Clouds of some sort of Flutterer dragonfly circled the tree tops and we saw several Skimmer and Darter types and a very large Hooktail.  There were butterflies too but although seen well, most did not land but hopefully I may be able to id some.  I spent some quality time creeping up on Jumping Spiders and Flies too! 

A tiny Blue

I will get to names for them if I can at some stage

Looks like an Emperor

A large Hook-tail sp

Skimmer sp

Jumper #1

Jumper #2

Blow Fly - what colours!

Blow Flies

Hoverfly - probably an Eristalinus

There were a couple of small Agama-type lizards and large glorious orange headed Finch’s Agamas with the males head bobbing at the less gaudy females with their stripy throats.

Finch’s Agama

Finch’s Agama - the female

Not sure if these are immature Finch's Agamas?  help appreciated

The skies held pointy tailed African Palm Swifts, Angola Swallows, Shikra, Yellow Billed Kites, Harrier-Hawk, Palm Nut and Hooded Vultures, Wahlberg's and Long Crested Eagles, Pink-backed Pelicans circled over Lake Victoria hidden below us and African Woolly Necked and Marabou Storks. At dusk Broad Billed Rollers started to hunt, a Barn screeched and African Wood Owls were pushed from their roost and began to duet.

African Hobby - a nesting pair in the gardens

African Woolly Necked Stork

Hooded Vulture

Palm Nut Vulture

Pink-backed Pelicans 

Wahlberg's Eagle - poo pic but that profile is very easy to pick up on

African Wood Owl

African Wood Owl

It was just the sort of relaxed start that the crew required.  Paul Tamwenya, our guide from Journeys Uganda, met us that evening and after a great introduction we all turned in for much needed sleep.