We recently found out that Friday 9th June was to be a public holiday so at short notice we booked 2 nights at Rweteera Safari Camp near Kibale Forest NP about 5 hours drive west of home.
Kibale Forest NP is a magnificent, large expanse of rainforest and swamp with a huge bird list. No self driving or walking here so you must pay for a guide and specify you want birding or chimpanzee tracking. We had two guides Bosco and Latitia on Friday afternoon and then Gerard on Saturday morning. My main target was the Green-breasted Pitta. To see the Pitta we were at the park office by 0600 Saturday morning and at the site by 0640. Nearly two hours later we hadn’t seen the Pitta (or anything else) but then one turned up with sticks in its mouth for a nest somewhere and eventually we had decent views of a second. For the next couple of hours we had more good birds including Narina Trogon, African Emerald Cuckoo (finally!) and Brown-chested Alethe. Rainforest birding is always hard work and we heard far more than we saw. At one point we were within a minute’s walk of a noisy chimpanzee family but Gerard was not willing for us to see them as we had only paid for birding ($US30 each for birds, $US150 each for chimps).
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| Bushbuck |
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| Jenny with a forest giant |
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| Green-breasted Pipit |
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| A Duiker (not sure which one yet). |
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| Full moon - 0525 10/6/17 |
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| Olive-breasted Greenbul |
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| Lots of beautiful butterflies in the forest. |
On the way back to camp for lunch we stopped at a bridge over a forest stream. Thousands of butterflies were congregating here and two Cassin’s Flycatchers were feasting from perches on the bridge.
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| Cassin's Flycatcher |
On Saturday afternoon we went on a guided bird walk around Bigodi Swamp. This is a local initiative to protect the swamp and provide income to local residents. I highly recommend the 5 km walk to anyone visiting the district. We had guide Julius and his trainee Everest this time. Despite the birds being fairly quiet in the afternoon heat we saw 40 species and thanks to the skills of Julius we had fleeting glimpses of White-spotted Flufftail (look it up!) and good views of a Shining-Blue Kingfisher.
I also recommend Rweteera Safari Lodge. It has a range of accommodation option from self-camping to safari tents to nice little bandas. Not too expensive and the food is good. Excellent birding as well. The advertised wi-fi again failed to eventuate however although we didn’t actually ask about it.
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| Olive-bellied Sunbird |
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| African Pied Wagtail |
On the way home on Sunday we stopped at a petrol station for a toilet break (or 'short call' as it is known here). We could see the two toilets and Jenny went in to get a key. “No toilets” she was told. I asked the chap filling my car and he confirmed this, apologised and said it was a dreadful situation. Then just as we were leaving the owner came out and asked “You just want short call?” and we said “Yes please” so we were allowed to use the nice clean toilets after all. We have no idea why we were knocked back originally. Many things in Uganda continue to confuse us every day.
This week will be a normal school week. Next weekend visitors from home start arriving for the grand opening of Mbazzi secondary school on Wed 21st and we are attending functions in Kampala on Sunday and then the Wednesday night. Today at Mbazzi I was the first to park on the new carpark. Luckily it was dry and I didn’t track mud over the new pavers. The school is looking magnificent for the opening.
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| Great Blue Turaco - Mbazzi Secondary School |
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| Red-chested Cuckoo - Mbazzi Secondary School |
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| First into the carpark - Mbazzi Secondary School |
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