19th February to the 2nd of March 2008
Participants
Malcolm Wilson
Chris Sharpe
Nick Tardivel
Jill Tardivel
Eugene Hood
Pieter van Eden
19th Entebbe-Kibimba
Mutebi Hassan arrived to help load the equipment into his stretch Landcruiser at 0700 at the Jane Goodall Institute and then after breakfast set off East to Kibimba Rice Scheme. Nick and Jill were to follow on, having missed their connection the day before so we were 5.
On the way we tried for two Long-crested Eagles, one actually landing on the trap but not long for enough and was off and away. These birds are so habituated to people that one can walk a trap right in under the pole the bird is perched on!
The second bird was so intent on its natural prey it even dived to catch a wild rat 5 metres from the trap!
We got to Kibimba in good time to set a line of nets out along a bund in block 2 on one of the large long paddyes. Jill and Nick arrived in time for the first net round so they missed nothing as a result of their 24 hour delay.
Catching was slow to start with, the usual birds caught being Painted and Common Snipe with a few Ringed Plover and Wood Sandpiper. We caught to midnight and closed.
20th Kibimba
Opened at 0500 getting a few more Snipe as well as a Black-winged Stilt and a Spur-winged Plover.
Going into breakfast we got side-tracked by a Grey Kestrel which we duly dropped a trap for, but as much as it was curious, it would only hover over the trap and once when it did land, there was the perfectly timed cyclist to scare the bird from the trap!
After breakfast we set out to look for a site in the afternoon and had a look to see who was in residence on the pylons. Quite a surprise, as it turned out. On approaching the pylon, we all saw a large falcon tearing across the rice fields and take a bird which had flushed from the rice. We watched it come round to land high up in the mainframe of the pylon and begin to pluck its prey. At first I was convinced it was a Lanner, the usual suspect here, but there was something not quite fitting and after a while I was sure we were looking at a Saker Falcon. What was even more extraordinary, the prey it was tearing to bits was a Spotted Crake!!
Saker Falcon is an extra-limital Palearctic migrant and this bird would constitute the second Ugandan record.
In the afternoon we found a good congregation of waders at the west end of the long paddy we had been at the night before and set 18 nets in one line.
Before dusk we picked up an assortment of diurnal species such as Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Malachite Kingfisher and also set a line of 4 Taiwanese nets along the end of the paddy effectively blocking a flyway from the marsh behind which picked up a lot of snipe during the night. Putting a tape on we picked up a few Barn Swallows then at dusk a Slender-tailed Nightjar.
We caught till 0330hrs before closing and did quite well with over 80 birds with some exceptionable species notably Great Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Long-toed Plover, White-faced Whistling Duck and a re-trap Wood Sandpiper from last November. But the highlight by far much to my excitement and bemusement of the
21st Kibimba
After breakfast we tried the now suspicious Grey Kestrel a few times, tempting it to hover 2m above the trap, but too wary now. Richard Ssemmanda from Birdlife
We had a look round the site and decided to leave the line of nets for another night and set off on a raptor run on the main road. We found a Long-crested Eagle which was too low to drop for and Mutebi’s attempt at trying to walk a trap in was thwarted by a Black-headed heron which took off squawking in the Eagle’s direction which also followed suit.
We then tried our luck on a Black-shouldered Kite and after several attempts between herds of cows and a couple of trucks on this tiny track, realised we were in fact completely out of the stuff.
There were a couple of Steppe Buzzards floating north but if we could not catch a BSK, we most certainly were not going to catch a Steppe Buzzard being at times one of the most suspicious and exasperating of them all.
We opened at 1630hrs and picked up odd Wood Sandpipers and Painted Snipe and another Slender-tailed Nightjar. Putting up some single panels in a recently harvested paddy, we got a few Yellow Wagtails and 3 Red-throated Pipits.
The Taiwanese nets got a few Sand Martins and Barn Swallow with odd things like Winding Cisticola, Cardinal Quelea and a Sedge Warbler.
There were at least 8 European Marsh Harrier floating around, hunting over the paddies which proved very beneficial as sudden bursts of spooked waders would appear over a bund and invariably a few hit the nets.
As well as European Marsh there were a few Montague’s Harrier but oddly no Peregrine, the usual raptor to torment the wader flocks at this hour.
We caught till 0100hrs and did increasingly well for painted Snipe with 61 ringed and finally a few Little Stint which had decreased significantly since last November.
On the way back to base tried dazzling for a few Plain, White-tailed and Black-shouldered Nightjars, but the moon was too bright.
22nd Kibimba
Opened at 0600hrs and caught a few Wood Sandpiper, Spur-winged Plover and painted Snipe, then had fun catching a few male Fan-tailed Widowbirds in full breeding plumage, coming out of roost back onto the paddies and territories.
Back at breakfast we tried to catch a pair of Gymnogene which was building a nest in a large Terminalia tree in the compound. The birds however were far more consumed with each other’s amorous intentions so no luck there.
After scouting round the site we decided upon block 7 which consisted of several small paddies. This block had a good number of waders on including Spotted Redshank. We set 2 lines along parallel bunds and caught Wood and Marsh Sandpiper, Ruff and Snipe with a single Fulvous Whistling Duck till midnight.
23rd Kibimba
Opened at 0600hrs and started catching the same species as well as Barn Swallow, Sandmartin and 2 Green Sandpiper.
After breakfast we visited a recently harvested paddy where a lot of small birds were zipping in and out of the remaining stubble, including quite a few Red-throated Pipits. We set a line of single panels along the tracks of a harvester and retreated to a spot next to an irrigation channel. We set a net across it to catch the many Barn Swallows which were zipping up and down.
After a few rounds of catching Yellow Wagtails and Winding Cisticolas, we decided to have a push. What we realised immediately was that the Pipits were sticking to the small gaps in the 18 inch high stubble. Pushing them we realised also that there were many more. Unfortunately we only managed to bounce a few birds, most of which landed under the net and so took off out the other side.
The net in the channel did a bit better with a few Barn Swallows and a Malachite Kingfisher.
In the afternoon we set a few more nets at the end of the block and caught the usual waders but a few more Little Stint here and another Green Sandpiper. The Marsh Harriers were doing their stuff which was helping to catch in daylight and we had a moment when an adult male Euro Marsh Harrier hit the net and stayed in long enough to get half of us off the blocks in a mad dash before it got out.
In the night we heard the dreadful ruckus of a Black-headed Heron in a net and on getting to the line, had no difficulty telling which net the bird had been in, it looked like it had been trawling the paddy for frogs!
24th
We were packed up and off by 0800hrs and continued with our run of bad luck by dropping for 2 Long-crested Eagles, the first just plain suspicious and the second more concerned with two other birds circling overhead.
We got to Roger and Kathy’s house by 1500hrs and set four 60’s and four 40’s and began to catch, including 5 of the 14 species of sunbird here, Snowy-headed Robin-chat, Brown-crowned Tchagra and Pygmy Kingfisher.
After 4 days at the rice scheme, coming to ring here at the very kind invitation of our hosts really was ringing in luxury! After furling we sat back with G&T’s on the terrace and watched for Bat Hawk with African and European Hobby hunting round the house.
25th The Garden to
Opened up at 0630hrs and started catching while Great Blue Turaco and Black and White Casqued Hornbill flew across the garden and called out in the background.
Interesting and good birds included Grey-capped Warbler, Black-headed Gonolek, and a hybrid African X Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher. We had fun when an Eastern Grey Plantain-eater came to the veranda to drink. Pieter and Nick crept round the back of the unsuspecting bird but it caught on and flew out the side and straight into the 60’ across the side of the lawn. This species is quite a novelty to catch however this soon wears off as the frightful screaming and projectile diarrhoea take its toll. Not a species to give to trainees if one wanted a ringing scheme to grow!
A Shikra made a brief appearance but was off before we could get a trap out.
At lunchtime we took the old
We counted 4 Wahlberg’s Eagles, 3 Brown Snake-eagle and a Bateleur, the last an encouraging sight outside of large protected areas.
We got to Kaniyo Pabidi in time to set eight 60’s and four 40’s and closed at dusk, but not before catching a pair of Bats. Nick had fast become the Bat expert and works with them in the UK so not only was it refreshing to have someone keen to extract the beasts, but also to shed some informative light on these mysterious creatures.
26th Kaniyo Pabidi,
We opened at 0630hrs in time to catch two bats again in the same net, obviously a roost nearby.
We began to catch and what was immediately apparent was the complete lack of Brown Illadopsis, only catching one retrap from last November.
But very excitingly we got a re-trap Puvel’s Illadopsis from November! Then even more exciting got a new Puvel’s which
New species this time were Western Black-headed Oriole, Olive-Green Camaroptera and Green Twinspot. A great bonus was getting an Eastern Forest Robin, the second from the site, which Chris had the privilege to ring.
We had 9 ranger guides with us to partake in the workshop and ringing demonstration we were giving. Since last November they had done a considerable amount of homework and had been taking very good notes on observations in the forest.
Nick and Jill went to track the Chimpanzees and returned flushed with success, having also seen Blue Duiker and Black and White Colobus monkey. Waking up to the latter an hour before dawn is always my favourite sound in the African tropics, followed by the warming up of the Great-blue Turaco.
Chris took some of the students and did a few Timed Species Counts (Lewis and Pomeroy) and got some interesting curves on the field sheets.
Over the forest were lots of Hirundines including African Black, Scarce, Alpine, Palm, White-rumped, Little and European Swifts. The occasional Western Bronze-naped Pigeon flew across as well as White-thighed Hornbill. A flock of Afro-tropical migrant White-throated Bee-eaters 200 strong also went over the forest clearing and the occasional Steppe Buzzard drifted over.
Not seen but heard was a Crowned Eagle, the distinctive rising and falling whistle causing the resident Red-tailed Monkeys to offer chirped concern!
27th Kaniyo Pabidi
A Wood Owl was calling out in the forest during the night and was still going when we opened the nets.
We caught many retraps over the time we had been here and also managed to remark on the interesting absence of previously very common species, notably White-throated Greenbul and Brown Illadopsis.
The Fire-crested Alethe was the commonest species this time.
New birds today were Red-tailed Ant-thrush, Red-tailed Bristlebill and TWO more Puvel’s Illadopsis!
28th Kaniyo Pabidi to
Opened again at the same time and got very little -- such is the decline in catch rate in forests. However, as we were taking down, we managed to get a new Dwarf Kingfisher from the site!
We packed up late morning and set off for the top of the falls at
As it was now in the dry season, large parts of the savannah had burnt with many areas still burning. Two months previously there had been a count of over 300 individuals of this Afro-tropical non-breeding migrant from the
Other migrants in their hundreds if not thousands were Abdim’s Stork, also joining others in the sudden bonanza of insects disturbed from the fires, Northern Carmine Bee-eaters, Black Kites and many hirundines. Another very noticeable migrant were hundreds of Grey-headed Kingfishers.
We got to the falls for lunch and watched the thundering
On the way out we spotted a Grasshopper Buzzard which came in to land on a tree next to the road. We got a trap down and backed off. As a primarily insect-eating species, I was more curious than hopeful to see the reaction. In a few seconds the bird spotted the mouse and dropped next to the trap then in typical buzzard/kestrel style, cautiously approached, then gathered up the courage and took a lunge. On the second attempt it got caught and we had a beautiful adult female Grasshopper Buzzard. Surprisingly small, it weighed 355 grams with a wing of 318mm and had 10 fresh primaries.
Chuffed with this success we carried on and 30 minutes later found another Grasshopper Buzzard high up on a tree next to the road. This bird spotted the mouse impressively quickly at probably 100m and was onto the trap in no time. A quick catch and we had a second bird, this time a young one lighter and shorter winged. It had an un-barred tail which was crossed with many fault bars and quite tatty, leading us to believe this was its first visit south of the
We stopped to watch hundreds of Uganda Kob and as many Abdim’s Storks around a large water hole. The Antelope and birds mixing together made an impressive scene.
Got to Nile Safari Camp and set six 60’ and four 40’ nets and caught a few Pygmy Kingfishers, Reed Warbler, Orange-breasted Bushshrike, Brown-crowned Tchagra, Grey-capped Warbler and a pair of Black-billed Wood Dove. Then went up to the bar overlooking the
29th
Opened at 0700hrs (a bit later to allow the roosting weaver and Quelea flocks to clear) while the Standard-winged Nightjars still displayed in the morning light. Long-tailed Nightjars were calling and we had a few close shaves with some low flyers coming to the sound system.
We got a few good birds this morning, including a Dusky Babbler, and at last a re-trap from this site of an African Moustached Warbler which had been ringed on the 13th of November 2002 by Chris! The wing and weight were exactly the same and the bird had been an adult when ringed.
Across the river from the ringing site was a herd of over 200 Elephant who at one point decided to have a huge dust-up with adult females chasing young males off and males going at each other, quite entertaining -- from this side!
The resident Hippos were not very impressed.
No Shoebill on the other side, just Grey-crowned Cranes and Saddle-billed Storks.
We closed late morning and went on a run to find more Grasshopper Buzzards and anything else around. Unfortunately the
After a few k’s we came across an area on fire, with hundreds of Abdim’s Storks walking in among the burning bushes, picking off the millions of Grasshoppers which were pouring out of thickets in droves. We found a Grasshopper Buzzard intently watching the smoking area and dropped a mouse to which the bird reacted immediately and we had our third Buzzard. This bird was even younger than the last with no chin stripe and lots of buff coverts and an unbarred tail but not in primary moult.
We found another but the bird did not see the trap before flying off. A considerable handicap for us was the wind which was blowing enough to move the vegetation to the extent that birds were not seeing the mouse movements.
The “burn” (as it’s called) here was alive with Northern Carmine Bee-eaters, Wahlberg’s Eagles, Black Kites and quite a few grasshopper Buzzards.
Carried on towards the falls and found a group of 6 Abyssinian Ground Hornbills and we tried for a Black-chested Snake Eagle high overhead.
Coming back for lunch we got another Grasshopper Buzzard, also a young one and no primary moult which was ringed by
Dropped twice more for birds but restlessness had set in and they were not sitting still for long -- the nature of the fires keeping them on the go. A noticeable factor with this species was their tameness, allowing us to get quite close at times.
We opened for the afternoon and got a variety of birds, notably a pair of Violet-backed Starlings, the male iridescence just incredible and a spectacular all White-morph African Paradise Flycatcher.
Then the most unexpected of catches occurred. The guard arrived for night duty and to light the fire and ward off dangerous animals for the poor helpless and defenceless campers. We asked him if there was anything in the nets worth running for and he replied that there was a large bird in the net with a yellow beak!
I was left alone with the guard after the ensuing response and in time the bird was brought back with animated and puzzled looks. To avoid any unseemly behaviour I took the bird out of the bag and found myself staring at the unimpressed form of a Yellowbill! This odd relation to the coucals was, I suppose, a denizen of riparian woodland although it is more often found in thick tangles in the forest.
After this we tried the sound system again for Long-tailed Nightjar and almost got one.
1st of March
The following morning the Standard-winged Nightjars were still frustrating us but we did come very close at one point to catching one which just missed the net. However a Rufous-morph Plain Nightjar was not so lucky!
Today being the last full day’s netting opportunity, we caught till lunchtime with new birds included a couple of Olivaceous Wabler, Red-winged Grey Warbler, Brubru, a beautiful Silverbird and a trio of lead-coloured Flycatchers.
After lunch we set off after more Grasshopper Buzzards and found a Dark-chanting Goshawk in the same burn area. We dropped and the bird soon came in, but was very half-hearted about it all. It took a couple of stabs at the trap before flying back to its perch. It did this a couple of times and actually got caught briefly for a moment before eventually flying off.
We went to check out the airstrip which yielded nothing and on the way back found a Grasshopper Buzzard 80 m back off the road and low. We put a trap down and amazingly the bird quickly saw the mouse and was in and onto the trap in seconds. We had our 5th Grasshopper Buzzard! This bird was probably the youngest so far as it had orangey eyes unlike the full bright yellow of the adult. It was in active primary moult with 4 new primaries and a feather at stage 4 and 5 old outer primaries. So the question here is: When do young commence their post juvenile primary moult? Probably at 1 year.
Back at camp we opened the nets and remarkably got another Yellowbill! Last thing, we got a Red-throated Bee-eater and a pair of Black-cheeked Waxbill.
2nd March Nile Safari Camp to
We got a few Reed Warblers in the morning then packed up and set off for
We dropped for a Martial Eagle near to the
We dropped right under the beak of a Western-banded Snake Eagle, a perfect drop, but the bird never reacted once!
South of Masindi we had a Long-crested Eagle on the trap, but it was just not aggressive or hungry enough and got off. Then we dropped right under the nose of a Brown Snake Eagle which didn’t budge.
So not the best trip for raptors, however the 5 Grasshopper Buzzards more than made up for the lack of common species.
Got to
See list of totals per site below
| 1 | Fulvous Whistling-Duck | 1 | Kibimba | |
| 2 | White-faced Whistling-Duck | 1 | Kibimba | |
| 3 | Lizard Buzzard | 1 | Masindi | |
| 4 | Grasshopper Buzzard | 5 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 5 | Greater Painted-snipe | 67 | Kibimba | |
| 6 | Black-winged Stilt | 1 | Kibimba | |
| 7 | Long-toed Lapwing | 9 | Kibimba | |
| 8 | Spur-winged Plover | 1 | Kibimba | |
| 9 | Common Ringed Plover | 35 | Kibimba | |
| 10 | Little Ringed Plover | 1 | Kibimba | |
| 11 | Great Snipe | 2 | Kibimba | |
| 12 | Common Snipe | 14 | Kibimba | |
| 13 | Black-tailed Godwit | 1 | Kibimba | |
| 14 | Marsh Sandpiper | 11 | Kibimba | |
| 15 | Green Sandpiper | 4 | Kibimba | |
| 16 | Wood Sandpiper | 40 | Kibimba | |
| 17 | Little Stint | 15 | Kibimba | |
| 18 | Ruff | 6 | Kibimba | |
| 19 | Black-billed Wood-Dove | 4 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 20 | Blue-spotted Wood-Dove | 4 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 21 | Eastern Plantain-eater | 1 | Garden in | |
| 22 | Yellowbill | 2 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 23 | Plain Nightjar | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 24 | Slender-tailed Nightjar | 2 | Kibimba | |
| 25 | Speckled Mousebird | 4 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 26 | Malachite Kingfisher | 3 | Kibimba | |
| 27 | African Pygmy-Kingfisher | 11 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 28 | Dwarf Kingfisher | 1 | | |
| 29 | Red-throated Bee-eater | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 30 | Swallow-tailed Bee-eater | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 31 | Blue-cheeked Bee-eater | 1 | Kibimba | |
| 32 | Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird | 2 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 33 | Spot-flanked Barbet | 2 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 34 | Greater Honeyguide | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 35 | Lesser Honeyguide | 2 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 36 | Brown-eared Woodpecker | 1 | | |
| 37 | Sand Martin | 23 | Kibimba | |
| 38 | Barn Swallow | 16 | Kibimba | |
| 39 | Yellow Wagtail | 6 | Kibimba | |
| 40 | Red-throated Pipit | 3 | Kibimba | |
| 41 | Common Bulbul | 8 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 42 | Little Greenbul | 1 | | |
| 43 | Plain Greenbul ( | 4 | | |
| 44 | Yellow-whiskered Bulbul | 3 | | |
| 45 | Yellow-throated Greenbul | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 46 | White-throated Greenbul | 6 | | |
| 47 | Common Bristlebill (red-tailed) | 2 | | |
| 48 | Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush | 1 | | |
| 49 | Red-tailed Ant-Thrush | 2 | | |
| 50 | Brown-chested Alethe | 1 | | retrap |
| 51 | Fire-crested Alethe | 3 | | |
| 52 | Red-faced Cisticola | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 53 | Rattling Cisticola | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 54 | Winding Cisticola | 4 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 55 | Tawny-flanked Prinia | 2 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 56 | Red-winged Gray Warbler | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 57 | Yellow-breasted Apalis | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 58 | Gray-capped Warbler | 3 | Garden in | |
| 59 | Grey-backed Camaroptera | 7 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 60 | Olive-green Camaroptera | 1 | | |
| 61 | Moustached Grass-Warbler | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | retrap |
| 62 | Sedge Warbler | 1 | Kibimba | |
| 63 | Eurasian Reed-Warbler | 11 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 64 | Olivaceous Warbler | 2 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 65 | Buff-bellied Warbler | 2 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 66 | | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 67 | Green Hylia | 3 | | |
| 68 | | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 69 | Silverbird | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 70 | Gray Tit-Flycatcher | 3 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 71 | | 1 | | |
| 72 | White-browed Robin-Chat | 1 | Garden in | |
| 73 | Red-capped Robin-Chat | 2 | | |
| 74 | Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat | 4 | Garden in | |
| 75 | Spotted Morning-Thrush | 2 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 76 | Brown-throated Wattle-eye | 4 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 77 | Chestnut Wattle-eye | 1 | | |
| 78 | Black-headed Paradise-Flycatcher | 3 | | |
| 79 | African Paradise-Flycatcher | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 80 | A.Paradise x BH Paradise Flycatcher | 1 | Garden in | |
| 81 | Puvel's Illadopsis | 3 | | |
| 82 | Dusky Babbler | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 83 | Green-headed Sunbird | 4 | Garden in | |
| 84 | Western Olive-Sunbird | 12 | | |
| 85 | Scarlet-chested Sunbird | 2 | Garden in | |
| 86 | Olive-bellied Sunbird | 8 | Garden in | |
| 87 | Beautiful Sunbird | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 88 | Red-chested Sunbird | 7 | Garden in | |
| 89 | Variable Sunbird | 2 | Garden in | |
| 90 | Western Black-headed Oriole | 1 | | |
| 91 | Brubru | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 92 | Brown-crowned Tchagra | 5 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 93 | Black-headed Gonolek | 2 | Garden in | |
| 94 | Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike | 2 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 95 | Violet-backed Starling | 2 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 96 | Spectacled Weaver | 3 | Garden in | |
| 97 | Village Weaver | 2 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 98 | Black-headed Weaver(yellow-backed) | 4 | Kibimba | |
| 99 | Golden-backed Weaver | 1 | Garden in | |
| 100 | Cardinal Quelea | 3 | Kibimba | |
| 101 | Red-billed Quelea | 2 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 102 | Fan-tailed Widowbird | 10 | Kibimba | |
| 103 | Green-backed Twinspot | 1 | | |
| 104 | Brown Twinspot | 3 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 105 | Red-billed Firefinch | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 106 | Red-cheeked Cordonbleu | 4 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 107 | Fawn-breasted Waxbill | 1 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 108 | Black-faced Waxbill | 2 | Murchison Falls NP | |
| 109 | Orange-breasted Waxbill | 8 | Kibimba | |
| 110 | Bronze Mannikin | 1 | Kibimba | |
| 111 | Pin-tailed Whydah | 2 | Kibimba | |
| | total | 530 | | |
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