Recent Sighting Details
Date Added: September 30, 2008
Posted by: Herbert Byaruhanga
Location: Uganda
Directions: By Susan and Bill
anopheles202002@yahoo dot com
Madison University
My husband Bill and I visited Uganda during the last two weeks of June 2008. We are amateur birders and wanted a chance to see as much birdlife as we could during the trip. We contracted with BirdUganda for the trip and could not have asked for a better tour. We were the only pair on this tour, so we had our guide and driver, Emmanuel Gongo, all to ourselves. Emmy did a fabulous job but more about that later.
First-how we set it up: I wanted to use a local travel company if possible so I researched possibilities on the web and found BirdUganda and Herbert Byaruhanga. Herbert and I communicated by email (he answers email very readily) to discuss the outlines of a trip and then he provided an itinerary and a quote. I looked at other birding tour specialists and found BirdUganda to be by far the most economical option even though the trip itinerary was almost identical to most of the higher-priced offerings. We also “googled” Herbert and came to realize that he is one of the best-known birders in Uganda and that he has a world reputation as a leader in bird-oriented organizations and touring in Uganda. So we were comfortable in going with his company. Although he wasn’t along for the trip, he was very careful of our comfort, telephoning us at the beginning and near the end of the tour to be sure things had gone well.
We started from Kampala and drove to Murchison Falls National Park. At Murchison, we enjoyed the game drives and the boat trip to the falls. Emmy made sure that we also had the good fortune to drive around with a local guide (George) who showed us not one but two of the famous shoebills (close viewing) as well as a new bird that is not supposed to occur in Uganda but seems to have found a home in Murchison. We stayed at the Paara Lodge where we found all very comfortable. Since I am a vegetarian, I expected the food situation to be challenging, but between the curries, fruits, breads and other offerings there were no problems. After Murchison, we birded in the mahogany-rich Budongo Forest with Vincent and Emmy and got our best photograph of the trip-of Bill with a beautiful grasshopper on his hand. A favorite bird was the chocolate-backed kingfisher. Then we traveled from Masindi along the escarpment over to Fort Portal, where we stayed at the Mountains of the Moon lodge, and walked the Kibale Forest. A highlight was a visit to the chimpanzee troops that have been acclimated to human contact-they were a raucous group that contrasted strongly with the quiet and slower mountain gorillas we saw later in the trip. I also highly recommend the side trip to the Bigodi wetland, especially if you can have Alex as your guide. He showed us how to weave papyrus mats, introduced us to the many primates that occur here and provided a wealth of cultural as well as natural history information. From Kibale, we went to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Mweya Lodge. In addition to the photogenic tree climbing lions of Ishasha, the spectacular waterbirds on the boat trip down the Kazinga channel, and the brazen little weavers hopping on the breakfast tables, we were surprised by a 3am visit from a hippopotamous, who was munching on the grass just a few feet out the door off our patio. He was encircled by a group of bats, who were probably enjoying the insects flushed up by his feeding. That was a hard act to follow but we bushwhacked our way to the tree lions and then were led right to a black bee eater at the border with Congo followed by a scenic drive up to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. We birded this beautiful forest the first day and then on the second we did some hard climbing for a few hours until we finally encountered those elusive gorillas. Ironically, they showed up again the next morning, at the camp right next to the Gorilla Lodge where we were staying (highly recommended, great staff, good food, comfortable tents). After Bwindi, we had a very productive visit to a papyrus swamp with multiple showy papyrus gonoleks popping out everywhere and a really good look at a white-winged warbler. We finished our trip at the Mihingo Lodge (our favorite) in Lake Mburo park, where we had a close encounter with a water buffalo (although not as close as the one in January, apparently) and good looks at the African finfoot.
Of course, this is just a glance at a two week trip filled with memories. The conclusion though, is that BirdUganda delivered a first rate experience for a very reasonable price and was responsive and flexible in relation to all of our needs and requests. We highly recommend this company to anyone who is looking for a nature/bird trip in Uganda.
Sightings: By Susan and Bill
anopheles202002@yahoo dot com
Madison University
My husband Bill and I visited Uganda during the last two weeks of June 2008. We are amateur birders and wanted a chance to see as much birdlife as we could during the trip. We contracted with BirdUganda for the trip and could not have asked for a better tour. We were the only pair on this tour, so we had our guide and driver, Emmanuel Gongo, all to ourselves. Emmy did a fabulous job but more about that later.
First-how we set it up: I wanted to use a local travel company if possible so I researched possibilities on the web and found BirdUganda and Herbert Byaruhanga. Herbert and I communicated by email (he answers email very readily) to discuss the outlines of a trip and then he provided an itinerary and a quote. I looked at other birding tour specialists and found BirdUganda to be by far the most economical option even though the trip itinerary was almost identical to most of the higher-priced offerings. We also “googled” Herbert and came to realize that he is one of the best-known birders in Uganda and that he has a world reputation as a leader in bird-oriented organizations and touring in Uganda. So we were comfortable in going with his company. Although he wasn’t along for the trip, he was very careful of our comfort, telephoning us at the beginning and near the end of the tour to be sure things had gone well.
We started from Kampala and drove to Murchison Falls National Park. At Murchison, we enjoyed the game drives and the boat trip to the falls. Emmy made sure that we also had the good fortune to drive around with a local guide (George) who showed us not one but two of the famous shoebills (close viewing) as well as a new bird that is not supposed to occur in Uganda but seems to have found a home in Murchison. We stayed at the Paara Lodge where we found all very comfortable. Since I am a vegetarian, I expected the food situation to be challenging, but between the curries, fruits, breads and other offerings there were no problems. After Murchison, we birded in the mahogany-rich Budongo Forest with Vincent and Emmy and got our best photograph of the trip-of Bill with a beautiful grasshopper on his hand. A favorite bird was the chocolate-backed kingfisher. Then we traveled from Masindi along the escarpment over to Fort Portal, where we stayed at the Mountains of the Moon lodge, and walked the Kibale Forest. A highlight was a visit to the chimpanzee troops that have been acclimated to human contact-they were a raucous group that contrasted strongly with the quiet and slower mountain gorillas we saw later in the trip. I also highly recommend the side trip to the Bigodi wetland, especially if you can have Alex as your guide. He showed us how to weave papyrus mats, introduced us to the many primates that occur here and provided a wealth of cultural as well as natural history information. From Kibale, we went to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Mweya Lodge. In addition to the photogenic tree climbing lions of Ishasha, the spectacular waterbirds on the boat trip down the Kazinga channel, and the brazen little weavers hopping on the breakfast tables, we were surprised by a 3am visit from a hippopotamous, who was munching on the grass just a few feet out the door off our patio. He was encircled by a group of bats, who were probably enjoying the insects flushed up by his feeding. That was a hard act to follow but we bushwhacked our way to the tree lions and then were led right to a black bee eater at the border with Congo followed by a scenic drive up to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. We birded this beautiful forest the first day and then on the second we did some hard climbing for a few hours until we finally encountered those elusive gorillas. Ironically, they showed up again the next morning, at the camp right next to the Gorilla Lodge where we were staying (highly recommended, great staff, good food, comfortable tents). After Bwindi, we had a very productive visit to a papyrus swamp with multiple showy papyrus gonoleks popping out everywhere and a really good look at a white-winged warbler. We finished our trip at the Mihingo Lodge (our favorite) in Lake Mburo park, where we had a close encounter with a water buffalo (although not as close as the one in January, apparently) and good looks at the African finfoot.
Of course, this is just a glance at a two week trip filled with memories. The conclusion though, is that BirdUganda delivered a first rate experience for a very reasonable price and was responsive and flexible in relation to all of our needs and requests. We highly recommend this company to anyone who is looking for a nature/bird trip in Uganda.
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