Bulletin 363 - Uganda #7 - Storks, Shoebill, Hamerkop, Buffalo

After the week in the Capetown area, the guide Casper Badenhorst, and I flew to Uganda and met a local guide. We started at Entebbe Airport on the southeast corner of Uganda and made a diagonal trip to Murchison Falls NP in the northwest corner. From there, we proceeded south through a chain of nature preserves and parks to the southwest corner at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. We finished along the southern border back to the airport.

One of the target birds in Uganda is the 48" tall Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex). This gray stork-like bird with a massive bill is unique in its own family. It is found in large swamps from South Sudan to Zambia. Uganda is the usual place where birders go to see this bird as there is a great location about 2 hours from the airport at Entebbe and guides to take out on a boat to see them. It is also #23 on the top 100 birds to see.

Shoebill

We were able to slowly approach the bird by quietly pushing the boat with poles.

Shoebill

Eventually, he took off and instead of landing back in the swamp, he landed on top of a tree. The guide was amazed. He said he has been taking people to see the bird daily for 10 years and never before saw one land in the tree. My amazing luck comes once again.

Shoebill

A close relative of the Shoebill and another bird in its own family is the 22" Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta). This brown heron like bird has a long crest giving it a hammer-head appearance.

Hamerkop

There was one new stork of the 5 photographed in Uganda. The 32" Abdim's Stork (Ciconia abdimi) is a glossy black backed stork with a white belly and blue facial skin. He was the lifer for me.

Abdim's Stork

The 32" African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) is a black stork with a gap in his closed mandible. Their main food is mollusks. I have no idea when they have this peculiar mandible

African Openbill

The 42" Yellow-billed Stork (Mycteria ibis) is white with black wings, red face and a yellow bill.

Yellow-billed Stork

The 57" male Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) is a black and white stork with a multi-colored bill.

Saddle-billed Stork - male

The huge 60" Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) is amazingly ugly. It has a bare pink head and neck, as it feeds on carrion along with vultures. The big throat pouch is distinctive.

Marabou Stork

The African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) weighs up to 1800 pounds. Here is one with a Cattle Egret on his back.

African Buffalo

We have all seen photos of mammals rolling in dust or mud to protect themselves from biting insects. Well this buffalo has taken matters to the extreme. This was perhaps the funniest photo of the whole trip. He was right beside the road and just looked at us - seeming to say 'Mind your own business'

African Buffalo

Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2020 David McDonald

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Bulletin 332 - South Africa #9 - Part 1 - Tall Waders, Primates

I had an amazing 2 week trip to South Africa and scored almost 280 new species of birds as well as fantastic mammals and a few reptiles. My guide Casper Badenhorst was outstanding. You can see his web site here. He can be contacted through the web site or if you want his email it is info@birdingandwildlifesafaris.com. I recommend him highly as he showed me so many rare birds and animals. I will use him again when I go to Southern Africa.

As usual my birding luck was 100% and we saw almost every thing expected to be found and many that were not expected!

We saw several storks on the trip which was nice, as we have only a single species in North America. The 45" Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus) has a black body, white fluffy neck, blackish head and dark bill tipped with red.

Woolly-necked Stork

If the old tales we were told as kids are true, that storks brought the babies to the house, this ugly stork would not be the one you would want. The 60" Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer) has a dark back, white undersides bare red skin on head like a vulture. This is a juvie with the downy feathers on his neck

Marabou Stork

The unusual 35" African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) is all black and is named for the fact that when his bill is closed, there is a gap between mandibles in the middle. You will notice the curve in the lower mandible in the photo.

African Openbill

Next is the beautiful 40" Yellow-billed Stork (Mycteria ibis). It is white with some black on the wings, red face and legs, and a bright yellow bill.

Yellow-billed Stork

The last one is the most amazingly colored of all. The 60" male Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) is an easy ID once you see him. We only saw a pair of these storks once on the trip. The female is similar but duller.

Saddle-billed Stork - male

One of the nice things these reserves in South Africa provide is many bird blinds or as they call them 'hides'. The Saddle-billed Stork above was taken from one of them as well as this 40" Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea). I had seen him from afar in Hong Kong before.

Gray Heron

Likewise I got my best photo of a 17" Striated Heron (Butorides striata). I had photographed this one before in South America.

Striated Heron

The 20" Western Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) arrived in the New World from Africa in the 1930s and is very common now, but sitting in a blind and this one in full breeding plumage with his orange feathers above me. I just had to take his photo taken and is my best photo of this species.

Western Cattle Egret

I found 2 new species for lifers. The 36" Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala). It is similar to the Gray Heron above, but the back of the neck and top of head are black.

Black-headed Heron

The other new heron is the 17" Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides). It is a shy crouching beige heron.

Squacco Heron

I also saw the Black Heron, but he was too far away for a useful photo and I missed the one I really wanted to see, the huge 60" Goliath Heron.


Continued on Part 2