Uganda Day 16 - Mabamba Swamp & travel to Mabira Forest

  Of all the birds in Uganda, there is one that stands out above the rest, the one that all visitors try to see; the Shoebill. Today was our chance to see this incredible bird, with our visit to Mabamba Swamp not far from Entebbe. We arrived at around 07.30 and were then taken out by a local guide and boatman. The swamp was fantastic to be in, with so many birds all around us and being so far from main roads that all the sounds that we could hear were all natural. The only downside was that the light was extremely dull and hazy, so not particularly good for photos.
  It did not take long for us to locate a Shoebill, an adult, but it was soon chased away by a juvenile that came in. We then spent the rest of our time with this juvenile which was very confiding, coming very close to our boat, just a few meters away. While most of the time the bird would just stand, occasionally slowly walking, on a couple of occasions we saw it strike at prey. The first time it caught a frog, and then it clearly missed, only catching a lily-pad. It was fantastic to see up close, and was without doubt one of, if not the best bird, on the trip.
  There were also many other species in the swamp that we enjoyed. There were a few waders; Wood Sandpiper being the most common, but perhaps the most enjoyable was a group of at least nine Little Stint. Using Playback we managed to see a Greater Swamp Warbler although it would not pose for photos. Once we finished the trip we were able to enjoy some very confiding birds in the tree adjacent to where we parked the car, including Weyn’s, Spectacled and Slender-billed Weavers plus a fantastic Diederik Cuckoo which was bashing a caterpillar right next to us. Also on the trip we had a few encounters with Spotted-necked Otter, which were fishing in the swamp, occasionally showing well.
  In the afternoon we drove to our final destination not far from Kampala, Mabira Forest. A journey of a couple of hours took the rest of the day due to traffic and poor road conditions, only for us to find that once we arrived the forest was very quiet with very little to report. A brief Jameson’s Wattle-eye was about the best we could manage.

-Shoebill

-Yellow-billed Duck

-Wood Sandpiper

-Blue-headed Coucal

-Long-toed Lapwing

-Spotted-necked Otter

-Skylight Flutterer

-Weyn's Weaver

-Slender-billed Weaver

-Spectacled Weaver

-Black-crowned Waxbill

-Red-billed Firefinch

-Diederik Cuckoo

-Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird

Species List:
Mabamba Swamp: White-faced Whistling Duck, Yellow-billed Duck, Red-eyed Dove, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Diederik Cuckoo, Black Crake, Long-toed Lapwing, Common Ringed Plover, African Jacana, Little Stint, Common Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Grey-headed Gull, Reed Cormorant, Shoebill, Hamerkop, Purple Heron, Little Egret, Western Cattle Egret, Squacco Heron, Hadada Ibis, Western Osprey, Black-winged Kite, Palm-nut Vulture, African Marsh Harrier, Yellow-billed Kite, Speckled Mousebird, Crowned Hornbill, Malachite Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Broad-billed Roller, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Grey Parrot, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Winding Cisticola, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Greater Swamp Warbler, Barn Swallow, Dark-capped Bulbul, Green White-eye, Swamp Flycatcher, Red-chested Sunbird, Slender-billed Weaver, Spectacled Weaver, Vieillot's Black Weaver, Village Weaver, Weyns's Weaver, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Thick-billed Weaver, Black-crowned Waxbill, Red-billed Firefinch, Western Yellow Wagtail, Boehm's Bush Squirrel, Spotted-necked Otter, 
Mabira Forest: Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill, Jameson's Wattle-eye, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, Red-tailed Greenbul, Dark-capped Bulbul, Fraser's Rufous Thrush, African Thrush, Mantled Guereza,