Uganda Day 5 - Queen Elizabeth NP

  Went spent a final night at Semuliki before travelling to Queen Elizabeth National Park for a few days. Because we left early morning, we were able make a few stops along the way where we caught up with a handful of species in the dry scrub that we passed through, such as Brown-backed Bush-Robin and Scarlet-chested Sunbird, as well as Ross Turaco and Piapiac further along our journey.
  Queen Elizabeth National Park is not forest but savanna, our first visit to this habitat on this trip. In addition to some excellent birdlife, there is also a number of typical large mammals found in the park and we were hopeful of finding some during our time here. We arrived mid-morning and made our way to the main offices. Along the way we found some incredible birds, notably Amur Falcon, African Crake and Common Buttonquail. Mammals were also in abundance with African Savanna Elephant being the obvious standout.
  We timed our arrival nicely with the departure of the river cruise offered by the park and this offered a unique opportunity for birding that we could not afford to miss. The cruise provided fantastic views of lots of mammals; African Buffalo, Eastern Warthog and Giant Forest Hog, as well as an abundance of birdlife. The waders especially were fantastic, with Marsh Sandpiper and Ruddy Turnstone being the standouts. Towards the end of the cruise we also reached a large expanse of open beach where a number of birds were roosting. White-breasted Cormorant, Gull-billed Tern and Grey-headed Gull were nice but the obvious highlight was a large flock of Pink-backed Pelicans. Having only limited encounters with pelicans during my birding life, it was fantastic to enjoy them like this.

  After the Boat Trip we headed to the Kasenyi Plains section of the park where most of the large animals were supposed to be. We arrived during early evening, limiting our time there but adjacent to the gate was a huge area of recently burned savanna and here there were huge numbers of Waterbuck and especially Ugandan Kob. Among the Antelope we found Temminck’s Courser, Senegal Lapwing and a really impressive wintering flock of Caspian Plover, which was at least a couple of hundred birds strong. As we continued round the track we eventually reached a watering hole and here we found our first Northern Lions of the trip. In the car we were able to get quite close, before they were chased off by an approaching herd of Elephants, closing out an utterly fantastic day.

-Brown-backed Bush-Robin

-Grey-backed Fiscal

-Yellow-throated Longclaw

-Whinchat

-Sooty Chat

-African Savanna Elephant

-African Buffalo

-Hippopotamus

-Giant Forest Hog

-Eastern Warthog

-Nile Crocodile

-Marabou Stork

-Pink-backed Pelican

-Goliath Heron

-White-backed Vulture

-Ugandan Kob

-Eastern Warthog

-African Wattled Lapwing

-Senegal Lapwing

-Temminck's Courser

-Caspian Plover

-African Pipit

-Crowned Lapwing

-Kittlitz's Plover

-Water Thick-Knee

-Verreaux's Eagle-Owl

-African Savanna Elephant

-Northern Lion

Species List:
Travelling: Red-eyed Dove, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Ross Turaco, Long-crested Eagle, Speckled Mousebird, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Lesser Striped Swallow, White-headed Saw-wing, Dark-capped Bulbul, Brown-backed Scrub Robin, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Piapiac, House Sparrow, Northern Grey-headed Sparrow, Black-crowned Waxbill, Black Bishop,
Queen Elizabeth NP – Northern Sector: Red-necked Spurfowl, White-browed Coucal, Klaas's Cuckoo, Alpine Swift, African Crake, Common Buttonquail, Hooded Vulture, White-backed Vulture, Bateleur, Beaudouin's Snake Eagle, Long-crested Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Yellow-billed Kite, Steppe Buzzard, Crowned Hornbill, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Amur Falcon, Black-crowned Tchagra, Fork-tailed Drongo, Grey-backed Fiscal, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Dark-capped Bulbul, Ruppell's Starling, Brown-backed Scrub Robin, Whinchat, Sooty Chat, Red-chested Sunbird, Pin-tailed Whydah, Western Yellow Wagtail, Plain-backed Pipit, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Brimstone Canary, Golden-breasted Bunting, Defassa Waterbuck, Ugandan Kob, African Savanna Elephant, African Buffalo,
Queen Elizabeth NP – Kazinga Boat Trip: Egyptian Goose, Mourning Collared Dove, Ring-necked Dove, Laughing Dove, Black Crake, Water Thick-knee, Black-winged Stilt, Spur-winged Lapwing, African Wattled Lapwing, Kittlitz's Plover, Common Ringed Plover, African Jacana, Ruddy Turnstone, Little Stint, Common Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper, Grey-headed Gull, Gull-billed Tern, White-winged Tern, African Skimmer, Marabou Stork, Yellow-billed Stork, Reed Cormorant, White-breasted Cormorant, Pink-backed Pelican, Hamerkop, Grey Heron, Goliath Heron, Great Egret, Little Egret, Western Cattle Egret, Squacco Heron, African Sacred Ibis, Hadada Ibis, Bateleur, Yellow-billed Kite, African Fish Eagle, Blue-naped Mousebird, Malachite Kingfisher, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Red-throated Bee-eater, White-throated Bee-eater, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Barn Swallow, Dark-capped Bulbul, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Ruppell's Starling, Swamp Flycatcher, Baglafecht Weaver, Black-headed Weaver, Common Waxbill, Red-billed Firefinch, Western Yellow Wagtail, African Pied Wagtail, Hippopotamus, African Savanna Elephant, Eastern Warthog, Giant Forest Hog, African Buffalo, Tantalus Monkey, Nile Crocodile, Nile Monitor,
Queen Elizabeth NP – Kasenyi Plains: Red-necked Spurfowl, Mourning Collared Dove, Ring-necked Dove, Laughing Dove, Klaas's Cuckoo, Water Thick-knee, Black-winged Stilt, Spur-winged Lapwing, Senegal Lapwing, Crowned Lapwing, African Wattled Lapwing, Caspian Plover, Kittlitz's Plover, Little Stint, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Temminck's Courser, Collared Pratincole, Grey Heron, Western Cattle Egret, White-backed Vulture, Bateleur, Beaudouin's Snake Eagle, Long-crested Eagle, Pallid Harrier, Steppe Buzzard, Verreaux's Eagle-Owl, Speckled Mousebird, Black-headed Gonolek, Pied Crow, Rufous-naped Lark, Red-capped Lark, Zitting Cisticola, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Dark-capped Bulbul, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Northern Black Flycatcher, Whinchat, Pin-tailed Whydah, Western Yellow Wagtail, African Pipit, Plain-backed Pipit, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Yellow-fronted Canary, Northern Lion, African Savanna Elephant, African Buffalo, Eastern Warthog, Ugandan Kob, Defassa Waterbuck,