Uganda Day 6 - Queen Elizabeth NP & travel to Buhoma

  We had to end the day at Bwindi National Park to the south of Queen Elizabeth, and since we did not know about the conditions of the road we decided to only spend a few hours in Queen before we made a move. We were on the Kasenyi Plains just after first light in the hope that some more unusual mammals might have made it to the road. However, we were not prepared for what we actually found, an Eastern Serval crossing the road right in front of us. This rare and elusive cat is rarely seen so to have one on only my second day in safari is really incredible.
  The bird composition was similar to the previous evening, although a family part of Common Buttonquail was much appreciated, as were the other mammals although we did find a Lioness with two cubs sitting calmly besides the watering hole, another rare encounter for our excellent mornings birding. After a few hours on the plains we made a quick stop at the bridge over the Kazinga Channel where we hoped to find Papyrus Gonolek. We were lucky and had a pair showing very nicely.
  We then set off todays Bwindi via the Ishasha road through Queen Elizabeth NP. The road was truly awful and our progress here was extremely slow and frustrating. There were a few birds that we were able to find on the way such as Fawn-breasted Waxbill and Moustached Grass Warbler, but every stop felt like a privilege that we could not afford if we wanted any time to bird the Ishasha section of the park before we departed to Bwindi in order to make sure that we were not travelling in the dark.   Despite the road conditions, after a good few hours drive we finally arrived at Ishasha mid-afternoon just in time for the birding to have ground to a halt as a result of the heat. Despite this we still had a few good species, notably brilliant views of an African Crake on the road in front of us. On the mammal front we had a new antelope with Topi, but the real highlight was when we found a group of the well known Ishasha tree-climbing Northern Lions, which were indeed in a tree sleeping.
  After just an hour we had to move on again, but the road was not as awful as we had anticipated and as such we made good time, allowing for a little birding at our lodge in Buhoma, next to the Bwindi Forest NP. There was a very showy pair of Verreaux’s Eagle Owl right at the lodge, and in the evening our first Grey-crowned Cranes came in to roost.

-Eastern Serval

-Northern Lion

-Defassa Waterbuck

-African Savanna Elephant

-Black-bellied Bustard

-Red-necked Spurfowl

-Common Buttonquail

-Little Bee-eater

-Southern Red Bishop

-Papyrus Gonolek

-Double-toothed Barbet

-Lesser Spotted Eagle

-Butterflies

-Hammerkop

-African Fish Eagle

-Fawn-breasted Waxbill

-Topi

-Croaking Cisticola

-African Crake

-Northern Lion

-Verreaux's Eagle-Owl

-Grey-winged Robin-Chat

Species List:
Queen Elizabeth NP – Kasenyi Plains: Egyptian Goose, Red-necked Spurfowl, Ring-necked Dove, Laughing Dove, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Black-bellied Bustard, White-browed Coucal, Water Thick-knee, Black-winged Stilt, Spur-winged Lapwing, Senegal Lapwing, Crowned Lapwing, African Wattled Lapwing, Caspian Plover, Kittlitz's Plover, Three-banded Plover, Little Stint, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Buttonquail, Collared Pratincole, Hamerkop, Western Cattle Egret, Black-winged Kite, Long-crested Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Yellow-billed Kite, Speckled Mousebird, Little Bee-eater, Grey Kestrel, Grey-backed Fiscal, Rufous-naped Lark, Zitting Cisticola, Sand Martin, Banded Martin, Barn Swallow, Red-breasted Swallow, Dark-capped Bulbul, Black-lored Babbler, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Northern Black Flycatcher, White-browed Robin-Chat, Whinchat, Black-headed Weaver, Red-billed Quelea, Southern Red Bishop, Red-billed Firefinch, Pin-tailed Whydah, House Sparrow, Western Yellow Wagtail, African Pipit, Yellow-throated Longclaw, African Savanna Hare, Eastern Serval, Northern Lion, African Savanna Elephant, African Buffalo, Eastern Warthog, Uganda Kob, Defassa Waterbuck,

Queen Elizabeth NP – Ishasha Road: White-faced Whistling Duck, Egyptian Goose, Red-necked Spurfowl, Little Grebe, Ring-necked Dove, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, White-browed Coucal, Black Crake, Long-toed Lapwing, African Jacana, Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Hammerkop, African Fish Eagle, Black-winged Kite, Bateleur, Lesser Spotted Eagle, Steppe Buzzard, Speckled Mousebird, Blue-naped Mousebird, Giant Kingfisher, Spot-flanked Barbet, Double-toothed Barbet, Black-headed Gonolek, Fork-tailed Drongo, Trilling Cisticola, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Barn Swallow, Lesser Striped Swallow, Dark-capped Bulbul, Ruppell's Starling, Northern Black Flycatcher, Whinchat, Moustached Grass Warbler, Pin-tailed Whydah, Northern Grey-headed Sparrow, Western Yellow Wagtail, Fawn-breasted Waxbill,
Queen Elizabeth NP – Ishasha: Red-necked Spurfowl, Laughing Dove, African Crake, White-backed Vulture, Ruppell's Vulture, Speckled Mousebird, Grey-backed Fiscal, Rufous-naped Lark, Trilling Cisticola, Croaking Cisticola, Sedge Warbler, Barn Swallow, Dark-capped Bulbul, Ruppell's Starling, Whinchat, Sooty Chat, Red-billed Firefinch, Northern Grey-headed Sparrow, Western Yellow Wagtail, Plain-backed Pipit, Yellow-throated Longclaw, Northern Lion, African Buffalo, Eastern Warthog, Uganda Kob, Topi,
Buhoma Community Hospital Lodge: Ross's Turaco, Grey Crowned Crane, Verreaux's Eagle-Owl, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, Little Greenbul, Grey-winged Robin-Chat,