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| Shoebill |
safari - n
- an
overland journey or hunting expedition, especially in Africa
- any
recreational journey or expedition
- the
people, animals, etc, that go on the expedition
Origin? C19th: from Swahili: journey, from Arabic safarīya, from safara to
travel
Today our safari began: leaving Entebbe via boats enroute to Madamba Swamp. Here we traded down to smaller vessels which were steered, pushed, poled, pulled, heaved through smaller and smaller waterways and, indeed, where there was little water as we searched for our first target species: the Shoebill.
Very happy to say that we were ultimately successful in our venture! Thanks to the incredible efforts of our boatman, who, on our behalf, would not give up.
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| poor shots of Spot throated Otters - seen from our boat before departing Entebbe |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Pied Kingfisher |
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| Black Crake |
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| African Jacana |
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| Little Egret |
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| Dragonfly sp? |
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| Malachite Kingfisher |
The exit from the waters was also dramatic. An equatorial storm descending. A brief excited view of a rare swamp antelope named the Sitatunga. [The boatman were yelling Sitatunga as the antelope bounded above the eye line out of the swamp but most were blissfully unaware that Sitatunga was an animal and thought they were yelling about the darkening clouds....]
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| a bothering of boats |
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| Drew Matthews celebrating birding success |
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| Storm is a coming.... |
We reached the shore. Toileted. Piled in our Toyotas and the heavens opened! We needed to do our first four wheeling to round a fallen tree that had blocked the road. Easy!
In between times we crossed the equator.
Next stop? A one night stay at a lodge near Lake M'Buro National Park.
MADAMBA SWAMP:
Mabamba is an extensive marsh stretching through a long
narrow bay, fringed with papyrus Cyperus papyrus towards the main
body of Lake Victoria. Miscanthus and Cyperus species
dominate, but there is a narrow open water channel and a small patch of
water-lilies Nymphaea. There are also areas of sedge Cladium,
and sometimes drifting papyrus swamp islands. The Bay forms part of Waiya Bay,
south-west of Nakiwogo Bay; these are all to the west of Entebbe International
Airport. This IBA is one of the best marshy areas along the northern shores of
Lake Victoria.
There has been no detailed inventory of the bay
and its associated swamps, but one has now begun. However, a recent study of
waterbirds of Lake Victoria revealed the presence of several species of
conservation interest. This is the closest place to Kampala
where Balaeniceps rex are regularly seen. The surrounding communities
have reported breeding, and the young are sometimes collected by local people
to be raised and eventually sold. This has not been very successful because of
the specialized feeding habits of the birds, and as they grow they become
expensive to feed. Balaeniceps rex feeds primarily on
lungfish Protopterus aethiopicus, which is also prized by the local
community. Balaeniceps rex is regularly recorded in pairs and threes
in the marsh at Nakiwogo, c.2 km north-east of Mabamba Bay.
Ken Cross
All pictures Ken Cross
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