More BOPs

A couple of days ago we had a considerably higher volume of avian migrants passing over than is usual (yesterday, by comparison, the flow was down to nearly zero, as far as I could tell). There were a lot of European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster), some barn swallows (Hirundo rustica), and European swifts (Apus apus), among others.

But the feature attraction, for me, was the varied collection of birds of prey that came through. There had been some thunderstorms in the area, and there were also flights of breeding termites ascending, so conditions were especially conducive for any migrants in the neighborhood to steer a course through our neck of the woods.

* A number of common (steppe) buzzards (Buteo buteo)
* Several shikras (little banded goshawk -- Accipiter badius) -- not migrants, but out chasing the winged termites
* Several falcons, including a few European hobbies (F. subbuteo) and some possible lesser kestrels (F. naumanni)
* Two light-colored harriers that looked more like male Montagu's harriers (Circus pygargus) than anything else; they were certainly either Montagu's or pallid harriers (Circus macrourus)

We also had plenty of African black kites (Milvus migrans) around, as well as lizard buzzards (Kaupifalco monogrammicus) and a hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus) or two.

B.O.P.s

When we were growing up in Malawi and embarking on what has turned into decades of birding all over the planet, my brother and I started using our own shorthand term for birds of prey: "Bops." I've had a couple of interesting sightings in this spectacular avian category in the past couple of days.

A few days back a large falcon passed by, too quickly for positive ID, but odds are that it was a lanner (F. biarmicus).

Yesterday we had a couple of migrating common (steppe) buzzards (Buteo buteo) overhead.

And this morning while we were at breakfast, the distinctive display call of the male African goshawk came in through the window from obviously close quarters. We dashed over to have a look, and sure enough, there he was, perched in bright sunlight only 20 meters or so from us on a branch of one of our musizi trees (Maesops emini). I grabbed binoculars and had an excellent look at him before he departed his post under pressure from some pied crows (Corvus albus) that were harrassing him.

Morning bishops and sunbirds

A short morning walk in the immediate vicinity of our house yielded some superb encounters with the local avifauna, especially in the sunbirds and bishops departments.

Sunbirds I came across included olive-bellied (Nectarinia chloropygia), scarlet-chested (Nectarinia senegalensis), bronze (Nectarinia kilimensis), marico (Nectarinia mariquensis) and little purple-banded (Nectarinia bifasciata). Had particularly fine views of male bronze and marico sunbirds working their way up Leonotis stems as they breakfasted on nectar from the tubular orange flowers. Marico and little purple-banded can be difficult to distinguish from each other, and I have seldom if ever before seen both species on one outing.

Our principal bishop species here in town is the black bishop (Euplectes gierowii), and during breeding season it's not unusual to come across a male decked out in regal red, yellow and black, displaying in an area with long grass and shrubs. This morning I was surprised to see at least four and possibly six different males in full nuptial splendor, all in a fairly small area. I also noticed at female or two and some juveniles, evidence of some reproductive success this season.

Other highlights:

* Wire-tailed swallow (Hirundo smithii) collecting mud from a puddle margin for nest-building
* African green pigeon (Treron calva), a pair in a musasa (Sapium ellipticum) tree, one of them on a nest
* In the canary category, both African citril (Serinus citrinelloides) and yellow-fronted canary (Serinus mozambicus)
* Shrikes: brown-crowned tchagra (Tchagra australis) -- am used to encountering them outside of town, but this was the first instance for me in our neighborhood) -- and northern puffback (Dryoscopus gambensis)
* Red-faced cisticola (Cisticola erythrops)
* African blue flycatcher (Elminia longicauda)
* The African black kites (Milvus migrans) are back in force after their seasonal absence, and I also saw some of the first bronze-tailed starlings (Lamprotornis chalcurus) back in this area from their annual intra-Africa migration. If the bronze-tails return to roosting in the Markhamia and adjoining trees on the north side of our house as they did last year, our evenings and early mornings are about to become noticeably noisier!

Wetland outings

The past couple of Monday mornings some of us have visited a wetland area just 30 minutes' drive west from Mbale, on the southern border of Budaka district. There is a good bit of papyrus, other reed/grass species, some rice cultivation, and patches of open water with a couple of varieties of lily pads and other types of vegetation that thrive on the surface of the water. Here are some of the birds that we observed on these outings:

* Storks: Openbill, Yellow-billed

* Herons: Purple, Cattle egret, Great white egret, Yellow-billed egret, Hamerkop, Rufous-bellied, Squacco, Little bittern, Grey, Black-headed

* Hadada ibis
* Grey crowned crane

* Black-shouldered kite

* Waders: Black crake, Long-toed lapwings (plovers), Greenshank, African jacana

* Ducks, geese: Spurwing, White-faced whistling duck

* Kingfishers: African pied, Woodland, Malachite

* Swallows: Barn, Wire-tailed

* Doves: African mourning, Blue-spotted wood, Red-eyed

* Blue-headed coucal

* Warblers: Winding cisticola, Greater swamp warbler

* Swamp flycatcher

* Shrikes: Papyrus gonolek (many great views of these fellows, who are not found away from papyrus), Marsh tchagra

* Sunbirds: Red-chested, Copper

* Bronze-tailed starling
* Weavers: Northern brown-throated, Vieillot's black, Slender-billed, Yellow-backed, Black-headed

* Waxbills, etc.: Zebra waxbill (one of the most gorgeous in the family! -- watched them nest-building in the papyrus), Red-cheeked cordon-bleu, Common waxbill, Bronze mannikin

* Fan-tailed widow

In other news, European and Blue-cheeked bee-eaters are regular overhead these days in their southward migration. And we're beginning to have a few African black kites in the neighborhood again, and the small group of Bronze-tailed starlings that we saw while birding in the swamp today are the first I've seen in the area in a while.

Saddle-bill storks, Entebbe

I photographed this pair of saddle-bill storks in the shallows of Lake Victoria at Entebbe last week. They moved slowly away from us as we approached, but were not overly alarmed until someone's pet retriever decided to give chase. At this the enormous birds reluctantly started quick-marching through the water and finally took to flight with the dog in hot pursuit.

Overheard

Around dawn a few days back I heard a African wood owl (Strix woodfordii) call, the first I've heard in many months. Two days ago I heard but did not see my first European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) of the season coming through on their southward passage from Europe. Yesterday we had grey crowned cranes (Balearica regulorum) calling in the distance (and it's been a couple of months since I have seen or heard these in Mbale). This morning I heard them again and was thrilled to see three of them fly almost directly over our house.

In other news...I came across the spectacular Levaillant's cuckoo (Oxylophus levaillantii) while walking in another part of our neighborhood the other day. We continue to hear, and occasionally see, western black-headed orioles. Still only the occasional African black kite (Milvus migrans) and no bronze-tailed starlings (Lamprotornis chalcurus) for a while; these are two of our intra-Africa or regional migrants and I'm still trying to work out exactly what are the normal limits of their seasonal presence with us.

Jonathan and I did a little birding last Monday morning in a narrow band of mixed-acacia woodland at the edge of a wetland just west of Mbale town. We had the pleasure of seeing, among others, African spoonbill (Platalea alba), white-faced whistling duck (Dendrocygna viduata) quite a number of red-headed lovebirds (Agapornis pullarius), white-throated and little bee-eaters (Merops albicollis and pusillus), marsh tchagra (Tchagra minuta), fan-tailed widowbird (Euplectes axillaris), and pin-tailed whydah (Vidua macroura).

Mburo, Mbarara, Entebbe highlights

A couple of weekends ago Nathanael and I made our way west from Mbale to Lake Mburo National Park, and then on to Mbarara town and back to Mbale with an overnight stop in Entebbe. Mburo is less welll-known (and less frequented) than the "major" wildlife sanctuaries in Uganda -- Queen Elizabeth, Murchison, and Kidepo -- but it has a number of distinctions, such as being the only protected area in Uganda that contains one or more lakes in their entirety.

We enjoyed excellent views of most of the park's main animal species, including zebra, impala, buffalo, oribi, defassa waterbuck, bushbuck, eland, topi, warthog, hippo, crocodile, and three species of mongoose.

Of course the birds were a treat, and herewith some highlights:

* Common squacco heron (Ardeola ralloides)

* Rufous-bellied heron (Ardeola rufiventris)

* Black-crowned night-heron (Nycticorax nyticorax)

* White-backed night-heron (Gorsachius leuconotos) -- These are secretive and seldom seen, even where they are resident, and my first sighting of them (a pair, alongside a couple of black-crowned night-herons).
* Saddle-billed stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) -- a pair in the shallows of Lake Victoria at Entebbe; eventually they were put to flight by someone's retriever that had great fun splashing after them for a hundred meters or so
* Glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) -- Entebbe

* African finfoot (Podica senegalensis) -- In some ways this uncommon bird with bright red beak and feet is the most noteworthy member on our trip list, and especially so for me since I'd not seen them before. They require an aquatic habitat with overhanging vegetation, which makes them hard to see even where they do occur. I had hoped to see even one, and we were blessed to see several on two different days there.

* Long-toed lapwing (Vanellus crassirostris)

* African wattled lapwing (Vanellus senegallus)

* Yellow-billed stork (Mycteria ibis)

* Wooly-necked stork (Ciconia episcopus)

* Glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellis) -- Entebbe

* Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus)

* Spur-winged goose (Plectropterus gambensis)

* African fish eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer)

* African white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus), Ruepell's Griffon Vulture (Gyps rueppellii), Lappet-faced vulture (Torgos tracheliotus) -- We came across a mixed multitude of these scavengers, along with a tawny eagle (Aquila rapax) and a marabou (Leptoptilos crumeniferus), giving ravenous attention to a zebra carcass.

* Brown snake eagle (Circaetus cinereus) -- Saw three of these, one of them on a nest

* African marsh harrier (Circus ranivorus)

* Gabar goshawk (Micronisus gabar) -- an adult and immature at Entebbe

* African harrier hawk (Polyboroides typus) -- Mbarara

* Wahlberg's eagle (Aquila wahlbergi)

* Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus)

* Long-crested eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis)

* Black-shouldered kite (Elanus caeruleus)

* Grey Kestrel (Falco ardosiaceus) -- Entebbe

* Helmeted guineafowl (Numida meleagris)

* Crested francolin (Francolinus sephaena)

* Red-necked spurfowl (Francolinus afer)

* Black crake (Amaurornis flavirostris)

* African jacana (Actophilornis africanus)

* Grey crowned crane (Balearica regulorum)

* Black-bellied bustard (Eupodotis melanogaster)

* Water thick-knee (Burhinus vermiculatus)

* Emerald-spotted wood-dove (Turtur chalcospilos)

* Red-headed lovebird (Agapornis pullarius)

* Ross's turaco (Musophaga rossae)

* Bare-faced go-away-bird (Corythaixoides personata)

* White-rumped swift (Apus caffer)

* Blue-naped mousebird (Urocolius macrourus)

* Giant kingfisher (Megaceryle maxima)

* Malachite kingfisher (Alcedo cristata), African pygmy kingfisher (Ispidina picta) -- Unusually, saw both of these species on the same bit of lakeshore. Malachite is always tied closely to water, but the pygmy has no necessary connection to it.

* Little bee-eater (Merops pusillus)

* Madagascar bee-eater (Merops superciliosus) -- Entebbe

* Lilac-breasted roller (Coracias caudata)

* Green wood-hoopoe (Phoeniculus purpureus)

* African grey hornbill (Tockus nasutus)

* Crowned hornbill (Tockus alboterminatus)

* Spot-flanked barbet (Tricholaema lachrymosa)

* Red-faced barbet (Lybius rubrifacies) -- A bird of very limited distribution (one of the "East African endemics"), this attractive barbet is perhaps even more sought-after by birders than the finfoot. We had a splendid view of one bird, another first for me.

* Double-toothed barbet (Lybius bidentatus) -- Mbarara, Entebbe

* Mosque swallow (Hirundo senegalensis)

* Yellow-throated longclaw (Macronyx croceus)

* Sooty chat (Myrmecocichla nigra)

* Trilling cisticola (Cisticola woosnami)

* Grey-capped warbler (Eminia lepida)

* Yellow-breasted apalis (Apalis flavida)

* Chin-spot batis (Batis molitor)

* Brown-throated wattle-eye (Platysteira cyanea)

* African paradise-flycatcher (Terpsiphone viridis)

* Black-lored babbler (Turdoides sharpei)

* White-winged tit (Parus leucomelas)

* Grey-backed fiscal (Lanius excubitoroides)

* Fork-tailed drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis)

* Yellow-billed oxpecker (Buphagus africanus)

* Holub's golden weaver (Ploceus xanthops)

* Yellow-backed weaver (Ploceus melanocephalus) -- Entebbe

* African golden-breasted bunting (Emberiza flaviventris)