What is your favourite hen species?
Very troublesome to decide on among the many many. All birds are particular in their very own approach. If it comes to paint mixtures, all birds are stunning, vocalizing all birds have particular sounds.
What’s your identify, and the place do you reside?
My identify is Prossy Nanyombi. I used to be born and stay in Uganda. Particularly, I stay within the Mpigi district simply subsequent to Mpanga forest reserve the place I labored as a web site information from 2011-2019.
What are the primary areas or places you cowl as a hen information?
I cowl all of the birding spots inside Uganda. I’m a nationwide hen information registered with the Uganda Tourism Board.
How lengthy have you ever been a hen information?
I’ve been a hen information since 2013.
How did you get into hen guiding?
I studied tourism administration at college, and after faculty, I used to be posted in Mpanga forest for my internship as a part of the course in 2011. Mpanga eco-tourism web site the place vacationers might come for nature walks, hen watching and different actions was my workstation.
It wasn’t busy in any respect so I had loads of time to hold round doing quite a lot of nothing. That is after I determined to start out birds to admire their stunning colours, have enjoyable, and naturally to go the time. I might use the positioning’s hen ebook (Birds of East Africa) for reference and to study the names of the birds I might see. I had it as my every day routine, I ultimately beloved it and it grew to become a interest that I might do day by day.
In direction of the top of August 2011, Habert Byaruhanga got here to Mpanga forest with shoppers on his approach to Lake Mburo Nationwide Park and my supervisor launched me to him. He requested me about a number of calls from the forest and I knew all of them. He donated a pair of binoculars to me and provided to take me for a information coaching. As a consequence of the information coaching, my love and keenness for birds elevated. I continued training and touring to completely different areas till 2013 after I did my first tour as a hen information. The shoppers had been extraordinarily proud of my expertise in figuring out birds by ear and sight. Since then, I’ve led many journeys in Uganda in all birding hotspots, each inside and out of doors of protected areas.
What are the elements of being a hen information that you simply like finest? Which elements do you dislike most?
I like each facet as that is my ardour. I dislike the facet of habitat loss for our birds. Because of the growing inhabitants and urbanization, among the hen habitat is repeatedly misplaced. Unhappy!
What are the highest 5-10 birds in your area that you simply suppose are essentially the most attention-grabbing for visiting birders?
- Shoebill
- Inexperienced-breasted Pita
- Grauer’s Broadbill
- African Piculet
- Chocolate-backed Kingfisher
- Good-looking Francolin
- Dwarf Kingfisher
- Nahan’s Francolin
- Rwenzori Nightjar
- Nice-blue Turaco
Are you able to define a minimum of one typical birdwatching journey in your space? Please briefly describe the places, the important thing birds, and the approximate period of such a visit
A Uganda journey is versatile relying on the shopper’s curiosity and could be personalized to swimsuit their days and pursuits. A typical bird-watching journey can vary between 14-20 days or extra. It’s a loop to keep away from backtracking.
Beneath is an overview of a 20-day bird-watching and primate tour.
Day 0: Arrival
Day1: Mabamba swamp and Botanical gardens
Mabamba swamp is a community-managed swamp situated about 2 hours’ drive from Entebbe, and it’s residence to a number of pairs of Shoebill and different waterbirds.
Botanical Gardens is a leisure park situated in Entebbe with over 200 species of birds together with Bat Hawk and Orange Weaver.
Highlights: Shoebill, Malachite Kingfisher, Lesser Jacana, Purple Heron, Widespread Squacco Heron, Fan-tailed Widowbird, African Marsh Harrier and others.
Day 2: Birding to Lake Mburo NP
Lake Mburo Nationwide Park is Uganda’s smallest savanna park with an array of wildlife. It has the very best focus of mammals together with Impala, Zebra, Topi, Leopard, Giraffe, Eland, and plenty of others.
Day3: Birding Lake Mburo plus a ship journey
Highlights: African Finfoot, Crimson-faced Barbet, Lengthy-tailed Cisticola, Crested Barbet, White-backed Heron, Papyrus Gonolek, Carruthers’ Cisticola, Black-collared Barbet and others.
Day 4: Birding to Bwindi (Ruhija)
Bwindi Nationwide Park is a UNESCO web site of nice significance. It’s a habitat to endangered mountain gorillas and a lot of birds. The forest has 24 species of Albertine Rift endemics.
Day 5: Birding Ruhija in seek for Albertine Rift endemics
Highlights: Grauer’s Broadbill, Stripe-breasted Tit, Crimson-faced Woodland Warbler, Grauer’s Warbler, Stripe-breasted Tit, Rwenzori Batis, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Blue-headed Sunbird, Good-looking Francolin, amongst many others.
Day 6: Gorilla monitoring
Day 7: Birding by way of the neck
It is a stretch of forest that joins two sectors of Bwindi: Ruhija and Buhoma. It’s a very wealthy stretch with species like Black-faced Prinia, Black Bee-eater, Black Duck, Black-faced Rufous Warbler, Black-throated Apalis, Cassin’s Grey Flycatcher, Shelly’s Greenbul, and far more.
Day 8: Birding the primary path (Buhoma) Bwindi
Highlights: Crimson-throated Alethe, Neumann’s Warbler, Black-billed Turaco, African Broadbill, Pink-footed Puffback, Superb-banned Woodpecker, Grey-winged Robinchat, Equatorial Akalat and others
Day 9: Birding to QENP
Queen Elizabeth Nationwide Park is Uganda’s second largest conservation space with over 600 species of birds and 94 mammal species.
Day 10: QENP recreation drive and boat cruise
Highlights: Kazinga channel boat cruise with a excessive focus of wildlife coming the channel to drink. Temminick’s Courser, Collared Pratincole, Widespread Buttonquail, White-headed Vulture, Bateleur, and Banded Snake-eagle are among the highlights.
Day 11: Birding to Kibale and Bigodi swamp within the afternoon.
Kibale Nationwide Park is the primate capital of Uganda and the entire world. It has 13 completely different primate species in a single forest together with the chimpanzee. It’s additionally the house of Inexperienced-breasted Pitta
Day 12: Birding Kibale
Highlights: Inexperienced-breasted Pitta, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Yellow-browed Camaroptera, Blue-shouldered Robinchat, Crimson-tailed Ant-thrush, Velvet-mantled Drongo, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Furry-breasted Barbet, Narina Trogon and much extra.
Day 13: Chimpanzee monitoring and journey to Semuliki Nationwide Park.
This exercise begins at 8:00 am and it’s performed on foot escorted by a information and armed guards because the forest has some elephants. The exercise takes between two to extra hours. After lunch, journey to Semuliki Nationwide Park.
Day 14: Birding Semuliki Nationwide Park
Semiki Nationwide Park is present in western Uganda and borders the DRC. It shares the identical biome as Ituri forests in Congo therefore the identical species of wildlife.
Highlights: White-thighed Hornbill, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, Crimson-billed Dwarf Hornbill, African Piculet, White-Crested Hornbill, Hartlaub’s Duck, White-bellied Kingfisher, and others.
Day 15: Birding to Masindi for in a single day
That is primarily a journey day though we do usually cease for species like Black Bishop, White-winged Warbler, Singing Cisticola, Viellot’s Weaver, and African-blue Flycatcher alongside the way in which.
Day 16: Birding Royal Mile Budongo forest
Budongo Forest is a lowland central forest reserve. It has virtually the identical biome as Semuliki forest and therefore shares some species.
Highlights: African Dwarf Kingfisher, Chestnut-capped Flycatcher, Rufous-crowned Eremomera, White-spotted Flufftail, Grey-headed Olivebuck, Cabans’s Bunting, Ituri Batis, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, and others.
Day 17: Birding to MFNP by way of the highest of the falls.
Murchison Falls is Uganda’s largest conservation space with essentially the most highly effective waterfall in the entire world. At the present time’s highlights are Rock Pratincole and the falls itself.
Day 18: Birding MFNP and boat cruise to the underside of the falls.
Highlights: Large Kingfisher, Goliath Heron, African Skimmer, Crimson-winged Grey Warbler, Denharm’s Bustard, Hooded Vulture, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Black-headed Lapwing, Noticed Thicknee, Croaking Cisticola, Heugulin’s Francolin and plenty of others.
Mammals: Giraffe, Elephant, Kob, Oribi, Hippopotamus, Nile Crocodiles, amongst others.
Day 19: Birding to the delta and afternoon recreation drive
Spotlight on the delta is the Shoebill.
Day 20: Journey to Entebbe for departure.
What different solutions are you able to give to birders taken with your space?
Uganda is among the finest birding locations on the earth because it affords the very best focus of hen species per sq. kilometer with quite a lot of habitats in a small nation. Birding is appropriate all 12 months spherical as most of our species are residents. November is the least most well-liked as a result of it’s the month with the very best rainfall. Shoppers ought to deliver climbing boots, binoculars, mild garments, and a heat jacket.
If any reader of 10,000 Birds is taken with birding with you, how can they finest contact you?
They’ll contact me at:
1: E mail: prossybirder@gmail.com
2: WhatsApp: +256759723442
3: Fb: Prossy Nanyombi
Is there the rest you want to share with the readers of 10,000 Birds?
Uganda is a really pleasant nation with pleasant folks. This makes birding life gratifying. You possibly can hen wherever with an area information.
