See several posts about the trip in February 2012
I have just returned from another ringing based visit with Malcolm Wilson of African Affinity.
Team members also included Graeme Dunlop, Natasha Stonestreet from the Cuckmere Haven RG, along with their birding guest Roly Hayes, and our local guide and trainee ringer Ambrose. One objective of this trip was to introduce ringing and some training of local staff, and we also birded along the Nile to help assess wildlife guides.
A visit during "our northern winter" gives us the opportunities to see our summer migrants on their wintering grounds. Below a Barn Swallow in moult, a stage we don't see in the UK.
Reed Warblers too - more photos in a following post. - as there will be on most subjects that follow.
On these trips we have the opportunity to use different catching methods. In Africa we use bal chatri traps to catch raptors, here a Western Banded Snake-Eagle being photographed as part of wing moult and ageing study.
On arrival we stayed as is customary at Kathy's magic garden in Kampala, a chance to acclimatise and a first introduction to African bird families. Here a Black-headed Gonolek one of the vocal garden birds.
A male Olive-bellied Sunbird, one of 14 Sunbird species that visit the garden
Coucals are related to Cuckoos and they are nice large birds for ringers new to Africa. You are more likely to handle larger birds in Africa than at home in general site ringing. These are White-browed Coucals.
We moved on from Kathy's after two days to one of our major study sites - Budongo Forest.
As well as continuing to monitor species here we had three days of introduction and in some cases developing existing training with staff of the Uganda Wildlife Authority, Nature Uganda and a few students eg Judith Mirembe who is doing her PhD studying aspects of Shoebill biology.
The Budongo team .....
At Kaniyo Pabidi we had the chance to study Puvel's Illiadopsis at it's only known site in Uganda
This is a west / central African species and is one several species whose distribution enter east Africa only in this region of Uganda.
Interested discussion and learning with these two species, the lower bird is a Red-tailed Ant-thrush, the upper bird Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush.
Very similar plumages in these individuals and much discussion in separation of the species in hand, including the value of measuring the tarsus width.
Moving north...
The mighty Murchison Falls...and Rock Pratincoles.
On our afternoon travels we did take the opportunity to ring some Red-throated Bee-eaters at one of several roadside colonies
Here Lilian from Nature Uganda processing a Red-throated Bee-eater.
Our next site was again a return visit for me to Nile Safari Lodge. Here we were joined with guides and staff mainly from Wild Frontiers, to watch us ring over the three days and for Malcolm to assess their guiding from boats on the Nile.
A taste of birds here - again more to follow....
Brown-throated Wattleye, named after the plumage of the female as the plumage of the males in these related species are too similar.
I plan to post more photos and further discussion soon.
Nice set of pics and a good start to the trip report.............looking forward to the next installment
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