What is your favourite fowl species?
Very troublesome to decide on among the many many. All birds are particular in their very own manner. If it comes to paint combos, all birds are lovely, vocalizing all birds have particular sounds.
What’s your title, and the place do you reside?
My title is Prossy Nanyombi. I used to be born and reside in Uganda. Particularly, I reside within the Mpigi district simply subsequent to Mpanga forest reserve the place I labored as a website information from 2011-2019.
What are the primary areas or places you cowl as a fowl information?
I cowl all of the birding spots inside Uganda. I’m a nationwide fowl information registered with the Uganda Tourism Board.
How lengthy have you ever been a fowl information?
I’ve been a fowl information since 2013.
How did you get into fowl guiding?
I studied tourism administration at college, and after college, I used to be posted in Mpanga forest for my internship as a part of the course in 2011. Mpanga eco-tourism website the place vacationers may come for nature walks, fowl watching and different actions was my workstation.
It wasn’t busy in any respect so I had loads of time to hold round doing loads of nothing. That is after I determined to start out taking a look at birds to admire their lovely colours, have enjoyable, and naturally to cross the time. I may use the positioning’s fowl guide (Birds of East Africa) for reference and to study the names of the birds I may see. I had it as my each day routine, I ultimately cherished it and it turned a pastime that I may do day-after-day.
In direction of the top of August 2011, Habert Byaruhanga got here to Mpanga forest with purchasers on his method 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 supplied to take me for a information coaching. As a consequence of the information coaching, my love and fervour for birds elevated. I continued practising and touring to completely different areas till 2013 after I did my first tour as a fowl information. The purchasers had been extraordinarily pleased with 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 features of being a fowl information that you just like finest? Which features do you dislike most?
I like each side as that is my ardour. I dislike the side of habitat loss for our birds. Because of the rising inhabitants and urbanization, among the fowl habitat is repeatedly misplaced. Unhappy!
What are the highest 5-10 birds in your area that you just suppose are probably the most fascinating 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 not less than one typical birdwatching journey in your space? Please briefly describe the places, the important thing birds, and the approximate length of such a visit
A Uganda journey is versatile relying on the consumer’s curiosity and could be custom-made 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.
Under 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 positioned 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 positioned 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 best focus of mammals together with Impala, Zebra, Topi, Leopard, Giraffe, Eland, and lots of others.
Day3: Birding Lake Mburo plus a ship journey
Highlights: African Finfoot, Purple-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 website 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, Purple-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 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 way more.
Day 8: Birding the primary path (Buhoma) Bwindi
Highlights: Purple-throated Alethe, Neumann’s Warbler, Black-billed Turaco, African Broadbill, Pink-footed Puffback, Tremendous-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, Purple-tailed Ant-thrush, Velvet-mantled Drongo, Chestnut Wattle-eye, Bushy-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 achieved 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, Purple-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 best way.
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 through the highest of the falls.
Murchison Falls is Uganda’s largest conservation space with probably 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, Purple-winged Grey Warbler, Denharm’s Bustard, Hooded Vulture, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Black-headed Lapwing, Noticed Thicknee, Croaking Cisticola, Heugulin’s Francolin and lots 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 recommendations are you able to give to birders fascinated about your space?
Uganda is likely one of the finest birding locations on the earth because it gives the best focus of fowl species per sq. kilometer with a wide range 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 popular as a result of it’s the month with the best rainfall. Shoppers ought to convey mountain climbing boots, binoculars, gentle garments, and a heat jacket.
If any reader of 10,000 Birds is fascinated about birding with you, how can they finest contact you?
They’ll contact me at:
1: Electronic mail: prossybirder@gmail.com
2: WhatsApp: +256759723442
3: Fb: Prossy Nanyombi
Is there anything you want to share with the readers of 10,000 Birds?
Uganda is a really pleasant nation with pleasant individuals. This makes birding life gratifying. You possibly can fowl anyplace with a neighborhood information.