Nkima Forest Lodge - Uganda

We spent two nights at Nkima Forest Lodge located on 40 acres of forest on Nansubuga hill which overlooks the Mabamba Swamp. The proprietor, Elaine, arranged for our shoebill excursion on the Mabamba Swamp the day before, and also arranged for me to work with a birder around the Lodge later in the day. I was thrilled to learn that Wilson, our guide on the boat at the swamp in the morning, was the birder I would be with in the afternoon. He is fantastic. We saw some birds and other animals around the lodge at meals. Another lodge employee took me on a short walk out to an overlook to see the swamp and we saw some fun birds. Then Wilson and I walked below the lodge, down the hill, then traversed along the base eventually arriving at the boat ramp to the Mabamba Swamp. There we rode on motorcycles back to the lodge. 

We saw an African pygmy kingfisher, which looked like a miniature version of the malachite kingfisher I saw earlier in the day at the swamp. 

An African thrush. 

The black and white casqued hornbill was one of my favorite birds of the trip. We saw them both mornings around the lodge while we were having breakfast. Big, beautiful and loud. 

The black and white shrike-flycatcher, male above, female below. 

The beautiful blue-breasted bee-eater, very lovely.

A common bulbul which we saw many more of on the remainder of our trip. 

An eastern plantain eater. We saw just one.

Then as we made our way forward another one joined it. Then Wilson noticed a nest higher up in the tree and mentioned that this is probably why these birds were staying put. Then he noticed a young bird standing at the top of the nest.

As we walked under the tree and beyond, Wilson noticed this young fledgling outside the nest a short distance. Note the different color of its bill. 

Klass's cuckoo. Wilson told me to take special note of this bird. It is of Least Concern by the IUCN, but must be rare in this area or just rarely seen. 

This lizard buzzard was seen in the morning on our drive down to Mabamba Swamp for our boat tour. I saw it on a power line and asked our driver to stop so I could take a photo. 

A long-crested eagle. I followed it around for awhile, trying to get closer for photos. It would fly and I would keep trying. 

Northern gray-headed sparrow

Palm-nut vulture

Blurry photo of a plain-backed pipit.

Rattling cisticola

Red-billed fire-finch

Red-cheeked cordonbleu

Red-chested sunbird

Red-tailed monkey or nkima (in the native language of the area). Right outside the lodge. 

Sooty chat (female - male below)

Speckled mousebird. Wilson spotted this bird from the trail we were walking and we traipsed up through some planted fields following it. I finally got a photo when it landed on this tree, before it disappeared into the interior of it. 

Vervet monkey our second morning, right outside the lodge. 

Viellot's black weaver near the entrance to the Mabamba Swamp. Many nests were under one tree. 

Village weaver

Viteline masked weaver

White-browed scrub-robin

Winding cisticolas. The cisticolas are the hardest birds for me to identify. 

The yellow-throated longclaw, just above, as well as the sooty chat, further above, were the most common birds.