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. 

Mabamba Swamp - Uganda

Mabamba Bay, also known as Mabamba Swamp, is a 5,990 acre wetland on the edge of Lake Victoria, northwest of Entebbe in Uganda. It is near Kasanje, a small village. It has over 300 birds species and is one of 33 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Uganda and a Ramsar site, which is a wetland of international importance. It has open water and a large open marsh of miscanthus and papyrus that make the swamp rich in species. It is well known as a major breeding site for the shoebill and has one of the highest concentrations of shoebills in the world, about 12 of them. It is rich with lungfish (known as "mamba" in the native language) which is the favorite food of the shoebill. The shoebill is one of the most sought after birds by birdwatchers in Uganda. We went out into the swamp on July 19, 2025 in a motorized wooden boat through a maze of water trails which cut through the thick marsh. One person was at the back of the boat with the motor, steering, and Wilson, our excellent bird guide was near the front. 

Fortunately, we were able to see a shoebill, rated Vulnerable by the IUCN, which stayed pretty still for most of the time we watched it. 

The Africa jacana. I'd seen one previously in Botswana, but saw many here. It is a gorgeous bird. 

We saw one or two African swamp hens.  

We saw several hadada ibis. I'd seen one previously near Buffalo Springs NR in Kenya and one in the Kansas City Zoo last year. One was caked in mud and looked like a drowned rat. This photo was after it was able to shake off much of the water and mud. 

A little egret. 

One of my favorite sightings was the long-toed lapwing, a beautiful bird. We saw quite a few of them. 

We saw a few malachite kingfishers, which are incredibly colorful. 

The palm-nut vulture, was standing on the high point on a little island. I'd never heard of a whitish vulture before. 

The pied kingfisher was common, often perching in large groups on the same bush or tree. 

We saw several purple herons which we learned are Wilson's favorite bird. 

The reed cormorant, or long-tailed cormorant.  

The squacco heron.  

The western cattle egret, a bird I'm familiar with in California.  

Another favorite was the white-faced whistling duck. They are beautiful. 

A woodland kingfisher. We stayed a couple of nights at the Nkima Forest Lodge which is at the top of the hill above the Mabamba Swamp. My next destination post will be on the Nkima Forest, between Mabamba Swamp and the Lodge. This kingfisher was in a tree right near the water so I'm including it in this post. 

I got a horrible photo of a yellow-billed duck. I had a couple of people in front of me and it flew before I could get a better photo. 

A yellow-billed egret, which looks a lot like the great egret we have in the U.S.  

A blue coucal. I'd seen the white-browed coucal previously and saw several more of them on this trip, but this was the only blue coucal I've seen. I really enjoy the coucals.

There were also several other birds I was not able to photograph, including the African marsh harrier and the swamp flycatcher. 

We got off to a late start and spent quite a bit of time watching the shoebill which I which we'd abbreviated as the birding was so wonderful. I would love to go back and spend more time on the marsh.