19 July 2019: If the Shoe Fits…

Maans Booysen, Rob Little, Karin Kearns. Mabamba Swamp

All birding days are good, others are exceptional. Then you get CMF days (see birding terms for dummies). And I’ve had a few. Today was a MEGA CMF. We entered the Mabamba Swamp, an extensive marshland of papyrus on the north shore of Lake Victoria, in a wooden swamp boat. Deep within the swamp, on a patch of wetland grass and standing at a distance of 4 meters, a very obliging Shoebill kept us company for about ten minutes. This was a bucket-list lifer, and one of the birding highlights of my Big Year! A very prudent and short-lived Mandela shuffle was danced on the unstable boat to celebrate the occasion.

Shoebill, Mabamba Swamp

Long-toed Lapwings, Blue-breasted Bee-eaters, Lesser Jacanas, Blue-headed Coucals, a Swamp Flycatcher, a pair of Papyrus Gonoleks as well as Slender-billed- and Northern Brown-throated Weavers were also ticked in the swamp. Later the day, at the Nkima Forest Lodge, we met Sherry McKelvie, author of an Uganda birding book. She kindly found the White-spotted Flufftail for us, and we had magnificent views of it repeatedly crossing a dirt road.

That evening Rob Little and myself renewed our close association with Captain Morgan and we went to bed as very happy birders.