Site Report: Mabamba Swamp
Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex)
Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta)
Yellow-billed Duck (Anas undulata)
African Jacana (Actophilornis africanus)
African Pygmy-goose (Nettapus auritus)
Swamp Flycatcher (Muscicapa aquatica)
Sooty Chat (Myrmecocichla nigra)
Malachite Kingfisher (Corythornis cristatus)
Long-toed Lapwing (Vanellus crassirostris)
Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica)
White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)
Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus) - Female
African Pipit (Anthus cinnamomeus)
Long-toed Lapwing (Vanellus crassirostris)
African Pied Hornbill (Tockus fasciatus)
Fan-tailed Widowbird (Euplectes axillaris) - Male
Weyns's Weaver (Ploceus weynsi)
White-backed Duck (Thalassornis leuconotus)
Rufous-bellied Heron (Ardeola rufiventris)
African Marsh-Harrier (Circus ranivorus)
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Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex)
Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta)
Yellow-billed Duck (Anas undulata)
African Jacana (Actophilornis africanus)
African Pygmy-goose (Nettapus auritus)
Swamp Flycatcher (Muscicapa aquatica)
Sooty Chat (Myrmecocichla nigra)
Malachite Kingfisher (Corythornis cristatus)
Long-toed Lapwing (Vanellus crassirostris)
Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica)
White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)
Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus) - Female
African Pipit (Anthus cinnamomeus)
Long-toed Lapwing (Vanellus crassirostris)
African Pied Hornbill (Tockus fasciatus)
Fan-tailed Widowbird (Euplectes axillaris) - Male
Weyns's Weaver (Ploceus weynsi)
White-backed Duck (Thalassornis leuconotus)
Rufous-bellied Heron (Ardeola rufiventris)
African Marsh-Harrier (Circus ranivorus)
Swamp
Visits
- 2017-01-01: We drove over to Mabamba Swamp in order to look for the Shoebill. We boated around in the swamp for three hours with no Shoebill, at which point the local guide pulled a pricing scam claiming the initially quoted price was "per person" when, in fact, it was supposed to be the price for the whole boat. I was a bit concerned at this point that we were in for two weeks of scams, but this turned out to be the only place that was dishonest.
- 2017-01-13: After travelling all day and missing the Shoebill everywhere we looked, we took one last chance at Mabamba Swamp. Since we were scammed on our first trip to the swamp, we were able to negotiate a discount for the second try. And lucky stars, the Shoebill was spotted during the last minutes before sunset.
Species Seen
Kingdom: Animals (73 records)
Phylum: Chordates
(73 records)
Class: Birds
(73 records)
- Order: Anseriformes (4 records)
- Order: Bucerotiformes (2 records)
- Order: Coliiformes
(1 record)
- Family: Mousebirds
- Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus)
- Order: Cranes, Rails, and Allies
(3 records)
- Family: Rails, Gallinules, and Allies
- Black Crake (Zapornia flavirostra)
- Eurasian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
- African Swamphen (Porphyrio madagascariensis)
- Order: Cuckoos
(1 record)
- Family: Coucals
- Blue-headed Coucal (Centropus monachus)
- Order: Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies (6 records)
- Family: Osprey
- Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)
- Order: Kingfishers, Bee-eaters, Motmots (6 records)
- Family: Kingfishers
- Malachite Kingfisher (Corythornis cristatus)
- Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)
- Family: Rollers
- Broad-billed Roller (Eurystomus glaucurus)
- Order: Pelicans
(18 records)
- Family: Cormorants
- Reed Cormorant (Microcarbo africanus)
- Family: Coursers
- Collared Pratincole (Glareola pratincola)
- Family: Hamerkops
- Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta)
- Family: Herons
- Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)
- Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea)
- Great Egret (Ardea alba)
- Western Cattle Egret (Ardea ibis)
- Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides)
- Rufous-bellied Heron (Ardeola rufiventris)
- Yellow-billed Egret (Ardea brachyrhyncha)
- Family: Ibises and Spoonbills
- Hadada Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash)
- Family: Sandpipers and Allies
- Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola)
- Little Stint (Calidris minuta)
- Family: Shoebill
- Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex)
- Family: Storks
- Yellow-billed Stork (Mycteria ibis)
- Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis)
- Order: Perching Birds
(26 records)
- Family: Bulbuls
- Common Bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus)
- Family: Jays and Crows
- Northern Puffback (Dryoscopus gambensis)
- Brown-crowned Tchagra (Tchagra australis)
- Family: Old World Flycatchers
- Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra)
- Family: Old World Sparrows
- Yellow-throated Longclaw (Macronyx croceus)
- Village Weaver (Ploceus cucullatus)
- Vieillot's Weaver (Ploceus nigerrimus)
- Weyns's Weaver (Ploceus weynsi)
- Bronze Mannikin (Spermestes cucullata)
- Family: Prinias and Apalis
- Winding Cisticola (Cisticola marginatus)
- Tawny-flanked Prinia (Prinia subflava)
- Family: Shrike-flycatchers
- Western Black-headed Batis (Batis erlangeri)
- Family: Starlings and Mynas
- Rueppell's Starling (Lamprotornis purpuroptera)
- Family: Sunbirds
- Collared Sunbird (Hedydipna collaris)
- Green-headed Sunbird (Cyanomitra verticalis)
- Red-chested Sunbird (Cinnyris erythrocercus)
- Family: Thrushes and Allies
- African Thrush (Turdus pelios)
- Swamp Flycatcher (Muscicapa aquatica)
- Sooty Chat (Myrmecocichla nigra)
- Family: Wagtails and Pipits
- African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp)
- Western Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava)
- African Pipit (Anthus cinnamomeus)
- Family: Weavers
- Fan-tailed Widowbird (Euplectes axillaris)
- Family: White-eyes
- Green White-eye (Zosterops stuhlmanni)
- Order: Shorebirds and Allies
(5 records)
- Family: Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers
- Gray-hooded Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus)
- Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica)
- White-winged Tern (Chlidonias leucopterus)
- Family: Plovers
- Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)
- Long-toed Lapwing (Vanellus crassirostris)
- Order: Turkey-like birds
(1 record)
- Family: Guineafowl
- Helmeted Guineafowl (Numida meleagris)