Uganda - morning, Monday March 14th - Kibale forest, road-side walk

A short way North from Fort Portal is a small part of the Kibale National Forest. An interesting aside, we learned on this trip that the president had planned to sell the forest to an Indian business man. It would have been razed completely, with the land used for growing sugar cane. The people of Uganda rose-up as one against this monstrous idea and actually started killing Indians, forcing the president to back down. That's how extreme it got before the corrupt government actually listened to its own people. Of course just like in India, most of the original forest was cut down for tea and coffee plantations when we, the British, were military dictators, so we can't exactly pass judgement. I am glad the Ugandans value their forest, as it is amazing, beautiful and unique. It's a shame we Westerners don't value our natural assets so highly, though I wouldn't advocate nor condone such extreme actions. So a brief (main) roadside walk included listening to duetting Chubb's Cisticola and then duetting Joyful Greenbul, quite a sound, with the odd lorry (driver looking incredulously at our group) passing by. Some of the birds photographed included White-throated Prinia: Red-faced Cisticola: and African Emerald Cuckoo: A later stop on our drive to Masindi, impromptu as we had to pull over to allow oncoming traffic through on a in-construction road, provided excellent views of Papyrus Gonolek: Splendid bird! Over the papyrus swamp, European Bee-eaters, pre-migration: One disturbing trend in Uganda is that wherever there is cultivated land any adjacent Papyrus appears to have been burned. The locals clearly are seeking to expand their own land at the expense of native habitats. Unsurprisingly many species, like back here in the UK, are in precipitous decline. One other point worth mentioning, the rain, despite assurances from the tour company and indeed my family was becoming more and more of a regular feature, we were worried the rest of the trip could be a washout...

Uganda - afternoon, Sunday March 13th - Fort Portal Botanical Gardens

We got to Fort Portal early afternoon, in time to check in at the Rwenzori Travellers Inn. We have some feedback about this place. First they have a pair of wild Grey Parrots in a very small cage. This leads to continual loud and distressing noise. Second some of the staff think it's cool to taunt the Parrots, especially late at night, waking them up to get them to make noise. Third they didn't have the room made-up and didn't try to finish it. Fourth - the food is random. For dinner on the Sunday evening I ordered Mutter Paneer (Peas and Curd Cheese Curry), I got served spaghetti with a korma flavoured sauce. Even worse they forgot to make our packed lunch for the Monday, panicked and then prepared the same as we had for dinner. So yes, spaghetti with korma sauce and no cutlery! It's fair to say this was the low point of the holiday. We'd made sure, repeatedly, to advise the agent Birding Uganda we were vegetarian. Repeatedly. Our hosts found out the night we got there at 10:30pm, hence our first packed lunch was cold vegetable curry no cutlery. We felt that the agent had basically trousered a big amount of cash and left Confidence and Harriet to sort everything out. We also found out in Fort Portal that the reason we needed to 'pop to the bank' every couple of days was that whilst we were secure, our guide and driver were vulnerable, due to their accommodation, and indeed targets for thieves, so they were only comfortable holding a minimum of cash. Again, we pre-paid for the whole tour and gave lots of information in advance. I think Confidence and Harriet did a great job but personally I would have given the company a major kick up the backside had we met them. Final point - if you go to Uganda DON'T stay at the Rwenzori Travellers Inn. There are much better places to stay in Fort Portal.

Where was I? Oh yes, Sunday afternoon. Having checked in, got some towels delivered to the room (repeated trips up and down 4 flights of stairs), and given up on pillow cases, we got ourselves out to meet Harriet and Confidence for an impromptu visit to the Fort Portal Botanical Gardens.

Shortly after we got there it poured with rain. We sought shelter under an awning of the building where we were hustled for the entrance fee, which Harriet ensured we paid but only on production of an official receipt...

Despite the rain, the gardens proved very productive and I'd recommend them as a good place to break a journey. First-up, a migrant feeding-up before heading North, the Willow Warbler:

Scarlet-chested Sunbird: Red-bellied Flycatcher: Mackinnon's Fiscal - with, unusually, the female feeding the male who was perched higher, never seen that before in any species:

Holub's Golden Weaver:

Hadada Ibis:

This was originally identified as a Fawn-breasted Waxbill, but is in fact a Yellow-bellied Waxbill:

Fan-tailed Widowbird:

Cardinal Woodpecker - the punk of the Woodpecker world:

Bronze Mannikin, one of many:

Black-crowned Waxbill:

These were hard to photograph as we only saw then just before, during and just after the (heavy) rain. Once the rain stopped the volume of insects increased notably, good news for flycatchers, including this African Dusky Flycatcher:

And then a major target species for the holiday, one I've been bugging my brother to photograph on his trips to the country, an African Blue Flycatcher:

Funny how birds can really make you smile!!

So back to the armpit that is the Rwenzori Travellers Inn (see above!).