Little Bee-eater: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — We saw 8 of the 12 possible species of Bee-eaters in Uganda…most of the ones we missed have restricted ranges that we did not visit (mostly North-west Uganda), or are seasonal migrants that are only in Uganda during a different season. So not bad at all. And I always like seeing Bee-eaters. They are so bright and somehow so alive! We did eventually see Little Bee-eater at closer distances…but this was our first encounter in the brushy savannah of Murchison Falls National Park. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 125 @ f4 @ 1/500th.

White-browed Coucal: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — One of the more common birds of the brushy savannas and open grassy groves of Uganda, the White-browed Coucal is a cuckoo, often seen clinging on at the top of a bush or walking on the ground hunting for insects and small toads and lizards. I like the patterns in the plumage of the adults and the interesting poses it gets itself into. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 and 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.

Helmeted Guineafowl: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — There are three possible Guineafowl in East Africa, and two in Uganda, but I have only ever seen the Helmeted…which is the most widespread and common. You see them frequently by the roadside (and in the road) at Murchison Falls National Park and at both Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo…generally in small groups of up to half a dozen birds. I had to zoom back and lean out over the open top of the Land Cruiser to get this shot. The bird was that close. Sony Rx10iv at 247mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/500th. (Actually, it is hard for me to think of Guineafowl as “wild” birds as I grew up with Guineafowl running around the yard in Upstate New York. My Grandfather raised a number of “exotic” birds…we had a peacock and various fancy chickens and ducks as well.)

Palm-nut Vulture: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — The Palm-nut Vulture is exactly what the name says. It is, oddly enough, a vulture that feeds primarily on palm nuts…both Oil and Raffia, and its range in sub-Sahara Africa closely matches the range of those trees. It does occasionally feed on fish (crabs, reptile eggs, smaller reptiles, etc.) and it is listed in the field guides as a “fish-eating raptor,” and is most often seen near water. The black and white adults, with their huge yellow beak and red eye-patch, are unmistakable. The immatures are plain brown, developing more white plumage as they age, but they have the bare patch around the eye and, of course, that big beak.

Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Adult: ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th. Immatures: ISO 100 @ f4 and 6.3 @ 1/1000th.

White-faced Whistling Duck: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — These White-faced Whistling Ducks were in the same little puddle-pond/water-hole with the Crake from yesterday, along the road into Pakuba Lodge in Murchison Falls National Park. A look at the range map tells me that the White-faced Whistling Duck has perhaps one of the widest distributions in East Africa and Uganda, and can be seen just about anywhere there is appropriate habitat. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.

Black Crake: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — According to my field guide, there are 7 Crakes we might have seen Uganda, but we only saw the Black Crake…and we saw that pretty much wherever there was water…from the marshes of Lake Victoria, to the banks of the Nile, to little puddles in the savannah…like this one we passed on our way to our lodge in Murchison Falls National Park. Crakes, like most rails, are active, somewhat secretive, foragers of shallow waters. Their big feet allow them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallows. Orange and yellow and black…a striking color combination. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/500th.

Black Bishop and Northern Red Bishop: Bodongo Forest and Murchinson Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — These two Bishops were not that far apart as the crow (or the Bishop) flies. The Black Bishop was in the fields at the edge of the Bodongo Forest just south of the Nile, and the Red Bishop was on the savannah just north of the Nile in Murchison Falls National Park. It is a long drive, but a short flight. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 400 and 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th and 1/640th. (Very different light…the Black Bishop had 1EV and added exposure for the cloudy dark morning.)

Blue-breasted Kingfisher: Royal Mile, Bodongo Forest, Uganda, August 2022 — I posted one photo of this Kingfisher…my second life Kingfisher from our visit to the Royal Mile (see a few posts back for more info on the Royal Mile) in Uganda’s Bodongo Forest adjoining Murchinson Falls National Park, but it deserves a couple more shots 🙂 We had given up and were turning back on the Royal Mile when our guide’s head snapped around and he said “Kingfisher.” I was still hoping for the Chocolate-backed (a Royal Mile speciality), and was totally surprised to see the Blue-breasted…a bird that was not even on my radar for the Royal Mile. What a bird! What a Kingfisher!. Again with the poor light under the dense canopy, but still 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Nominal exposure: ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus .3EV.

African Dwarf Kingfisher: Royal Mile, Bodongo Forest, Uganda — If I thought the African Pygmy Kingfisher was small (and I did), the African Dwarf Kingfisher is absolutely tiny! In fact, according to some references, the African Dwarf is the smallest Kingfisher in the world. On average it is just under 4 inches long, half an inch shorter than the average for the African Pygmy Kingfisher. It also lacks the blue cap and has that back bar across the forehead. Though eBird shows sightings on the Royal Mile, the Birds of East Africa only shows a range spot around Entebbe and a band along the south-western border of the country. It is a more common bird in the rainforests of West Africa, though it is not common or easily seen anywhere, especially as it sticks to low vegitaion deep under the canopy…often far from any watercourse.. So, all in all, it was a surprise to see it on the Royal Mile, only a few hundred yards down the road from the Pygmy. With the low light under the canopy and the diminutive size of the bird, I had to work my way cautiously closer to get any photos at all. And again, special processing was required even with multi-frame noise reduction engaged. The Dwarf was a life bird for me, one of two life Kingfishers I picked up on the Royal Mile (again, look back two posts for more information on the Royal Mile). Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Nominal exposure: ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/160th and 1/125th. Plus .3 EV.