Posts in Category: Murchinson Falls NP
African Pygmy Kingfisher
African Pygmy Kingfisher: The Royal Mile, Bonyoro, Uganda, August 2022 — One of my hopes for our visit to the Royal Mile (and if you did not read my post yesterday, you should check it out for more information on the Royal Mile) was Kingfishers! The Mile is famous among birders, among other things, for the frequency of sightings of the rarer Ugandan and African Kingfishers, including the Chocolate-backed…which is a bird I really want to see. You can probably guess from the tense in that sentence that I did not see it this trip…but I did get good looks a Kingfisher I had only glimpsed by chance in 2019, and added two new Kingfishers to my African Kingfisher list…and that despite the fact that the light remained poor all morning under the dense and very high canopy of the Bodongo forest. This is an African Pygmy Kingfisher…not all that rare a bird…but one I had only seen for a moment when no one else was looking (but managed a photo of) in the Botanical Gardens of Entebbe on my first Ugandan adventure. I was still delighted to see one sitting in the open along the Royal Mile. There were other Kingfishers calling there…both the Chocolate-backed and the Blue-breasted…but we had to settle for visuals of the Pygmy. Settle! 🙂 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. It was very dark, as I mentioned, so even with multi-frame noise reduction engaged the nominal exposures were at ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/200th and 1/160th. Plus .3EV. And I still had to use Pixelmator’s AI noise reduction to get acceptable images.
Bonus: Giraffe in the late sun
On our way to Murchinson Falls National Park, on our third full day in Uganda, we drove to the top of Murchinson Falls on the Nile for the view, and then crossed the new bridge over the river on our way to our lodge for the night. That put us in the park in the soft light of late afternoon/early evening, as the wildlife was settling and taking care of last chores for the day. This was our first giraffe of the trip. Sony Rx10iv at 371mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Leopard!
Leopard: Murchinson Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — There is a story about safari vehicle traffic jams and management of wildlife encounters around this photo, but patience and common sense paid off with a somewhat rare sighting of Leopard in the tall grass savanna of Murchinson Falls National Park. The safari vehicles were blocking the road between the Leopard and its prey, which was hung in a tree, so the Leopard was keeping well hidden in tall grass. Some effective negation on the part of driver/guide Moses, got all the vehicles moved out of the way so the cat could move…and we happened back by the spot just as it decided it was safe to do so. A very special encounter with a magnificent cat. Sony Rx10iv at 580mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/800th.
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
Northern Carmine Bee-eater: Murchinson Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Along with sunbirds and kingfishers, Bee-eaters are among my favorite African birds. This is the Northern Carmine Bee-eater, certainly a spectacular bird by any measure. We saw many of them at Murchinson Falls National Park early in our trip. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/1000th.
Bateleur
We really did see quite a few raptors during our #Epic_Uganda_Vacations birding and wildlife tour of Uganda. This is one that I really wanted a decent photograph of. I have seen it both in Kenya and South Africa, but never seen it well, and never had a good photo op. This was the best I could do in Uganda (Murchinson Falls National Park) for a mature bird…though we saw and photographed at least half a dozen immatures. Not the best shot, but still a memorable experience. The Bateleur is classed among the Hawk-Eagles. Sony RX10IV at 1200mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Eastern Chanting-Goshawk
A few days ago I posted images of a Dark Chanting-Goshawk from Murchinson Falls National Park in Uganda, and said that the Eastern Chanting-Goshawk was also possible there. Well, imagine my surprise when I looked at my “other” shots of a Chanting-Goshawk, taken a the next day in another part of the Park, and found that it is, to my eye at least, probably an Eastern. The cere is certainly yellow, as opposed to the Dark Chanting’s obvious orange, and the legs do appear longer. Two Chanting-Goshawks in two days! But this is exactly the kind of trip we had with #Epic_Uganda_Vacations 🙂 and the reason I am planning to go back next year. Uganda is amazing. Sony Rx10iv at 1200mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.
Abyssinian Ground-hornbill
We had two encounters with this striking and strange bird at Murchinson Falls National Park in Uganda. Both times the Abyssinian Ground-hornbills were buried in the long grasses, and I could not get a good shot of the male with its bright red wattle. The female in the second encounter, early in the evening on our way back from the Nile River tour boat, was more cooperative. These birds are the size of a turkey…and like a turkey, they are not strong flyers, though I have seen them perched in trees. They spend most of their time foraging among the grasses of the savannas. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos and assembled in FrameMagic.
Obibi
There appear to be only a few species of antelope/gazelle at Murchinson Falls National Park in Uganda. Of them we saw 4: the very numerous Uganda Kob, the scattered groups of Defassa Waterbuck, the even less common Jackson’s Hartebeest, and a very few Oribi, like this one. The Oribi, is small, tends to be solitary, and is easily missed, so their numbers might be considerably higher than our brief sample might indicate. There are 8 recognized sub-species of Oribi across their range…and some authorities recognize 4 of those as actual species. The ones at Murchinson Falls apparently lack the typical, and identifying, black tail. Interestingly the Oribi has its own branch of the antelope family all to itself, and is considered a “sister” species to the main branch. They are small, agile, active, and way too cute. If you take a look at the photo enlarged to screen size, notice those eyes and the rings around the base of the horns 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.
Red-throated Bee-eater
Bee-eaters are always among my most wanted species on any trip to Africa, and we saw 6 different species on our #Epic_Uganda_Vacations birding and wildlife safari through the National Parks and Reserves of Uganda. This is the Red-throated Bee-eater, or as the guide on our Nile River tour boat, from which this photo was taken, said, “the rainbow bird.” If you look at this bird in “Birds of East Africa”, the red will be much more subdued, but on every bird we saw in the field it was this same bright shade, and we saw this species several times. Red-throated Bee-eaters nest in great numbers in the tall clay cliffs along the Nile below Murchinson Falls. We saw close to 50 clinging to the cliff walls and on branches overhanging the water in this location. Sony RX10iv at 1200mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr and Apple Photos.
Dark Chanting-Goshawk
I was impressed by the numbers and variety of birds we saw in Uganda with #Epic_Uganda_Vacations when compared to my previous trips to either Kenya or South Africa. This is the Dark Chanting-Goshawk which we encountered at Murchinson Falls National Park early in our trip. I looked it up, since I had to wonder why this is a “chanting” Goshawk? What I could find indicates that the name comes from the mating call, which is along, increasingly rapid, series of notes that turns into a tremolo at the end. We did not hear the call, but I am willing to believe in my sources 🙂 It is certainly a striking bird. Both it and the Eastern variety are possible in Murchinson Falls, but the orange cere is the identifying feature here. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm and 1200mm equivalents. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Polarr.