Posts in Category: Mabamba Swamp
Shoebill Stork Chick
Shoebill Stork: Mabamba Swamp: Lake Victoria, Entebbe, Uganda, August 2022 — I already featured one photo of the Shoebill Stork chick currently drawing birders and conservationists from all over Africa and the world to the Mabamba Swamp on the edge of Lake Victoria in Uganda. It is a rare and wonderful event to have a Shoebill chick were so many people can observe it. As I said before, Shoebills only nest once every 5 years on average, and only lay two eggs, and only raise on chick. They are threatened due to habit loss, but, honestly, with such a parsimonious breeding habit, there never were that many Shoebills. Sony Rx10iv at 547mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 160 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus 1EV exposure compensation.
Pied Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher: Mabamba Marsh, Lake Victoria, Uganda, August 2022 — There are 15 different species of Kingfishers in Uganda, and in our 14 days of travel we saw 9 of them…but the most numerous and widespread has to be the Pied Kingfisher. They were pretty much everywhere, along every lake and river…and they were present in what can only be described as “large” numbers. Several times we saw trees or bushes with more that 10 birds perched together, and they were so common hovering over water while hunting that after a while it would have seemed more strange not to see a Pied Kingfisher than to see one. And they are hard to miss…about the size of the common North American Belted Kingfisher, and with that bold black and white plumage pattern, and their habits of actively hover hunting over water. 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.
Blue-breasted Bee-eater
Blue-breasted Bee-eater: Mabamba Swamp, Entebbe, Uganda, August 2022 — Another one of the many bee-eaters we hope to encounter in Uganda. This the Blue-breasted seen from our Shoebill boat in Mabamba Swamp on the shore of Lake Victoria. 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.
Malachite Kingfisher
Malachite Kingfisher: Mabamba Swamp, Entebbe, Uganda, August 2022 — Shoebills, of course, are not the only birds in the Mabamba Swamp. This Malachite Kingfisher posed nicely along one of the channels. 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.
Shoebill Stork (adult)
Shoebill Stork: Mabamba Swamp, Entebbe, Uganda, August 2022 — As wonderful as seeing the chick of the Shoebill was, it was almost as satisfying seeing a couple of adults. According to our local guide this is a female. It is difficult to image just how large these birds are! They always take me by surprise. 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.
Shoebill Stork chick
Shoebill Stork: Mabamba Swamp, Entebbe, Uganda, August 2022 — This is a very rare bird. Shoebill Storks are rare and endangered through their whole range, there are only small concentrations around Lake Victoria, and in a few of the National Parks…they only nest every 5 years…they only lay two eggs…and they only raise one chick. So to see a chick is pretty special. We were within 30 feet of this one. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. ISO 160 @ f4 @ 1/500th.