Another long drive today to Murchison Falls National Park in the North of Uganda. For the first hour or so we made little progress as we kept stopping on the roadside to take photos.
First a Long-crested Eagle
I loved how dishevelled it looked and the silly feathers on its head.
Hairy-breasted Barbet
Crowned Hornbill
This curious looking creature is a Grey-cheeked Mangabey
They are very shy creatures and love playing hide and seek.
I hadn't heard of the Old World or New World distinction between monkeys, I just thought monkeys were monkeys wherever they lived but apparently Old World are generally larger and have thumbs that are rotated and more opposable, whereas New World ones rely on prehensile tails which they use to grab things or swing from branches.
We then spent an absolute age photographing this Western Nicator flying in and out of its nest right above the verge.
Mainly it took so long because I thought I'd missed it each time but it turns out I had a lot of in focus shots - maybe time for new glasses I think!
I haven't identified these fruits, but they made me giggle.
Olive Baboons are everywhere along this road and if you stop they will think nothing of jumping on the vehicle or into an open window.
We drove past another tea plantation and this time the pickers were near the road and so we persuaded Gerald to stop.
Unlike plantations we've seen in India and Sri Lanka where women are used because of their smaller, more dexterous fingers, the pickers here are male and use a little wooden box to take the cuttings.
A few of them wandered over for a chat and were happy to have their photos taken,
We stopped briefly at a shop in Fort Portal which apparently was the best place to buy coffee and also topped up on wine and a few snacks. I think the shop owner must have thought all his Christmases had come at once to have 6 people spending freely. We drove for another couple of hours before stopping for lunch at a place called Hoima where Gerald was certain we'd see a particularly rare bird as he'd seen it there before.
It was a little disconcerting to see this tame Southern Giant Pouched
Rat at the restaurant entrance.
We were shown to our table in the lovely, peaceful gardens.
When we'd made a loo stop earlier in the journey we'd parked next to a vehicle with music blaring out and sure enough it and its occupants (mostly young Americans) also pulled into the restaurant and they were directed to an outside table right next to us. They then proceeded to set up a massive speaker and play non-Ugandan music at high volume, which none of us were very happy about. I expected Olly to say something but he said he didn't know how to without being rude - so I offered. I simply walked over and asked who the music man was and then would he be awful kind and turn it down - which he happily did. I rather surprised myself at my own diplomacy!
A couple of birds we spotted - not new ones, but nice portraits.
Red Bishop
Grey-headed Kingfisher
We were now in the Murchison Falls NP which is both the oldest and the largest national park in Uganda and fortunately has a speed limit of 40kms as these cattle were not keen to move.
Walking along the roadside was this beautiful female Abyssinian (or Northern) Ground Hornbill
Although the hollow casque on the top of her head looks broken it's not, that's how they grow.
Finch's Agama
Crossing the Murchison River
Defassa Waterbuck
These might just be collared doves but I liked the way they were perched atop the cactus.
A lazy Cape Buffalo
Hartebeest
These cute antelopes are Oribi, the only dwarf species of antelope.
The habitat is Borassus Palm savannah which is very attractive but makes spotting some of the small mammals rather difficult.
This elephant was thoroughly enjoying itself chucking mud around.
It had very expressive ears.
Definitely looks like Dumbo in this picture.
I don't know if it was being bothered by flies but it was soon off again on another bout of head shaking.
And then an extraordinary display of trunk knotting!
Another Cape Buffalo but carrying a new species - Piapiac, a member of the crow family.
Ugandan Kob f.
And a very handsome m.
For Olly it was the best moment of the day when in the post glow of sunset we located this Heuglin’s Francolin perched on a stump.
It stayed just long enough for us all to photograph it before being usurped by another Abyssinian Ground Hornbill which also posed brilliantly against an orange backdrop.
Before flying off.
Unsurprisingly it was dark by the time we got to Pakuba Safari Lodge and after a quick shower and setting images to back up we headed to the restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately the food was rather basic and not the quality or variety we'd been used to, but on the plus side the wine was reasonably priced and the staff very sweet if a little slow.
And so to bed, ready for another silly o'clock start tomorrow.