This swamp s the best place to spot the elusive Shoebill Storks – Giving
you an awesome encounter with a truly remarkable bird. You will discover Africa
with Ebenezer elder treks when it comes to a safari or tour.
It takes approximately one hour to drive mainly on dirt roads from Entebbe to the
home of the Shoe bill – Mabamba Swamp, and it’s about 50km (1 ½ hrs) west of
Kampala. Mabamba Swamp is an extensive marsh stretching through a long narrow
bay, fringed with papyrus towards the western main body of Lake Victoria in
Mpigi District. You will then access the swamp in local fishing boat / Canoe
with a local guide
Mabamba wetland is a perfect place for one day outing from
Entebbe area and places in and around Kampala, or add on to a safari that
includes other destinations in Uganda. The best time to visit is late morning
hours or even afternoon after lunch. Pack a nice lunch if you are going for the
day, some bottled water along a pair of binoculars, hat, sun protection, insect
repellant, light rain jacket, a backpack for all your items and long-sleeved
shirt and trousers.
Mabamba swamp is a RAMSAR site, and a community project, with
local people employed as boatmen and guides. Mabamba Swamp is a large tract of
marshlands with various channels through it and it provides the perfect habitat
for countless of water -birds away from the Shoebill Stork such as Swamp
flycatcher, African purple swamp hen, African water rail, Pallid Harrier,
Papyrus Gonolek, White-winged Warbler and the Blue Swallow Common moorhen,
lesser jacana, African jacana, African pygym Goose, White-faced whistling duck,
Squacco heron, Blue Breasted Bee-eater, Winding cisticola, Goliath Heron and
many others.
Mabamba has become one of the strong holds for the migrant Blue
Swallow with over 100 individuals recorded every year. Like many papyrus swamps
adjacent to Lake Victoria, Mabamba is home to the Sitatunga, a swamp antelope
which is commonly hunted by local people. It is also a habitat to rare plant
species like Sandboxes species. The other places to find the Shoebill storks in
Uganda include; Nabajuzi Swamp in Masaka, Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth
National Park along the Lake Edward Flats, in Murchison Falls Park – down the
Nile where it merges with Lake Albert, Lake Mburo National Park, Ziwa Rhino
Reserve, Lake Kyoga and Semliki Wildlife Reserve. There are about 1000 shoebill
Storks left in Uganda today and their greatest danger is development. Back in
the day, the Shoebill Storks were being killed in Uganda by superstitious
fisherman who saw their sighting as a bad omen, meaning no success during
fishing once found.
The Shoebill Stork is a predominantly solitary species, in which
adults come together only to breed. The breeding season is ill-defined, but
some evidence suggests that it coincides with the onset of the dry season, to
prevent flooding of the nests.A female may lay from one - three eggs and both parents share
incubation duties for a month before the young ones hatch. Babies are fed for
several months before they can search for food on their own. Eggs measure 80-90
mm x 57-61 mm - The new hatched chicks are able to fly after about 100 days,
while it takes three to four years for young to become sexually mature and
individuals have been known to live 36 years in captivity. The Shoebill feed on all fish of all kinds as long as it’s of a
manageable size as well as Turtles, Water Snakes, Lizards, Frogs, young
Crocodiles, young water birds, Snails, Rodents and also muddy waters. They
often stand in water, waiting for prey pass. It is almost still for a while,
with bill pointed down in water and may sometimes stand on floating vegetation,
watching for prey
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