The Elusive Shoebill
We really wanted to see this bird; it looks so ancient – right out of Jurassic Park. It lives in the swamps of Eastern Africa and is classified as vulnerable due to habitat destruction. We had met a couple of guys who recounted how they had spent 13 hours in a dugout canoe in Zambia’s Bangwuelu swamp in search of the shoebill. They had been told it would be a short trip, so had no food, limited water, no sunscreen or insect repellent (in a mosquito-infested swamp). They eventually caught sight of a shoebill, way in the distance, but couldn’t get near enough for any photos. Francine googled “easiest place to see a shoebill”!
We first tried our luck in Western Uganda. We did see one, but at a great distance. Although very happy with this sighting, we did want to try again and so we took another boat trip in the Mabamba swamps near Entebbe. The swamp is a huge area (over 100 square kilometres in size), full of papyrus reeds and water lilies. Wider channels allow easy access for the small boats, but, away from these, the boatman has to use a long pole to push through the vegetation. We visited the “usual” spots where a shoebill was sometimes seen, but to no avail (there are thought to be only 10 of them in the swamp) – though we did see plenty of kingfishers, lapwings, jacanas and even a rare papyrus gonolek. But no shoebills.
We then tried a different area and this time we were really lucky. A female shoebill had just woken up and obliged us by staying in the same place for a good while, even breakfasting on a lung fish for further photo opportunities. Then, as we were motoring back to the shore, we surprised a large male shoebill (surprised us too!) in the papyrus a couple of metres from the main channel. We tracked it into the thick reeds and Dave got some more great photos, including ones of it taking flight when a fisherman got a bit too near to him.
Super cool!
It was! Hope you are well. Still in UAE?xx
Perseverance paid off. Well done
Indeed it did. 🙂
Well done. Good to see you got lucky at the reliable Mbamba Swamp. Almost worth it for the elusive Papyrus Gonalek too.
Keep safe.
It’s definitely a good place for shoebill-spotting!
Talk about try, try and try again! fantastic, what a weird bird, it really does look prehistoric.
Take care, stay safe.
Patience pays off. 🙂 Not the prettiest of birds, but one of the most interesting.
great photo
Thanks. Dave is getting to be quite professional! 😉
You make my day when I read your adventures! I always settle with a cup of coffee on my balcony to read your stories. Haven’t travelled in a year so you are doing my travelling for me and I so much enjoy it! Can’t wait for the next instalment!!
We were only talking about your balcony a couple of days ago! There was a view of tall tropical trees, with monkeys playing in them and it put us in mind of your view. Glad you’re enjoying the blogs!x
Wonderful sight and so reassuring to see them in the wild.
Hard to find – but worth the effort! 😉