The Elusive Shoe-bill stork- Mabamba Wetland

Birding in Mabamba Bay Wetland is an overwhelming experience  as you search for the rare shoe-bills in their natural habitat. The wetland has various birding spots with a variety of habitats which commences from the labyrinth of channels in the marsh, to the woodland and savanna trail up to the sand mining quarry in such for the elusive shoe-bill and other species of wetland birds.

The Shoe-bill Storks are known to be solitary species, where the adults only come together during the breeding season, the female is said to lay one to three eggs with both parents sharing the incubation duties.

The mornings are the easiest time to the spot the shoe-bill storks as they are often seen standing in the water waiting on their prey as they  remain still for a long period with their bill pointed down in the water and then suddenly strike with a marvelous speed at any movements of their prey including; all fish species, turtles, water snakes, lizards, frogs, snails and other water species.

Mabamba bay wetland is one of the most interesting and spectacular sites for birding in Uganda which has gained more popularity over the years rendering it one of the wetlands of International Importance.This Important Bird Area (IBA) is an extensive marsh stretching through a long narrow bay, fringed with papyrus along the Northern shores of Lake Victoria.

In the recent survey,it shows that Mabamba bay wetland boosts of over 260 bird species with one day’s record of 157 bird species with four globally threatened species including the Pallid Harrier, Papyrus Gonolek, White-Winged Warbler and the migrant Blue Swallow with over 100 individuals recorded every year.They are many other  species found in this wetland including; Goliath Herons, Spur-Winged, Pygmy Geese, Malachite Kingfisher, Papyrus Canary, Northern Brown-throated Weaver, Carruther’s Cisticola and many more species.

With about 1000 shoe-bill Storks left in Uganda, they can be found in  Nabajuzi Swamp in Masaka, Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park along the Lake Edward Flats, Murchison Falls Park  where the Nile merges with Lake Albert, Lake Mburo National Park, Ziwa Rhino Reserve, Lake Kyoga and Semliki Wildlife Reserve.

The tour on Mabamba bay wetland can be organised on your first day into the country in Entebbe or on your last day as you travel back home.