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Lily Lion Heart

Friday 18 April 2014

Glory of the Snow...in this case sans snow..

Every year Easter falls at a different time, and as such there are different flowers blooming. This Winter was long and cold, and Springtime is continuing along this trend. Many of the spring bulbs are delayed, and therefore blooming later. The spring-flowering purple coloured bulbs really steal the show with gorgeous swathes of colour.


Chionodoxa sardensis

Chionodoxa luciliae
 
Scilla bifolia



Sunday 6 April 2014

Birds of Uganda

In the month of March I went on safari to Uganda. They have over 1100 bird species, which accounts for over half the bird species on the continent of Africa. It is a birder's paradise. The reason for this is that there are lush forests, the Rwenzori mountains, the Albertine Rift Valley, and the mighty Nile River. I saw a mere 80 species on my trip. The bird life is remarkable, colourful, and unusual. Such an unforgettable experience. Everywhere you go you hear a cacophony of birds singing, morning, noon , and night. Something my ears are always attuned to. 
Pied Kingfishers- Kazinga Channel

Pied Kingfishers- Victoria Nile

Malachite Kingfisher- Lake Mburo

Female Malachite Kingfisher- Magombe Swamp, Bigodi Wetlands

Lesser-masked Weaver- Lake Mburo


Grey-crowned Cranes- Lake Bunyonyi- Uganda's national bird


Hamerkop- Lake Mburo

Ross's Turaco- Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

African Pied Wagtail- Lake Bunyonyi

African Blue Flycatcher- Lake Bunyonyi

Abyssinian Ground Hornbill- Murchison Falls N.P.

Crowned Hornbill- Kyaninga crater lake- Fort Portal

Red-throated Bee-eater- Victoria Nile

Northern carmine Bee-eater- Victoria Nile

Little Bee-eater- Lake Bunyonyi

African Wattled lapwing- Victoria Nile

Water Thick-knee- Victoria Nile

Yellow-billed Storks- Victoria Nile

Marabou Stork- Kazinga Channel

Abdim's Stork- Murchison Falls N.P.

African Fish Eagle- Lake Mburo

Palm-nut Vulture- Queen Elizabeth N.P.


Lappet-faced vulture- Q.E.N.P.

Common Squacco Heron-Victoria Nile

Goliath Heron- Kazinga Channel

Great Egret- Kazinga Channel

Little Egret- Kazinga Channel

Pink-backed Pelican- Kazinga Channel

Striated Heron- Lake Mburo

Shushi the male Shoebill Stork- This shoebill was confiscated from people who had captured it in the wild. Ugandan Wildlife Education Centre- Entebbe

African Jacana- Victoria Nile

Rock Pratincole- Victoria Nile