Shoebill Stork in Uganda
Shoebill Stork in Uganda
The shoebill stork in Uganda is a magnificent, unique, prehistoric, ancient-looking bird. Many visitors seek to look at it when they visit Africa/Uganda. Many refer to the Shoebill stork as the king whale head because of its head size. The Arabs used to call it (Abu Maruk) which means the father of the shoe. Others could call it a flying shoe because of its unique bill.
Uganda is a home of different bird species apart from the shoebill stork that inhabits the national parks. These include Queen Elizabeth National Park with over 600 species, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with over 350 species. Murchison Falls National Park harbors over 450 species while Lake Mburo national park with over 350 species. Additionally, Rwenzori National Park has over 217 species, Kidepo National Park with over 450 species, Mount Elgon National Park with over300 species, Semliki National Park with over 400 species, Mgahinga National Park with over 115 species, and Kibale National Park with over 370 species. Some of these bird species are endemic to the Albertine Rift and hence, you cannot find them anywhere else. This makes Uganda a birders paradise in Africa for the birding safaris. This is because it is a habitat of half of Africa’s bird species.
What Makes the Shoebill Stork Bird Unique
The shoebill stork in Uganda is a large outstanding bird with a shoe-shaped bill. Birding enthusiasts usually find it in the Eastern parts of Africa and they usually seek to see it.
It was named the shoebill stork because of its shoe-like bill. An adult shoebill stork has feathers that are mainly grey while the juveniles are browner in color. The shoe bill stork grows up to 150cm tall in height, 14 pounds in weight, 24cm in length, 20cm in width, and 230cm to 260cm wingspan. The male shoebill storks are a little larger and have bigger bills than the females. The bill of a mature adult is about 9 inches long, 4 inches wide with a hook at its tip.
Breeding of Shoebill Storks
The prehistoric-looking shoebill stork bird is a solitary creature with territories. It can be so protective of its territories and forms monogamous relationships during the mating season. This season takes place between April and June. The shoebill stork can live between 45 to 50 years or more. They make their nests on the ground where the eggs hatch from. The female shoebill stork lays two eggs and during the incubation process, both the male and female parents share the incubation duties for one month before the chicks hatch. After hatching, the female or mother feeds the chicks for one to two months before they adapt to feeding themselves.
What the Shoebill Storks Feed On
You can find the shoebill storks in Uganda along the lakes and in the swamp areas. It is for this reason that many refer to it as swamp specialists. The shoebill storks can stand easily on floating vegetation while hunting and they survive on food in water. This includes lungfish which is their main diet, frogs, lizards, baby crocodiles, water snakes, puddle fish, and fish among others. Because of the sharp edges on their wide bill, they can feed on water animals. Although the shoebill storks are water birds, they tend to be nocturnal. The shoebill stork doesn’t have webbed feet but they can still have the ability to stalk the prey in water. They can stand still for long periods awaiting the movements of the prey and then strike at a high speed.
When the shoebill stork is flying, they look beautiful while in the air because they have a wide wingspan with heads and necks drawn back. The shoebill stork seems inactive or slow while moving on the ground and tends to act like a statue. They stand still for a long time but are graceful in the air and when attacking their prey they pull back their wings and then approach their prey in a way demonstrating their strength.
Where To Find the Shoebill Stork in Uganda
Mabamba swamp
Mabamba swamp is in the West of Entebbe or Kampala on the northern shore of Lake Victoria. It’s a Ramsar site with thick marshes of papyrus, water lilies, and wetland grasses. Mabamba Swamp is one of the best and most convenient places where you can see the elusive shoebill stork. This is so because you can easily access it by either road or boat tour across Lake Victoria. At Mabamba Swamp, you do birding on a motorized wooden boat ride. You go through the trails in the thick marshes of papyrus reeds where you will see the shoebill storks when they are stalking their prey.
Life of Shoebills in Mabamba Swamp over time
Mabamba Swamp is home to about 14 shoebill storks. The best time to see them is early morning at around 7 am before there is more fishing activity in the swamp. Lungfish is the favorite food for the shoebill storks and also the most sought-after fish by the local fishermen. The fishermen had a superstition long ago that seeing a shoebill before fishing was a bad omen and resulted in a poor catch that day. They therefore used to hunt, kill, and also sell them and their eggs to the traders.
This led to the decline of the shoebill stork in the wetland. However, after designating the Mabamba swamp as a Ramser site in 2006 it protected the shoebill stork. It also helped the fishermen to understand the importance of this shoebill stork bird in Uganda. Nowadays, some fishermen have learned guiding and birding, while some rent out their boats to bird watchers. This has helped them to earn money hence protecting the shoebill storks.
The shoebill stork tour at Mabamba Swamp starts early in the morning in a motorized wooden boat. The boat carries three people for easy bird watching because the shoebill storks usually hide in the water weeds to fee on the ling fish, bird watching tour usually takes around three hours in the swamp depending on your luck of sighting the shoebill stork which makes your Uganda safari more interesting.
Shoebill In Uganda
Lugogo swamp in Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is in Nakitoma village, Nakasongola district northwest of Kampala. It is along the Kampala-Gulu highway on the main road to Murchison Falls National Park. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is the only destination in Uganda where you find the endangered Rhinos. You can see the shoebill stork bird when you go on a morning safari that starts at 6:00 am on a boat ride through the trail to Lugogo swamp, other birds will also be viewed including African cuckoo, Blue-spotted dove, White-crested Turaco, Ross’s Turaco, Barbets, Palm-nut vultures, Speckled breasted woodpecker among others which gives you a great experience on the safari.
Murchison Falls National Park
Murchison Falls National Park is home to over 450 bird species which you can view on a boat ride on the Nile Delta. Many visitors to Murchison Falls National Park usually take a boat ride on the top of the Falls while a few visitors take a boat ride down on the Nile to the delta area where the Nile flows or merges into Lake Albert where the shoebill storks will be sighted. The boat safari in Murchison Falls is best done in the morning in a motorized boat on River Nile and takes around four hours, the shoebill stork will be viewed standing still looking for fish to feed on which will make your safari memorable since most birders love to see this prehistoric looking bird.
Semliki Wildlife Reserve
Semliki National Park is a great destination for the shoebill stork and other bird species. These include the blue-breasted bee-eater, and blue-headed caudal among others, and the unique shoebill stork. You can see these species feeding on the shores of Lake Albert and the swampy areas where the shoebill stork stays. Visitors can see this magnificent ancient bird on a motorboat ride on Lake Albert.
One can also see the shoebill stork in Lake Mburo National Park which is in western Uganda in the Mbarara district and Nabajuzi swamp in Masaka district. The shoebill stork is the most sought-after bird in Uganda that can be sighted by birders any time throughout the year on a safari in Uganda, visitors can also take part in other safari activities besides bird watching. These include gorilla trekking and chimpanzee tracking in Kibale National Park among others which give you wonderful and adventurous safari experiences with lifetime memories.
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