Calling all “Birders”

The date is set, and the microcosm of Africa is fluffing its feathers to showcase its birding. 

Pied Kingfisher by Corne Schalkwyk 

Uganda’s “Big Birding Day” for 2014 is upon us. Make sure to incorporate this great event annually into your birding dairy. Its sure to become part of the bucket list of every birder internationally.

Africa's best birding destination for birders and other nature enthusiasts. 

With more bird species per square kilometre than any other country in Africa. The country boasts an impressive national birds’ list of about 1060 species in a space of approximately 236,000sqm. This figure represents nearly half the bird species that can be found in the whole of Africa. With this number of bird species mainly in protected areas, a birding trip around Uganda is the most rewarding in the east and central tropical birding destinations.

Speckled mouse bird by C.T Schalkwyk

The bird counting exercise is conducted annually across hot birding spots in the country from mid-night to mid-night i.e. 24 hours. Participants look for and listen out for different species which they then include in their list of birds seen or heard. This year, all groups will be led by a professional bird guide to authenticate and confirm the records. It’s a great way to “up” your birding to a new level and learn from the local guides.

The Big Birding Day 2014 will be celebrated on 29th of November 2014 under the theme; “Birds & People, Friends for Life”. They will have a flag off & public lecture event on 27th November and the results will be announced on 6th December 2014 at the Uganda Museum.

Egrets on the bank of the White Nile in Uganda - Photo by Corne Schalkwyk.

This year’s “Big Birding Day” Exercise will be graced by renowned international birders from the United Kingdom and the United States of America which are the two biggest bird watchers’ source markets worldwide. 

The invited international birders have a wide following of their fellow birders all over the world and Uganda believes that by them experiencing birding in Uganda, they will be able to spread the Uganda birding experience worldwide. The country expects an influx of birders as a result of this exercise in addition to the normal Safari tourists and Gorilla trekking Safari clients.

For more information please contact: Tel: 0414 342 196/7 Email: utb@tourismuganda.info

Grey crowned or crested crane nesting , Uganda's National bird by Corne Schalkwyk

Premier Safaris will also lead specialist Birding tours to incorporate the birding day within their Uganda Meaner Safaris 

Capture the essence of birds

Getting that shot!

Fish Eagle taking flight along the Kazinga Channel by Corne Schalkwyk 

Surely, the most celebrated technical challenge in bird photography must be that of capturing crisp images of birds in flight. Though I personally find static portrait shots of birds at rest to be just as pleasing aesthetically, there is no doubting the dynamic power of a well-executed flight shot in the mind of the typical viewer. 

Birds are, after all, the dominant flying vertebrates, so in some sense the flight shot might be said to more fully capture the essence of the living bird.

Although still a novice at this, spending countless hours trying to capture this elusive “essence”, I can state it doesn't come your way without some hard work on the ground.

Bird photography is regarded by many as the most challenging branch of wildlife photography, and taking pictures of birds in flight is certainly the most difficult type of bird photography. With the right techniques, though, your hit rate for flight shots can be dramatically improved, making it possible to capture birds at their most spectacular.

African skimmers over the Kazinga channel by Corne Schalkwyk 

 What I have learned: Photographing birds in flight poses a real challenge for cameras and lenses. They have to be able to focus on rapidly-moving targets and stay locked on to them long enough to enable images to be captured, even if the bird flies in front of ‘distracting’ backgrounds. They have to be able to automatically set a correct exposure in fast-changing scenes and operate with shutter speeds fast enough to freeze the action. Finally, to give you a reasonable chance of getting a shot with the bird’s wings in a decent position, they need to be able to capture a burst of images in rapid succession.

Female Pied Kingfisher ready to dive by Corne Schalkwyk 

Flight shots are possible with most DSLR/lens combinations but, again, there are restrictions on the types of flight shots that can be handled by budget to mid-range gear. Almost all DSLRs can use shutter speeds of 1/4000th second or faster, which is fast enough to freeze virtually all flight action. They can also rattle off three or more frames per second, which will give you a reasonable burst of well-timed shots. Where budget models struggle, though, is with autofocus ability, making it very difficult to lock on to and track your subject.

This doesn’t mean you can’t get decent flight shots with this gear, but does mean that you will need to work hard on your technique and your hit rate may still be low but its possible (These photos were taken with a very basic Nikon D3100 that made it easy for me to carry and handle on a relatively small boat on the Kazinga channel)

Weaver bird landing at my breakfast at Mweya Safari lodge Uganda By Corne Schalkwyk 

For Safaris in Uganda including boat Safaris on the Nile and the Kazinga channel contact Premier Safaris. Website: www.premiersafaris.com (They have great specialist for birding Safaris as well) 

One of the best itineraries to use is the Uganda meander – 11 days of the best of Uganda.

For accommodation in these areas contact Marasa Africa who have great lodges in in the best locations within the national parks of East Africa: www.marasa.net 

Landing by Corne Schalkwyk