The Uganda trip just completed was highly successful. We tallied 561 species including 8 owls, 6 nightjars with two separate Standard-winged Nightjar males displaying over females with their outrageous flags at the end of a primary, 38 raptors, 13 stunning starlings, and 20 beautiful sunbirds. Rollers and Bee-eaters also scored high on the list of gorgeous birds unlike the many cisticolas and greenbuls that can be identification nightmares. This was the highest number of species seen on any previous trip led by our guide, even one that was four days longer than ours.
We also had a total of 55 mammals including amazing treks for Chimpanzees and Mountain Gorillas, and 13 other primates. Night walks presented us with 4 species of what are commonly referred to as bush babies with 3 species of Galago and a Potto. We encountered 10 species of antelope, saw the famous tree-climbing lions, and a leopard snoozing in a tree.
The interactions among the family members of Gorillas were utterly fascinating. They were grooming, feeding and taking care of a six-month-old baby.
A night drive produced our only snake of the trip. It was a highly venomous Puff Adder observed safely from the vehicle.
A cruise on Lake Victoria brought us close views of Hippopotamus, Elephants, and Nile Crocodiles. The end of the lake gave us our only Finfoot and views of the spectacular Victoria Falls. Another boat ride on Lake Albert ended with seeing the equally gorgeous Murchison Falls.
Everyone felt perfectly safe the entire time and we had guards with us on tours and hikes within the national parks and reserves. The people and staff we encountered were very friendly and courteous and the service was excellent. The State Department overstates the risk of travel in many countries due to a handful of incidents. If this were not the case, I can't explain why every major tour company have trips scheduled for Uganda.
The Chile trip is scheduled for October 26 through November 17. Chile is varied with a huge range of habitats with altitudes ranging from sea level to over 15,000 feet and arid desert in the north to the glacial region in the south at Tierra del Fuego and Torres del Paine NP. We will visit the arid north birding both in the lowlands and the high Andean plateau with their various specialties.
A pelagic trip on the coast near Santiago could produce several Albatross species, storm-petrels, numerous shearwaters and petrels, the most beautiful tern on the planet being the Inca Tern. Magellanic and Humboldt Penguins and Peruvian Diving-Petrel among numerous other species are to be encountered. The temperate rainforest above Santiago has several specialties.
I am looking at a trip to Tanzania for April 2026 to the endemic areas of the Uluguru and Udzungwa Mountains among other locations. The trip would have about 15 days of birding and involve a couple strenuous hikes. I has originally planned to add the Usambara Mountains. I will save that area for a future trip that will include Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti since trying to cover all of the great locations in Tanzania would need at least four weeks.
The following September, I am considering an excursion to Bolivia with a May 2027 trip to Poland and Finland.
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