A pit-stop in Kibale National Park

One of the great advantages of birding with Emmy is that he can take you to some fantastic stops along the route that are not the main destination; one gem I learned about was the Chimpanzee Guest House. Last time we'd stayed at a small guest house (Kingo??) for super cheap but Emmy's standards are higher and since we'd saved some money this time ours were too. Along the main road we saw I think all the diurnal monkey species of the park, like these Gray-cheecked Mangabees along with White-naped Pigeon, Elliot's Woodpecker and White-spotted Flufftail, to name some.

Gray-cheecked Mangabees

Olive Baboons - not to be trusted

Cassin's Blue Flycatcher, a stream specialist

My solitary Flufftail stake-out was interrupted by an inappropriately dressed Wilson and an over-zealous Steve

At Chimpanzee Guest House, we ate an amazing meal and camped out on the lawn to offset the cost. It was so nice to be joined by Evie for the celebration.

Eating samaki with my favourite rafikis

The day began with an epic sunrise over the Kibale forest and adjoining tea plantations. I was about to be re-acquainted with a familiar bird from last trip, which had afforded only views of their bottoms. This time, they had returned, and in greater numbers. African Gray Parrots are, according to Steve, "One of the top three most intelligent birds on the planet" and "one of the top 5 most sought-after parrots by serious birders" (I don't remember if he said those worlds - he probably did). They put on a show to the point that Emmy struggled to get us to take our breakfast.

Sunrise at Chimpanzee Guest House

Gray Parrot

The next day, we birded the northern park road on our way out, which I'd never done. Reckless road expansion/truck activity by the Chinese construction companies caused us grave concerns about the ecological integrity of park management. Toxic chemicals had evidently killed hundreds of large sphinx moths and other insects on the roadside as a result of road-widening. I emailed the park with our concerns and questions but did not receive a reply, as I've not the several other times I've tried sending feedback to Uganda Wildlife Service. It's too bad they don't take into consideration what eco-tourists want, despite the fact that we essentially fund them.

Nevertheless, between passing truck noise, the birding was good. I re-saw many species I'd seen in Kakamega, and some new lifers: Wahlberg's Honeybird, Masked Apalis, Bocage's Bush-shrike and Blue-throated Bee-eater, to name a few! A fleeting glimpse of a Black Bee-eater left Steve in a state of rage and confusion, while I didn't think the view was so personally.

Masked Apalis - lifer! 

Joyful Greenbul

Watching Joyful Greenbuls (Credit: Ramata)

Then we continued the long road up to Budongo, through town after town which essentially all looked the same.