Sensational Shoebill

Seeing the prehistoric-looking Shoebill up close was just one of the many highlights of a birding trip to Uganda

The Shoebill was an absolute delight to see on a birdwatching trip to Uganda, says Ruth Miller

There are some birds in the field guide that instantly attract your attention and you think to yourself, “I HAVE to see that bird!’ The Shoebill falls into that category and captures the imagination in a way few other birds manage. One quick glance and you could be forgiven for mistaking it for a dinosaur. Although it was previously deemed a member of the stork family, it has now been classified as belonging with pelicans in the Pelecaniformes order. It inhabits swampy areas in Central and East Africa, and it was definitely top of our mostwanted list as we flew out to Uganda on our recent tour. We didn’t have long to wait before going in search of this oddball bird. Day one of our two-week trip saw us clambering aboard a flat-bottomed wooden punt and setting out into the papyrus swamps of the Mabamba Wetlands not far from Entebbe. Our rickety boat had seen many years of hard labour, and I was soon bailing out the swamp water as it seeped up around my feet whenever we stopped moving. In-between bailing, we were busily scanning for a large, grey, heron-like bird with a clog on its face.

Swooping and diving

We navigated out of the narrow entrance channel into a wide area of open water; much better visibility here and we scanned in all directions, checking the marshy vegetation for our target bird. All around us, White-winged Black Terns and Whiskered Terns swooped and dived for insects over the water; African Jacanas tiptoed among the wafting reeds, and a showy Black Crake sauntered over some exposed roots. We saw African Openbills, Hamerkops, Yellow-billed Ducks, Squacco Herons, Black-headed Herons, Striated Herons, and Egrets in every size: Little, Great and Intermediate. On the raptor front, we saw African Fish Eagle, and both Eurasian and African Marsh Harriers cruising over the swamp. All great birds and wonderful to see, but not our top target bird. Changing tack, our boatman nosed our punt into a narrow channel and the tall papyrus closed over our heads. Perhaps our Shoebill preferred the more secluded part of the wetlands? We couldn’t see very far in front or either side of us as the reeds brushed the edges of our punt and towered above us. We felt like Lilliputians, but at least our boatman on the raised stern was high enough to see around him, but even he was searching in vain. The clock was ticking. We only had a limited time here and the pressure was rising. Surely, we couldn’t start our birdwatching trip with such a crucial dip?

More like Jurassic Park

We returned to the open water and our luck changed as our boatman called across to a fisherman who was checking his rudimentary fish trap. We couldn’t understand the conversation, but we could certainly read the body language of an out-flung arm and a pointing finger. Our boatman leapt into action, our speed increased dramatically in the direction indicated and our hearts started racing. However, even without binoculars it was our sharp-eyed boatman who spotted it first: a grey leviathan striding purposefully through short vegetation in front of tall papyrus bed. Shoebill! Our punt drifted silently into the edge of the vegetation, and we gawped and gawped at this incredible creature, close enough to see every detail. Truly, we were transported to Jurassic Park. This immense dinosaur of a bird strutted forward slowly and imperiously, checking down among the wafting greenery for food lurking below. Grey all over and standing more than 4ft tall from the slight tuft on the top of its head down to its massive feet, this Shoebill had a dignified presence. Its harsh, pale eyes looked straight at us and dared us to laugh at the absurdity of its massive, clog-shaped bill. Comical it may have looked, but that bill meant business with a hooked nail at its tip and sharp edges designed to catch and decapitate its prey. The Shoebill suddenly lunged forward trying to catch a lungfish, its prey of choice. A nearby Intermediate Egret, itself no small bird and at no risk from the Shoebill, flew off to fish in a different part of the swamp, and the Shoebill continued to stalk through the short vegetation towards us looking for prey. We all held our breath, not making a sound and hardly daring to move. How close was it going to come? If anyone doubts the link between dinosaurs and birds, they need only see a Shoebill to be convinced. This modern-day dinosaur is alive and well in the Mabamba Wetlands in Uganda.

Much more on offer

Of course, Uganda offers more than just Shoebills, as we were to find out over the next two weeks, but having such an amazing encounter with the Shoebill on day one set the tone for the rest of the trip. We recorded more than 500 species of bird, including Great Blue Turaco, Rock Pratincole and Red-throated Bee-eater, to name just three. The charismatic mammals were a real highlight, too, as we enjoyed our very own David Attenborough moment with the Mountain Gorillas, plus close encounters with Chimpanzees, too, as well as seeing four of the ‘big five’. But no prizes for guessing which was voted ‘bird of the trip’: the unforgettable, inimitable, prehistoric-looking Shoebill.