The Medley of Wonders!

Queen Elizabeth National Park is undeniably one of Uganda’s most popular tourist destinations.

The Kazinga channel close to Mweya Safari lodge 

 The park’s diverse ecosystems, which include sprawling savannah, shady, humid forests, sparkling crater lakes and fertile wetlands, make it the ideal habitat for classic big game safari, ten primate species including chimpanzees and over 600 species of birds can be found in this diverse ecosystem.

Set against the backdrop of the jagged Rwenzori Mountains, the park’s magnificent vistas include dozens of enormous craters carved dramatically into rolling green hills, panoramic views of the Kazinga Channel with its banks lined with hippos, buffalo and elephants, and the endless Ishasha plains, whose fig trees hide lions ready to pounce on herds of unsuspecting Uganda kob.

As well as its outstanding wildlife attractions, Queen Elizabeth National Park has a fascinating cultural history. There are many opportunities for visitors and meet the local communities within the park and enjoy storytelling, dance, music and more.

Child photographed at the Kazinga fishing village along the Channel 

Mweya Safari lodge one of the Pearls in the Marasa Africa crown hovers over the Kazinga Channel below. This 32-kilometre long, natural channel that links Lake Edward and Lake George, and is a dominant feature in the Park. The channel attracts a varied range of animals and birds, with one of the world’s largest concentrations of hippos and numerous Nile crocodiles and an incredible array of birds.

Buffalo along the Kazinga channel 

While travelling along the channel you are assured to encounter numerous fish eagles known for their very distinctive and some might say haunting call. These eagles are perched all along the channel ready to swoop down and grab fish from the water below.

Fish Eagle on perch by Corne Schalkwyk 

 It’s a spectacular sight to see them leave their perches or drag their catch to shore. But make no mistake this eagle will also catch monkeys or other birds and even crocodile hatchlings.

Take off by Corne Schalkwyk

Make sure to visit the peninsula in Queen Elizabeth to take in the spender of the reflecting water and its hidden gems.

Fish Eagle in Flight by Corne Schalkwyk 

   Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park is truly a Medley of Wonders!

For bookings or information on the lodges contact Premier Safaris at www.premiersafaris.com or email reservations@premiersafaris.com

Mweya Safari lodge - www.marasa.net

Meet the sheriff

We tend to concentrate on the big and harries, and forget about the smaller reptiles and birds.

Today I wanted to write about birds and decided to go right for the big boy, the sheriff amongst birds so to speak. This bird is bound to get even the non-birders attention. The Martial Eagle, the largest eagle in Africa and one of the most impressive birds to encounter while on safari.

They are the largest of the African eagles and incredibly powerful, capable of knocking an adult man off his feet. They reputedly have enough power in one foot to break a man's arm. The largest eagle in Africa and one of the largest in the world, the Martial eagle weighs in at almost 6.5 Kg. The upperparts are dark brown with a white belly with black streaks; the legs are white and have very large talons. The immature bird looks quite different from the adult. The adult eagle has a body length of between 78 and 86 cms , a wingspan between 1.9 and 2.6 m

In some areas birds form an important part of the diet, including guineafowl, francolins, bustards, and poultry. Birds as large as a European Stork are recorded to have fallen prey to the Martial Eagle.

Martial Eagles feed on gamebirds, hares, hyraxes, small antelopes, monitor lizards and other medium sized vertebrates. Nests are built invariably in trees, high above ground, but often in the largest tree in the area, growing on a steep hillside or in a gorge, where the bird has a clear sweep off the nest. Martial Eagles form monogamous pairs and they usually mate for life. Pairs tend to breed once every two years and the breeding season correlates with the dry season across their geographic range. Females lay 1 - 2 eggs and incubation takes approximately 45 - 50 days. Between 90 and 100 days after hatching the youngsters are ready to fledge.

They prefer uninhabited stretches of thornbush and savannah found over much of Africa, occurring also in open plains and semi-desert country. It spends much of its time on the wing, and is usually seen soaring about hill slopes, often at a very great height rendering it almost invisible to the naked eye. Early in the morning before it takes to the wing for the day, or in the evening prior to roosting it can be seen perched in trees.

Interesting Facts: Martial Eagles are the only member of the genus Polemaetus.

These photos were taken by Corne Schalkwyk during a visit to Mweya Safari lodge – while on Safari with Premier Safaris in Uganda.

Birding Safaris in Uganda  - Premier Safaris  visit www.premiersafaris.com or email reservations@premiersafaris.com 

To visit the lodge: Mweya Safari lodge is part of the Marasa Africa Group of lodges www.marasa.net 

The band of brothers

Last week, I travelled to Queen Elizabeth national park and more specifically Mweya Safari lodge to visit the Band of brothers.

This charismatic striped mongoose family was made famous by the BBC film about their daily lives and struggles around the lodge.

Banded mongoose much like their distant cousins the meerkats are part of the mongoose family, only twice as heavy if compared to the meerkat.

They are social animals, living in large family groups of up to 20 individuals, although the Mweya family is significantly larger than other families I have encountered at around 70 individuals.  They sleep in a underground network or whatever they can use for the same purpose and during the day they venture out of their dens in search of for food. Their diet consists mainly of scorpions, beetles, lizards, eggs and small mammals.

They forage in groups but unlike the meerkat they don’t use a century to guard the group. They need to be extremely vigilant while they are out in the open so that they aren’t surprised by predators such as birds of prey or jackals. They also stand on their hind legs as they aren’t very tall so they try to seek out the high ground in order to get a better view of their surroundings. The higher the vantage point the better so they will go to impressive lengths to find that perfect lookout post!

These banded brothers are completely wild but over time they have become habituated to humans. They have been used for research for many years and have become part and parcel of the Mweya Safari lodge experience.

If you are patient you can easily gain their trust and get up close and personal with these inquisitive little fellows.  They would even allow some people to touch them although we don’t recommend it.

All the members of the group are related to each other and you can have up to 9 generations in the same family.

The banded mongoose doesn’t have a single dominant pair and interestingly the females are able to time their date of birth to coincide to create a nursery environment. These pups are then raised by the family as a unit.

This family has been part of ongoing research since 1994 providing a fascinating insight into their species and social system.

For those interested in meeting these little fellows, you can always contact “Premier Safaris” at reservations@premiersafaris.com or look for programmes on their website at www.premiersafaris.com

Mweya Safari lodge is part of the Marasa Africa group of lodges in East Africa – www.marasa.net