One of the core objectives of the Uganda Women Birder’s Club is to empower and mentor fellow women through peer learning and exchanges during birding excursions and trips. Women are often inspired to pursue professions where they find fellow women, as these spaces feel safe for them.
We embarked on a day’s excursion to Semiliki, a lowland forest lying between 670 to 760 meters above sea level and attracting a diversity of West African species and Congo-Guinea biome species. The forest is an extension of the Ituri Forest in the Congo. The forest has over 400 species of birds and notable above these is the; range-limited African Piculet, Red-billed Dwarf Hornbill, Yellow-bellied Wattle-eye, Long-tailed Hawk, Hartlaub’s and many others.
The excursion was led by Patricia Kansiime one of our pioneer bird guides based at Kibale National Park. Patricia shared her wealth of knowledge on forest birding where she has practiced for over 6 years. We had an impressive checklist of birds evidenced in the eBird report https://ebird.org/checklist/S381484053
Additionally, we visited the Sempaya Hotsprings where boiling water emerges from underground at over 100 degrees Celsius. We had a great time bonding, learning from each other and look forward to the next.