Where to see shoebill stork in Uganda

When it comes to birding in Uganda, shoebill storks are some of the interesting bird species majority of birders come to look for in prime birding destinations in Uganda. Uganda alone is home to about 1057 bird species, making it an ideal birding destination and a preferred shoebill stork photographer’s location in Africa. Uganda counts 50% of Africa’s bird species and 11% of the world’s bird species; therefore, this makes number one birding destination in East Africa, Africa and the world because of its high number of bird species with a good number of endemic bird species.

Shoebill storks are among the unique and endangered species of birds in Africa and each year attract photographers, bird lovers, filmmakers and production companies across the world. Uganda boasts being a stronghold of shoebill storks in East Africa, most of which thrive mostly in the various habitats – lakes, rivers, and swamps. Other than shoebill storks, Uganda still hosts different kinds of storks, including open-billed storks, saddle-billed storks, yellow-billed storks, and marabou storks, which filmmakers can conduct production films on while bird photographing and filming safaris in Uganda–The Pearl of Africa.

Where to go for photographing, filming and watching shoebill stork in Uganda?

Uganda Wildlife Education Centre

Located in Entebbe, the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) is home to a variety of wildlife and bird species which are endemic or about to get extinct, including shoebill storks. This makes it an ideal spot for photographing and filming the elusive shoebill storks in Uganda. From Entebbe Airport to UWEC is a 15-minute drive away, making it one of the most accessible shoebill photographing and filming locations. Additionally, filmmakers or companies can also film a variety of other wildlife, and what you ought to have included is media accreditation, among others.

Makanaga Swamp Bay

Makanaga Swamp Bay is a newly discovered spot for elusive shoebill storks located on Lake Victoria. Our Africa’s freshwater lake is home to significant shoebill storks in Uganda. The swamp bay is reachable from Kampala/Entebbe on a canoe/boat ride, or you can drive by road along the Kampala-Masaka Highway from Entebbe or Kampala and branch from Kamengo in Mpingi, and this takes over 1 hour or one and a half hours, depending on the traffic jam, and on reaching this swamp, you use the canoe boat to access the swamp. It offers amazing shoebill stork views plus a variety of other water species of birds worth filming and photographing. The shoebill tour to Makanaga Swamp begins early morning on a boat with an experienced guide.

Murchison Falls National Park

The largest Uganda safari national park park is home not only a big game but also to a significant number of shoebill storks and over 45o species of birds with both water birds and savanna birds. The majority of the shoebills in Murchison Falls National Park range along the Albert Delta, with incredible sights attainable from January and February to March.

Murchison Falls National Park is home to 450 bird species, and choosing it as your preferred shoebill photographing and filming location is a great chance to also see a range of other bird species. The park protects other special birds such as Abyssinian ground hornbills, red-throated bee-eaters, papyrus gonoleks, grey crowned cranes, giant kingfishers, northern red bishops, swamp flycatchers, squacco herons, goliath herons, secretary birds, African fish eagles, African pied kingfishers, and malachite kingfishers.

Besides birds, the 3840sq.kms national park also shelters a variety of wildlife, including solitary Cape buffaloes, African elephants, Nile crocodiles, leopards, lions, warthogs, Rothschild giraffes, hippos, and primates like chimps, blue monkeys, baboons, red-tailed monkeys, colobus monkeys, and others.

Semuliki National Park

Semuliki National Park, found on the far western side of Uganda, shelters about 442 bird species and is commonly known as a true birder’s paradise, including shoebill storks, making it one of the outstanding shoebill birding destinations in the Pearl of Africa. On shoebill photographing and filming in Semuliki National Park, filmmakers or production companies stand a great chance to film several other birds, such as the piping hornbill, swamp palm bulbul, black dwarf hornbill, great black casqued wattled hornbill, Ross’s turacos, red-billed dwarf, and African piculet.

There are also several leaf lovebirds, white-throated blue swallows, Bates’s nightjars, white-tailed robin chats, Sabine’s spinetails, piping hornbills, white-crested hornbills, blue-billed malimbes, red-thighed sparrow hawks, yellow-throated nicators and more.

Mabamba Swamp

Mabamba is, amazingly, one of the best shoebill stork spots for photographing and filming that Uganda prides itself on. The vast swamp lies on Lake Victoria, and it is accessible from Entebbe on a canoe ride. With your birding equipment, shoebill storks are the highlight of your filming tour on Mabamba Swamp Wetland. A total of 320 bird species are inhabited on Mabamba Wetland, and they include 7 threatened species plus 12 Lake Victoria biome-restricted species of birds.

While filming a safari on Mabamba Wetland, other birds to film besides shoebills include pied kingfishers, black-billed turacos, dusky long-tailed cuckoos, hairy-breasted barbets, black-headed herons, African open-billed storks, malachite kingfishers, grey parrots, papyrus gonoleks, swamp flycatchers, and more.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park isn’t only popular for tree-climbing lions but also for elusive shoebill storks and other varied bird species that total up to 600. This makes Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda’s second-largest park, an ideal shoebill filming location. The other special birds the park shelters and can be filmed include swamp flycatchers, grey-headed kingfishers, white-winged terns, pied kingfishers, slender-tailed nightjars, African skimmers, black-headed gonoleks, and Verreaux’s eagle owl, to mention but a few.

Lake Mburo National Park

Situated in Western Uganda, Lake Mburo National Park is interestingly one of the best shoebill filming spots. The park houses a good number of bird species – 351, including shoebill storks, plus other species of birds such as emerald-spotted wood doves, trilling cisticola, red-necked spurfowl, cheeky bronze-tailed starlings, Nubian woodpeckers, and more.

When to visit Uganda for shoebill stork watching, photographing and filming

Shoebill filming and photographing in Uganda is open all year round, but the traditional best months or time of the year is during the wet season. This is when several migratory bird species can also be spotted, and it is the breeding period for most birds. The wet or rainy season runs from March to May and October to November. However, there is a high possibility to conduct a shoebill safari even during the dry season – from June to September and December to February.