On the afternoon of Friday 30th April 2010, Sarah Nachuha Kasozi while accampaning students to Kibimba rice scheme for fieldwork observed one individual Greater Flamingo Pheonicopterus ruber among other bird species such as the Saddle-billed Stork, Pink-backed Pelican, the White Storks, Fulvous-whistling Ducks, African Spoonbill, Yellow-billed Storks, Grey-Crowned Cranes, hundreds of Cattle egrets, Little Egrets, Yellow-billed egrets, plus various small waders.
Kibimba rice scheme was created in 1974, with an initial land area of 650 ha but now covers an area of about 1,039 ha and is under the management of Tilda Uganda Limited, which is a privately owned company. Kibimba wetland consists of a long narrow strip of swampy land running from south to north and bounded by hilly lands on the west and east. It is located about 7 km from Lake Victoria and about 4 km from Lake Kimira, which drains into Lake Kyoga. It is within the Lake-Victoria climatic zone which is characterized by relatively high rainfall and small variation in temperature, humidity and wind throughout the year. On the afternoon of Friday 30th April 2010, SNK had accompanied students to Kibimba rice scheme, eastern Uganda, for fieldwork when she observed one individual Greater Flamingo Pheonicopterus ruber among other bird species such as the Saddle-billed Stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis (10 individuals), Pink-backed Pelican Pelicanus carb, (2 individuals) the White Storks Ciconia ciconia (50 individuals), Fulvous-whistling Ducks Dendrocygna bicolor (>200), African Spoonbill Plattalea alba (12 individuals), Yellow-billed Storks Mycteria ibis (30 individuals), Grey-Crowned cranes Balearica pavonina (35 individuals) hundreds of Cattle egrets, Little egrets and Yellow-billed egrets, and various small waders. These birds were located in a flooded block with water up to about 30cm deep. This field was being prepared for ploughing. However, due to the bad weather conditions on that day we were unable to take any pictures. On Sunday 8th May 2010 I traveled back to Kibimba and confirmed this record. During the second visit, the bird was standing alone and occasionally foraging, but this time in a dry rice block that had recently transplanted rice. Talking to one of the employers of the scheme, I was informed that the bird has been present since February 2010 (about 3 months). The Greater Flamingos are easily distinguishable from the Lesser Flamingos Pheonicopterus minor by their larger size, paler plumage. Their bill is pink with a restricted black tip, and the legs are entirely pink (Urban et al. 1986). Photographs for this observation were taken and can be accessed on NatureUganda website: www.natureuganda.org The presence of the Greater Flamingo and other birds at Kibimba rice scheme implies that this artificial wetland is increasingly becoming important for water birds (see also, Nachuha, 2006; Nachuha and Achilles, 2009). In addition, water levels at Kibimba are shallow, and the pH of the water is slightly alkaline (pH 8) (Nachuha, 2009) creating favourable conditions for this bird species, therefore NatureUganda should plan to develop a conservation strategy for this habitat scheme in its changed environment. The Greater Flamingo has been classified as a bird of Least Concern by the 2009 IUCN Red List category as evaluated by BirdLife International because it has a very large range with a large population that appears to be increasing. In East Africa it is common in Kenya, frequent in Tanzania and Rare or Vagrant in Western and Northern Uganda (Van Perlo, 1995). This record now includes eastern Uganda as part of its known range. Considering that this bird species is prone to irregular nomadic or partially migratory movements throughout the specie's range it is likely that this single bird came from the parts of east Africa were it has been sighted. |
