"This year's big story in Africa was...."

World Bird Day:  May 5 (and Cinco de Mayo tambien!)

A few days before May 5th, Karen saw a fun notice from eBird that May 5th was going to be World Bird Day.  The notice encouraged people from around the world to go out on May 5th and record all the birds you see and/or hear on that day.  To get the competitive juices flowing, the announcement told how last year a team from Ecuador saw over 430 birds alone in the one day event.  A few years ago, Karen and I birded with Olger, an incredible Ecuador birder, who we know was on this Ecuador team.  We just could not pass-up this chance to bird in Uganda on World Bird Day!

One of Karen's favorite frequent visitors:  African Blue Flycatcher

Baglafecht's Weaver

Common Bulbul

Sacred Ibis

We next asked Justine, Milton, and Robert, folks we work with in Bududa, to join our team and keep their eyes open for any birds they saw on May 5th.  Once they saw a bird, we could use the East African bird guide to figure out the English name, if needed.  Granted, they think our birding ways are a bit amusing, but they were happy to indulge us and gladly joined in. We planned to put our lists together on May 6 or 7 and I would then send our complete list into eBird.  Our Team Bududa would join birders world-wide for this amazing day of birding around the globe.

Speckled Mousebird

In all, we ended up seeing 62 different birds.  The world count, around 6,900 birds, broke the previous year's record.  However, the really big news was told in the eBird account of the day, which came out May 10th and was found under the Africa section of the report:

"This year's world record would not have been possible without African birders.  Reports from 28 countries added a whopping 150 species over 2017's event, taking the continental total to 1,140.  A big thanks to the African Bird Club for helping get people excited across the continent.  Despite the terrible flooding in Kenya, birders made it out to report 479 species---#1 in the region.  This year's big story in Africa was Uganda, where a fantastic network of local guides and Tourism Uganda (and Team Bududa) helped get 34 birders (and teams) out across the country, finding 429 species---up from 116 last year!  Very impressive work, and we can't wait to see how Uganda eBirding grows by next year!"

It simply gets no better than this!!!

Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater

Team Bududa

Karen Vaccaro (Team Photographer extraordinaire)

Milton Watti

Robert Wakubona

Justine Kalenda

David Kern

The amazing Hammerkop

Red-billed Firefinch

One who brings true delightful:  African Pygmy Kingfisher

The Birds of the Big Day:

Hamerkop (M)                                               Bronze Mannikin (R)

Hadada (R)                                                     Black and White Mannikin

Sacred Ibis                                                      Red-billed Firefinch

Black-headed Heron (M)                            African Firefinch

Grey Crested Crane (M)                              Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu (R)

Ringed-neck Dove                                         Bronze Sunbird

Laughing Dove                                               Copper Sunbird

Spotted Eagle Owl                                         Red-chested Sunbird

Little Bee-eater                                              Olive Sunbird

Cinnamon-breasted Bee-eater                  Pied Wagtail

African Pygmy Kingfisher (J)                     Mountain Wagtail

Tawny-flanked Prinia                                   Fiscal Shrike

White-chinned Prinia                                   Lesser Grey Shrike

Willow Warbler                                              Gray-backed Shrike

Ugandan Wood Warbler                              Isabeline Shrike

Blackcap                                                           Pied Crow

Grey-backed Cameroptera                          Tropical Boubou

Singing Cisticola                                             Speckled Mousebird (R)

Yellow-bellied Hyliota                                  Yellow-throated Greenbul (J)

Yellow White-eye                                           Common Bulbul

African Golden-breasted Bunting             African Thrush (J)

Yellow-breasted Apalis                                Grey-headed Sparrow

Snowy-headed Robin-Chat                         Wire-tailed Swallow

White-browed Robin-Chat (M)                  Rock Martin

Northern Black Flycatcher                          White-headed Saw-wing

African Dusky Flycatcher                            Holub's Golden Weaver

African Paradise Flycatcher                        Baglafecht Weaver

African Blue Flycatcher                               Square-tailed Drongo

Pin-tailed Whyda                                          Forked-tailed Drongo

Red-billed Oxpecker                                    Yellow-fronted Canary

Brimstone Canary                                         African Citril

Hey PMFS Sixth Graders, Greetings from Uganda!

Hello everyone!  Karen and I are in our regional city of Mbale today after our six-day trip to the northeast region of Uganda.  Thank you so much for reaching out to us and sending us your questions.  We’ve tried our best to answer them and we have added pictures that relate to our answers. Please let us know what further thoughts and questions you may have.  I’m really looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks and attending your graduation from PMFS.  From all I have heard, you have been a great addition to the school!  Peace be with you in the days ahead.

Six days together going to Pian Upe and Kidepo.  Amazing experiences
 and stories shared with Robert and Charles, birders extraordinaire.
New friends made.

Questions from Sixth Graders:

Have you encountered any wild animals, like lions?

Have you met any people who are hostile to you?

Have you become close to anyone there, so far?

Why did you decide to start a blog?

What is your favorite blog post, so far?

Why did you choose to go to Uganda?

What is one of the biggest things you’ve learned, so far?

Look there, was that a flicking tail? Is that a sleeping lion----or two? 

With patience and wonder we get to see the younger male and female lions

The nervous buffalo herd pushes toward the sleeping lions

A mother and recent ly born baby Rothcshild's  giraffe----what a thrill to behold!

A small elephant group nurturing their young

Lions:  We have seen lions in different countries in Africa----and we just saw a male and female pair in Kidepo National Park in Uganda 3 days ago.  Schools in Uganda have three terms per year.  We just ended the first term and everyone is on a three-week break.  Karen and I used the break to head north to Kidepo for a five day birding and game-spotting trip.  We also wanted to see and learn about this part of Uganda, which we had never seen before.  On our first day in the park, as the day was ending, we luckily came across two lion tails swishing in the tall grass near the dirt road we were on.  The lions were lazily sleeping in the tall grass (it is the wet season in Kidepo).  We sat for some time taking in the beautiful landscape of the park waiting for the lions to move.  From the other side of the road a small heard of buffalo nervously moved closer to the lions.  The buffalo wanted to graze in the area of the lions, but moved very cautiously with several different opinions in the herd about which way to move.  We also made them nervous with our presence. Eventually they moved across the road and closer to the lions.  The lions got up, a magnificent young male and female, and graciously moved along out of the buffalos’ way. This entire scene unfolded over an hour’s time.  We felt grateful to be able to witness such things.  The next day, about this same time, we finally saw our first giraffe in the park.  There are several different sub-species of giraffe and the one that lives in parts of Uganda is the Rothchild’s giraffe, the most endangered giraffe.  We knew they were in Kidepo and really hoped to see one.  As we moved closer to this amazing animal we were totally delighted to see it was a mother with a very young baby.  Karen and I have seen young giraffes, but never one this young.  As with the lions the day before, we stayed with the giraffes for some time, but moved on because we were making the mother nervous.  We were so happy to have been with this mother and baby.

Some newer friends:  Justine and her children: Betty, John, and Isaiah

Dear, long-time friends:  Edwin Makui, age 86, and his sister-in-law, Agatha, and their grandchildren. Sadly, Edwin's brother, Johnny, passed away two years ago.  We spent much time  sharing ideas and dreams 12 years ago.

Visiting the fish farm at the home of James, the carpentry teacher at Bududa Vocational Academy. His wife, Irene, and their children show us around the farm

Relating to Ugandans:  I first started coming to Uganda to help build the vocational school and orphans’ program in 2003.  I last came here in 2006, so it has been 12 years since I was last here and 15 years since my first visit.  Karen last came in 2005, so it has been 13 years since she was here. In that time, Karen and I have gotten to know many people in Uganda and feel close to many people here.  We have never been treated hostilely by anyone, but we have met folks who try to charge us more money for things than Ugandans might pay for the same thing----but that is a pretty common experience for travelers around the world.  Of course before going, we try to learn as much as we can about the places we visit, including being able to speak a bit of the language.  We also try to move about with an open mind and an open heart as well as ask for help whenever we need it. One of the best things for us coming back to Bududa after 12 years has been seeing old friends we made from the past.  Catching up with each other, sharing some tea and groundnuts together, and meeting new family members are special moments for us.  Of course, no matter how close we are to our Ugandan friends, there are things about their lives we can never fully understand and the same is true for our Ugandan friends fully understanding our lives in America.  Be that as it may, our caring for one another and our support of each other is strong and continues to grow.  

A mother and baby Common Bulbul feed just in front of us at the Guesthouse front porch

Our blog:  We started our blog as a way to share our time in Africa with friends and family back home.  We’ve also enjoyed talking through our blog to a few classes, like yours’!  It’s been a lot of fun to put the posts together.  Karen really enjoys taking photographs and it’s been a great way to share some of her terrific photos.  My favorite post is The Ballad of an Eagle in Bududa.  I still can’t believe our Eagles are Super Bowl champs----and following them from Uganda was quite a ride.  Making that post just recounted all the fun and frustration of rooting for the Birds from over here. Hi everyone….this is Karen and my favorite blog is actually in two parts and is called View From the Front Porch – Parts 1 & 2. The front porch of the guesthouse we live in is a wonderful place serving many purposes. It is a gathering place for friends who come to visit us. We often make some hot tea and enjoy visiting with one another and sharing stories.  Also, we sit on the porch every day when we return from school to relax a little and to see our feathered friends….an amazing assortment of birds that always delight us with their antics and their beauty. Most recently we have seen a few babies who follow behind their mothers like glue, calling for food with open beaks. We’ve seen moms fly down into the field and return seconds later with a big cricket to feed their hungry babies. The front porch is also a very peaceful place to sit and read a good book, or look out on the beautiful green valley below us, or to watch the moon rise over the mountaintop.

Long-time friend, Grace, Director of the Children of Bududa program, and
two former children from he program who have gone on to become nurses
and now volunteer to help at the Saturday proram 

Coming to Uganda and learning:  I came to Uganda in 2003 because a Ugandan Quaker named George Walumoli came to Germantown Friends School in 2002 to see if anyone wanted to come to Bududa to help start a vocational school.  It was his dream to help the young people in his village. There are many African Quakers in East Africa, particularly Kenya, and George visited America through his Quaker connections.  He arrived at GFS unannounced and since I was teaching Quakerism to 7^th graders that day, we invited him to speak to our class.  He spoke about the need to create a vocational school in his village in order to train young people in real skills so that they could find employment and earn a living.  He also told us that many adults were dying of HIV/AIDS in Uganda at that time.  So, that there now were many children without parents who needed help with school fees, clothing, medical care, and food.  I went home that day after school and told Karen that I was going to Uganda next summer to help----when I heard George speak I knew I had to go.  After my first summer there in 2003, Karen and our son, Derek, who was ten years old at the time, decided they wanted to come, too. I had a six-month sabbatical from GFS in 2004 and so we were able to spend almost six months in African, the final two months in Bududa.  We think that folks in Bududa had seen white adults before, but never a white child.  Derek was quite the celebrity! Karen went back in 2005 and I went back in 2006.  By 2006, the school was built and starting up and the orphan’s program was also underway.

Agnes, received medical help from the program as a young
girl is now a beautiful young women.  Her father, John
is a Quaker pastor and a long-time friend

There are so many things I feel I’ve learned from coming here and I feel like I’m learning new things almost everyday----I could go on about this for a long time.  Probably one of the bigger teachings for me has been to witness people who live in real hardship continue to push ahead with hope and caring-----and be willing to share the little they have to make me and others feel welcomed and comfortable.  Living among such courage has been a true privilege for me. Hello again. This is Karen and I totally agree with what David just shared as one of my biggest learnings as well.  In addition, I have learned much about the resilience of the human spirit. Even in the midst of dealing with some very difficult challenges, for example, being orphaned, or not having enough food to eat, or getting sick with malaria over and over again, or having to walk miles to school every day (just to name a few), Ugandans smile so much. They seem to appreciate what they have and are happy to be alive. Approaching life with such hope and courage is a great teacher to me.

Eddy and Isaac, both orphans, and long-time members of the Children
of Bududa, often stop by and light up our day!

The Road Less Taken - Part 2

On the road again,

Goin' places that I've never been,

Seein' things I may never see again....

On the Road Again:  Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson

Walking can bring with it many memories.  Some may be of hard moments with head down against the wind, but others, like Karen and I remembering how we walked to our elementary schools as children, are more delightful.  It seems that modernization brings with it less of a culture of walking and with that the loss of daily personal contact where stories and news are exchanged.  Interestingly, folks who live and work in our downtown US cities can still enjoy this culture of walking and of course, many places in the world still move primarily by foot.  Our time and walking in Bududa has brought much of this thinking back to us and we hope The Road Less Taken series brings up similar thoughts and memories for you.

The road passes Justine's house (she is the guesthouse manager) and we often encounter her sons John and Isaiah (blue shirts) who greet us with huge smiles, high-fives and "Malembe! How are you?"

Children are everywhere along this road. We affectionately call it "munchkinland". They run out of their mud homes, out of the banana plantations, out of the fields to greet us with such enthusiasm and joy, with smiles a mile wide, one might think they are seeing us for the first time. But these same wonderful children greet us like this every day. We have taught them "high five," of course, and some of them love to whack us as hard as they can, smiling the entire time. Some will yell out "Good afternoon" in the morning, and "Good morning" in the afternoon, and all of them yell out to us , in English, "Mzunga, how are you?" We answer that we are fine, and how are you? And they reply "We are fine." 

These greetings happen all along the road, in fact, any road we happen to be walking on. The Lugisu (the local language) words are:

"Mulembe" ......"Mulembe" (Hello and Peace....Hello and Peace)

"Oriena?"......"Bulayi" (How are you?.....I am fine)

"Kamakhuwa?"......"Kamalayi" (How are you?..... I am fine.)

Such warm daily greetings are also reflected in how Ugandans are known for the warm manner in which they welcome visitors. When we first arrived in October, the Children of Bududa and Bududa Vocational Academy students greeted us with song, dance and drumming. It is quite a special welcome!

Some of the wonderful children that greet us daily along the road.

There is another side of this story. The great number of children in Uganda today is a very real concern: more than half of the population of 45 million Ugandans are 18 years or younger. This is a staggering number of young people in a country with an educational system that is seriously challenged to meet the  learning and developmental needs of its young people. Family owned plots of land are usually not expanded, but sub-divided, to accommodate  newly maturing members.  These plots are even now straining under the heavy agricultural demands placed upon them to feed families.  When children do leave the family homestead, how will these young people find jobs that will sustain them and their future families? How will they secure a plot of land to grow some crops? This is one big reason why the Bududa Vocational Academy is such a great school to have in Bududa District. The school is teaching youth valuable skills that will enable them to make a living as adults.

Another concern that impacts this population explosion is that many rural Ugandans are still having very large families. It is common for most families in rural areas to have at least 6 to 8 children (the Ugandan government currently puts the average number of children at 6) and families with 10-12 children are not uncommon. While we regularly see families across the region pitch in to help raise and support the children, the size of families creates many problems because large numbers of rural families nationwide cannot support so many children today. They can't feed themselves and their children adequately and can't afford to send their children to school, but they continue to have many children. The weight of the traditions of a rural East African lifestyle bring comfort and order to many peoples' lives, but in 2018 many of these same traditions create hardship and suffering.  

And so back onto the road...

Eucalyptus forest, home to many of the wonderful birds we see along the road.

Wattle and daub construction of woven wooden poles, a mud composit and
iron roofing sheets...a common home construction in Uganda.

Matoke, a green banana, is a favorite food among Ugandans
that is cooked and served with beans and vegetables.

The hamerkop is one of Africa's wonderful and unique birds. It is a fish eater, so we often see them along the river.

Through a government program, this nursery business grows coffee plants that are distributed for free to local farmers.

Wood is the main fuel for cooking and is in short supply,
so finding wood is a chore for all family members.

The path along the river.

In about an hour's time and roughly 2 miles of "footing" we have arrived at school for our daily efforts there to begin----and at the end of the day we head back up this amazing road to our home at the guesthouse.

We have arrived at school!

"May the road rise up to meet you....until we meet again" 
An Irish blessing.

The Road Less Taken - Part 1

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel them both....
Two roads diverged in the wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And it has made all the difference.
--Robert Frost

Each day, Monday-Saturday, we walk the 2 miles from the guesthouse to school.  In one of our first blogs we chronicled our walk to school by the main road.  There are actually several ways (paths) to school from the guesthouse and this post will share with you our favorite way to school.  It follows the same valley that leads to the village of Bududa and the school, but it goes up along the forests and fields of the valley hillsides. The road/trail takes us by small homesteads, by various livestock and choice bird habitats, by fields of maize and beans, and at this point in our time in Bududa, past familiar faces and acquaintances----with children at play and adults performing the commerce of living.  Every pass on the road can bring important news from another person "footing", or a chance to make a date to visit with a friend, or a  new insight into rural life in eastern Uganda, or even a new bird. We start our daily trek by rolling down the hill from the guesthouse porch....

We follow this path down the hillside from the guesthouse to the road below.
Across the road we enter a banana plantation where we see cows, chickens, goats and pigs.

Love this pig! Pigs are not plentiful in Bududa and most are kept confined, thus how nice and clean it is.Zero grazing is promoted here, though cows and goats roam free most of the time.

Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaters drying off after dipping into the river below. Delightful to watch their bathing antics.

Our encounters with children are often a joyful adventure.

Herding cows to market for sale.

Irene, a former Child of Bududa and BVA tailoring graduate is building a mud-house construction for her tailoring business.
She gave birth to her first son on May 5. She also has 3 daughters, two of whom are twins.

Men digging and weeding in a field of maize.

Blankets drying. Fences, bushes,and roofs are all used to dry clothes.

Children greet us with "Mzunga, how are you?" and lots of smiles and high-fives.

This last photo brings us to the half-way point on our walk to school. Our internet connection has been very intermittent, so we are sending Part 1 of The Road Less Taken, and will follow up with Part 2 as soon as we are able to load more photos. As we do, enjoy the walk!