Mabamba Swamp

Mabamba is a papyrus swamp on a bay of Lake Victoria a short distance from Entebbe, and it is the single most reliable place in the world to see a shoebill: a very large grey stork-like bird with a hooked bill shaped like a clog, which stands motionless in the channels waiting for lungfish. Canoes with local guides work the channels through the papyrus early in the morning. It is a Ramsar site and around three hundred bird species use it.

The landscape

• The shoebill - the most reliable site anywhere for seeing this bird in the wild.
• The papyrus channels - narrow waterways worked by canoe through the swamp.
• The lungfish - the shoebill's main prey, and the reason the birds are here.
• The wider birdlife - around three hundred species recorded in the wetland.

When to go

Year round; shoebills are resident. Early morning is much the best time, before the wind picks up and while the birds are active. Booking a canoe ahead is advisable.

Practical notes

Shoebill sightings are likely but not guaranteed. The canoes are small dugouts and the trip is a few hours sitting still. Guides vary in skill and the good ones should be requested by name.

Nearby

Entebbe is east, and Kampala is northeast.

Key facts