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Studying the vulnerable Shoebill in Uganda

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Updated: Jan 21

WWA seeks to raise US$2000 to cover the purchase and supply of trail cameras and equipment for this project


The iconic Shoebill is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red Data List for birds with a small declining population across all of its range.


The Shoebill stands at up to 60 inches tall and is found in quite a few countries across Africa, inhabiting fresh water wetlands. It feeds mainly on fish, frogs, small reptiles, rodents and water snakes. In Uganda, the Shoebill is found in at least 12 out of the 34 Important Bird Areas including Mabamba Bay, a wetland on the edge of Lake Victoria northwest of Entebbe, home to over 300 bird species. Mabamba Swamp is famous for its lungfish, a frequent prey of the Shoebill, who lift them out of the water with the hook on their lower beak and swallow them whole.




Judith Mirembe works with Shoebill-Watch Uganda, an NPO whose aim is to conserve and create awareness about the Shoebill (and other birds) and their habitats, and to help ensure associated eco-tourism livelihoods for local people. Judith, who is also the current Chairperson of the Uganda Women Birders Association, started researching the Shoebill on a fellowship with the Zoological Society of London in 2017, looking at the species’ abundance, threats faced and dominant vegetation in their habitat. Her current project is to monitor breeding success, a most interesting study because the Shoebill rarely raises more than one chick, yet hatches more as ‘back-ups’ in case the eldest chick dies.


The Shoebill offers birdwatcher and general eco-tourism livelihoods to communities living close to its wetlands, many of whom strive to protect the species and their habitat.


Our mission: WWA seeks to raise $2000 to cover the purchase and supply of trail cameras and associated hard and software to assist Judith and her colleagues to pursue their studies and conservation efforts for this remarkable bird.


More information on this organisation can be found at https://shoebillwatch.org

Photos: Judith Mirembe

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