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Michelle Bontrager

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Birds and Wildlife - Semuliki National Park

June 29, 2025

Some of the smallholder farmers of the Semuliki Valley supplement their income with cacao.

Their cacao trees are intercropped with banana and other fruit trees, producing quality cacao beans.

Cacao Pods
Cacao Pods
cacao beans drying
cacao beans drying
sun drying cacao beans
sun drying cacao beans

In a far Western corner of Uganda there is a special region and national park known as Seumuliki. It’s rather remote, not on the way to anywhere in particular. Here are a few photographs I took on our brief visit there

a forest squirrel, regretfully we did not observe the flying squirrel

Black Casqued Hornbill a great distance away

What we learned in Semuliki National Park

  • Do not rush like we did. We tried to fit too many destinations that day and in the end felt as if we did an injustice to this unusual park

  • Be prepared for all weather. It was very hot and sticky under the thick canopy of the rainforest. Later that afternoon the weather turned wet and almost chilly.

Brown Breasted Kingfisher
Brown Breasted Kingfisher
Scarlet Chested Sunbird
Scarlet Chested Sunbird
Grey Headed Kingfisher
Grey Headed Kingfisher

Please spend a morning in Semuliki. In the early hours more birds will be singing and the light will enhance your photography.

Drizzly Afternoon Surprise

In Uganda Tags african safari, biodiversity, Birding, travel africa
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Birds of Florida

April 10, 2019

Indulging Peter of his thrill for birding I accompanied him to Florida’s Gulf Coast for the Thanksgiving Weekend. Florida’s Caribbean environment was humid and buggy, just perfect for bird life! We spent most of our time on Sanibel Island exploring the JN Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Not your typical beach vacation but I kayaked for the first time and shot a lot of birds I’d never seen before.

In Florida Gulf Coast Tags Birding, Ding Darling NWR
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