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Director Barry Sonnenfeld speaks to projector reviewers at a Sony Symposium Wednesday.
4K Flat Panel, 4K Front Projection, 4K LED LCD, 8K ultra-high resolution, CEDIA, Connected TVs, HDR, Netflix, News, Sony, Streaming Services, UHDTV
Sonnenfeld: Not Everything Needs To Be Shot In 4K, HDR
Greg Tarr, September 6, 2018 16 min read
Director and cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld delivered an unexpected message Wednesday to home theater product reviewers attending a CEDIA Expo-eve symposium for Sony's 2018 4K SXRD projectors — 4K and high dynamic range (HDR) are great, but not everything looks better using them.
Sony brought the legendary director of such hits as the three Men In Black movies and Get Shorty to discuss his thoughts on the state of the art in home theater equipment as well as the new tools technologies like 4K and HDR are giving him to tell his stories.
Despite seeing some impressive images from Sony's new 2018 4K SXRD projector models, Sonnenfeld wasn't exactly ready to start grading all of his new productions with ultra sharp, contrasty pictures. In fact, he said there are many times he feels an image looks better when it's soft and flat.
More importantly, he echoed the sentiments of many of his fellow content creators in urging Sony and other manufacturers to do something more to turn off motion smoothing circuitry that makes certain 4K movie images look unnaturally sharp.
The following is a transcription of Sonnenfeld's speech (just as the director intended):
Barry Sonnenfeld: "I'd like to see what ever you guys can do to make your projectors be incapable of producing anything in Cineflow, Motionflow.. In fact, the guys that do Stranger Things have contacted me because they want to find a way to prevent those controls from becoming default, because it really is, truly a horrific thing that is happening.
However, I do worry that the AV guys who are going to install those projectors don't have a clue what they are doing.
I don't want to sound really old, but the more technology advances, it retreats a little at the same time. So, what I've been doing over the past bunch of years is take advantage of technology's good stuff and minimize the bad.
One of the few technologies that have actually become better without becoming annoying is the digital projector.
For the past 23 years I have always had a screening room in my home, some bigger, some smaller. In my case, this was partially out of a work requirement and partially out of self defense. For 30 years I lived on East Hampton, Long Island (N.Y.), where the local movie theater was run by United Artists. The screens were small and dirty and the floors had many years of toxic, spilled sodas and Milk Duds, and I would only wear, shoes or sneakers that I was ready to throw away upon leaving the movie theater, since most of the sole would dissolve during any movie at the rate of 1% per minute. That's why I would never go to a movie that was over an hour and a half long.
I had 90 minutes to watch it, get out and go home before I had no shoe.
We had the premiere of Get Shorty, which I directed, at the East Hampton UA Theater. I went in the day before to do a test run. I wore shoes that I would never wear again, and of course, the sub woofer had been disconnected years earlier, because when ever a loud movie played in the main theater people in the next one complained that they were being disturbed by the thumping next door. So management turned off the subs.
The surround sound speakers had been disconnected because there was a hum.
Unfortunately, this is not symptomatic of just that small movie theater.
Although the theater-going experience improved with stadium seating, Atmos, better projection and sound systems in general, they're often not well maintained even by the theaters you would think care more.
I premiered Wild, Wild West in LA. In the movie capitol of the world, in a theater that had been playing what ever that Star Wars was at that moment. Warner Bros. didn't want to spend the money to have Lucas Films' THX division come down to tone the room.
They said, `Come on. The theater is playing George Lucas's Star Wars. It's gonna sound great.'
So I said, "No, get THX down here." So, THX came down to… it was either the Mann or the Chinese Theater … and there were no subs. The sub woofers had been disconnected. So George Lucas owed me thanks for toning his room again.
I've always felt it is the transmission… the last stop in the process that screws everything up. Musicians spend endless months working on their new album so that kids can listen to it with bad ear buds. Directors and cinematographers spend years creating a brilliant movie only to have it watched on iPhones with too much ambient light, and in the case of a theater, some how it doesn't have the speakers working or the projectors are putting out 50% fewer foot lamberts than are required.
I've never had a premiere, ever, where the theater's projector was putting out more than half the industry's standard for foot lamberts.
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When I arrive in the theater I make them clean the projector glass which has been filthy from decades of neglect and is putting out half the foot lamberts and no contrast because the theater glass is smokey and filthy. No one maintains their stuff, and that's where home theater is fantastic.
I want to tell you a little about my home theater history. I've always used Sony projectors, in part, because they've always been much quieter than other projectors.
The first projector I had, which I am calling a VPH1270Q, which was a three CRT projector, was in my theater screening room, and I had the best screening room on the East Coast. Spielberg, I call him Speily, used to come up and watch movies. It was a double system 35mm projector screening room.
It had its own separate projection booth, and the 1270Q was in that room. When we sold that to first Roy Furman [who later sold it to] Harvey Weinstein, both men bought it for the screening room. Not because it had a view of England, but because of the screening room. It had curved walls. It was extraordinary.
But when we sold it and went to a different home, I built a special channel and put in my [Sony Qualia] 004, so it could be air conditioned and it could be quiet, because although I was a cinematographer, I loved sound, and I'm actually more involved in sound than picture these days. I then discovered that that projector was so quiet, I didn't have to have it in a special ventilation system, and I actually just left that off so I could have access to the projector easily.
One thing [I like] about Sony projectors is how amazingly quiet they are.
I loved the three CRT projector so when I moved to this new home I bought the 004, which I loved. Eventually, we moved year round to Colorado, and we have a screening room there which I love. At first we put in an ES200, which was great but was not 4K, but what it did have, which was fantastic, was a separate system that would move over and anamorphosize and de-anamorphosize, which is now built into these projectors. But it used to have this separate thing [for the aspect ratio masking], which I just loved. I'd have my friends sit in a room looking at a 16:9 letterboxed image. I started the show and then I'd press the button and my side masking would open up and widen out and they'd say, `Wow, this is amazing.'
My theater also has six sub woofers. It has more sub woofers than any theater in America. It is extraordinary. People in other counties call me up and ask me to lower the subs. So, I loved the ES200, but then the real game-changer was the ES1000, which I still own, which is great because it doesn't have that separate thing. And it's 4K and 3D. If you ever saw the first Thor, it was even better in 3D.
We get Academy screeners. So we spend all of November and December watching our movies.
I do believe that home theaters are the future of the industry. One of the biggest reasons is because of what is happening to the streaming networks. Studios like Netflix, Showtime, HBO, Amazon and soon Apple, are releasing content that is not available in theaters, but have the scope, scale, sound and high-end photography that is as good as theatrically released movies.
Truthfully, the writing is better and more compelling than what you would see in a movie theater. Sweetie and I go downstairs every night to watch Netflix and turn on a television series much more than we watch a movie.
It's interesting, technology is often ahead of both science and art, and I don't think any of these streaming services would exist, truly, if it wasn't for the advent of 16:9 gas plasma and then LCD, LED screens and home theaters.
When I started working on television, we had to frame for 4:3, even though we had to protect for 16:9. The image was all about 4:3.
You would never have seen a show like Breaking Bad, which is full of scope and scale and wide shots, if it wasn't for technology leading art.
But moving forward technology is both good and bad. Technology has brought us much better sound — I have all of those subs. But here's the really bad news, and I'm going to just attack Motionflow and Cineflow and all of those flows. Then, I'll get into HDR, which I also have problems with. You guys have to solve my problems.
Years ago I walked into the Sony store on Madison and 55th Street. Every television for some reason was showing Titantic. Sir Howard would never have let that happen, because it probably would have been a Sony movie. Probably Spiderman.
But in any case, every television was showing Titantic and I called a salesman over and I said, `What happened? All of these televisions look horrible! On every set is a disaster and I don't think it's because of the iceberg.'
And the salesman said, `Oh, is that because they all look like General Hospital?'
`Exactly. It looks like I'm watching The Making of Titantic.'
Of course he picked up the remote, went through endless layers of menus and then he turned off the button that was Cineflow or Motionflow or whatever, and it looked like a movie again.
Unfortunately, engineers of all the television manufacturers think that video looks better than film, and that sharper is better than softer, and I think in some cases they are wrong.
In fact, I left the L'ermitage Hotel in LA where stayed because they refused to give me the remote to turn off Cineflow. I could not watch anything on TV and I was there for weeks at a time. So now I'm back at the Hotel Bellaire which is fine.
So here's the truth: 4K video and 8K for HDR are not the answer for all situations. 4K and 8K are good for two things only: marketing and watching hockey. That is it. I've always claimed that no one has seen a hockey puck go into a net before 4K. Before, people would see a red light go on and hear a horn and say, `Oh, someone must have scored.' But they never had actually seen a hockey puck until 4K. I think that's fantastic.
I've just finished up three years working on A Series of Unfortunate Events for Netflix. Netflix insists that all of their shows be shot on 4K cameras, which is fine, although it means the most filmic-looking camera, the Arriflex Alexa, cannot be used to record a Netflix show.
This is 3.7K. That's just wrong. Actually, it's not helping the viewer. It is hurting the viewer. It's another victim of progress.
Other studios are starting to make the same demands. So what is the cinematographer to do about shooting in 4K? If we buy really crappy lenses without any anti-reflective coating made in the 50s and 60s. Suddently the cost of CoAP lenses is skyrocketing because they are really old and not nearly as good as modern lenses.
In our case we use the best and sharpest lenses, which are called Master Primes, but we put Harrison double fog filters in front, we put glitter filters in front. We do everything in front of the lense to make it not look like 4K, because we don't want everything to look sharp. We don't want everything to look contrasty.
No actor wants to be shot on 4K without filters in front of them. They don't look good. They look crappy. We are making art and we are not filmming a science experiment.
So, now I want to talk about HDR. I shoot a lot of still photographs and I love HDR. I shoot everything in HDR because I lived in Colorado and it's really contrasty.
The trees, when the sunlight hits them, will be f22, the shadows will be f1.4, there is no way I have that much range on any sensors. So what I do with HDR is shoot 9 bracketed photographs: three exposures under 2, one over normal, one over, two over, three over. So I have these 9 stops of range and using software I can over expose the shadows, I can under expose highlights and create beautiful HDR still photographs.
I tried to convince Sony with their Alpha still cameras to extend their bracketing range and they wouldn't do it, and they were wrong. It would only do it to 2/3rds of a stop, three stops over and under. I begged them to extend the range. So I am a man who lives for HDR.
But it's terrible as a device for all situations. For indie features it's great. For nature shows it's great, because you want to reduce contrast. In my case, I shot three years of A Series of Unfortunate Events on a stage in Vancouver. We controlled everything. We never went outside.
We built islands and beaches and forests and night time sets and caves. But we controlled the exposure. We controlled the lighting and we had a very narrow pallet — a very moody, narrow dark kind of image.
The first season looked extraordinary because we finished it on [Standard Dynamic Range]. Netflix, or course, for marketing reasons, wants to say everything is HDR, and we started to finish the second and third seasons in HDR and I said to Netflix, `This is horrible. You've got to come and see this.'
And then the night before they were I going to come, I realized that I was going to lose the battle and the difference wasn't as much as I thought. Truthfully, if I didn't control it. All of the new televisions were going to have HDR anyway and they were going to expand that image to HDR without my control.
But here's the thing. What HDR tried to do was to say, `I see Barry's images and poor Barry, there's no contrast. I am going to help him. I am going to expand the range.'
I didn't want high dynamic range. I wanted it flat and moody. But it does it anyway. It took these light bulbs that had exposure to them and brightened them. If you tried to darken those light bulbs they would just solarize. Lemony Snicket's white collars would just glow like it was under ultra violet light, and so we would add mattes just for his white collars.
At the end of the day, we took twice as long in the HDR suite as we needed and we got it close but not as good as what we wanted.
Admittedly, it would be better because when those television sets expanded at least I controlled it.
The point is: just because it can be done doesn't mean it should be.
So what I'm telling you, is how can you guys fix the user experience with menus or with education? Because, I'm telling you, all of these years that I had these screening rooms, the guy comes in when I'm not there. He sets up my room but I don't know any installer that really spends the time [to educate the user]. Maybe you guys need YouTube instruction manuals or lessons right on the projector so that I can play a couple of lessons from the projector and know what to do because no one will tell you.
But I want to have button so I can turn off HDR, and I want to be able to turn off Cineflow and never have it turn on unless I'm watching a hockey game.
Allen Daviau, the cinematographer said, `I've been shooting HD for years. It's called 35mm film.'
What 4K is doing, and 8K will be even worse, is totally preventing costume designers from using certain clothing. Because of moire, you can no longer have certain stripes. You can't have checks. You can't have hounds tooth. Before we put any costume on any actor we test fabric now, which we never had to do. But so much of it is moireing now because of 4K, and 8K is going to make those stripes even wider before you can use them.
Again, just because technology can do something doesn't mean it should be done. I wish you guys could come up with a way to anti-moire things and to come up with a way to not be as sharp. Because we are doing everything in our power to actually make the lenses worse.
But I think another reason home theater in the future is going to be great is because of technology like Kaleidescape. I think it won't be long before we are able to watch first-run, day-and-date releases in our home theaters, due to things like Kaleidescape and their level of privacy protection."
By Greg Tarr
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Tags #4K SXRD projectors #Barry Sonnenfeld #CEDIA Expo 2018 #HDR #High Dynamic Range #motion smoothing technology #Sony
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Greg Tarr
Greg Tarr is HD Guru.com managing editor specializing in hard news and feature reporting from the consumer electronics industry. He is a 32-year veteran of the consumer electronics industry covering the development, marketing and sales of consumer TV and video products, cameras and home theater equipment. Prior to joining HD Guru.com, he was an editor at CE retail trade publication This Week In Consumer Electronics (TWICE) and before that, Home Furnishings Daily (HFD). He began his career in journalism in the 1980s as a sports writer and later political reporter for several Connecticut daily newspapers. In his career, Tarr was recognized twice as HDTV journalist of the year by the Academy of Digital Television Pioneers for his work covering the U.S. transition to digital television broadcasting.
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text:
The NZMA's regular publications include: the Code of Ethics for the medical profession. Vital Signs is a weekly newsletter for members.
The NZMA also publishes the New Zealand Medical Journal, New Zealand's leading scientific publication for the medical profession and a key benefit for members, who have access to the 20 issues a year on publication date. Non-members must wait six months after publication for access to Journal material. However, manuscripts deemed of public interest may be made Open Access (no paywall) and Covid specific manuscripts are open access at this time (June 2020).
Members also receive five issues a year of the NZMJDigest, an e-magazine with news and views of interest to the profession, along with highlighted material from the New Zealand Medical Journal.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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After breakfast at hotel, start city tour with Hochiminh Complex for visit Hochiminh Mausoleum, Hochiminh Museum and One pillar pagoda, Tran Quoc Pagoda. Continue to visit Literature temple, the first University in Vietnam in 16th century. Have lunch in one of famous restaurant in Hanoi.
PM: Visit ethnological museum then have cyclo in the old quarter and visit Dong Xuan market, enjoy water puppet show in the afternoon.
Pick up at your address in Hanoi at 8:30 by Van and drive to Halong.
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MoJ seeks views on expanding mediation
The government issued a call for evidence today on how to settle disputes away from court, in a bid to put technology and dispute resolution 'at the heart of the future system'.
Over the next eight weeks, the Ministry of Justice will seek stakeholder views on the best ways to settle family, business and other civil disputes without resorting to litigation. Responses are expected to shape future reforms to civil, family and administrative justice.
The ministry defended the eight-week time limit – over the summer vacation – by saying that the exercise is a call for evidence about how the system is currently working and that any proposals would be subject to further scrutiny.
Robert Buckland, lord chancellor, said: 'We want the public, families and businesses to be able to resolve disputes easily and with as little stress as possible – avoiding often lengthy and costly court battles. That is why I am delighted to launch this important call for evidence which will help shape our plans to harness new technologies and ensure more people can get resolutions in ways that work for them.'
Justice minister Lord Wolfson added:'Too often the courts aren't the best means for reaching such outcomes. That is why we want to improve the range of options available to people to resolve their issues, ensuring less adversarial routes are considered the norm rather than the alternative.'
The government cited research suggesting that more than 70% of those using mediation services will resolve their issues outside of a courtroom. It added that only 3% of the two million civil proceedings issued went to trial in 2019, 'showing the vast majority of claims can be resolved without the need for a judgment'.
In March, the government announced that parties will be given £500 vouchers to resolve family disputes outside of court. The vouchers are part of a £1m scheme which the government hopes will bolster the use of mediation after referrals nosedived following the 2013 legal aid cut.
The MoJ's call for evidence closes on 30 September.


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Emerging Constitutional Strategies
Claire Charters
The author discusses Andrew Butler's "Limiting Rights", Anthony Lester QC's "The Magnetism of the Human Rights Act 1998" and Cheryl Saunders' "Protecting Rights in Common Law Constitutional Systems; A Framework for a Comparative Study" to illustrate that the tension between rights protections and democracy could in fact lead to constructive strategies which protect both democracy and human rights in the future. At first instance, there appears to be a tension between the unilateral enforcement of individuals by the judiciary, and the democratic rights of the whole of society. However, the three papers presented by Butler, Lester QC and Saunders illustrate that comparative analysis shows that society places fundamental value on both. The author concludes that societies should strive to strike the ideal balance between the two.
Charters, C. (2002). Emerging Constitutional Strategies. Victoria University of Wellington Law Review, 33(3 and 4), 467–476. https://doi.org/10.26686/vuwlr.v33i3 and 4.5835
Claire Charters, Do Māori Rights Racially Discriminate Against Non Māori? , Victoria University of Wellington Law Review: Vol. 40 No. 3 (2009): Victoria University of Wellington Law Review
Claire Charters, Andrew Erueti, Report from the Inside: The CERD Committee's Review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 , Victoria University of Wellington Law Review: Vol. 36 No. 2 (2005): Victoria University of Wellington Law Review


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Schrodinger's Message
by Brent C. Smith
Brent is a recent transplant to Portland, Maine where he pushes buttons as a vocation and as a creative outlet and is hoping to survive his first winter in the way north. He is a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop and can be found online at BrentCSmith.net.
Sarah sips her coffee without tasting it, the last of the week's ration burning her throat. The wall monitor next to the rickety metal kitchen table blinks the time in block white letters, 05:06, much too soon for her to be awake. Her shift at the factory won't begin until eight, but she's hasn't slept well in this house since Teddy left. Too empty. Too quiet. A sense of suspense that something is happening impossibly far away while time in her deteriorating row house stands still.
Below the clock, a line blinks in urgent red. "One new message." Below that, the message header from the Adjutant General's office, with the title "Re. Theodore J. Calhoun."
She scratches at the paint on the table where it's flaking away to bare metal and tries to remember Teddy's face as he boarded the transport four years ago. But all she can conjure up are memories of him as a boy--eating breakfast at this table, the paint hidden by a tablecloth since donated to the war effort. She remembers his fierce smile as he played Zero-G ball at the recreation center, and how solemnly he'd stood at his father's graveside as dirt thudded on the empty coffin.
He'd grown up almost without her noticing. Like his father, he'd enlisted at the first opportunity, determined to follow his hero, a man he barely remembered, to a distant planet to fight an enemy that few on Earth had ever seen.
She should've been prepared, but she'd forgotten youth's exuberance. The war had worn it out of her, worn it out of everyone left behind. Two generations of waiting and loss, husbands and wives, sons and daughters returning only as a name in an electronic communication, their bodies abandoned on some impossibly distant world.
Urgent messages only came to a house like this for one of two reasons, she knew. A commendation for some act of valor, news of a promotion maybe, a cause for pride and a quiet, uneasy celebration. Or, like the message she'd received twenty years ago, a short paragraph filled with words like "profound sorrow" and "loss," and vague details that did nothing to help a person comprehend why her husband would never return home.
She lifts her finger to the screen and pauses over the button to open the message, but then folds her finger into a trembling palm. As long as the message remains unread, her son is alive. She moves her hand away and sips her cooling coffee, composing the message in her imagination.
Dear Mrs. Calhoun,
It is with (profound regret)(great honor) that I inform you of the (death)(promotion) of your son, Theodore J. Calhoun, 48417EIX, Infantry, during the recent actions on Denebis IV.
Your son performed valiantly during a key engagement with enemy forces, and was personally responsible for saving the lives of his regiment with his courageous actions. He has been (posthumously)(personally) awarded the Medal of Honor for his (sacrifice)(bravery) during this conflict.
I realize the (burden of sorrow)(upwelling of pride) that you must be feeling, and I am deeply (sorrowful)(proud) to be conveying this news to you. Your (son's body)(son) will return on the next returning transport through the Terran-Denebis wormhole.
Please accept my utmost (sympathy)(congratulations) in this time of (sorrow)(joy).
Eduardo G. Hernandez
Her coffee is cold now. The time reads 07:12. She should ready herself for her shift. Ten hours monitoring an assembly line littered with metal fittings for the war and then a slow shuffle in the winter chill to this house where she has lived alone for the last four years. Will her heart ever beat faster at the sight of a loved one passing through the threshold? Or will she continue to deteriorate in step with the house around her until she too is gone and there is no one to remember her life and her family?
Teddy has lived in her memory for the past four years. Her husband has endured there since she was young and hopeful and still eager to sample life's possibilities. There's a lonely contentment in living with memories and possibilities. A pale reflection of what she once dreamed her life would be, but a rock to cling to nonetheless.
She shuts off the monitor and rises to prepare for her shift. For today at least, her son will continue living.
This story was first published on Wednesday, October 1st, 2014
We hope you're enjoying Schrodinger's Message by Brent C. Smith.


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We have two methods of testing hormones. One way is to test blood levels, and another way is to test salivary hormones.
Salivary hormones are thought to correlate more closely to tissue levels of hormones than blood levels would. Through salivary hormones we can test for levels of estradiol, progesterone, DHEA, testosterone, and cortisol. This test is helpful also because not only will it show if you are high or low in a certain hormone, it will also show any "functional imbalances". For example, your hormones could all be in normal ranges, however your estrogen could be high normal while your progesterone is low normal: this would put you in a functional "high estrogen" state….and this is something we would want to treat.
Hormone testing would be beneficial for women who have irregular menstruation, or through perimenopause or menopause or also for women who are experiencing conditions such as endometriosis or ovarian cysts or hormonal acne. It would also be beneficial for men who are experiencing andropause, or declining levels of testosterone, such as low libido, loss of muscle mass, and fatigue.
We would likely do a month long sample to see how your hormones were fluctuating throughout the month, and then treat accordingly with vitamins and supplements and herbs, and of course referring you out to your medical doctor if needed. Collection of saliva is painless and convenient. The patient would take the tubes home to collect the saliva into a tube and these tubes would then be sent off to the lab for testing.


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Les États-Unis participent aux Jeux paralympiques de 2012 à Londres. Il s'agit de leur quatorzième participation aux Jeux paralympiques.

227 athlètes américains participent à 19 des 20 épreuves.

Lors des Jeux paralympiques de 2008, les États-Unis finirent  au classement général des médailles.

Médaillés

Médailles d'or

Médailles d'argent

Médailles de bronze

Athlètes plusieurs fois médaillés
Liste des athlètes paralympiques américains ayant obtenu au moins 2 médailles.

Médailles par sport

Athlétisme
Hommes
Zach Abbott
Jerome Avery (guide)
Jordan Bird
Jim Bob Bizzell
Adam Bleakney
David Brown
Richard Browne
Jeremy Campbell
Ryan Chalmers
Chris Clemens
Scott Danberg
Tobi Fawehinmi
Rudy Garcia-Tolson
Joshua George
Tanner Gers
Elexis Gillette
Chris Hammer
Josiah Jamison
Blake Leeper
Raymond Martin
Michael Murray
Paul Nitz
Dennis Ogbe
Aaron Pike
Markeith Price
David Prince
Austin Pruitt
Josh Roberts
Krige Schabort
Scot Severn
Brian Siemann
Jerome Singleton
Jeff Skiba
Rolland Slade (guide)
Shaquille Vance
Jarryd Wallace
Scott Winkler
Wesley Williams (guide)

Femmes
Zena Cole
Carleigh Dewald
Anjali Forber Pratt
Jessica Galli
April Holmes
Cheryl Leitner
Angela Madsen
Cece Mazyck
Hannah McFadden
Tatyana McFadden
Amanda McGrory
Kristen Messer
Cassie Mitchell
Kerry Morgan
Shirley Reilly
Susannah Scaroni
Christina Schwab
Katy Sullivan
Amberlynn Weber

Aviron
Hommes
Ronald Harvey
Andrew Johnson
Rob Jones
Dorian Weber

Femmes
Eleni Englert
Oksana Masters
Emma Preuschl
Alexandra Stein

Basket-ball en fauteuil
Hommes
Eric Barber
Joseph Chambers
Nate Hinze
Trevon Jenifer
Jason Nelms
Jeremy Lade
Ian Lynch
Paul Schulte
Matt Scott
Steven Serio
Joshua Turek
William Waller
Jim Glatch (entraîneur)

Femmes
Sarah Binsfield
Sarah Castle
Jennifer Chew
Rose Hollermann
Darlene Hunter
Mary Allison Milford
Desi Miller
Rebecca Murray
Alana Nichols
Jennifer Poist
Natalie Schneider
Andrea Woodson-Smith

Boccia
Austin Hanson

Cyclisme
Hommes
Joseph Berenyi
Sam Kavanagh
Steven Peace
Anthony Pedeferri
Clark Rachfal

David Swanson (pilote)
Matthew Updike
Anthony Zahn

Femmes
Monica Bascio
Kelly Crowley
Alicia Dana
Marianna Davis
Megan Fisher
Allison Jones
Greta Neimanas
Jennifer Schuble

Équitation
Hommes
Dale Dedrick
Jonathan Wentz

Femmes
Rebecca Hart
Donna Ponessa

Escrime
Hommes
Joseph Brinson
Ryan Estep
Gerard Moreno
Mario Rodriguez
Gary van der Wege

Femmes
Catherine Bouwkamp

Football à 7
Hommes
Chris Ahrens
Adam Ballou
Tyler Bennett
Bryce Boarman
Alex Hendricks
Keith Johnson
Chad Jones
Josh McKinney
Rene Renteria
Gavin Sibayan
Marthell Vazquez
Jerreme Wade

Goalball
Femmes
Jen Armbruster
Lisa Czechowski
Amanda Dennis
Asya Miller
Robin Theryoung
Jordan Walters

Haltérophilie
Hommes
Ahmed Shafik

Femmes
Mary Stack

Judo
Hommes
Dartanyon Crockett
Ronald Hawthorne
Myles Porter

Femmes
Katie Davis
Christella Garcia
Cynthia Paige Simon

Natation
Hommes
Evan Ryan Austin
Cody Bureau
Michael Demarco
Tucker Dupree
Rudy Garcia-Tolson
Dalton Herendeen
Lantz Lamback
Curtis Lovejoy
Roy Perkins
Michael Prout
Ian Jaryd Silverman
Bradley Snyder
Joe Wise
Thomas Young
Justin Zook

Femmes
Victoria Arlen
Kelley Becherer
Brickelle Bro
Aimee Bruder
Jaide Childs
McKenzie Coan
Anna Eames
Amanda Everlove
Alyssa Gialamas
Anna Johannes
Cortney Jordan
Jessica Long
Letticia Martinez
Rebecca Anne Meyers
Noga Nir-Kistler
Ileana Rodriguez
Susan Beth Scott
Elizabeth Stone
Mallory Weggemann
Colleen Young

Rugby en fauteuil
Hommes
Charles Aoki
Andy Cohn
Chad Cohn
Joe Delagrave
Will Groulx
Derrick Helton
Scott Hogsett
Seth McBride
Jason Regier
Adam Scaturro
Nicholas Springer
Chance Sumner
James Gumbert (entraîneur)

Tennis en fauteuil
Hommes
Steve Baldwin
Bryan Barten
Jon Rydberg
Nicholas Taylor
David Wagner
Stephen Welch
Noah Yablong

Femmes
Emmy Kaiser
Mackenzie Soldan

Tennis de table
Hommes
Tahl Leibovitz

Femmes
Pamela Fontaine
Tara Profitt

Tir
Eric Hollen
Joshua Olson

Tir à l'arc
Hommes
Eric Bennett
Dugie Denton
Jeff Fabry
Jerry Shields
Matt Stutzman
Russell Wolfe

Femmes
Lee Ford

Voile
Hommes
Tom Brown
Paul Callahan
Jp Creignou
Bradley Johnson
Mark LeBlanc

Femmes
Jen French

Volley-ball en fauteuil
Femmes
Allison Aldrich
Monique Burkland
Heather Erickson
Michelle Gerlosky
Katie Holloway
Kaleo Kanahele
Kendra Lancaster
Brenda Maymon
Nicole Millage
Kari Miller
Lora Webster
William Hamiter (entraîneur)

Notes et références

Articles connexes
 Jeux paralympiques d'été de 2012
 États-Unis aux Jeux olympiques d'été de 2012

Délégation aux Jeux paralympiques d'été de 2012
2012
Sport aux États-Unis en 2012

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Rediff.com » News » When they came for the Muslims, where were you?
When they came for the Muslims, where were you?
By Lakshmi Sridaran
February 09, 2017 20:13 IST
'South Asian Americans stand to lose greatly.'
'Now is not the time to be spectators to injustice, narrowly believing that these events that currently affect part of our community won't affect us all.'
'The reality of racial and religious profiling in America is that it is simply enough to be perceived as Muslim to be treated as one.'
Civil rights activist Lakshmi Sridaran highlights why South Asians must stand on the right side of history and resist the Trump administration's 'systematic attack' on the entire spectrum of America's immigration system.
IMAGE: During a protest in New York City against President Donald Trump's 'Muslim ban'.
SAALT's most recent report Power, Pain, Potential documents the uptick in violence and xenophobic political rhetoric aimed at South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Middle Eastern, and Arab American communities during the 2016 election cycle.
An astounding 95 per cent of the incidents SAALT indexed were motivated by anti-Muslim sentiment.
Photograph: Stephanie Keith/Reuters
'First they came for the Muslims... And we said not today!'
This has become a rallying cry against the anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant policies that have defined the first two weeks of Donald Trump's presidency.
Wasting little time, President Trump has issued nearly 10 executive orders that roll back the progress President Obama took eight years to build.
It began with gutting the Affordable Healthcare Act, then speeding up environmental review processes for infrastructure projects such as the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Then came the one-two punch of immigration executive orders that in total included building a wall along the US-Mexico border, increasing the number of Customs and Border Patrol agents, threatening sanctuary cities that ensure immigrants are not interrogated about their documentation status when interacting with local police, banning refugees from Syria indefinitely along with immigrants from seven-Muslim majority countries, even a proposal to recreate an entry-exit registration system much like NSEERS or 'special registration' after 9/11.
Most recently were the series of executive orders decreasing financial regulations and essentially stripping the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Financial Protection Act put in place to regulate big banks after the 2008 financial crisis.
The amount of destruction these actions have already caused and the long-term impact they will continue to have feels at once both immense and immeasurable. And South Asians must care.
Currently, none of the seven Muslim majority countries listed in the 'Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry' executive order -- also known as the 'Muslim Ban' -- are in South Asia.
However, there have been calls from members of our own community to add Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia to this list.
Just last week, the Republican Hindu Coalition released a statement showing unfettered support for the 'Muslim Ban' and demanding the addition of these countries to the list.
The Hindus for Justice Coalition swiftly responded with a counter press release in unequivocal solidarity with Muslim communities, refugees, and immigrants and condemned the RHC for supporting the rapid installment of racist and xenophobic policies by the Trump Administration.
While non-Muslim South Asians may feel like this does not impact them, the climate of fear that Trump's rhetoric and policies have instilled in our communities goes beyond religion.
An Indian-American woman, Aravinda Pillalamarri, was stopped by police in her Maryland neighbourhood of over 30 years, questioned about her legal status, detained, and told she was under criminal investigation until she was finally let go.
The reality of racial and religious profiling in this country is that it is simply enough to be perceived as Muslim to be treated as one.
In SAALT's most recent report Power, Pain, Potential released last month (external link), we document the uptick in violence and xenophobic political rhetoric aimed at South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Middle Eastern, and Arab American communities during the 2016 election cycle.
An astounding 95 per cent of the 207 incidents we indexed were motivated by anti-Muslim sentiment.
Trump has capitalised on anti-Muslim rhetoric as a candidate and now as president by exploiting the divisions in our communities to win over non-Muslim South Asians.
This is a trap we cannot afford to fall into during this critical time.
South Asian activists, attorneys, and community leaders around the country mobilised in the moments after the 'Muslim ban' executive order to ensure that individuals and families detained at airports after the announcement could be released, helped lead the litigation efforts around the country to temporarily halt the ban, and served on the frontlines ensuring communities were safe from raids and deportations.
These are the actions we must continue taking and supporting as a community.
Ironically, next on Trump's agenda will be a concerted effort to go after documented or 'legal\' immigrants.
A leaked executive order from last week shows that Trump will be cracking down on H-1B and L1 visas, which many Indian tech companies rely on, accounting for upwards of 350,000 H-1B visas alone.
The order would also raise the minimum salary for H-1B applicants from $60,000 to $130,000 in an effort to prioritise American-born workers.
Even before the Muslim ban, Indian workers on H-1B visas have been facing lengthy delays to return home from visits to India due to 'administrative processing,' some taking several months.
For the first time, we are seeing a systematic attack on the entire spectrum of our immigration system, and this means we must unite as a community to push back.
Just this week Senator Tom Cotton (Republican, Arizona) introduced a bill called the Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment (RAISE) Act, which aims to ambush legal immigration.
It would significantly reduce the number of immigrants who can obtain green cards and other visas and would cut the number of legal immigrants allowed in the United States by 40 per cent in the first year and by 50 per cent over a decade.
Rather than acknowledging the demand for immigrant labour that US economic policy has created, this bill is part of a coordinated effort to vilify immigrants.
Complete Coverage: The Trump Era begins
IMAGE: After a white supremacist attacked the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin on August 5, 2012, killing six people. President Obama had established the Countering Violent Extremism programme to include white supremacists and other non-Muslim groups.
Trump plans to alter the programme to focus only on Muslims.
Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images
In less popular news, the Trump administration is reportedly planning to shift the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programme to focus exclusively on Muslim communities by renaming it Countering Violent Islamic Extremism.
The CVE programme was established under the Obama administration as an attempt to encourage community leaders to identify early signs of radicalisation in individuals and report them to the government.
While the Obama administration attempted to include white supremacists and other non-Muslim groups in this programme, the Trump administration will focus singularly on Muslim communities.
The programme itself can trace its origins back to the Counter Intelligence Programme deployed first in the 1950s to target the Communist Party and later to sabotage other movements for justice, most notably the Black liberation movement.
This was done through FBI surveillance, infiltration, and disruption.
The same structures of white supremacy that have historically underpinned our nation's policies are being utilised against Muslims, immigrants, and communities of colour today.
The convergence of political rhetoric, legislative change, and executive action under the Trump administration is one that cannot and should not be underestimated.
South Asian Americans stand to lose greatly, and now is not the time to be spectators to injustice, narrowly believing that these events that currently affect part of our community will not affect us all.
We must be on the right side of history and resist every attempt by this administration to denigrate us, all immigrants, and other communities of colour.
It is time to leverage the resources and political capital in our communities to stand against the coordinated attack on Muslims right now.
'When they came for the Muslims,' it must be our willful responsibility at this crucial hour to affirm as a South Asian community, 'not today!'
Lakshmi Sridaran is the director of National Policy and Advocacy, South Asian Americans Leading Together -- a nonpartisan, non-profit civil rights organisation that elevates the voices of South Asians in the US.
Don't miss: Desis in Trump's America
Deepa Iyer: Why Trump's immigration ban should worry Indians
Aseem Chhabra: This American is worried
Arun Venugopal: America in the Trump era and what desis must do
Ram Kelkar: Donald Trump, a dangerous mind
Mira Patel & Gautam Raghavan: Trump is wrong for our community
Vishavjit Singh: A Sikh Captain America in Trump's America
Lakshmi Sridaran Washington, DC
Families torn apart: Toll of Trump's immigration order
PIX: Thousands decry Trump's immigrant ban at US airports


The caves of Diros is located 30 minutes drive from Tower dei Nicliani and offer a large underground network of caves full of strangely shaped rock formations.
The famous Alepotripa and Vlichada caves are located in Pirgos Diros. They were explored by the speleologists Ioannis and Anna Petrochilos. The Alepotrypa cavern was discovered in 1958. Archaeological research begun in 1970 under the direction of archaeologist Georgios Papathanassopoulos. In the course of the late Neolithic period (4000 – 3000 BC), the cave was extensively used as shelter, dwelling, workshop, storage place for goods, cemetery and a place of worship.
The richness and quality of the unearthed findings witness the existence of a populous society in Alepotripa, which developed over time into an important centre that engaged largely in trade, maritime travel, farming and stockbreeding. Strangely enough, human skeletons were found on the surface, meaning that entombment had not taken place.
The cave of Vlychada covers an area of 16,700 m2 and since 1949 about 2,800 water passages have been explored. A 2.5-km-long winding passageway is the main route for sightseeing. During a 40-min boat trip, the visitor comes across an intricate network of passages and galleries, decorated with gleaming stalagmites and stalactites, whose reflection in the water accentuates their natural beauty. The guided tour into the cavern of Vlychada takes place by boat and on foot – part of it is on land.
© Tower dei NIcliani 2019. All rights reserved. Powered by Tower dei Nicliani..


watching her interest as each sales person approached her.
her eyes to the object and then back again.
Oh man, I'm giggling just thinking about it.
once we thought we lost him, he popped out of no where and scared us all!
let's just say barbara ended up with a violin.
walking into pashupati was very surreal, like I was entering another world.
it is a pilgrimage site for hindu's all over the world, as it is the dwelling place of shiva.
we passed large tour groups of those from India, making their pilgrimage here.
The very first thing you approach is the "holy river", where platform after platform burns the bodies of the dead, their ashes them thrown into the holy river. To be cremated at this temple is supposed to assure the person will go straight to heaven.
intended to honor the dead and ward off evil spirits.
touching the altar on which stood a massive falice.
and can I tell you something?
It was all very dark. Very dark.
An oppression ran deep into my heart, a weight that pushed down hard.
I didn't even realize it till we began to pray.
Prayers just began to pour our of our heart for these precious people.
It was probably the most alive and blood-pumping-real I've ever felt while praying.
and the complete sadness of watching people sacrifice and bow down to idols.
fear being a huge impetus for worship.
Only to be looking in the wrong place.
But even more they were tears of complete and utter JOY that we have a hope in Christ who came to SET US FREE.
Freedom was the order of the day.
You guys, it was so powerful.
No pilgrimages, no sacrifices, no rituals.
And I give you life.
life that is abundant and filled with un-ending grace.
ahhh it was like a breathe of fresh air to speak Christ in a place of darkness.
Also, there are SO many wonderful updates about the girls home we are working in.
we received two new girls last friday, and they are seriously the most precious children.
my heart wells up with love just thinking about them.
i will share more next week.
we are off for the next few days though to go out to the villages.
love this blog. i can so relate, having been to so many temples to other gods all over the world. there is such a tangible heaviness, but how cool to know that we can bring light and change just by walking into a place.
also why is barbara so tall in that one picture of the four of you? also also obsessed with the picture of all the colors. ughhhh so beautiful.
What an incredible experience! That sounds very intense, but how lucky are we to know of God's love and the freedom that comes through Christ?
What a blessing this incredible journey must be for you and Kevin. You are being exposed to so many faith affirming experiences and I will continue to lift you and the work you are doing up in prayer. God bless!
Gosh, your life is my dream! I love that you share this with us, it's beautiful!
The COLORS! They thrill my heart! GORGEOUS!
Praying and praying and praying some more.
P.S. I can't remember if I asked you what kind of camera you have?!
I laughed at the story at the beginning of this post :) haha...what a beautiful story and so filled with truth of the evil that does exist and the freedom that exists through Jesus Christ alone.
Katie, wow. Isn't it sad to see all of those people seeking answers in all the wrong places? But praise be to God - he overcomes the darkness! Continue to be a light for him, my friend, he's using you mightily!
I can totally picture aunt barbara walking through the streets. so funny. as i read every post, i am reminded of kolkata.
These photos are fantastic Katie, thank you so much for sharing your time in Nepal with us. You look like you are thriving there.
"let's just say barbara ended up with a violin."
On a more serious note, isn't it odd the distinct weight that spiritual darkness and oppression carries? I was in Romania in June and I felt that a couple of times... for me, it felt like a physical heaviness in my chest as I breathed. SO thankful for the freedom we have in Christ and that we can live in the light!!
I can't imagine the amount of heavy darkness witnessing some of those things felt, but I do know that knowing you the amount of hope for these people God will weigh on you =) Keep up all the awesome work!
You have such a beautiful heart Katie. Keep shining for Jesus!
Thank you for sharing your experience of how joy and heartbreak can both exist in a Christian's soul. I am so grateful that Jesus gives us joy in Him, not happiness based on circumstances, so we can weep and care deeply, while also experiencing profound peace. SO sad and also SO grateful for the cross as I read your experience and see the pictures of those beautiful people.
Question: what's that colorful paste in that wooden grid thing?
Wow!! How powerful! Isn't it crazy when you can sense that spiritual oppression? It's like your eyes open up to the spiritual realm around us. It's scary and freaky but so cool because God conquered ALL of that. Praying for you!
This post gave me chills Katie. So many people all over the world seeking peace and truth in all the wrong places. God has big plans for you there I just know it!
I am LOVING reading this updates and hearing what you guys are doing - really - what God is doing through you! I know exactly what you mean about feeling the evil as you watch people bow down to idols. It's the same here whenever we see locals praying to their ancestors or to shrines in temples. But praise God that He's made you prayer warriors and for all the ways you're standing up for Christ in such a dark place!
And your photos get more amazing with every post - loving all the color and vibrancy - and I laughed outloud at Kev's Mama!! HA!
The darkness must be overflowing where idols are everywhere. May you have peace and protection from the warfare.


text:
The Association for Women in Communications (AWC) is an American professional organization for women in the communications industry.

History

Theta Sigma Phi
The Association for Women in Communications began in 1909 as Theta Sigma Phi (), an honorary society at the University of Washington.  It was founded by seven female students at the University of Washington in Seattle who had entered the college's new journalism program, the second of its kind in the country. By 1915, there were Theta Sigma Phi chapters at the universities of Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon and Ohio State University. Officers from the Washington Chapter still doubled as national officers, and the organization began publishing The Matrix, a Magazine for Women Journalists.

In 1918, Theta Sigma Phi held its first convention at the University of Kansas. A year later, women in Kansas City founded the first alumnae chapter (now known as professional chapters), followed by women in Des Moines and Indianapolis.

World War I brought more women into newspaper jobs as their male colleagues went to battle. Theta Sigma Phi member Alice Rohe was a United Press reporter in Rome; Bessie Beatty of the San Francisco Bulletin and Sigrid Schultz of the Chicago Tribune reported from Germany as the war ended. But in the postwar economic slump, hostility against "women in men's jobs" ran high. Many editors relegated women to society pages instead of "hard news".

Although women gained the right to vote in 1920, support lagged for other reforms. Ruby Black, who was national president, editor of The Matrix and the first manager of an employment bureau for members, noted in 1931 that female journalists could not get reporting jobs at the same pay as similarly qualified men.

Theta Sigma Phi strengthened as a national network during the 1930s. The association hired a professional director and founded a national office in 1934. It inaugurated the Headliner Awards in 1939 to honor members who had made outstanding contributions to the field. The group gave Eleanor Roosevelt honorary membership for her efforts to aid female communicators. The First Lady's most notable action was to close her news conferences to male reporters. Roosevelt contributed several articles to The Matrix.

By 1940, Theta Sigma Phi had 39 chapters, and World War II was expanding opportunities for women. But inequality persisted, and women were regarded as temporary or less-serious workers. At the Theta Sigma Phi convention in 1946, delegates required all chapters to eliminate any race restrictions from their bylaws.

By 1950, the group had grown to 47 campus chapters and 29 alumnae groups as more women began to work.

In 1964, Theta Sigma Phi established its headquarters in Austin, Texas. Jo Caldwell Meyer retired after serving as executive secretary for 24 years, leaving a legacy of leadership and personal attention to members' needs.

Women in Communications
In 1972, Theta Sigma Phi was renamed to Women in Communications, Inc. (WICI). That year, the organization also voted to admit men into membership.

In 1973, Women in Communications created an awards program (later named the Clarion Awards) to recognize excellence in communications. A new monthly, National Newsletter joined The Matrix in recording the group's news. WICI joined the national ERA coalition to fight the mounting opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment.

In 1979, WICI united with 11 communications organizations to found the First Amendment Congress, which works to preserve First Amendment rights.

WICI increasingly defended the freedoms of speech and the press. Leaders protested the news blackout during the invasion of Grenada and spoke out to Congress against proposed changes to the Freedom of Information Act. More than 100 chapters organized congressional letter-writing campaigns. WICI joined the National Committee on Pay Equity and awarded Rep. Mary Rose Oakar of Ohio an honorary membership because of her leadership on the issue.

In early 1988, the WICI Board of Directors moved the group's headquarters to Arlington, Va., just outside Washington, DC, to be closer to the seat of government.

Membership peaked in the mid-1980s at around 13,000, and by 1995 the organization had around 8,000 members and significant debt.

WICI leaders instituted the Rising Star Award in 1990 for outstanding student members. Laura Glad, of California State University at Fullerton, was the first recipient.  WICI delegates voiced support for the Civil Rights Act, which President Bush signed in 1991, and the Family and Medical Leave Act, which President Clinton signed in 1993. The end of the year saw a new partnership emerge between WICI and Capital Cities/ABC Inc. on its "Stop Sexual Harassment" campaign.

Association for Women in Communications
In 1996 WICI was dissolved, and the organization was renamed to the Association for Women in Communications. At that time, management of the organization was handed to a management firm, and finances stabilized under the new board and organization. The current firm is Club Management Services in Springfield, Missouri. The nonprofit AWC Matrix Foundation was established in 1998 as the educational affiliate.

The mission of the AWC Matrix Foundation, founded in 1997, is to promote the advancement of women in the communications profession by providing funds for education, research and publications. It carries out its educational and charitable goals in cooperation with the Association for Women in Communications.

Three Matrix Foundation initiatives are:
Professional Certification Program recognizes excellence in all areas of communications; provides an opportunity to demonstrate communication and management skills and enhance employment/client potential.
Edith Wortman First Amendment Award honors professional communicators for their efforts relating to First Amendment issues.
Barbara Erickson Scholarship Fund gives college students an opportunity to meet and mingle with professional communicators by funding attendance at the AWC National Professional Conference.

Chapters
The chapters of Theta Sigma Phi as of 1968 were:

Conventions
10th Biennial - August 18–20, 1938 - Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles.

Awards

 The Clarion Award
 The International Matrix Award (since 1970)
 The Headliner Award (since 1939)

Notable members
 Shirley Abrahamson (1987 Headliner Award Recipient)
 Myrna Blyth (1992 Headliner Award Recipient)
 Rita Cosby (2002 Headliner Award Recipient)
 Edna Ferber (Honorary)
 Genevieve Forbes (Honorary)
 Zona Gale (Honorary)
 Dana Gatlin (Honorary)
 Heloise (columnist) (1994 Headliner Award Recipient)
 Julilly House Kohler
 Sophia Kerr (Honorary)
 Margaret Larson (2004 Headliner Award Recipient)
 Gini Laurie (1987 Headliner Award Recipient)
 Harriet Monroe (Honorary)
 Marjorie Paxson (president 1963—1967, 1975 Headliner Award recipient, 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, 2003 Hall of Fame inductee)
 Margot Sherman Peet (president 19xx-19xx), SVP McCann-Erickson
 Jeanine Pirro (1998 Headliner Award Recipient)
 Eleanor Roosevelt (honorary member, 1934)
 Gail Sheehy (2000 Headliner Award Recipient)
 Barbara Sher (1998 Headliner Award Recipient)
 Sara Teasdale (Honorary)
 Ida M. Tarbell (Honorary)
 Barbara Walters (1994 Headliner Award Recipient)
 Ella Wheeler Wilcox (Honorary)
 Mary Alice Williams (1986 Headliner Award Recipient)
 Honore Willsie (Honorary)

Publications
 1915-, The Matrix, a Magazine for Women Journalists (currently replaced by Communiqué, an electronic newsletter)

References

External links

 AWC Matrix Foundation official site
 WOMEN IN COMMUNICATIONS, INC. RECORDS, 1915- from the Indiana Historical Society
 Preliminary Guide to the Association for Women in Communications Records 1909-2009 from the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections

Women's organizations based in the United States
Organizations for women in business
Student organizations established in 1909
1909 establishments in Washington (state)


text:
Tours and Safaris
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Semiliki National Park
Kidepo National Park
Mt Rwenzori National Park
Mt Elgon National Park
Gorilla Tracking Notes
National Park Regulations
Uganda birds and mammals tour
This 19 day birding Uganda and mammal tour takes to the higher altitude parts of Uganda for birding and Gorilla tracking and to look for…
Trips and Safaris
Birding, Boat Cruise, Game Drive, Gorilla Trekking
19 Day(s) 18 Night(s)
Trip Enquiry
Enquiry: Uganda birds and mammals tour
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Trip code WT-CODE 19
Trip Outline
Trip Includes
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This 19 day birding Uganda and mammal tour takes to the higher altitude parts of Uganda for birding and Gorilla tracking and to look for the Albertine Rift Endemic bird species. This tour can possibly show you all the ARE bird species.
Day 1: Arrival in Entebbe.
Upon arrival at Entebbe, you will be transferred to Mabamba Swamp to look for the Shoebill.
Day 2: Mabira Forest.
This morning we will depart early for the drive to Mabira Forest. We will pass through Kampala, the sprawling capital of Uganda, where grotesque Marabou Stork line the city's high-rise buildings and flocks of Hooded Vulture, Black Kite and Pied Crow soar overhead.
As we head eastwards through villages and woodlands, it will become evident how birdy this country really is! Common and widespread roadside species we can expect to see today include the funky-looking Long-crested Eagle perched atop telephone poles, Wahlberg's Eagle, Palmnut Vulture, hovering Blackwinged Kite, African Harrier-Hawk, Lizard Buzzard, the truly impressive Great Blue Turaco, raucous Eastern Plantain-eater, seemingly awkward Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill and floppy-flighted Crowned and African Pied Hornbills, dazzling-blue Woodland Kingfisher, Broad-billed Roller, Angola Swallow, Splendid and Rüppell's Starlings, African Thrush, Northern Black Flycatcher, Sooty Chat, gregarious Grey-backed Fiscal, Scarlet-chested Sunbird and Pin-tailed Whydah.
Mabira Forest supports over 300 bird species, some of which are difficult to see elsewhere in Uganda. One of the sites that we will visit is a small forest pond where a wonderful selection of very secretive forest birds regularly come down to drink.
Species which we will search for include Red-tailed and the elusive Yellow-lored Bristlebills, Blue-shouldered Robin-Chat, Eastern Forest Robin, Dusky Crested Flycatcher, Brown-chested Alethe, Scaly-breasted Illadopsis, and two glowing seedeaters: Black-bellied Seedcracker and Red-headed Bluebill.
Some of the other specials we will search for are Grey Parrot, the highly localised Forest Wood Hoopoe, Grey-throated Barbet, Speckle-breasted, Buff-spotted, Brown-eared and Yellow-crested Woodpeckers, Willcocks's Honeyguide, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Velvet-mantled Drongo, Toro Olive Greenbul (one of nine greenbuls species found here), Western Nicator, the striking Jameson's Wattle-eye, Blue-headed Crested Flycatcher, Redbellied Paradise Flycatcher, Lowland Sooty Boubou, the nomadic Weyns's Weaver, the rare Tit-Hylia and Grey-headed Nigrita.
We will have our picnic lunch at the main forest Headquarters. This is one of the better sites in Uganda for White-spotted Flufftail and we stand an excellent chance of observing this fairly secretive rallid. Huge fruiting trees in this area are habituated by a variety of barbets, hornbills, honeyguides and concentrations of Great Blue Turaco. In the late evening we will make our way to Jinja for an overnight stay.
Day 3: Jinja to Masindi.
This morning we will depart Jinja and have a further opportunity to explore the fabulous Mabira Forest in search of any specials we may not have seen. Thereafter we continue on our journey west through Kampala and then north towards the town of Masindi.
North of Kampala we will bird an area of moist grasslands and swamps, and concentrate on finding several special birds, including Western Banded Snake Eagle, Green-backed Eremomela, Black Bishop and Yellow-mantled and Marsh Widowbirds. Dry woodlands further north will provide our best chance of finding the unusual Yellow-billed Shrike and Yellow-bellied Hyliota.
As we approach Masindi, the countryside becomes drier and consists of extensive grasslands dotted with fig trees. In this region we will stop to search for African and the less common Bruce's Green Pigeon, White-headed Barbet, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Lesser Blue-eared, Purple and Bronze-tailed Starlings and Piapiac, a small corvid which associates with cattle and wild game. Finally, we will arrive in Masindi for a two night stay at a renovated colonial-era hotel.
Day 4: Budongo Forest.
Today will be our first introduction to central African forest birding, and we will spend the entire day in the vast Budongo Forest Reserve, the largest natural forest area in East Africa. We will concentrate much of our attention on "The Royal Mile," a wide forestry track considered to be the country's premier forest birding locality.
Among the numerous specials we hope to find include Buff-spotted Flufftail, Tambourine Dove, Blue Malkoha (a skulking forest coucal), three forest-dwelling kingfishers (Chocolate-backed, Blue-breasted and African Dwarf), the huge Whitethighed Hornbill, Yellow-spotted, Hairy-breasted and Yellow-billed Barbets and their diminutive cousins, the tinkerbirds (Speckled, Yellow-throated and Yellow-rumped all being likely), Western Oriole, Green Hylia, Grey and Yellow Longbills, the rarely encountered Uganda Woodland Warbler, Grey, Buff-throated, Black-throated, and the stunning Black-capped Apalises, Rufous-crowned Eremomela, Green and the elusive Lemon-bellied Crombec, Fraser's Forest Flycatcher, Chestnutcapped Flycatcher, Purple-headed Starling, Little Green, Grey-chinned, Collared, Olive-bellied and the Uganda birds and mammals itinerary 3 aberrant Grey-headed Sunbirds, Yellow-mantled Weaver, Crested and Red-headed Malimbes and White-breasted Nigrita.
Greenbuls are abundant, and we shall work slowly through any flock that we encounter looking for Plain, Grey, Yellow-whiskered, Slender-billed, Honeyguide, White-throated, Red-tailed and the striking Spotted Greenbul. The beautiful Nahan's Francolin is sometimes heard, but we will require luck and patience to see this secretive and near-endemic species.
We will search the undergrowth alongside the track for the numerous understorey skulkers, which may include Scaly-breasted, Brown and Pale-breasted Illadopsis, Fire-crested Alethe, Fraser's Rufous Thrush, Red-tailed Rufous Thrush, Yellow-browed and Olive-green Camaropteras and Greythroated Tit-Flycatcher.
We will keep an eye on any openings in the forest canopy, as Cassin's HawkEagle and Crowned Eagle, White-throated Bee-eater and Cassin's, Mottled and Sabine's Spinetails are all possible.
Day 5: Masindi to Murchison Falls National Park.
This morning, we will bird Kaniyo Pabidi forest, situated within the southern sector of the Murchison Falls NP, and the only known site in East Africa for Puvel's Illadopsis. We can expect to find this bird as well as a wide range of other forest species.
If we are very fortunate, we may obtain a glimpse of some rare and desirable birds that occur here, and possibilities include Nahan's Francolin and Rufous-sided Broadbill. Flocks of Crested Guineafowl, sporting their "punk hair-do's" are however, more regularly encountered.
A healthy Chimpanzee population survives, and the giant Chequered Elephant-Shrew is sometimes seen. After our picnic lunch in the shady forest, we will drive further north into the woodland section of the park. Here, we will search for Vinaceous Dove, Black-billed Wood Dove, Senegal Coucal, Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, Whistling Cisticola, Buff-bellied Warbler, the elegant Silverbird, Western Black-headed Batis, Orange-breasted and Grey-headed Bushshrikes, White-crested Helmetshrike, Western Violet-backed and Beautiful Sunbirds and Fawn-breasted and Black-rumped Waxbills.
Murchison Falls is Uganda's largest national park and famous for its big game and spectacular scenery, not least the falls for which the park was named. Later in the afternoon after checking into our accommodations, we will make our way to the spectacular falls. The vista point at the top of Murchison Falls offers incredible views of the Victoria Nile boiling down the narrow gorge. Bare, rocky islets are favoured perches and breeding sites of Rock Pratincole.
We should see large numbers of these attractive waders wheeling in the spray of the falls. Thick riverine forest in this vicinity is home to the magnificent White-crested Turaco, often considered the most beautiful member of its striking family, Double-toothed Barbet, Yellow-throated Leaflove, Spotted Palm Thrush, Red-capped Robin-Chat, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, the localised Red-winged Grey Warbler and Purple-banded Sunbird.
Day 6: Murchison Falls National Park.
We have a full day for exploration of the park. We will take a launch trip along the Victoria Nile to the Lake Albert Delta, where the westflowing Victoria Nile makes an abrupt turn and becomes the north-flowing Albert Nile. A plethora of waterbirds throng the well-wooded banks of the river and today, we can expect to find the Shoebill, most birders prime attraction to Uganda! This charismatic species, the only representative in its family, is certainly amongst the most sought-after birds in the world.
We will make a special effort to get close to and spend time observing the "King Whalehead." The huge Shoebill usually stands motionless on the edge of channels waiting for a hapless catfish and sometimes allows close approach. In the heat of the day, Shoebills often soar over the Nile, an impressive sight indeed. Other water birds abound and we hope to see Darter, Intermediate Egret, Goliath and Purple Herons, Woolly-necked and Yellow-billed Storks, Hamerkop (near their giant stick nests), Egyptian and Spur-winged Geese, Osprey, African Fish Eagle, Black Crake, African Swamphen, the regal Grey Crowned Crane (Uganda's national bird), Senegal Thick-knee, Long-toed and Spur-winged Lapwings, African Jacana, Malachite and Giant Kingfishers and the dashing Wire-tailed Swallow. Burrows in the river banks represent colonies of either colourful Red-throated Bee-eater or querulous Pied Kingfisher, while elegant Red-necked Falcon frequent palm trees which line the banks.
In addition to the birds, large numbers of huge Nile Crocodile, Hippopotamus, African Buffalo, Vervet Monkey and Olive Baboon are often seen at very close range, and herds of African Elephant sometimes bath en masse in the shallows. The scenic area north of the Nile holds a number of birds typical of dry savanna. We will search here for Secretarybird, Black-chested Snake Eagle, Tawny and Martial Eagles, Shikra, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Harlequin Quail, Heuglin's Francolin, Helmeted Guineafowl, flocks of Collared Pratincole, Black-headed Lapwing, Swallow-tailed and Northern Carmine Bee-eaters, Black Scimitarbill, Shortwinged and Black-backed Cisticolas, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Great Sparrow, Bar-breasted Firefinch and African QuailFinch.
A few birds with their ranges centred on the Sahel reach their southern limits here, and we hope to find the stately Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, White-fronted Black Chat and White-rumped Seedeater. Mammals are well represented here, and we should see Bushbuck, Giraffe (belonging to the endangered form known as Rothschild's Giraffe), African Buffalo, Uganda Kob, Oribi and Defassa Waterbuck. If we are lucky we may see groups of the shy Patas Monkey, while this is one of the best places in Uganda to find Lion.
The moist, grassy woodland to the south of the Nile is very different from that of the North bank and supports a host of localised birds including Brown-backed Woodpecker, Brown Babbler, Redwinged Warbler, the unusually proportioned Purple Starling, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Black-bellied Firefinch, Cabanis' and Brown-rumped Buntings, and if we are fortunate, Bat Hawk, African Cuckoo-Hawk, White-breasted Cuckooshrike and Red-winged Pytilia. Other species which we will search for here are African Cuckoo, African Grey Hornbill, Grey Woodpecker, Northern and Redfaced Crombecs, African Paradise Flycatcher (often of the spectacular white morph), Northern Puffback, Black-crowned and Brown-crowned Tchagras, Tropical Boubou and Red-cheeked Cordonbleu. In the evening, we will embark on a night drive in search of one of Africa's most sought-after birds, the Pennant-winged Nightjar. Witnessing a male Pennant-winged Nightjar fluttering up from the track, his regal pennants trailing behind him, is likely to be a highlight of the trip. Other possibilities include Spotted Thick-knee, Greyish Eagle-Owl, Northern White-faced Owl and Slender-tailed, Longtailed and Swamp Nightjars. Nocturnal mammals which we may encounter include Leopard, Serval, Uganda birds and mammals itinerary 5 White-tailed Mongoose, African Civet, Crested Porcupine, Blotched and Common Genets and Uganda Grass-Hare.
Day 7: Murchison Falls National Park to Masindi via the Butiaba Escarpment. After final birding in Murchison Falls National Park, we will depart for Masindi, stopping en route at the dry Butiaba Escarpment, at the head of the Albertine Rift Valley. This productive birding site may produce Ayres's Hawk-Eagle, Namaqua Dove, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Black-billed Barbet, White-shouldered Black Tit, Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike, Mocking Cliff Chat, Green-winged Pytilia, Foxy Cisticola, Little Weaver and Cinnamon-breasted and Golden-breasted Bunting. The dry scrub soon changes to moist rainforest as we again approach the Budongo Forest Reserve, this time at Busingiro. We will bird a section of this forest where the elusive canopy-dwelling Ituri Batis is a possibility, and will make a concerted effort to find this and other species before checking into our hotel. Masindi Hotel
Day 8: Masindi to Kibale National Park. Today we will drive south from Masindi. Our first birding will be at an area of papyrus swamps where we will target papyrus specials including Blue-headed Coucal, the stunning Papyrus Gonolek, the skulking White-winged Swamp Warbler, Greater Swamp Warbler, Carruthers's Cisticola, and elusive Papyrus Canary. The surrounding woodlands and agricultural lands are also rich in birdlife. Here we will look for Redheaded Lovebird, Dark-capped Yellow Warbler, African Blue Flycatcher, Compact Weaver, Brown Twinspot, and the beautiful Grey-headed and White-collared Olivebacks. Further along the route, we will stop at a patch of forest, which generally provides superb birding. Our target species will include Dusky Long-tailed and African Emerald Cuckoos (the latter particularly common and conspicuous at this site), Joyful Greenbul, Lowland Masked Apalis, Cassin's Flycatcher, Blackand-white Flycatcher, Many-colored and Lühder's Bushshrikes, Chestnut-winged Starling, Bluethroated Brown Sunbird and Dark-backed Weaver. Thereafter we will continue to our comfortable tented camp adjoining Kibale National Park. Day 9: Kibale National Park. The Kibale National Park will be today's birding destination. The towering Kibale Forest has the highest primate concentration and species diversity of any reserve in East Africa. Primate highlights might include sightings of localised Central African Red Colobus, handsome L'Hoest's Monkey and the scruffy Grey-cheeked Mangabey. We will also embark on a Chimpanzee trek. Our chances of finding these, our closest living relatives, are excellent. The birds are typical of medium-altitude forest, with excellent mixed species flocks and specials such as Afep and the globally-threatened White-naped Pigeons, Red-chested Owlet, Narina Trogon, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Dusky-blue Flycatcher, Shrike-flycatcher, Superb and Green-headed Sunbirds, Chestnut Wattle-eye and Black-and-white Mannikin. A night drive through the forest may produce Potto - a primitive, slow-moving primate - Demidoff's and Thomas's galagos (more commonly known as bushbabies), the gliding Lord Derby's Anomalure and the arboreal Servaline Genet and African Palm Civet. Day 10: Kibale National Park to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Finally we will bid farewell to these enchanted forests and head for the open savannas of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Birding around the lodge itself is rewarding, with resident spectacular species including Greyheaded Kingfisher, White-browed Robin-Chat, Grey-capped Warbler, Black-headed Gonolek, Brimstone Canary and Red-chested Sunbird.
Day 11: Queen Elizabeth National Park.
We will spend time birding in the spectacular Crater area in the foothills of the Ruwenzori Mountains and the main game-viewing area along the Kasenyi track. Species that will be the focus of our search include Rüppell's Vulture, Bateleur (one of Africa's most spectacular raptors), Brown Snake Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Grey Kestrel, Red-necked Spurfowl, Harlequin Quail, Kurrichane and the rarely encountered Black-rumped Buttonquails, African Crake, Pied Avocet, Temminck's Courser, Senegal and Crowned Lapwings, the marsh dwelling Black Coucal, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Greater Honeyguide, Flappet, Rufous-naped, Red-capped and the scarce White-tailed Larks, Plain-backed Pipit, Fan-tailed Grassbird, Croaking, Red-faced, and Stout Cisticolas, Marsh Tchagra, Black-lored Babbler, Southern Red Bishop, flocks of Red-billed Quelea, Red-billed Firefinch and Black-chinned Quailfinch. A highlight of the tour is the launch trip on the Kazinga Channel, which allows a close approach to African Buffalo and Hippopotamus, as well as numerous waterbirds. Amongst many others, we hope to find White-breasted Cormorant, two species of pelicans, African Openbill, Saddle-billed Stork, Glossy Ibis, African Wattled Lapwing, Water Thick-knee, several species of gulls and terns, Swamp Flycatcher and Winding Cisticola. Mammals will also be a highlight in this area. Species we have a good chance of finding are Lion, Leopard, Spotted Hyaena, African Elephant, African Buffalo, Uganda Kob, Bushbuck, Hippopotamus, Common Warthog and the spectacular Giant Forest-Hog, the largest and undeniably ugliest pig on earth.
Day 12: Queen Elizabeth National Park to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Today we depart QENP and head for the famous Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a bastion for gorilla conservation and a hotspot for Albertine Rift Endemics. If conditions allow, we will drive through the extensive southern Ishasha section of Queen Elizabeth National Park en route to Bwindi. Savanna bird and mammal species are likely to be seen, and we may be fortunate in sighting Ishasha's famous tree-climbing Lions. The elusive Scaly Francolin is another species that we hope to find on this route. After a long drive, we will reach the headquarters of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park at Buhoma, where we will be based for three nights. The Park is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and is home to approximately half of the world population of Mountain Gorillas.
This vast reserve offers arguably some of the most productive montane forest birding in Africa and supports 23 of Uganda's 24 Albertine Rift endemic bird species. Once part of a much larger forest that included the Virunga Volcanoes in neighbouring Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is now an ecological island within a sea of human cultivation and therefore of immense conservation importance.
Buhoma lies in the valley of the Munyaga River at 5100 feet and is flanked by steep, forested hills. Excellent forest birding, not least the prospect of numerous rare and localised Albertine Rift endemics, makes this a true birding Mecca.
Days 13 & 14: Buhoma, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
From our comfortable base, we will depart for an optional gorilla trekking adventure where we will search for one of the three habituated family groups of Mountain Gorilla. Spending an hour with these gentle giants is, without a doubt, one of the greatest wildlife experiences on Earth.
We will spend the balance of our time here birding the trails leading out from the camp. Species we will search for include Olive Long-tailed Cuckoo, Bar-tailed Trogon, Dusky Tit, Abyssinian Ground Thrush, White-bellied Robin-Chat, Equatorial Akalat, White-tailed Rufous Thrush, Red-throated Alethe, White-bellied Crested Flycatcher, White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher, Bocage's Bushshrike, Northern Double-collared Sunbird, Black-billed Weaver and Magpie Mannikin. High exposed perches in the open forest are favoured by African Goshawk, the dazzling Black Bee-eater, Blue-throated Roller, Sooty Flycatcher and forest starlings including Waller's, Stuhlmann's and Narrow-tailed. One of Bwindi's star avian attractions is the diminutive, pitta-like Neumann's Warbler, a vocal yet very secretive bird! Other under-storey birds we hope to see include displaying African Broadbill, Banded Prinia and the handsome Black-faced Rufous Warbler. The mid-storey and canopy supports Elliot's and Tullberg's Woodpeckers, Cabanis's, Kakamega and Ansorge's Greenbuls, the enigmatic Chapin's Flycatcher, strange Grauer's Warbler and White-browed Crombec. The rare Jameson's Antpecker may also been seen probing under moss on dead branches or gleaning warbler-like in the canopy, while Scarce Swifts forage over the forest. Birding at Buhoma is a truly magical experience. Other wildlife that we may be fortunate enough to find here include the huge Yellow-backed Duiker, Guereza Colobus, L'Hoest's, Blue and Red-tailed monkeys, Chimpanzee and several species of squirrels including Fire-footed Rope, Carruthers' Mountain, Ruwenzori Sun and Red-legged Sun Squirrels. Day 15: Buhoma to Ruhija, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Although the distance is not large, we will spend the entire day on this route due to the superb birding it provides. In scrubby areas beyond Buhoma, we will search for Ross's Turaco, Red-throated Wryneck, Brown-backed Scrub Robin, Bronze, Copper and Variable Sunbirds, Baglafecht, Black-necked and African Golden Weavers, Yellow Bishop, Village Indigobird and Black-throated Canary. Further along the road, we will pass through Kitahurira or "The Neck,' another well-known birding locality. Here we will search for species such as Black Sparrowhawk, Western Bronze-naped Pigeon, Cinnamon-chested Beeeater, Cassin's Honeybird, Petit's Cuckooshrike, Whitechinned Prinia, Mountain Wagtail, Pink-footed Puffback, the rare Tiny Sunbird and the attractive Brown-capped Weaver. Even further up the road, cultivated areas provide feeding opportunities for many seedeaters. Our main targets here will be the highly sought-after Dusky Twinspot and Yellow-bellied, Black-headed and Black-crowned Waxbills. African Stonechat, Streaky and Thick-billed Seedeaters, African Citril and Yellow-crowned Canary may also be found here. The noisy Chubb's Cisticola will mock us from deep within the bracken, and the beautiful Doherty's Bushshrike can be lured out from the dense vegetation. Mackinnon's Shrikes survey the road from high, exposed perches. Uganda birds and mammals itinerary 8 Finally, we will reach the seldom-visited higher camp in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The ranger station at Ruhija is situated at an altitude of 7500 feet, with breathtaking views over steep, forested valleys toward the distant Virunga Volcanoes. Ruhija is likely to be one of the highlights of any trip to Uganda with excellent birding in spectacular surroundings. The only accommodation available at Ruhija is a basic hostel, with a superb panoramic view of the surrounding forested valleys. We will have our own chef and kitchen set up for us. Excellent meals will more than compensate for the basic dormitory-style accommodation. Day 16: Ruhija, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. We will concentrate our birding on the trails to the unique Mubwindi Swamp and along the main access roads. This area is the most accessible site on Earth for the rare and localised Grauer's Broadbill, one of Africa's most sought-after birds. This globally threatened species is only known from two sites in the world, the other being a remote forest in eastern Congo. Carruthers's Cisticola and the localised Grauer's Swamp Warbler are resident in Mubwindi Swamp and if we are very fortunate we will see Red-chested Flufftail. Today's other target species include Mountain and Augur Buzzards, Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk, the furtive Handsome Francolin, African Olive Pigeon, Black-billed Turaco, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, White-headed Wood Hoopoe, Western Tinkerbird, Olive Woodpecker, Thickbilled, Least and the elusive Dwarf Honeyguides, Black Saw-wing, Grey Cuckooshrike, Olive-breasted and Yellow-streaked Greenbuls, Olive Thrush, White-starred Robin, Archer's Ground Robin, Stripebreasted Tit, the beautiful Grey-chested Babbler, Mountain Illadopsis, Ruwenzori Hill Babbler, Mountain Masked, Ruwenzori, and Chestnut-throated Apalises, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Mountain Yellow Warbler Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Whitetailed Blue Flycatcher, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Ruwenzori Batis, Mountain Sooty Boubou, the rare Lagden's Bushshrike, Sharpe's Starling, Mountain Oriole, Strange Weaver, and Oriole Finch. Flowering trees attract the incredible Blue-headed, Regal Sunbird and scarce Purple-breasted Sunbird, all three being extremely beautiful Albertine Rift Endemics. Dusky, Red-faced and the elusive Shelley's Crimsonwings, amongst the most beautiful and sought-after of African seedeaters, are possible at Ruhija. At night we will set out to search for Ruwenzori Nightjar, African Wood Owl and Spectacled Galago. If we are very fortunate, Fraser's Eagle-Owl may be seen. Day 17: Ruhija to Lake Mburo National Park. After enjoying a morning of further birding at Ruhija we will head north again. Travelling through mixed broad-leafed and Acacia woodlands and wetlands, we will arrive at Lake Mburo National Park for a two night stay at the comfortable Mantana tented camp situated within the park. A late afternoon drive may produce a variety of birds and mammals and we hope to see African Scops Owl, which is a resident in the camp itself.
Day 18: Lake Mburo National Park.
We will spend all of today birding in Lake Mburo National Park, a superb wetland and Acacia savanna sanctuary that hosts some sought-after species. Raptor watching will be a major feature of our day.
Potentials include African Marsh Harrier, White-backed, Lappet-faced and White-headed Vultures, Brown Snake Eagle and African Hawk-Eagle. Lake Mburo's woodlands are the northern-most example of the southern savanna system and are therefore home to several species at the edge of their range.
Most sought-after of these is the elusive Red-faced Barbet, known only from remote north-eastern Tanzania, Rwanda, and here. We will also search for Crested and Coqui Francolins, Emeraldspotted Wood Dove, Red-chested, Jacobin, Levaillant's, Klaas's and Dideric Cuckoos, Blue-naped and Speckled Mousebirds, Lilacbreasted Roller, Striped Kingfisher, Green Wood Hoopoe, Common Scimitarbill, Spot-flanked Barbet, Nubian and Bearded Woodpeckers, several swallows including Lesser Striped, Red-breasted, Mosque, Red-rumped and White-headed Saw-wing, Black Cuckooshrike, White-browed Scrub Robin, Trilling Cisticola, the meadowlark-like Yellow-throated Longclaw, Chinspot Batis, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Grey Penduline Tit, Arrow-marked Babbler, Brubru, Wattled Starling, Greater Blue-eared Starling, Marico Sunbird and Red-headed Weaver.
Specials we will watch for include African Finfoot, Long-tailed Cisticola and Green-capped Eremomela. Mammals we may find include foraging groups of Banded and Dwarf Mongoose surveying the world from atop their adopted termite mounds, Common Zebra, Hippopotamus, Common Warthog, Eland (the world's largest antelope), Defassa Waterbuck, Bohor Reedbuck, Impala, Oribi, and Topi. Just outside the park, we will come across some of the worldfamous long-horned Ankole cattle.
Day 19: Lake Mburo National Park to Entebbe and departure.
After final early morning birding at Lake Mburo, we will make our way back to Entebbe. If time allows we will visit the extensive, 100- year-old Entebbe Botanical Gardens. We will concentrate on finding the area's two special birds, the attractive Orange Weaver and the elusive Orange-tufted Sunbird. This area is also weaver-paradise and we may also find Golden-backed, Slender-billed, Northern Brown-throated, Village, Vieillot's Black, Black-headed and Thick-billed Weavers! We may check into a comfortable guesthouse in Entebbe for a few hours to freshen up before our long flights home. Later we will head to Entebbe International Airport for our final departure.
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