I went bird watching (again!). This time round, I literally shot two birds with one stone. So did everybody else on the trip, actually.

Before the September 20th birding expedition to the Rugezi Marsh in the Northern Province, my last birding trip had been to Bugesera, in the Eastern Province.

In Bugesera, which was my first official birding experience, I got a thorn right through my canvass shoes as we traversed the thickets and grasslands around the bird sanctuary. In all, it was an exhausting four hours on the ground, like a foot soldier, and under searing heat.

After that experience, I had ignored subsequent emails from the Rwanda Birding Association announcing upcoming birding expeditions.

Going to Rugezi Marshland

For the Rugezi birding trip, members were informed that they would have the opportunity to watch the birds from the comfort of local row boats.

To many of the birders, some of who would be sitting on a local canoe for the very first time, this in itself sounded too good already.

As we set off from the Chez Lando Hotel parking lot, the birders’ assembly point, Claudien, our driver-guide placed a call through to Rugezi, asking one of the boatmen to get two boats ready.

The drive to Rugezi was characterized by birders getting acquainted with each other, and surprisingly, there were those that were just weeks old in the country.

They compared notes on their different birding experiences, recounting sightings of rare and endangered species dotted across the country’s bird habitats and beyond.

People wanted to know what birds they would most likely sight on a birding excursion around the Nyarutarama lake, at Akagera National Park …name it. Others shared birding experiences from abroad.

Generally, being a nascent sector, people wanted to know how best to indulge their birding fantasies, to get a better grounding in it all.

We moved in a caravan of four vehicles, and on reaching the first point of the marsh, were informed we would be joined shortly by a delegation from the RDB, before proceeding.

Blame it on the winding nature of the roads in the largely uninhabited area, as we failed to make contact with the RDB group. After a bit of waiting, one of the birders asked if it’s mandatory that we arrive at the same time with RDB, and thankfully, our guide for the day said we could proceed.

We drove down the winding road as birders embarked on their first sightings for the day. Binoculars and cameras were gradually whipped out.

We arrived at the other point of the lake to find our boats waiting for us, complete with boatmen and life jackets.

There was a small and expectant crowd of local boatmen and people from the neighbourhood as always happens whenever a birding group visits. These ranged from little kids who wanted to simply say "hello mzungu”, to the birders, or to tap the little gifts that the female birders had brought along.

James Hogg, our host from the Rwanda Birding Association, encouraged birders to eat a light snack before set off, as we would be spending at least two hours on the boat. People simply unpacked their snacks — sweet bananas, cookies, candy, cake, soda, biscuits, and what followed was more of a picnic, with food and drinks shared among birders and with the locals.

We eventually rowed off into the extremely calm and clean lake — the very reason the marsh is one of the leading bird sanctuaries in the country. The water was so still, and the sail so smooth, a few birders did not see the need to don the life jackets. All they wanted to do was make the next sighting of that rare Rufous-bellied Heron, African Sacred Ibis, Yellow-billed Duck, or Hottentot Teal, all of which occur abundantly in this sanctuary.

Armed with a birding guide, Birds of Africa, South of the Sahara, our guide, Claudien took the lead not only in spotting, but also offering complimentary info about each new bird sighted. He did not use the binoculars as frequently as the rest of the group, relying instead on his trusted, trained eye.

From so many metres away, he would spot a bird perched in the marsh, know if it’s male or female, and whether it’s an adult or a pullet. He would tell you the bird’s gestation period, common habitats, and whether it’s an endangered species.

Occasionally, he will consult his guide book when not sure of a particular bird’s identity.

Later, about an hour into our boat excursion, we sighted the RDB group snaking their way to the pier in their Pickup truck. When they arrived, they took their own local canoe and joined the rest of the group on the lake.

The Rugezi Marsh is home to endangered species such as Grauer’s Swamp Warbler, Papyrus Yellow Warbler, and Grey Crowned Crane. We spotted two different pairs of the Grey Crowned Crane by the lake, one of the highlights of the trip.

If anything, the locally hired boats proved a very relaxing way to observe the multitude of duck and other bird species that occur abundantly in the marsh. Birders pooled resources to hire the boats (Rwf 15.000 each), which everyone seemed to agree, was well-worth the two-hour boat ride.

We spent about two hours in the boats, returned ashore for a quick picnic lunch, then proceeded for a walk around the fringes of the swamp. We further ventured into the South end of the marsh which can be approached from Byumba or Base (via the Sorwathe tea factory). From Kigali it takes around 2 hours to reach the birding area.

Here we were joined by a community guide and warden of the swamp. Birders discussed with him how the local communities could benefit from bird tourism, with a view to lending them some support in the near future.

Other highlights of the trip were; finding a Lesser Jacana and a probable White-backed Duck.

Both species are very rare in Rwanda and until recently, were considered extinct. Long-toed Lapwings were observed on nests, and water ducks were very numerous. Also, more than 50 European Bee-eaters flew past on migration.

In all, 40 species were observed, including; the Grey Crowned Crane, African Stonechat, African Jacana, Fantailed Widowbird, Long-toed Lapwing, Red-knobbed Coot, Rufous-bellied Heron, and African Sacred Ibis. Also sighted were the Yellow-billed Duck, Hottentot Teal, Three-banded Plover, White-faced Whistling Ducks, Little Grebe, Bronze Sunbird, Little Rush Warbler, Cape Wagtail, Winding Cisticola, Pink-backed Pelican, Malachite Kingfisher, and Lesser Jacana, among others.

According to the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the country has a diverse and interesting selection of bird species, with 701 recorded.

Avitourism (bird watching) is one of the specialist tourism products that the RDB marked for a major boost in coming months with the implementation of the National Avitourism Strategic Plan (NASP). Recently, it launched a programme to rehabilitate captive Grey Crowned Cranes.

About the Rwanda Birding Club

The club was formed in early 2014 by a group of Rwandans and ex-pats who were interested in organizing informal monthly trips to go bird watching.

Anyone interested in birding can become a member. All one needs to do to join a trip is carry along something to eat, water to drink, and to contribute to the cost of fuel.

About the Rugezi Marsh

Rugezi is a large wetland in Northern Rwanda. It is the only RAMSAR wetland in Rwanda and an Important Bird Area according to Birdlife International, and covers about 8,000ha. It is home to the Grauer’s Swamp Warbler, Papyrus Yellow Warbler and the Grey Crowned Crane all endangered species on the IUCN Red List.

There are also several endemic amphibian, reptile and plant species present. Though the wetland is protected under Rwandan law there are still problems with excessive harvesting of grass and poaching of birds for human consumption.