Uganda – a country I always knew I would visit one day! Not only is this the place where you can see Gorillas and Chimpanzees up close, but it also has so much more to offer. The trip I took in the summer of 2025 was mainly focused on seeing as many bird species as possible. Personally, I’ve long accepted that I won’t end up with the world’s biggest bird list, since I also love dedicating time to other animals. My personal “must-see” bird list was therefore quite short. But there was no doubt which one stood at the very top: the Shoebill.
The world knows only four species of eider. These ducks are found exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere and are specialized for life at sea. The Steller’s eider is an odd one out because it’s suspected to have originated from hybridization between the common eider and the long-tailed duck. I saw this species last year on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia. I’ve also seen the king eider multiple times, most beautifully on Spitsbergen in 2016. I even had the chance to admire this stunning duck in the Netherlands. The common eider is easily found in the right places in the Netherlands, and I see this species several times a year.