During the period 17th - 30th June 2011, a member of NatureUganda was privileged to assist a team of scientists from South Africa who are attempting to unravel the migrations and threats posed to the enigmatic Blue Swallow (see photo). The team led by Ian Little has been studying the species in the South African breeding grounds and have been attempting to establish whether the birds that spend the period May to September around the Ugandan shore of Lake Victoria are of South African origin or are from the small breeding populations that breed in Tanzania and Zambia.

The team was hoping to capture some specimens and take a feather sample to analyse where the bird originated from using carbon studies. Unfortunately the feather sample had to be taken before the bird moulted out its South Africa feathers and replaced them with feathers grown in Uganda, so the survey had to be completed before the majority of Swallows had arrived. The targeted areas were the grasslands of Nabugabo and Sango Bay in southern Uganda; these are vast wetlands with small island clumps of shrubs and small trees. It has been established that the birds use these “islands” of trees for feeding Numbers of this globally vulnerable species were very low and consequently none was caught  indeed the approximate totals seen were around forty individuals, the maximum being six birds seen together.

Although the team failed in their quest we have established that the wintering areas, i.e. Nabugabo and Sango Bay have extensive safe areas of suitable habitat and that the problem for the Blue Swallow lies in its declining breeding areas, or perhaps on migration. Another problem for the birds is where they go after breeding? If they leave South Africa in April and do not arrive in Uganda in any sizable numbers till mid-July (recent survey work conducted by NatureUganda), where do they spend the intervening period? With numbers appearing to have decreased within the last decade these questions have to be addressed fairly quickly or the Blue Swallow situation will indeed be “Blue”.

Roger Q Skeen, NatureUganda