Meet Crammy Wanyama a passionate birder, born and raised in Uganda. His childhood attachment to birds haunted him to adulthood amidst his adventurous character. With his business administration transcripts and spending days in a squared building offering IT solution did impress him more than being out interacting with nature. At the end of 2010, he went for an introduction to guiding training that was arranged by the Uganda Safari guides association (USAGA). On the third evening of field practice, Crammy locked eyes with a duetting pair of Black-headed Gonoleks that patched less than meters from him; this was the turning point. Anxious about the details of these birds, he came to realise that their kind of habitat is what his family and neighbours had wiped out in the name of agriculture and better human settlement! From this experience, he set 2011 a change of life year, he continuously read and attended a few conservation pieces of training to understand what he unknowingly would later share with his home people and birding clients.

In his conservation efforts, he tagged friends to come along on his practising and scouting adventures and engaged the curious kids and adults he met in the bushes while practising birds.

Also, for the guiding interests, he related the bird calls he heard in the field to music tunes that played several nights in the music production studio where he spent plenty of time with his musician friends. He attached most calls to specific familiar music instruments that he had encountered. Although he appreciated colourful birds, his connections to music instruments dragged him into paying much attention to strict African families like Alaudidae (Larks) and Cisticolidae which are by far very vocal birds. This solo practice got his bird call identification to 80% by calls even before he started leading tours. This is a much easier way to find forest birds.

Crammy started Avian Safaris to speed up his conservation (with a significant focus on habitat restoration) funding efforts and has teamed up with local birding communities in the region to participate in several birding and nature excursions. He has voluntarily served on the local Bird Guides Clubs and USAGA. USAGA on different occasions has voted Crammy as the year’s Best Birding Guide and also the Best Guide in Uganda.

He has led several tours in the East African region for Avian Safaris, served as the head guide at Bird Uganda Safaris and has been to other destinations like Namibia with his friends of Batis Birding Safaris, Madagascar, South Africa and the USA with Tropical Birding Tours.
This fanatical naturalist loves spending time with his beautiful family when not doing tours just like he enjoys showing people birds in the field.