Pot's Spectacular Birding Trip Oct/Nov 2014 Part 4

We crossed into Zimbabwe early on the morning of 17 October and drove the 90kms to Victoria Falls. At this point birding was temporarily forgotten as we neared one of the seven natural wonders of the world. 

As we entered the town we could see the mist from the Falls and I must admit that the adrenaline started pumping! We headed to our accommodation at Lokuthula Lodge (stunning), and then drove back to the entrance to the Falls. 

The Falls defy description, so I will let the photos do the talking. 

David Livingstone

Us!

We could have stayed here all day mesmerised by the grandeur of the Falls, but reluctantly we eventually pulled ourselves away. Heading out we surprised a pair of Schalow's Turaco - one of my most favourite birds. They are simply stunning but were, as is often the case, far too busy running from branch to branch to stay still long enough for a photo. We also came across a pair of Black-collared Barbets, busily foraging amongst a scrubby bush on the side of the gorge. Fortunately, they weren't in as much of a hurry and happily posed for me. 

We then had lunch near the Falls and were joined by a troop of Vervet Monkey. All rather pleasant really! Driving back to our lodge, Tim and I picked up the Southern Grey-headed Sparrow (Lifer 11) and Meve's Starling (Lifer 12) from the safety of the car as it was a balmy 39 degrees outside. 

After a very enjoyable shower and short kip, we wandered down to the main dining room, weaving our way amongst warthog, bushbuck and helmeted guineafowl. 

The waiters were very kind and gave us a table overlooking the waterhole. As we sat there sipping our sun-downers, a herd of over fifty elephant wandered in for a drink. Spectacular. A solitary spotted hyaena wandered past in the dark and my dear wife contentedly sighed, "all we need now is an owl to fly into the floodlight and the night will be complete." On queue, a Western Barn Owl flew in and made several passes right in front of us. To top it off, the waiters came and sang an a-capella version of Paul Simon's song "Homeless" in perfect four part harmony. I love Africa! 

The next morning was our first "sleep-in" for quite a while, and after a leisurely breakfast we headed into town to stock up on supplies and confirm our "mad" booking for the next day. The rest of the morning was taken up with resting by the pool and generally chilling out. After lunch we were collected by a game warden and taken to the Stanley and Livingstone Game Reserve. It was the end of the dry season and the bush looked parched. 

The highlights were seeing a baby rhino and getting stunning views of Lilac-breasted Rollers, another of my favourite birds. They must be one of the most photogenic birds on the planet!

Day 3 at Victoria Falls was our "reclaim our youth" day. We went white-water rafting on the "mighty slammin' Zambezi river", which was quite simply an absolutely mind-blowing experience. Talk about an adrenaline rush! However, this is a birding blog, so I shall say no more, other than to mention the beautiful pair of Verreaux's Eagle that cruised above us as we made our way down the Zambezi gorge. Lords of the Air!

Our final day in Zimbabwe was spent with local birder and head of the Victoria Falls National Park anti-poaching unit, Charles Brightman. Charles knows everything about birds in this region and we had a fantastic day with him. It was also rather exciting as he was constantly in contact with one of his units which was undertaking a sting operation to prevent a group of poachers from putting cyanide into a local waterhole! Not exactly the norm at the Greenfield wetlands of Salisbury! 

We headed out early and were soon into lifer territory long the Zambezi river banks. The first new one was the Collared Palm Thrush (Lifer 13), a bird I had been trying to chase down since my days in Kenya. Very cool! We then headed to a local tourist spot, and picked up both Lillian's Lovebird (Lifer 14) and Meyer's Parrot (Lifer 15). Amongst others, we also picked up Bearded Scrub Robin, Trumpeter Hornbill, and three species of Ibis standing next to each other at a small dam. The day had started well. 

We headed further into the national park, and came across a beautiful pair of Tawny Eagles munching on a piece of some poor dead animal. 

We then entered Bee-eater country - Southern Carmine, Little, Eurasian and Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters (Lifer 16) became fairly constant companions as we worked our way through the bush.

We also saw Lilac-breasted, Broad-billed and Purple Roller - I asked Charles if we could get out and sneak closer to a Broad-billed Roller for a photo. He said "sure", jumped out of the vehicle, and proceeded to pull out a very large 303 rifle. I got back into the car. 

We worked our way around the park until lunch-time, picking up Cardinal Woodpecker, Golden-breasted and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Gabar Goshawk, Harrier Hawk, Western Osprey, Wahlberg's and Bateleur Eagle, Orange-breasted (sulphur-breasted) Bush Shrike, and  both Green Wood-hoopoe and African Scimitarbill. 

Lunch was a surprise event in the bush with a friend of Charles, who owns a bush camp in the Park turning up with a spread of delicious cold meats, salads and drinks set up in a glade near the river, complete with tables, chairs and a repertoire of stories of life in Zimbabwe - quite splendid. 

The afternoon, predictably, was a little quieter,  but we still added to our trip and day list, including Violet-backed Starling, Greater Honeyguide, Red-backed Shrike and Paradise Whydah. We also had a pair of Elephant washing themselves at a local waterhole and a stack of Sable Antelope grazing around the vehicle. Charles was a fantastic guide and a very affable chap - we saw well over 70 species and I pecked up four lifers, so the day was an unqualified success. I would recommend anyone going to the Vic Falls region who is keen on birding to contact Charles and organise a day with him. We had a brilliant time. 

The next morning we left early and headed back into Bostwana for the final leg of our two week safari. Next stop was the town of Maun, one of the main entrances to the world famous Okavango Delta. This is one of the most remarkable places on earth, where major rivers from central Africa flow through the Kalahari Desert until they pour into swamps (pans) hundreds of kilometres from the ocean. These pans attract an enormous amount of wildlife and the birding is prolific. I couldn't wait! The adventures of the Okavango will be in my next instalment. Stay tuned! 

Pot's Spectacular Birding Trip Oct/Nov 2014 Part 3

And so the third leg of my mega birding trip began ..... I met my lovely wife Dani at Changi airport, and after a quiet few hours in the transit lounge, we boarded our flight to Johannesburg. As I say to the students we take to Kenya each year, the only exciting parts of international travel are the first half an hour and the last half an hour, and this flight was no exception. 

We landed thirteen hours later, and were met by my brother Tim, a resident of South Africa for the last 34 years. Onwards to their home to meet up with the rest of the family, including Tim's lovely wife Avril. We spent a very pleasant couple of days preparing for the great trek ahead which would take us through most of eastern and north-eastern Botswana, and the Victoria Falls region of Zimbabwe. Tim could be described as an occasional birder, but this did not deter him from methodically and passionately applying himself to the task of seeing as many as possible in the next thirteen days. Dani and Avril made it clear that while they would cheer us on in all things birding  they would be looking to have a good time in their own right as well. We readily acquiesced! 

Avril has set up an assortment of bird feeding areas around their back yard, as well as nesting sites for barbets, and she has been spectacularly successful! Crested Barbet, Black-collared Barbet, Red-headed Finch (new for me - and Lifer number 1 for the trip), Dark-capped Bulbul, Laughing, Red-eyed and Rock Doves, Grey Lourie (Go-away bird), Red-faced and Speckled Mousebirds, Hadada Ibis, Kurricane Thrush and more regularly turned up during our few days there. The Crested Barbets were especially in evidence with a couple of very noisy chicks in the nesting site. So the trip list was looking quite healthy before we had started our safari!

Day 1 - Monday, 13th October saw us on the road by 3:00am - we had a four hour drive to the Botswana border and we wanted to be there by sun-up. As a boy, I had read the Rudyard Kipling story of the Elephant Child, which described one of the great rivers of Africa as the "great grey green greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever trees". I had seen it from the air on a number of occasions, but my first highlight of our trip was crossing the Limpopo and into Botswana that initial morning. A new country to tick off on the global list, and I was pretty pumped about the adventure ahead. 

The Limpopo

We headed north along the eastern border of Botswana until we reached Nata Lodge mid-afternoon. It was Hot! The temperature for the next few days would be in the high 30's, so after settling into our "tents", we headed for the pool for a well-deserved swim and drink. After a brief visit to the Nata sanctuary - where we saw a Northern Black Korhaan (Lifer number 2) and a Double-banded Courser, but very little else, we headed back to the lodge for dinner, which was most pleasant, and we then crashed after a long day of travelling. 

Our accommodation at Nata

Day 2 - Tim and I were up early and the birds didn't disappoint! Southern Pied Babbler (Lifer number 3), Marico and White-bellied Sunbirds, Purple and Lilac-breasted Rollers, Red-billed Quelea, African Red-eyed Bulbul, Cape Glossy Starling and African Palm Swift were the highlights, and I was able to get a couple of quite pleasing photos. 

After a very satisfying and full breakfast, we headed north toward our next destination - Kasane and the Chobe River region. Southern Red-billed and Grey Hornbills glided across the road fairly frequently, and then we noted the following road sign...... Welcome to Botswana!

And then we didn't need signs - there were elephants grazing by the sides of the main highway .... quite surreal! 

We reached Kasane just after lunch and settled into the Chobe River Cottages - lovely, self-contained rooms located right on the river. 

After a brief discussion we agreed on a boat trip on the river as our afternoon activity - which proved to be one of the best things we did the entire trip. Our boat guide was Charles, a very friendly Botswanan gentleman who also knew his birds! Joy! we were joined by a couple from Sydney .... Aussies are everywhere! 

The birdlife on the river was amazing .... Brown-hooded, Giant and Pied Kingfishers, Blue-cheeked (Lifer number 4), Little and White-fronted Bee-eaters; Reed and White-breasted Cormorants, African Darter, African Fish Eagles (lots), Great, Little, Western Cattle and Yellow-billed Egrets, Egyptian and Spur-winged Goose, eight species of heron (!) including Black Heron (night time, day time!), Blacksmith, Long-toed and White-crowned Lapwings (Lifer number 5), Openbill and Marabou Storks, African Spoonbill, Water Thick-knee, and ..... African Skimmer (Lifer number 6). This was one of my major targets for the trip and I was stoked to see this odd-looking but still striking bird sweeping over the surface of the water and then landing on nearby grassy banks. Brilliant! Oh, and we had elephant, hippo, cape buffalo, impala and crocodiles right next to the boat, as well as Red Lechwe (a new antelope for us). What an awesome day.

Day 3 - saw us heading into the Chobe NP early and we soon understood why we had seen so many animals around the river. The park was seared bone dry - everything looked dead, including the ground! Unfortunately this also meant that the roads were heavily rutted and covered in thick soil. And we got stuck! Leaping out of the vehicle we began to dig our way out, but were soon welcomed by the roaring of lions and the cry of an animal in serious pain .... I grabbed a stick for protection (as if that would have sufficed!) and we started digging. Fortunately, a tour van soon appeared and the kind driver towed us out. Joy! We reached the river area and the roads were much better. And so was the birdlife! The first major spot of the morning was a Southern Carmine Bee-eater (Lifer number 7), one of my all time favourite birds. It posed beautifully for me which was rather nice!

We also spotted Red-billed Spurfowl (Lifer number 8), Violet-eared Waxbill (Lifer number 9), Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Common Buzzard, African Spoonbill, Kori Bustard, Glossy Ibis, a solitary Ruff, Crested Francolin, as well as Banded Mongoose, Black-bcked Jackal, Kudu, Sable Antelope, Tree Squirrel, Chacma Baboon, glimpses of three lions sleeping and hundreds (and I mean hundreds) of elephants. At one stage we were surrounded by them which, while wonderful and spectacular, was also a tad un-nerving. Avril, however was undeterred and was leaning out of the vehicle taking photos with her iPhone of elephants only a few metres from the vehicle exclaiming "splendid" with each photo. She is a braver woman than I am Gunga Din!

Day 4 - and we headed back onto the river with Charles. And what a morning it was! The first bird was a Half-collared Kingfisher, another of my major targets (Lifer number 10). We also picked up both White-backed and Black-crowned Night Herons, Green-backed Heron, more Fish Eagles (a truly majestic bird!), and Rock Pratincoles perched precariously on rocks amongst a series of small rapids. Charles was brilliant and very patient - if you ever do a cruise on the Chobe, ask for him at the Chobe River Cottages. 

We spent the afternoon relaxing at one of the "poshy" lodges and then had a quiet dinner prior to our early start for Zimbabwe the next day. The first part of our adventure in Botswana had been an unequivocal success. Ten lifers, great photo opportunities, lots of mammals, and "splendid" life-long memories. On to the Victoria Falls!