Trip Report Zambia, 02-16 June 2011

Trip Report – Zambia, 02-16 June 2011

Tour leaders: Errol de Beer and John Davies

This was our standard Zambia (Shoebill) itinerary with a few slight changes, we also

added a pre and post tour to Botswana and Zimbabwe respectively, as requested by the

clients.

Birds Recorded: Pre-tour – 247 species (242 seen and 5 heard only).

Post-tour – 127 species (126 seen and 1 heard only).

Main tour - 340 species (334 seen and 6 heard only).

Total over the whole tour - 398 species (392 seen and 6 heard only).

Mammals Recorded: 40 species (incl. Black Lechwe, Sitatunga, Puku, Side-striped

Jackal, Elephant and African Civet)

Some of the more interesting sightings included: Dickinson‟s Kestrel, Red-necked

Falcon, Augur Buzzard, Western Banded Snake-Eagle, Black-bellied Bustard, Shoebill,

Wattled Crane, Allen‟s Gallinule, Lesser Jacana, African Finfoot, African Barred Owlet,

Greater Painted-Snipe, Gull-billed Tern, Yellow-throated Sandgrouse, Dusky Lark,

Racket-tailed Roller, Half-collared Kingfisher, Ross‟s Turaco, Black Coucal, Bohm‟s

Bee-eater, Chaplin‟s Barbet, Miombo Pied Barbet, Black-backed Barbet, Black-cheeked

Lovebird, Southern Ground Hornbill, Pale-billed Hornbill, Rufous-bellied Tit, Miombo

Tit, Spotted Creeper, Bocage‟s Akalat, Broad-tailed Warbler, Southern Hyliota, Yellow-

bellied Hyliota, Black-necked Eremomela, Souza‟s Shrike, Anchieta‟s Sunbird, Green-

headed Sunbird, Kasanga Masked Weaver, Bar-winged Weaver, Marsh Widowbird,

Fawn-breasted Waxbill, Locust Finch.

Shoebill by Ken Harris

PRE-TRIP:

Day 1:

The sun rose over a cool morning in Johannesburg as we met up for the start of what was

to be an epic 22 day trip. After loading up the vehicles, we headed straight north away

from the highveld, replacing the Glossy Ibis, Karoo Thrush and Rock Doves for a mix

of birds from the drier north of the country such as Southern White-crowned Shrike,

Natal Spurfowl, Red-billed Hornbill and the ever present, Black-shouldered Kite.

Purple Rollers in particular were around in very large numbers, even compared to their

cousins and perennial favorites, Lilac-breasted Rollers, and in amongst these we also

managed to find a few good roadside birds such as Gabar Goshawk, Common

Scimitarbill and even a confiding pair of Red-crested Korhaan. Today‟s main aim was

always going to be covering as much distance as possible in order to leave us with more

time the next day, even so, a nice surprise just before breakfast was a beautiful African

Hawk-Eagle perched alongside the road on a pylon. A pleasant breakfast as well as a

nice hot cup of coffee was deffinately what we all required, and afterwards we filled up

(but not before watching both Scarlet-chested and White-bellied Sunbird a few meters

in front of us) and headed straight for the South Africa/Botswana border post. This

proved to be a relatively painless affair and in no time we crossed both sides, and after a

quick lunch on the Botswana side, we headed off towards Francistown and our first night

of the tour. The trip there was mostly uneventful as it passed through the Mopani belt that

stretches across Africa and the only real stop of interest was for a few Cape Vultures at a

colony quite a way off the road, however, the stop did also produce an extra few trip

birds in the form of African Pipit, Desert Cisticola, Blue Waxbill, and a beautiful pair

of Cut-throat Finch. Although it seemed that we would just about make it to our

destination before dark, we managed to get stuck in a line of cars that most have been at

least a kilometre long, and more significantly, took us about an hour and a half to get

through. As it turned out though it was a check point to make sure people were not taking

meat into the country as there was apparently an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in

the area, and quite frustratingly, just as we reached the front of the line it seemed that the

authorities felt it was time to go home and just waved us through at that point, this

resulted in a fairly lengthy discussion as to the merrets of what I can only describe as a

„twelve hours a day‟ road-block! Eventually we reached Francistown, and after a dinner

in town, we drove to our accommodation spot for a very well deserved rest.

Day 2:

Today we fortunately only had a short distance to travel, and because of this we took a

fairly relaxed approach to the day, starting things off with a birding walk through the

campgrounds. It was quite clear that the birds shared our opinion about the cold weather

(by Africa standards), and at first things were fairly quiet with only Long-billed

Crombec, Black-backed Puffback and some Jameson’s Firefinch, however, as the sun

started to shed its rays on the surrounding trees the movement steadily increased and saw

us get Brubru, Kalahari Scrub-Robin, Tropical Boubou and an absolutely gorgeous

Crested Barbet perched on top of a small Acacia. After packing up we took a slow drive

back into town for breakfast, getting Black-chested Prinia, Green-winged Pytilia,

Sabota Lark, and right in town, a Shikra perched on a power line. After we departed,

we managed to bag another small raptor on the towns‟ outskirts in the form of a Little

Sparrowhawk, unfortunately it did not intend to stick around and therefore neither did

we as our sights were firmly set on the first special of the trip, Boulder Chat. We pulled

over at a fairly innocuous looking hill along the road, and armed with binoculars,

speakers and iPod‟s we quickly clambered through an old cattle fence (with a few

resident bovines intently watching) and started carefully scouring the hill. Much to our

dismay and after having checked every nook and cranny we had still managed only to

find Grey-backed Camaroptera and Grey Go-away-bird, however a Red-headed

Weaver did make a brief appearance. Errol had decided to trudge ahead and check one or

two of the other hills nearby, and after about 15 minutes he returned, out of breath, but

with the promising verdict that he had heard one calling not too far away. This saw us all

head out to the spot, and once in position, the birds decided to do their bit too and,

although initially tough to get a look at, eventually did show quite well, and after having

extended views, we headed back to the cars with our spirits lifted and set off towards

Nata lodge, leaving the cows behind, completely oblivious to our exploits! The last

stretch up did provide a few good birds, a group of White-crested Helmet-Shrikes along

the road provided us with endless enjoyment at their antics, and almost at the lodge, a

large group of Vultures consisting of White-backed, White-headed and Lappet-faced

Vultures bumped up the raptor list a bit.

Sitting down for any length of time for lunch proved quite a complicated affair with a

constant procession of birds around the feeder, Red-eyed Bulbuls were especially

common, and were joined by both Village and Southern Masked Weavers, and even a

Meyers’ Parrot. The afternoon was spent in the nearby Nata Sanctuary, a section of the

massive Makgadikgadi pans, and a massive attraction for waterfowl of all kinds, so after

checking in at the gate, we headed west, finding the first of several Greater Kestrels, as

well as numerous Desert Cisticolas and African Pipit. A small roadside puddle turned

up a few nice birds such as Cape Teal, Kittlitz’s Plover and a fantastic pair of

Chestnut-banded Plover alongside the car, whilst a larger pan had similar birds, but

added Common Greenshank, and a slightly late Little Stint. As we approached the

main pan, it was clear that the water level was still quite high, and we were greeted by the

sight of a huge number of Greater Flamingoes, with a plethora of other birds in between

such as Hottentot Teal, Cape Shoveller, Goliath Heron, Little and Black-necked

Grebe and even a small group of Curlew Sandpipers. After a great deal of time spent

here, we decided to drive up towards the inlet where there are usually a great number of

Pelicans about, and on the way there go the bonus of a Double-banded Courser running

on the track. After negotiating a few muddy spots on the road, we reached the inlet and

were amazed at the sight of well in excess of a hundred Great White Pelicans taking off

only about ten meters from our cars, a stunning sight that had everybody mesmerized.

After a bit of time here and adding Grey headed Gull and Caspian Tern to the list, we

headed back through the now diminishing light, adding a pair of Kori Bustards, and in

the headlights, a Spotted Dikkop, before arriving back at Nata Lodge. After the previous

days driving, it had finally felt like the tour had begun in earnest.

Day 3:

Today we again had to cover a fair distance to Kasane, and therefore opted to meet up at

breakfast and leave directly afterwards. The breakfast was once more an entertaining

affair, this time with a flock of Southern Pied Babblers in attendance, a group of

Bronze Mannikins that were slightly out of range and finally a fairly relaxed Meyer’s

Parrot that offered good views to all. We opted to not spend too much time birding along

the way except at a few specific spots, the first being a quarry along the road that had

partially filled with water and turned out to be a fantastic spot as we watched group after

group of Burchell’s Sandgrouse coming down to drink, a fantastic spectacle indeed. Our

next spot was at a large section of farmland where were hoping to find Yellow-throated

Sandgrouse, but it was clear that the crops were already fairly tall and didn‟t allow us the

chance to scan at all except for a small area at the northern section, and although we still

couldn‟t find any Sandgrouse, we did find a very confused White Stork very late in the

year for this species. Our third and final designated birding stop was at another quarry

where where we were able to tick off a good few species coming in to drink, notable

Black-cheeked and Violet-eared Waxbill, Shaft-tailed Whydah, Green-winged

Pytillia and numerous Namaqua Doves. In the surrounding bush we also found a Little

Sparrowhawk that quite obviously lived the good life here with all the birds coming to

drink, as well as a very nice African Harrier-Hawk glidingover and a distant group of

Vultures, mostly consisting of White-backed, but also one Hooded Vulture.

The drive to Kasane was fairly straight forward from here, although we added Chestnut-

vented Titbabbler, a brief Crimson-breasted Shrike and a pair of Bradfield’s

Hornbills to the bird list, whereas on the mammal side our first African Elephants, and a

fantastic surprise of three sublime Roan Antelope crossing the road, a very rare find

indeed. Once we reached the lodge the first distraction was a pair of Dickinson’s

Kestrels soaring high above us, after which we immediately opted for a lunch and it was

soon quite obvious that the Chobe River was very high for this time of year, however, the

birds kept coming with African Jacana, African Yellow White-eye and rafts of Reed

Cormorants making their way along the rivers like commuters in and out of work.

Everyone was a bit exhausted by the drive and we felt a bit of time to relax would do us

all some good, followed by a walk through the lodge grounds later the afternoon. Our

walk turned out fairly productive with good views of Golden Weaver, Northern Grey-

headed Sparrow, Red-faced Cisticola, Orange-breasted Bush-Shrike and just before

the light faded for the day, a huge surprise as an African Finfoot came swimming past

allowing good views, a fantastic way to cap off the day.

Day 4:

The day started once more at the breakfast table where we spent some time admiring the

resident White-browed Coucal as well as the comical antics of a group of Hartlaub’s

Babblers on the lawn outside. The first order for the day was a boat ride on the Chobe

river in search of a few specials, so directly after the last sip of coffee we headed out on

the lodge‟s safari vehicle to the boat where we all soon made ourselves comfortable, and

tucked into our second (third for some) cup of coffee for the day. The air was initially

still quite cool and saw us all huddle in the sunny spots at the front, also providing us

with the best spot from which to admire the delicate Wire-tailed Swallows as they flitted

in front over the water. Our first good bird was in the form of a Half-collared

Kingfisher, which showed itself very well at the waters edge and allowed us to approach

very closely. As we continued the birds kept flowing with Spur-winged Goose, a colony

of White-fronted Bee-eaters and even a slightly out of range Auger Buzzard making an

appearance. In terms of mammals we were able to add Puku to the last, although the real

prize was a small herd of Sable that had come to the waters edge for a drink and allowed

us ample time for photos as well as just watching these majestic animals. When we

turned back we decided that we should try a different channel for the return leg, and this

turned out to be a brilliant choice, especially when the call went up of African Skimmer,

a bird we really expected we‟d dip on with the water level this high. A pair sat on what

seemed like the only little exposed piece of sand for miles around and allowed us to

really sneak up on them resulting in a few excellent photos for certain members of the

group. The central channel was very productive and we added Long-toed Lapwing, large

flocks of White-faced Whistling Ducks, and several hundred Collared Pratincoles, the

real acrobats of this riverine habitat. The last good bird for the trip was a pleasant surprise

as we found a few Southern Carmine Bee-eaters on a tree overhanging the river, and

once more we managed to get really close to these vividly coloured birds that typically

would have left the sub-region by this time of year.After the boat ride we headed back to

camp once more for a relaxing lunch, and decided to head out again only later on the

afternoon.

After meeting up again our first stop was along a section of riverine vegetation on the

outskirts of Kasane town, here we parked the car and wandered a few hundred meters

along the rivers edge in search of our target, Pel’s Fishing Owl. We reached the area and

started quietly scanning the trees when all of a sudden, both birds flew out from almost

right above us, and fortunately for us, one landed relatively close by. After a bit of

manoeuvring and adjusting of our position, we all got comfortable and watched with

astonishment as the one Pel‟s sat motionless and completely exposed barely 15 meters

from us, posing for photos for a full 10 minutes at which point we felt it would be best to

let the pair return to their roosting tree and leave them in peace. With that under our belt

the rest of the afternoon was always going to pale in comparison, although a pleasant

drive along a dirt track through the Kasane forest reserve did produce Stierling’s Wren-

Warbler, Violet-backed Starling and some beautiful Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters. Once

more we enjoyed a pleasant dinner and started focussing our minds to the next day, two

new countries and the start of the main Zambian leg of the tour.

MAIN TRIP:

Short Summary of the route:

Day 1: Drive from Kasane, Botswana to Livingstone, Zambia via the Caprivi Strip.

Day 2: Birding the South West of Zambia, mostly around Livingstone.

Day 3: Visit to Vic Falls and bird around Livingstone before driving to Choma.

Day 4: Birding around Choma, target Chaplin‟s Barbet.

Day 5: Drive from Choma to Forest Inn via Lusaka, birding en-route.

Day 6: Birding the Miombo woodlands around Forest Inn.

Day 7: Drive to Kasanka NP, afternoon birding in the park.

Day 8: Whole day spent birding in Kasanka NP.

Day 9: Long drive to Shoebill camp in the Bangweulu marsh.

Day 10: Whole day birding the Banweulu wetlands, emphasis on finding Shoebill.

Day 11: Drive to Mutinondo Wilderness via Lavushi Manda NP, birding en-route.

Day 12: Full day birding at Mutinondo Wilderness.

Day 13: Full day birding at Mutinondo Wilderness.

Day 14: Drive to Lusaka, O/N Fringilla Lodge.

Day 15: Last morning of Main Tour and also the start of Post-tour as we cross the border

into Zimbabwe.

Day-by-day account.

Day 1 - 02 Jun 2011:

Our Pre-tour was coming to an end today as we bid farewell to Botswana and drove to

Zambia via Namibia‟s Caprivi Strip. Before we left we sneaked in a last bit of birding

around some of the lodge gardens in Kasane, we recorded Giant Kingfisher and White-

browed Coucal from the comfort of the breakfast table, at another lodge we managed a

stunning Purple-banded Sunbird, a female Copper Sunbird, Luapula Cisticola and

Collared Palm Thrush. Levaillant’s Cuckoo was a nice surprise at this time of year and

one of only two Cuckoos for the trip. We soon left Kasane behind and drove through

Chobe National Park on our way to the Namibian border, in the park itself we had great

views of Brown Snake-Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Red-billed Francolin and then superb

views of the highly sought after Racket-tailed Roller. In the short drive through

Namibian territory (about 70-80km) we recorded Purple Heron, Great Egret, Little

Egret and Black-chested Snake-Eagle at a small area of flooded woodland and then

proceeded to our lunch stop in Katimo Mulilo, a small town in Namibia just before

crossing the border into Zambia. Birds were active in the lodge grounds with Green

Woodhoopoe, Lesser Honeyguide, White-browed Robin-Chat and Schalow’s Turaco

putting in a good showing. We eventually crossed into Zambia, this was also the official

start of the main tour, border formalities were handled with ease and the friendliness of

the Zambian people immediately made an impression. We decided to bird some of the

small pans that are formed in the Zambezi floodplain every year after the floods and this

proved fruitful as usual with a good selection of waterfowl recorded which included

cracker views of Rufous-bellied Heron. The surrounding Acacia thornveld produced

birds that are absent from the rest of Zambia such as Marico Flycatcher, Violet-eared

Waxbill, Black-faced Waxbill and Namaqua Dove. We were forced to push on if we

wanted to make it to the lodge before dark, which we didn‟t quite succeed in doing,

getting there just after the last rays of light disappeared. Good mammals for the day came

in the form of Elephant and Sable Antelope, both seen in Chobe National Park in

Botswana.

Day 2:

Our first full day in Zambia!!! We decided the previous evening that we would take on

the challenge of finding Black-cheeked Lovebird, this bird can be difficult to find purely

from the perspective that they occupy Mopani Woodlands on black cotton soil that are

impassable for extended periods in and after the rainy season. We proceeded cautiously

through Elephant Grass that were in excess of 2 meters high in places, soon though we

realized that the ground was sufficiently dry and picked up our pace, we stopped at a

small wetland where we found Hamerkop, African Fish Eagle, Brown-throated

Martin, Zitting Cisticola and had awesome views of Yellow-throated Sandgrouse

coming in to drink. The Mopani woodland produced lots of Meve’s Starlings alongside

its cousin, Burchell’s Starling, Southern Red-billed Hornbill, African Mourning

Dove, Meyer’s Parrot and the first of many Lizard Buzzards. The woodland was

looking more and more promising; we stopped several times, straining our ears to pick up

those typical Lovebird screeches. I eventually picked up a little flash of green flying

across the road and was pretty sure that I heard a screech but that could have been my

imagination, we stopped the vehicles and started scanning the trees, shouts of excitement

as we found them, at least a dozen feeding and just lazing around in a nearby tree,

unperturbed by our presence. What a sight, satisfied we eventually started the arduous

trip back, another stop at the wetland produced Saddle-billed Stork, Senegal Coucal,

Southern Ground Hornbill and an obliging Pearl-spotted Owlet. We sighted another

good bird as we drove through the tall grass, a Black Coucal. Back at the tarred road we

stopped to clear armfuls of grass from under the vehicles, this is where we noticed that

the lead vehicle picked up an oil leak on the rear differential due to some grass getting

into the oil seal and ripping it to shreds!! We drove back to the lodge for lunch and a mid-

day break, for some at least, as John and I drove into Livingstone to see if we could get

the vehicle repaired. I stayed behind in Livingstone to wait for the repair while John

joined the guests back at the lodge for a boat cruise on the Zambezi; they did incredibly

well with good sightings of Marabou, Water Thick-knee, White-crowned Lapwing,

African Golden Oriole as well as the sought after Western-banded Snake-Eagle, with

awesome views of African Finfoot just for good measure. The guys in Livingstone in the

meantime did not have the correct oil seal but made a plan that would see me reach

Lusaka, where I would get the vehicle repaired properly by the agents. I met the group

back at the lodge, my only interesting bird being a Shikra on the way back from town;

they informed me about their successful outing and after dinner a bit of owling netted us

a pair of African Wood Owls.

Day 3:

At breakfast we were entertained by the coming and goings of a stunning Half-collared

Kingfisher, the wooden railings on the deck making for a good hunting perch. We bid

our hosts farewell and headed for Livingstone where we were planning a visit to the

mighty Victoria Falls. Before that however we had a scheduled stop at the Livingstone

sewage works, good birds here included White-breasted Cormorant, Squacco Heron,

African Sacred Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Hottentot Teal, African Purple Swamphen, African

Jacana, African Rail and Long-toed Lapwing. Small flocks of Southern Red Bishop

and White-winged Widowbird flew in and out of the reeds, all of them in their non-

breeding dress of-course. We decided that it might be a good time to get to grips with

some of the little brown denizens of the reedbeds and promptly called in Little Rush

Warbler, African Reed Warbler and Lesser Swamp Warbler. From here we

proceeded to the falls where the spray literally would have drenched us if it wasn‟t for the

fact that we had rain coats. Only new birds came in the form of African Black Swift and

Rock Martin. The drive to Choma proceeded rather slowly with the occasional stop to

check and top-up oil levels on the lead vehicle. We did find our first Striped Kingfisher

and a Purple Roller along the way. A stop at a known stakeout for Shelly‟s Sunbird near

Choma failed to produce the goods, however we bumped into our second and last Cuckoo

here, a stunning male Klaas’s Cuckoo, and alongside we also found Kurrichane

Thrush and Black-collared Barbet. The turn-off to the lodge produced decent views of

Black Cuckooshrike, Gabar Goshawk and Orange-breasted Bush-Shrike.

Day 4:

Today saw us off to an early start as we headed for the paddock to look for Chaplin’s

Barbet (Zambia‟s only true endemic, however Black-cheeked Lovebird is now also

considered an endemic by many authorities). A small pond along the way held African

Jacana and Red-billed Teal with Swainson’s Spurfowl and White-fronted Bee-eater

further along. The search for the Barbet turned up various other species such as Pale

Flycatcher, Black-crowned Tchagra and African Goshawk but still no Barbet, back to

where we parked the vehicles and then over to the other side of the paddock where they

were found sunning themselves in the first rays of the morning sun, Chaplin’s Barbet –

TICK!!! While Mike and John went off to see if they could get a good photo of the

Barbet we continued birding and soon notched up Burnt-necked Eremomela, Grey

Penduline-Tit, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Long-billed Crombec and Neddicky before

moving back to the vehicles. A slow drive down to the end of the paddock provided

sterling views of Long-crested Eagle as well as a lone Magpie Shrike, another good

find came in the form of our first Sooty Chat. Other good birds on the way back to the

lodge included Southern Black Tit, Croaking Cisticola and a juvenile Martial Eagle.

Birding the gardens after breakfast proved very rewarding with Arnot’s Chat being as

common as dirt here and also the chance to compare Greater and Miombo Blue-eared

Starlings side by side. A Cabanis’s Bunting sat singing away at the top of a dead tree

while Bearded Woodpecker allowed everyone good views. Another star bird in the

garden was Red-throated Twinspot alongside the more common Jameson’s Firefinch,

a non-breeding Indigobird proved a tough nut to crack as we were just unable to secure

that one look that could provide a definitive id. I did some more maintenance on the

limping vehicle while the rest of the group took a midday break, this proved invaluable as

I managed to restrict the oil leak to a fraction of what it used to be, thereby awarding

myself an effortless run to Lusaka the next day. We birded some of the Miombo in the

afternoon and although birding was rather slow to start off with the pace soon picked up

and we kept adding new birds such as Green-winged Pytilia, Miombo Tit, Trumpeter

Hornbill, Greater Honeyguide, stunning views of Dickinson’s Kestrel and last but

certainly not least a pair of Miombo Pied Barbet, awesome!! A night drive netted us

Fiery-necked Nightjar as well as two nocturnal mammals, African Civet and Greater

Galago.

Chaplin‟s Barbet by Niall Perrins – endangered Zambian endemic

Day 5:

I left Choma very early that morning to get to Lusaka in good time to finally have the seal

replaced properly at the dealership. Monika and Clara joined John and Mike in the

second vehicle and would only follow after breakfast; we would then join up again in

Lusaka around lunch. Birds of note en-route to Lusaka included Augur Buzzard and

African Harrier Hawk, while at the bridge crossing the Kafue River we found Golden

Weaver, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Malachite Kingfisher, Scarlet-chested Sunbird and

Tropical Boubou. With the lead vehicle back in working order we met up at Mandla

Hills for lunch from where the two ladies switched back to my vehicle. Birding was

always going to be restricted today as we changed the itinerary and instead of staying

over in Lusaka we would push on to Forest Inn, a decision that proved incredibly

valuable with awesome birding around Forest Inn provided by the extra night spent there.

Good birds on the way were Emerald Spotted Wood-Dove, African Palm Swift, Pied

Kingfisher, African Grey Hornbill, Crowned Hornbill, Mosque Swallow and Black-

backed Puffback. We got to Forest Inn quite late and after checking in headed straight

for dinner.

Day 6:

Another glorious day of birding awaited us as we met for breakfast accompanied by the

very essential, first cup of coffee. We set of towards Mkushi, were we stopped briefly at

an open field for African Pied Wagtail and Yellow-fronted Canary, at a small stream

we found Red-faced Cisticola, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Lilac-breasted Roller,

Lesser Striped Swallow and Brown-crowned Tchagra. We continued along this road

through some pretty degraded Miombo woodland until we hit our first patch of pristine,

tall Miombo and our first proper bird party at that. Birding here was absolutely awesome

and we managed repeated sightings of most of the birds present. Stierling’s Wren

Warbler calls came from all over and we soon spotted two of them chasing each other

around. One of the rare behavioral highlights was an Amethyst Sunbird male doing a

dancing display for his mate with one wing raised and then the other wing, what a sight.

Bohm’s Flycatcher was a surefire favourite, certainly a prettier bird than the African

Dusky Flycatcher. Green-capped Eremomelas and Yellow-bellied Hyliotas flicked

busily through the canopies while lower down a Spotted Creeper went around its

business of poking around in the bark. John spotted a Bar-winged Weaver and everyone

got on to it but better views were desired all round, unfortunately we were unable to

relocate it. Further along, we found, what was probably the highlight of the day, the

extremely beautiful Black-necked Eremomela, in the same area another trip bird,

Trilling Cisticola. We were now nearing the border between Zambia and the Democratic

Republic of the Congo, John and Mike was determined to cross over the border on foot

so that they can tick another country, they walked the 500m into the DRC, took photos of

the GPS reading as proof and headed back into Zambia, having got their DRC bird list of

to a flying start with one species, Pale-billed Hornbill. We managed to find another

flock of these noisy Hornbills further along, in Zambia this time. The woodland started

giving way to subsistence farming but we still managed to find Rufous-bellied Tit before

leaving the Miombo behind. Speckled Mousebirds were quite common, looking

decidedly different from the ones further south, Wood Pipits also seemed to favour these

more open areas and we saw several Yellow Bishops around small marshy areas. We got

back to camp for a very late lunch, partly due to the fact that the road indicated on the

GPS no longer existed, leaving us to find our own way back, good fun nonetheless. An

optional bit of birding was done around the camp grounds in the late afternoon, netting us

White-breasted Cuckooshrike, Buffy Pipit, Grey-backed Camaroptera and African

Stonechat. Mammalian highlight of the day was a Smith’s Bush Squirrel.

Day 7:

We did a spot of birding in the grounds just after breakfast but things were rather quiet,

new birds seen included Miombo Scrub-Robin and Yellow-bellied Eremomela. We

drove towards Kasanka National Park, stopping at a small dambo (marsh) on the way,

here we recorded African Firefinch, Variable Sunbird and Red-collared Widowbird.

The only other noteworthy roadside birds being Little Sparrowhawk and White-necked

Raven in Serenje, our scheduled fuel stop. We reached Kasanka, got all the formalities at

the gate out of the way before proceeding into the park where we found a nice spot to

have our picnic lunch. The drive to Wasa camp did produce one new bird in the form of

Dark Chanting Goshawk, the lake at Wasa seemed rather quiet as we scanned its

peripheries so we decided to move on. Upon our arrival at the pontoon we decided to

drive along the eastern edge of the wetland to see if we could find the Shoebill that has

been reported from here. There were literally birds everywhere, the floodplains here

proving to be an absolute bird magnet, Little Bee-eaters, White-fronted Bee-eaters and

African Green Pigeon in the surrounding woodland with African Darter, Grey Heron,

Yellow-billed Egret, Rufous-bellied Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-

billed Stork, Wooly-necked Stork and African Openbill in the marshy areas. Sadly we

missed the Shoebill here but Bangweulu was still waiting!!! Kasanka must rate as the best

place in Africa to see the shy Sitatunga antelope and this quickly became apparent as we

saw not one, not two, but at least a half dozen of these retiring animals and did we see

them well!!!. An African Marsh Harrier quartered low over the reedbeds, Egyptian

and Spur-winged Geese numbered in their hundreds with the odd Yellow-billed Duck

thrown in just for good measure. Plain-backed Pipit was common in recently burnt areas

and John and Mike found us a stunning Black-bellied Bustard on the way to Luwombwa

camp. After dinner we managed to find African Barred Owlet in camp and although we

could hear Pel’s Fishing Owl calling, we decided to leave them in peace as we already

had some incredible sighting of them on the pre-tour in Botswana.

Day 8:

What a spectacular setting for breakfast, overlooking the Luwombwa River, what more

could you ask for. Well, maybe a little more, like Ross’s Turaco in camp and then a few

more in a large tree on the opposite bank, an African Crowned Eagle perching in the

very same tree or how about Cabanis’s Greenbul and Yellow-throated Leaf-love in the

riverine vegetation right in front of us. So after an exciting breakfast we headed out to

explore the river by boat, soon we were into some of the commoner species such as

Hadeda Ibis, Black Crake and Green-backed Heron but the real excitement started

once we got into crackers such as Half-collared Kingfisher, Black-backed Barbet,

Olive Woodpecker and the delightful Bohm’s Bee-eater. We worked our way further

upstream stopping occasionally to check out birds like the noisy and very busy Little

Greenbul, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Golden-tailed Woodpecker and a pair of

White-winged Black Tit. Upon our arrival back at camp we were treated to good views

of Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, the big tree overhanging the dining area hosted

White-bellied, Olive and Collared Sunbird as well as Dark-backed Weaver. We

prepared ourselves for another drive along the floodplains, finding Racket-tailed Roller

en-route then Coppery-tailed Coucal, Grey-rumped Swallow, lots of Red-capped

Larks and a pair of Dusky Larks, a good find!! Mammalian highlights included hordes

of Puku along the floodplains as well as Warthog, Hippo, Common Duiker and more

Sitatunga as well as Blue Monkey along the Luwombwa River in the morning.

Day 9:

As per the request of some of our clients we opted to forego the usual chartered air

transfer to Shoebill camp and tackle the 150 or so kilometers there by road instead. But

still in Luwombwa, breakfast was another glorious affair, we watched a small group of

Little Egret accompanied by a lone Black Heron, Schalow’s Turaco frolicking around

the treetops, and then the most amazing views of a foraging Green-backed Woodpecker

just meters from where we were standing, a rarely mentioned characteristic of this species

(the tiny bill, looking proportionally out of place on its head) could be seen really well.

We also got to grips with the only other greenbul (out of 4 possibilities in these parts) that

we dipped on the previous day, with a little enticement we soon had great views of Grey-

Olive Greenbul, at the same time adding another trip tick in the form of Grey Tit-

Flycatcher. The distinctive call of African Broadbill soon had us all scampering to the

other side of camp where we all eventually had superb views of this sought after beauty.

We now seriously had to leave camp if we were still going to make Shoebill before

nightfall, the drive there could take anything up to 7 hours to complete. We stopped at

Wasa camp to collect our picnic lunches and then set off, stopping only to buy bottled

water before turning off on to the dirt road towards the Bangweulu swamps, the first part

of the road was not all that bad and we made reasonable time, getting to Lake Waka

Waka in time for lunch, a beautiful spot but with very little moving in the heat of the day,

a lone Comb Duck was spotted on the far shore of the lake though. We turned north and

the road now passed though endless villages, a stop at a large dambo produced Black-

headed Oriole and we could hear Red-chested Flufftail calling. We eventually reached

the edge of the floodplain and soon left any signs of civilization behind, birding picked

up as well with Capped Wheatear, Sooty Chat, Yellow-mantled Widowbird and

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater in short succession. Two species common further south but

with isolated populations here were found with relative ease, first Desert Cisticola and

then the very different looking Rufous-naped Lark. Once on the floodplain proper, one

is almost overwhelmed by the thousands upon thousands of Black Lechwe in herds that

stretched as far as the eye could see, this is truly one of the few remaining wildlife

spectacles of the world as we know it today. We reached the airstrip and after signing in,

we parked the vehicles and got our gear transferred to the boats which would take us to

the camp. As we glided silently through the reed and water lily fringed channels we

managed our first glimpses of the avian spectacle that awaited us, there we birds

everywhere, many that we have seen before, admittedly not in the sheer numbers present

here but we were looking forward to seeing some new species, these came in the form of

African Spoonbill, Fulvous Duck, Black-winged Stilt, Grey-headed Gull and Little

Bittern. We reached camp just before dark and proceeded to check into our lodgings

before a well deserved dinner.

Day 10:

The big search has arrived, today it‟s make or break time, will we find the Shoebill? With

history on our side, we were silently hoping that our 100% strike rate on this bizarre bird

would remain intact. The polers quietly pushed our boat forward through the water, the

only sound being that of the long bamboo poles used to propel our craft stealthily towards

our quarry. Wattled Cranes were seen barely a stone‟s throw from the camp, the list

kept ticking over as we steadily added new birds, White-throated Swallow, Banded

Martin, Greater Swamp Warbler, Chirping Cisticola, Katanga Masked Weaver and

Whiskered Tern. Blue-breasted Bee-eaters were particularly common but Swamp

Flycatcher seemed less numerous than previous years, birds came and went Black-

headed Heron, Purple Heron, Great White Pelicans, Orange-breasted Waxbill and

Collared Pratincole but still no Shoebill. We have already checked a few known

hangouts, at one we spotted Allen’s Gallinule, unfortunately missed by Monika. We

moved on to another spot, the guides jumped off and disappeared amongst the rushes

only to return a little later elated that they have pinned down the Shoebill. A bit of

wading awaited us as all but Monika, who has seen Shoebill before, opted to stay and

wait, the rest of us clambered out and into the water. We decided to stick to a raised

causeway used by local fisherman, this proved to be tough going as every 10 to 20 meters

would see us at a break of a meter wide used by the locals to accommodate their fish

traps. These proved hard to cross as one do not want to step on any of the fish traps, local

fisherman depend on these for their livelihood and good relations between locals and

tourists are paramount in the future conservation of these rare birds. We pushed forward,

then, there it was standing on top of a palm tree, Mike managed what must have been at

least a thousand photographs of this prehistoric looking behemoth. All satisfied we

slowly worked our way back but the Shoebill, who obviously loved its moment in the

limelight, had other ideas. It flew and landed just twenty or so meters from us and stared

at us as to say “well, this is my better side” so as not to disappoint we let off another

volley, cameras working overtime. We finally bid the Shoebill farewell and made our

way back to the boat as I could distinctly hear the start of tummies rumbling. On the way

back we managed to see no less than four species of Vulture, White-backed, Hooded,

Lappet-faced and White-headed. Back at camp we wolfed down the provided lunch

before taking a well deserved siesta. An afternoon walk around the island turned up

Black-throated Wattle-Eye, a stunning male Copper Sunbird, drumming African

Snipes and then a rather unexpected Gull-billed Tern. All in all, a fabulous day in

Africa.

Day 11:

A quick bit of birding around camp produced Brown Firefinch, Wattled Starling,

Spectacled Weaver, Hartlaub’s Babbler, Red-faced Mousebird and African Paradise

Flycatcher. After breakfast we were poled back to the airstrip with brilliant views of

Lesser Jacana and Red-knobbed Coot on the way, with everything packed back in the

4x4‟s we drove out slowly stopping to scan a flock of waterbirds, scopes came out and

we soon added Kittlitz’s Plover, Common Greenshank and Greater Painted Snipe to

the list. Other good birds on the way out included a pair of Lanner Falcon hunting over

the now dry section of the floodplain, Harlequin Quail, African Pipit, Cape Wagtail

and African Quailfinch. Today‟s drive would take us through a section of the Lavushi

Manda National Park, an area with some pristine Miombo woodland and inviting rivers

and dambos, an area that beckons to be explored and now that the management of this

park has been handed to the Kasanka Trust future visits might well become a reality. We

arrived at Mutinondo in the late afternoon with the only birds worth mentioning being

Golden-breasted Bunting, Southern Black Flycatcher and a stunning Red-capped

Crombec, a possible Blue-spotted Wood-dove will have to remain unconfirmed.

Day 12:

The one advantage of birding at this time of year is that you can lay in a bit as it doesn‟t

get light till about 6h30. We soon headed to the camping area were we headed into the

Miombo to try and find the Bar-winged Weaver, whilst everyone saw it near Forest Inn,

better views would be most welcome. The search proved fruitless though, netting us only

Miombo Scrub-Robin, Brubru and Familiar Chat before heading back for breakfast,

John and Mike came back via the stables where they found Anchieta’s Sunbird, another

new trip bird. After breakfast we decided to drive along the main entrance road to see if

we can find a few bird parties, Miombo birding is certainly not for the faint-hearted as

long spells of inactivity is often instantly replaced by a frantic commotion when a bird

party moves through, quite often so fast that one has a hard time trying to keep up. We

found several smaller parties, unfortunately usually the tail end but did manage to record

White-crested and Retz’s Helmetshrikes, Yellow-throated Petronia, Red-headed

Weaver, Rufous-bellied Tit and Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird. Whilst looking at a

couple of Grey Penduline-Tits, Clara found a pair of Orange-winged Pytilia, always a

great find. We headed down to Charlie‟s Rock in the afternoon, walked down to the strip

of Mushito not far from there and soon came face to face with our target bird, Bocage’s

Akalat, what a beauty, the illustrations in the field guides certainly not doing it any

justice. In the same area we found Schalow’s Turaco as well as a splendid Green-

headed Sunbird. At a large dambo not too far from there we stopped to scan and soon

gripped a single Broad-tailed Warbler as well as a small flock of Fawn-breasted

Waxbill. A spotlight excursion along the airstrip produced Spotted Eagle-Owl and a

very relaxed Side-striped Jackal.

Day 13:

Over dinner the previous night we decided that we would try for Souza’s Shrike at a

known stakeout, this has long been a bogey bird for Monika and although it would not

make her Southern Africa list it would still be good to get under the belt nonetheless. So

after breakfast we headed out finding Ashy Flycatcher and both Southern and Yellow-

bellied Hyliota on the way. We found the spot where we found the Shrike on previous

trips and there it was, or rather there they were, we had really good looks at this rather

dull and unobtrusive shrike. Back at the camp we watched Amethyst, Western Violet-

backed and Miombo Double-collared Sunbird feeding in the various flowering plants

around the lodge. Striped Pipit was seen in the campground just before lunch, some of

the group opted for a siesta while Mike set off photographing some of the sunbirds. John

and I went for a walk down to the waterfall where we quickly found Cabanis’s

Greenbul, another pair of Green-headed Sunbird, Ross’s Turaco and better looks at

Fawn-breasted Waxbill. On the way back John managed superb views of Bar-winged

Weaver. Back at the lodge we met up with the rest of the group and decided try our hand

at some more dambo birding, at the first dambo we had good looks at three Southern

Ground Hornbills, Marsh Widowbird and Pale-crowned Cisticola. A Common

Reedbuck was new for our mammal list and the gods smiled on us as we flushed a pair of

Locust Finch, affording us great views as they circled with the afternoon sun catching

them perfectly. On the way back to Charlie‟s Rock a White-tailed Blue Flycatcher

provided some entertainment. We met Mike and Lari at the rock for some well deserved

sundowners, with Red-necked Spurfowl calling in the distance. John and Mike chased

after Lazy Cisticola, Mocking Cliff-Chat hopped around the boulders while we enjoyed

some ice cold beers.

Day 14:

Today was more of a driving day than anything else and the only new birds before

leaving Mutinondo were Grey-headed Bush-Shrike and Black-eared Seed-eater. We

tackled the long road to Lusaka, stopping at Serenje for fuel and lunch. Road side birds

included Augur Buzzard near Mkushi, Common Fiscal, African Pied Wagtail, Black-

shouldered Kite and Lanner Falcon. We arrived in Lusaka rather late and decided to

bird the grounds the following morning.

Day 15:

Today was officially the last day of the main tour, the post-tour taking us through

Zimbabwe and back into South Africa, finishing in Johannesburg three days later. We

birded the lodge grounds and were delighted to add another two species at this late stage,

Red-backed Mannikin and in particular awesome views of Red-necked Falcon. John

and Mike added Collared Palm-Thrush. We left Lusaka and made our way to Chirundo

on a rather badly potholed road, down the escarpment and into the Zambezi Valley, we

stopped at the petrified forest, a national heritage site, to enjoy our packed lunches, here

we managed really good views of Cut-throat Finch lining a disused Sparrow-weaver

nest. At the border post we added House Sparrow before crossing into Zimbabwe; our

lodge was ideally located on the banks of the Zambezi River. A short afternoon excursion

provided the first Zimbabwe and post-tour birds; these included White-crowned

Lapwing, African Hoopoe, Arrow-marked Babbler, Village Weaver and Village

Indigobird in full breeding plumage. That evening we were entertained by a bull

Elephant coming to feed in the lodge grounds, almost within touching distance from us.

POST-TRIP:

Day 1:

A filling breakfast was just the way to get everyone going in the crisp morning air, as we

opted for a stroll through Fringilla‟s grounds to see what the morning could muster up.

Initially things were very quiet with the only birds of real interest being a small flock of

Red-backed Mannikins drinking at a leaky tap. As we started to walk into the adjacent

farming sections of the property things immediately improved, we quickly got a few

seed-eaters such as Southern Red Bishop, Blue Waxbill, Red-billed Firefinch and

several others before finding a really good special. A raptor perched atop a nearby Palm

tree got our attention and as soon as we lifted our bins we realised that it was a

magnificent Red-necked Falcon. It didn‟t stick around for too long, but we kept walking

around the area and circling the trees until we relocated it on a lower base of one of the

leaves providing us with excellent views, what a fantastic little bird! All elated at our

find, we checked our watches and realised that we should probably get going as we had a

fair distance as well as a border post to get through today, although the walk to the rooms

did produce a Collared Palm-Thrush as a welcome addition to the day list.

A short stop in Lusaka for a few provisions saw us set off once more through the rolling

hills and on to the Zambesi valley. Along the route there were few birds of interest, and

the only real exception was a pair of Peregrine Falcons flying quite high up along a

range of hills, but it was not long before they also moved off and we quickly covered the

last stretch to the Chirundu border post. As is usually the case in Africa, border posts can

become very drawn out affairs, and sure enough, a good two hours after arriving, we

made our way officially onto Zimbabwean soil. We checked in and met up with our chef,

who, after seeing we‟d all finished unpacking, provided us with a fantastic afternoon tea

and snacks that really did the job. Eventually we decided that we to lift ourselves from

the comfortable spot along the river, and we headed out for a short afternoon drive along

a section that seemed promising, and sure enough, it turned out to be quite good fun, and

although there were no new species, we did get a few good sightings of birds White-

fronted Bee-eater, Yellow-fronted Canary and even a Rufous-bellied Heron busy

searching for food along a small pool of water. With the light disappearing fast we made

our way back where we enjoyed copious amounts of food, as well as a young bull

Elephant that wandered around the rooms feeding, not ten meters away from us.

Day 2:

Today would be an interesting day as we decided to split up the vehicles, Errol, Monika

and Klara would do the river cruise the morning and then work their way back down to

Harare, whereas myself and Mike felt a bit more adventurous, and having learned that

two of the sluice gates at Lake Kariba would be open until 10 in the morning, opted to

head there first instead the boat cruise. The drive to the lake was not particularly

interesting from a birding point of view as we didn‟t have a great deal of time for

stopping along the way, although the scenery was at times breathtaking! Once in Kariba

town and after navigating past a small herd of Zebra on the road, we immediately headed

onto the dam wall itself to see the spectacle of the entire might of the Zambesi River

being forced through a few openings, truly a memorable sight, and backed up by

astonishing views of a pair of Peregrine Falcons that obviously consider the dam wall

their home. After a great lunch along the edge of the lake, we readied ourselves for the

long drive to Harare where we would stay the night. The drive was quiet in terms of birds

and therefore we made good time to Crake Cottage, and having arrived there before the

other vehicle, we spent some time enjoying a cup of tea and admiring the wonderful

Sunbirds in the bushes outside. These made for wonderful photographic opportunities and

Mike made the most of this, with great photos of both Miombo Double-collared

Sunbird, as well as a gorgeous male Variable Sunbird. The other vehicle arrived some

time later and although the boat cruise turned out to be a very pleasant one, they did not

manage to find Lilian’s Lovebird, the „hoped for‟ target for the day. An evening out in

town was in order though and we found a very nice little restaurant where we all had a

great meal before heading back.

Day 3:

Today was going to be a long day of driving as well as crossing Beit Bridge border post

back into South Africa, a notoriously slow border post but the only option between South

Africa and Zimbabwe. The breakfast was fantastic on the porch outside, and most of

yesterdays residents were there again, this time also joined by a Senegal Coucal in some

low bushes. After packing up we worked our way out of the bustling streets, and

eventually started to put a bit of distance down, birds along the route weren‟t too

plentiful, though Striped Kingfisher, Red-faced Mousebird, and both Purple and

Lilac-breasted Roller put in an appearance through the day. The further south we

headed the drier the area became once more, Southern White-crowned as well as

Magpie Shrikes appeared more and more, and towards the end of the day, a few real dry

veld birds such as Chestnut-backed Sparrowlarks and Scaly-featherd Finches being

harassed by a Gabar Goshawk. Finally we arrived at Beit Bridge, and lo and behold,

there was virtually nobody to speak of, we cleared both sides in only about 30 minutes,

almost certainly a record for both Errol and myself, and drove the last ten kilometres to

our lodge for the night. On arrival we got everything unpacked and opted to just have the

last couple of hours off for the day, with the only interesting bird being Mocking Cliff-

Chat hopping around the area between the chalets. We once more opted for a dinner in

town at a lovely little restaurant where our waiter attempted to convince Mike that, due to

the fact that his girlfriend is Scottish, they may be related, though due to a serious lack of

evidence and logic, we dismissed this claim but had a good laugh non the less.

Day 4:

The final day had arrived and saw us packing all of our things and getting ready for the

long leg south to Johannesburg. We didn‟t really do any birding on this day due to the

distance, but even so, managed a few of the typical bushveld species of the region.

Hornbills were plentiful and we managed Grey, Yellow-billed and Red billed Hornbills

in good numbers, and these were joined by other species such as Brown-hooded

Kingfisher, Green Wood-hoepoe, and Magpie Shrike. After a pleasant lunch and all

the goodbyes, the two vehicles headed off to different spot in Johannesburg, and finally

bringing to an end a fantastic 22 day adventure, and I for one, can call it a huge success!

A wonderful South-central African endemic, Bohm‟s Bee-eater (photo by Hugh Chittenden)