The Rare Birds and Mammals of Northern Botswana – By Tented Camp

Depart with your guide from Maun and head into the Moremi Game Reserve. Reach your first camp in the Xakanaxa region by the afternoon. Explore the area's diverse range of habitats, including woodlands, dry scrub, savannah, lagoons and floodplains. Your guide will take you out on morning and late afternoon game drives. Moremi Game Reserve is one of the best places in Africa to spot the endangered African wild dog.

This is a good day for raptors with African Hawk-Eagle, Gabar Goshawk, Shikra, Little Sparrowhawk, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Tawny Eagle, Lesser Spotted Eagle* and Steppe Eagle* all inhabiting the mopane and adjacent woodlands. Other birds common along this route includes most of Botswana’s hornbills including Red-billed, Southern Yellow-billed, African Grey, Bradfield’s and the Southern Ground Hornbills. A large number of brood-parasites may also be seen. Diederick Cuckoo*, Levaillant’s Cuckoo*, Jacobin Cuckoo*, Great-spotted Cuckoo*, African Cuckoo*, Common Cuckoo*, Shaft-tailed Whydah, Pin-tailed Whydah, Eastern Paradise Whydah, Greater Honeyguide, and Lesser Honeyguide.

Xakanaxa exploration day with morning and afternoon game drives. The swampy areas of Xakanaxa are home to African Rail, Coppery-tailed Coucal, Black Coucal*, Red-chested Flufftail, African Crake*, Black Crake, Chirping Cisticola, Luapula Cisticola, Purple Swamphen, Allen’s Gallinule to name but a few. The open waters attract African Skimmer, Saddle-billed Stork, Yellow-billed Stork, Intermediate Egret, Goliath Heron, African Fish Eagle as well as the globally threatened Slaty Egret and Wattled Crane.

Xakanaxa exploration day with morning and afternoon game drives.

After breakfast, your guide will drive you north east along the Khwai River. Stop en route for a guided excursion in a mokoro. These traditional dugout boats are the best way to explore the waterways of the Okavango Delta; The lack of any engine noise meaning animals are less likely to get spooked and flee. Impressive numbers of hippo can be seen wallowing in the Khwai. Continue to your camp in Mababe.

In the mopane woodlands African Hawk-Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Gabar Goshawk, Little Sparrowhawk, African Harrier Hawk and Shikra are common raptors. Mixed bird parties move through the canopy and include Red-headed Weaver, Stierling’s Wren-Warbler, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Neddicky, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Chin-spot Batis, Diederik Cuckoo* to name but a few. The verges of the swamp form breeding grounds for the Rosy-Longclaw, Black Coucal*, Long-legged Bustard and the African Crake*

Today head into the Mababe Private Reserve where you'll join game drives by both day and night. Some guided walking excursions may also be possible.

Truly one of Botswana birding Mecca’s. The western reaches are prime habitat for the uncommon Rosythroated Longclaw. The entire length of the river is hunting domain for the Bat-Hawk. Other interesting raptors here are Cuckoo Hawk (rare), Long-crested Eagle and Black Sparrowhawk. More commonly Tawny Eagle, Steppe Eagle*, Lesser-spotted Eagle*, Martial Eagle, Bateleur and African Hawk-Eagle. The waterways host Africa Rail, African Crake*, Greater Painted Snipe, Allen’s Gallinule*, Lesser Jacana and Lesser Moorhen*.

Mababe exploration day including game drives by both day and night. Some guided walking excursions may also be possible.

Leave your campsite in the private Mababe Reserve today, heading north into the Chobe Central area. You are very likely to see elephant if there is enough surface water around, and this more arid landscape is brilliant cheetah territory. Savuti, within Central Chobe, was once an expansive marsh. Now mostly dry, some lagoons and waterholes remain. The powerful lion pride of Savuti have famously learned to predate on elephants, under the cover of darkness.

The Mababe Depression is a birder’s paradise. The nutritious grasses that grow on the rich soils provide excellent seed for an impressive array of estrillids and viduids. Among these are the magnificently coloured Violet-eared Waxbill, Black-cheeked Waxbill, Village Indigobird, Shafttailed Whydah and Paradise Whydah. These in turn provide a good food source for small raptors such as the Little Sparrowhawk, Shikra, Gabar Goshawk, Red-necked Falcon and Lanner Falcon. It is not only the small birds that feed on the grass seeds, but rodents too. There are annual outbreaks of huge numbers of rats and mice. As a result huge numbers of Secretary Bird, Tawny Eagle, Black-shouldered Kite, Steppe Eagle*, Lesser-spotted Eagle*, Wahlberg’s Eagle* and Steppe Buzzard* can be found.

Central Chobe exploration day with game drives and bushmen paintings walk.

The surface water that is pumped by the Government here provides a major attraction for birdlife. In the dry season thousands of dove and sandgrouse come down to drink in the mornings and are under constant surveillance by Yellow-billed Kite*, Tawny Eagle and African Hawk-Eagle. Red-crested Korhaan are common in the Kalahari Appleleaf (Lonchocarpus nelsii) veld. The marsh is the summer home for good numbers of Caspian Plover* and Montague’s Harrier* as well as Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark, Greybacked Sparrowlark, Northern Black Korhaan, Rufous-naped Lark, African Pipit and Desert Cisticola. Dickenson’s Kestrel, Amur Falcon* and Red-necked Falcon are found along the perimeter of the marsh.

Central Chobe exploration day with morning and afternoon game drives.

After breakfast continue travelling north with your guide. You will leave your camp near Savuti in Central Chobe and head towards the Chobe River itself. The stunted mopane scrub region around Ghoha hills has natural waterholes that hold water well into the dry season, drawing in good numbers of elephant, Burchell's zebra, buffalo and greater kudu. You will stop for a scenic lunch en route and be able to enjoy the beauty of the Zambezi teak woodlands of the Chobe Forest Reserve. Roan and Sable antelope prefer these forested areas.

The most unusual species are to be found in the teak (Baikea plurijuga) woodlands. This broad-leafed woodland, or miombo as it is locally known, provides good pickings for insectivorous birds that favour canopy habitat. Grey Tit-Flycatcher, Ashy Flycatcher, Paradise Flycatcher, Pallid Flycatcher, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Amethyst Sunbird, Yellow-throated Petronia, Red-headed Weaver and Violet-backed Starling are only some of the species that move around in the “bird parties” in the canopy. Dickenson’s Kestrel, Red-necked Falcon, Peregrine Falcon* and Lizard Buzzard are some of the raptors to keep an eye out for, while the diminutive White-faced Owl can often be seen roosting in the road-side vegetation. Flappet Lark, Fawn-coloured Lark, Dusky Lark*, Olive-Tree Warbler* and Neddicky are species more likely to be enjoyed by the birding enthusiast.

Chobe River exploration day. Much of the Chobe’s wildlife come to drink in the latter half of the morning and early afternoon when the heat stimulates their thirst. Breeding herds of elephant are very numerous around the river, as are lion, with perhaps the highest densities of the iconic predator in Southern Africa. Spend your last night at the Chobe River camp.

Bat-Hawk, Cuckoo Hawk, Eurasian Hobby Falcon* and Ovambo Sparrowhawk are some of the more interesting raptors. Corncrake*, African Crake*, African Rail, Luapula Cisticola, Malachite Kingfisher, Quail Finch and Rosy-throated Longclaw are found on the edges of the floodplain. Large flocks of Great White Pelican investigate the drying pools as the floodwaters recede. Much larger flocks of the nomadic Red-winged Pratincole and also Black-winged Pratincole, numbering in their thousands, can be found on the drying floodplains. The woodlands support Racket-tailed Roller, Stierlings Wren-Warbler, Tree Pipit* and Miombo Rock-Thrush.

After an early start, you will enjoy an early morning cruise on the Chobe River. You will then be dropped off at Kasane Airport. After saying goodbye to your guide, catch your onward flight.