Everybody has his or her list of birds that don't exist. During those few days in the Okavango Delta, I reduced mine by quite a bit. Greyhooded Kingfisher, which I had looked for in the Kruger Park in vain for many years and finally given up on, made a welcome appearance just outside Tsaro Lodge. This same area, which had received fairly heavy local rainfall just prior to my visit, produced three rather unexpected birds, namely African Crake, Dwarf Bittern and the enigmatic Painted Snipe. When lodge manager Grant Burton — now at Wilderness Safaris' Lianshulu Lodge in Namibia's Caprivi Strip -- first told me about the African Crake, I was dubious. I honestly thought he was referring to African Rail. So when he stopped the Landrover ten minutes later, pointing at what was clearly said Crake, it was both a pleasant surprise and a lesson in humility. The receding puddles of water on and alongside the very muddy bush tracks around Tsaro, was also home to one of Africa's most sought-after birds, the Painted Snipe.
My good fortune at being able to observe Painted Snipe on several occasions during a lengthy night drive, was the result of somebody else's misfortune. It so happened that the Swedish Ambassador to Zambia had rather foolishly decided to drive from Maun to Kasane on what passes for a road in those parts; had gotten hopelessly bogged down, and was then bitten by a scorpion. When Grant set out on a rescue mission, I went along for the ride. Thus the Snipe. More than just once I isolated one of these spectacular birds in the bright glare of our spotlight, marveling at the sight. The Swedish Ambassador to Zambia, by the way, survived his ordeal. For all the trouble he caused, his government probably extended his tour in Lusaka for an extra year.
As for the Dwarf Bittern, this diminutive heron— which I first encountered on a short walk just outside Xugana Lodge— proved to be common in the Tsaro area. We encountered it several times on game drives in the Moremi Game Reserve, invariably at the base of a clump of bushes or a tree on the floodplain, from where it would often fly up and perch in a relatively open spot. The Dwarf Bittern also gave us a good demonstration of 'sky-pointing'. Late one afternoon I accompanied Grant to the nearby Kwhai airstrip to meet some new arrivals. While waiting for the aircraft, we drove alongside the landing strip in the short grass, checking the runway for muddy spots. In the process, as Grant had anticipated, we flushed several Marsh Owls. These close relatives of the Short-eared Owl are uncommon anywhere in southern Africa, so it was all the more enjoyable to see so many in one spot.
A memorable walk on an island in the Xugana area had added both Black Coucal and Western Banded Snake Eagle to my list, with the motor-boat trip to the island producing yet another mega-tick, the Lesser Gallinule. The local guide and I were cruising a quiet lily-covered back-water, in search of Longtoed Plover, when we observed what at first appeared to be a small Purple Gallinule fly into a drifting clump of tangled vegetation. A brief, but clear glimpse of the bird's diagnostic blue frontal shield settled the matter. The Black Coucal which we saw flying low over tall grass in a vlei (marsh) setting, presented no problem in identification as it was in its distinctive breeding plumage. Likewise, a Western Banded Snake Eagle, circling right above us in good light, showed its diagnostic light, finely barred with black underwing, and prominent terminal tail bar.
I saw many other good birds in the Okavango Delta, such as Swamp Boubou, Brown Firefinch, Harlequin Quail, Meyer's Parrot, African Golden Oriole, Whiterumped Babbler, Arnot's Chat, Chirping Cisticola and Yellowbilled Oxpecker. There were also some spectacular sunsets, especially at Xugana and first-class game-viewing in the Moremi Game Reserve, which is rated one of the top three eco-tourism destinations in the world by the editors of the respected Weismann Travel Reports. "What makes this park so spectacular", they say, "is that it features an ark-full of big game— lions, leopards, hyenas, giraffes, elephants— as well as a dramatic array of birdlife. The reserve encompasses the ecologically unique Okavango Delta, so visitors can go on a game drive in the morning, then, in the afternoon, glide along narrow, papyrus-lined streams to watch eagles, herons, storks, egrets and cranes soar overhead."
Story and photos copyright by Bert du Plessis and Fish Eagle Safaris, Houston.
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