Botswana: A Birdwatcher’s Paradise – Exploring the Country’s Rich Avian Diversity

Botswana might not have any endemic species of birds, but with its range of landscapes, from desert to delta, it’s one of Africa’s top birding destinations. There is a great seasonal variation in the birding too, so keen birdwatchers can enjoy spotting a vast number of species all year round.

With nearly 600 bird species, a birding safari in Botswana is on every avid birdwatcher’s bucket list.

When to Go Birding in Botswana

The best season for the highest number of species is during the spring and summer months from October to March in the Okavango Delta when the migrant species have arrived to nest in the lakes, swamps and marshes. There’s such an influx of species that, by December, there are 20% more birds in the country compared to the winter months.

The heronry at Gadikwe Lagoon is shared by a variety of species and is active from July to March, although the busiest time is from September to December. Breeding colonies of herons are joined by yellow and saddle-billed storks, egrets, sacred ibis, marabou and swallows.

What are the Top Birding Sites?

Chobe National Park

The Chobe National Park in the northeast supports 450 species, Botswana’s longest list. The Chobe River itself features inundated floodplains covered with reeds, riverine woodland and, further from the river, mixed broadleaved woodland.

You can enter Chobe via the village of Kasane. All roads in the park are sandy tracks, so you’ll need a 4×4 to get around. Special species include:

• African FinFoot
• White-backed Night Heron
• Rufous-bellied Heron
• Slaty Egret
• Bradfield’s Hornbill
• Trumpeter Hornbill
• Narina Trogon
• Pennant-winged Nightjar
• Racket-tailed Roller
• Half-collared Kingfisher
• Green-capped Eremomela
• Angola Rock Thrush
• Broad-tailed Paradise Whydah
• Golden-backed Pytilia
• Eastern Bearded Robin
• Red-faced Cisticola
• Collared Palm Thrush
• Coppery Sunbird
• Purple-banded Sunbird
• Pink-throated Longclaw

Makgadikgadi Pans

In years when the rainfall has been high, a shallow alkaline lake system known as the Makgadikgadi Pans are formed. These pans are renowned for their large flamingo breeding colonies. All roads in the Makgadikgadi and Nxai Pans National Park can only be negotiated in a 4×4 vehicle.

There are a number of very basic campsites in the park, but you’ll need to bring your own water. Special species here include:

• White Pelican
• Secretary Bird
• Montagu’s Harrier
• Pallid Harrier
• Marshal Eagle
• Tawny Eagle
• Red-necked Falcon
• Greater Kestrel
• Lesser Kestrel
• Red-footed Kestrel
• Burchell’s Sandgrouse
• Yellow-throated Sandgrouse
• Wattled Crane
• Crowned Crane
• Ground Hornbill
• Bronze-winged Courser
• Red-winged Pratincole
• Black-winged Pratincole
• Spike-heeled Lark
• Pink-billed Lark
• Rufous-naped Lark
• Clapper Lark
• Chestnut-backed Finchlark
• Capped Wheatear 

Okavango Delta

In Botswana’s northwestern corner you’ll find the inland delta of the Okavango. Here the Kavango river creates a maze of channels, lagoons, and backwaters.

This creates the world’s largest Ramsar site. Habitats vary from seasonally flooded open grasslands and palm fringed islands with tall stands of mature woodland to plenty of Papyrus and Phragmites, and lush riverine forests.

Most travelers will enter the delta via the town of Maun. The western delta, panhandle, and Moremi Game Reserve are accessible by car, but you’ll want to travel by light aircraft to see most of the delta. Special species here include:

• Wattled Crane
• Slaty Egret
• Pink-backed Pelican
• Rufous-bellied Heron
• White-backed Night Heron
• Pygmy Goose
• African Skimmer
• Pel’s Fishing Owl
• Coppery-tailed Coucal
• Pink-throated Longclaw
• Red-winged Pratincole
• Chirping Cisticola
• Long-toed Plover
• Swamp Boubou
• Bat Hawk
• Western Banded Snake Eagle
• Long-crested Eagle
• Southern Carmine Bee-eater
• Narina Trogon
• Brown Firefinch

Grab your binoculars and camera and look forward to filling up your birding books – a birdwatching safari in Botswana won’t disappoint!