Victoria Falls - Botswana October 2002

This is a brief summary of our itinary or page down to lists of Birds or Animals that we saw

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe side - we spent a morning walking around the Vic Falls National Park. Note it is 30 US Dollars Cash to get in and they don't have change. We didn't see a huge number of birds here and we missed out on the Livingstone Lourie. Also not much game here, but worth a visit if just to see the Falls !
We also went on a canoe trip just upstream of the Falls organised by Kandahar on Parkway. This cost 110 US Dollars for the afternoon and is the best way to see Hippo, Water Dikkop, Rock Pratincoles etc. Go to the Victoria Falls Hotel for afternoon tea and get good views of Trumpeter Hornbill in the gardens.
Game Drive to Mosi-oa-Tunya NP on the Zambian side of the river to see the White Rhino. The park here was very dry and the animals were being fed by the Rangers. I think they have had trouble with poachers here and the animals are all re-introduced and all seem to be just a few years old. This cost 110 US Dollars which seems to be going rate for a morning's visit, with a driver and includes the Zambian Visa fee of 10 US Dollars.
We then picked up a Land Rover and drove to Kasane in Botswana just over the border. We stopped at the Chobe Safari lodge where you could hire a private boat for 100 Pula per hour, plus the Park Fees (70P per person). This way you can stop when you want and go where you want. A trip downstream to the rapids produced Rock Pratincole, the Namibian side was more farmland but we saw Redshouldered Widow here, and the Botswana side for most of the water birds. Also we saw Pink-throated Longclaw on a grassy area. We also had excellent views of Giant Kingfisher in front of the Chobe Game Lodge. This is the best way to see Crocodile up close and if you are lucky, Elephant swimming across the river. Our guide was called Boston and he was very good at spotting birds.
They also organise Game Drives along the Chobe riverfront and we drove ourselves a few times as well. This is not so good for birds but excellent for viewing mammals close up. If you drive yourself you can stop for longer periods and probably see more. With a group, people may not appreciate the finer points of Pipit identification, however you can concentrate on looking for things rather than the driving conditions. Also the drivers spot Lions and Leopards better than you ever will.
We then drove to Moremi via Savuti which is a long haul on terrible sandy tracks. I was disappointed with Savuti which was dry and dusty. However there are Bushman paintings on a rocky outcrop just south of the campsite. Things get a lot better when you get to Moremi. Along the Kwai River there are Storks, Slaty Egret and a lot more Game. You can also get a cold beer by North Gate !
We then had a few nights at Xakanaxa Camp on the edge of the Okavango Delta. This was our favourite location and there are a range of habitats in that area. On the water you can see Marabou on their nests (or Openbill and Yellow-billed Storks, and Spoonbills earlier in the year). On the land there are waders on the pans, woodland birds just inland, plenty of raptors, and the chance of Wild Dogs. You pay for the luxury of the camp but a welcome change to roughing it for the previous week.
We then drove the short distance to Third Bridge for a few nights. There were some interesting birds especially in the campsite. Watch out for Baboons though which are a real menace. There are two boats available at Mboma for hire for trips out to the lagoon.
We then drove to South Gate and then on to Maun. where there is the luxury of a tarmac road. We just bombed down here to Nxai Pan but saw a few Ostrich at the roadside and at the turn off to Nxai we saw a Gemsbok. The South Campsite is very nice with a lot of Sparrows. The artifical waterhole concentrates the Game this time of year, and we saw Secretarybird here. There are a lot of Bustard around the various loops. The lookout tower is a good test of your off-road driving skills with very soft sand up to it.
We then returned to Maun to drop the vehicle off and flew to Oddballs Camp. This was a bit of a disaster and not what we were led to believe at all. We hastily returned to Maun, then back to Kasane and Chobe Safari Lodge for a few days rest, before Vic Falls and then home.

Birds

The naming convention is taken from Wildlife Recorder IOC Taxonomy.

1	Southern Ostrich	Struthio camelus australis	Maun-Nxai Road
2	Tufted Guineafowl	Numida meleagris mitratus	Victoria Falls
3	Crested Francolin	Dendroperdix sephaena zambesiae	Victoria Falls
4	Red-billed Spurfowl	Pternistis adspersus adspersus	Chobe (game drive)
5	Swainson's Spurfowl	Pternistis swainsonii swainsonii	Vic Falls - Kasane Road
6	White-faced Whistling Duck	Dendrocygna viduata	Chobe river (boat)
7	Spur-winged Goose	Plectropterus gambensis niger	North Gate, Chobe
8	Egyptian Goose	Alopochen aegyptiaca	Victoria Falls
9	African Pygmy Goose	Nettapus auritus	Xakanaxa
10	Yellow-billed Duck	Anas undulata undulata	Xakanaxa
11	Red-billed Teal	Anas erythrorhyncha	Chobe river (boat)
12	Hottentot Teal	Anas hottentota	Xakanaxa
13	Little Grebe	Tachybaptus ruficollis capensis	Oddballs Camp
14	Yellow-billed Stork	Mycteria ibis	Victoria Falls
15	African Openbill	Anastomus lamelligerus lamelligerus	Victoria Falls
16	Saddle-billed Stork	Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis	North Gate, Chobe
17	Marabou Stork	Leptoptilos crumenifer	Chobe (game drive)
18	African Sacred Ibis	Threskiornis aethiopicus	Victoria Falls
19	Glossy Ibis	Plegadis falcinellus	Xakanaxa
20	African Spoonbill	Platalea alba	Chobe river (boat)
21	Eurasian Black-crowned Night-heron	Nycticorax nycticorax nycticorax	Mboma - dead tree island
22	Striated Heron	Butorides striata atricapilla	Victoria Falls
23	Squacco Heron	Ardeola ralloides	Chobe (game drive)
24	Rufous-bellied Heron	Ardeola rufiventris	Xakanaxa
25	Western Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis	Chobe river (boat)
26	Grey Heron	Ardea cinerea cinerea	Chobe river (boat)
27	Goliath Heron	Ardea goliath	Victoria Falls
28	Purple Heron	Ardea purpurea purpurea	Chobe (game drive)
29	African Great Egret	Ardea alba melanorhynchos	Victoria Falls
30	Intermediate Egret	Egretta intermedia brachyrhyncha	Xakanaxa
31	Black Heron	Egretta ardesiaca	Chobe river (boat)
32	Slaty Egret	Egretta vinaceigula	North Gate, Chobe
33	Little Egret	Egretta garzetta garzetta	Chobe river (boat)
34	Hamerkop	Scopus umbretta umbretta	Chobe river (boat)
35	Great White Pelican	Pelecanus onocrotalus	Xakanaxa
36	Reed Cormorant	Microcarbo africanus africanus	Victoria Falls
37	White-breasted Cormorant	Phalacrocorax lucidus	Victoria Falls
38	African Darter	Anhinga rufa rufa	Victoria Falls
39	Secretarybird	Sagittarius serpentarius	Nxai Pan
40	Eurasian Osprey	Pandion haliaetus haliaetus	Xakanaxa
41	Black-winged Kite	Elanus caeruleus caeruleus	Vic Falls - Kasane Road
42	Yellow-billed Kite	Milvus aegyptius parasitus	Victoria Falls
43	African Fish Eagle	Haliaeetus vocifer	Victoria Falls
44	Hooded Vulture	Necrosyrtes monachus	Chobe (game drive)
45	White-backed Vulture	Gyps africanus	Vic Falls - Kasane Road
46	Lappet-faced Vulture	Torgos tracheliotus tracheliotus	Nxai Pan
47	Black-chested Snake Eagle	Circaetus pectoralis	Xakanaxa
48	Brown Snake Eagle	Circaetus cinereus	Xakanaxa
49	Western Banded Snake Eagle	Circaetus cinerascens	Chobe river (boat)
50	Bateleur	Terathopius ecaudatus	Xakanaxa
51	African Marsh Harrier	Circus ranivorus	Xakanaxa
52	Pale Chanting Goshawk	Melierax canorus	Nxai Pan
53	Gabar Goshawk	Micronisus gabar gabar	Xakanaxa
54	Western Steppe Buzzard	Buteo buteo vulpinus	South Gate - Maun Rd
55	Tawny Eagle	Aquila rapax rapax	Vic Falls - Kasane Road
56	Steppe Eagle	Aquila nipalensis orientalis	Chobe (game drive)
57	African Hawk-eagle	Aquila spilogaster	Chobe river (boat)
58	Wahlberg's Eagle	Hieraaetus wahlbergi	Xakanaxa
59	Martial Eagle	Polemaetus bellicosus	Chobe (game drive)
60	Dickinson's Kestrel	Falco dickinsoni	Oddballs Camp
61	Kori Bustard	Ardeotis kori kori	Chobe (game drive)
62	Red-crested Korhaan	Lophotis ruficrista	Nxai Pan
63	Northern Black Korhaan	Afrotis afraoides damarensis	Nxai Pan
64	Black-bellied Bustard	Lissotis melanogaster notophila	Savuti
65	Black Crake	Amaurornis flavirostra	Victoria Falls
66	Wattled Crane	Grus carunculata	Xakanaxa
67	Water Thick-knee	Burhinus vermiculatus vermiculatus	Victoria Falls
68	Black-winged Stilt	Himantopus himantopus	North Gate, Chobe
69	Long-toed Lapwing	Vanellus crassirostris leucopterus	Chobe river (boat)
70	Blacksmith Lapwing	Vanellus armatus	Chobe (game drive)
71	White-crowned Lapwing	Vanellus albiceps	Victoria Falls
72	Crowned Lapwing	Vanellus coronatus coronatus	Third Bridge
73	African Wattled Lapwing	Vanellus senegallus lateralis	Chobe (game drive)
74	Kittlitz's Plover	Charadrius pecuarius	Third Bridge
75	Three-banded Plover	Charadrius tricollaris tricollaris	Chobe (game drive)
76	African Jacana	Actophilornis africanus	Victoria Falls
77	Marsh Sandpiper	Tringa stagnatilis	North Gate, Chobe
78	Common Greenshank	Tringa nebularia	Chobe river (boat)
79	Wood Sandpiper	Tringa glareola	Chobe river (boat)
80	Common Sandpiper	Actitis hypoleucos	Chobe river (boat)
81	Little Stint	Calidris minuta	Chobe river (boat)
82	Curlew Sandpiper	Calidris ferruginea	Chobe river (boat)
83	Ruff	Philomachus pugnax	Xakanaxa
84	Collared Pratincole	Glareola pratincola	Chobe river (boat)
85	Rock Pratincole	Glareola nuchalis nuchalis	Victoria Falls
86	African Skimmer	Rynchops flavirostris	Victoria Falls
87	Whiskered Tern	Chlidonias hybrida	Chobe river (boat)
88	Mourning Collared Dove	Streptopelia decipiens ambigua	North Gate, Chobe
89	Red-eyed Dove	Streptopelia semitorquata	Victoria Falls
90	Ring-necked Dove	Streptopelia capicola tropica	Vic Falls - Kasane Road
91	Laughing Dove	Spilopelia senegalensis senegalensis	Victoria Falls
92	Emerald-spotted Wood Dove	Turtur chalcospilos	North Gate, Chobe
93	Namaqua Dove	Oena capensis capensis	North Gate, Chobe
94	African Green Pigeon	Treron calvus schalowi	North Gate, Chobe
95	Meyer's Parrot	Poicephalus meyeri	South Gate - Maun Rd
96	Grey Go-away-bird	Corythaixoides concolor bechuanae	Chobe (game drive)
97	Senegal Coucal	Centropus senegalensis flecki	Chobe river (boat)
98	Coppery-tailed Coucal	Centropus cupreicaudus	Chobe river (boat)
99	African Palm Swift	Cypsiurus parvus hyphaenes	Chobe river (boat)
100	African Black Swift	Apus barbatus hollidayi	Victoria Falls
101	Little Swift	Apus affinis	Victoria Falls
102	Red-faced Mousebird	Urocolius indicus transvaalensis	Chobe safari Lodge
103	Purple Roller	Coracias naevius mosambicus	Savuti
104	Lilac-breasted Roller	Coracias caudatus caudatus	Victoria Falls
105	Broad-billed Roller	Eurystomus glaucurus	North Gate, Chobe
106	Malachite Kingfisher	Corythornis cristatus cristatus	Xakanaxa
107	Giant Kingfisher	Megaceryle maxima maxima	Victoria Falls
108	Pied Kingfisher	Ceryle rudis rudis	Victoria Falls
109	Swallow-tailed Bee-eater	Merops hirundineus hirundineus	Chobe (game drive)
110	Little Bee-eater	Merops pusillus argutus	Victoria Falls
111	White-fronted Bee-eater	Merops bullockoides	Victoria Falls
112	European Bee-eater	Merops apiaster	Victoria Falls
113	Southern Carmine Bee-eater	Merops nubicoides	Chobe (game drive)
114	African Hoopoe	Upupa africana	Xakanaxa
115	Green Wood Hoopoe	Phoeniculus purpureus angolensis	North Gate, Chobe
116	Common Scimitarbill	Rhinopomastus cyanomelas cyanomelas	Nxai Pan
117	African Grey Hornbill	Tockus nasutus epirhinus	Victoria Falls
118	Southern Red-billed Hornbill	Tockus rufirostris	Chobe (game drive)
119	Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill	Tockus leucomelas leucomelas	Savuti
120	Trumpeter Hornbill	Bycanistes bucinator	Victoria Falls
121	Southern Ground Hornbill	Bucorvus leadbeateri	North Gate, Chobe
122	Black-collared Barbet	Lybius torquatus bocagei	Xakanaxa
123	Crested Barbet	Trachyphonus vaillantii vaillantii	Xakanaxa
124	Bearded Woodpecker	Dendropicos namaquus namaquus	North Gate, Chobe
125	Chinspot Batis	Batis molitor palliditergum	Chobe safari Lodge
126	Curly-crested Helmetshrike	Prionops plumatus poliocephalus	Chobe safari Lodge
127	Black-backed Puffback	Dryoscopus cubla okavangensis	Victoria Falls
128	Swamp Boubou	Laniarius bicolor sticturus	Third Bridge
129	Crimson-breasted Shrike	Laniarius atrococcineus	North Gate, Chobe
130	Magpie Shrike	Urolestes melanoleucus melanoleucus	Savuti
131	Southern White-crowned Shrike	Eurocephalus anguitimens anguitimens	Xakanaxa
132	Fork-tailed Drongo	Dicrurus adsimilis fugax	Victoria Falls
133	African Paradise Flycatcher	Terpsiphone viridis plumbeiceps	North Gate, Chobe
134	Cape Crow	Corvus capensis capensis	Maun - Nxai Pan Rd
135	Pied Crow	Corvus albus	Victoria Falls
136	Southern Black Tit	Parus niger xanthostomus	Mboma - dead tree island
137	Red-capped Lark	Calandrella cinerea	Third Bridge
138	African Red-eyed Bulbul	Pycnonotus nigricans nigricans	Nxai Pan
139	Common Bulbul	Pycnonotus barbatus layardi	Victoria Falls
140	Yellow-bellied Greenbul	Chlorocichla flaviventris occidentalis	Chobe safari Lodge
141	Terrestrial Brownbul	Phyllastrephus terrestris intermedius	Victoria Falls
142	Brown-throated Martin	Riparia paludicola paludicola	Chobe river (boat)
143	Banded Martin	Riparia cincta xerica	Xakanaxa
144	European Swallow	Hirundo rustica rustica	Xakanaxa
145	African Wire-tailed Swallow	Hirundo smithii smithii	Chobe safari Lodge
146	African Rock Martin	Ptyonoprogne fuligula pretoriae	Joburg airport
147	Red-breasted Swallow	Cecropis semirufa semirufa	Joburg airport
148	Little Rush Warbler	Bradypterus baboecala msiri	Oddballs Camp
149	Tawny-flanked Prinia	Prinia subflava affinis	Victoria Falls
150	Black-chested Prinia	Prinia flavicans flavicans	Nxai Pan
151	Grey-backed Camaroptera	Camaroptera brevicaudata sharpei	Chobe safari Lodge
152	Arrow-marked Babbler	Turdoides jardineii jardineii	North Gate, Chobe
153	Hartlaub's Babbler	Turdoides hartlaubii griseosquamata	Xakanaxa
154	Chestnut-vented Warbler	Sylvia subcaerulea cinerascens	Chobe safari Lodge
155	Common Myna	Acridotheres tristis	Joburg airport
156	Wattled Starling	Creatophora cinerea	Chobe river (boat)
157	Cape Starling	Lamprotornis nitens phoenicopterus	North Gate, Chobe
158	Greater Blue-eared Starling	Lamprotornis chalybaeus nordmanni	Chobe (game drive)
159	Meves's Starling	Lamprotornis mevesii mevesii	Chobe (game drive)
160	Burchell's Starling	Lamprotornis australis	North Gate, Chobe
161	Yellow-billed Oxpecker	Buphagus africanus africanus	Xakanaxa
162	Red-billed Oxpecker	Buphagus erythrorhynchus	Chobe river (boat)
163	Kurrichane Thrush	Turdus libonyana verreauxii	Xakanaxa
164	White-browed Robin-chat	Cossypha heuglini heuglini	Victoria Falls
165	White-browed Scrub Robin	Erythropygia leucophrys ovamboensis	Chobe (game drive)
166	African Stonechat	Saxicola torquatus stonei	Xakanaxa
167	Capped Wheatear	Oenanthe pileata livingstonii	Nxai Pan
168	Marico Flycatcher	Bradornis mariquensis mariquensis	Nxai Pan
169	Scarlet-chested Sunbird	Chalcomitra senegalensis gutturalis	Victoria Falls
170	Marico Sunbird	Cinnyris mariquensis mariquensis	Third Bridge
171	White-breasted Sunbird	Cinnyris talatala talatala	Audi Camp, Maun
172	White-browed Sparrow-weaver	Plocepasser mahali mahali	Savuti
173	Great Sparrow	Passer motitensis motitensis	Nxai Pan
174	Cape Sparrow	Passer melanurus damarensis	North Gate, Chobe
175	Red-billed Buffalo Weaver	Bubalornis niger niger	South Gate
176	Scaly-feathered Weaver	Sporopipes squamifrons fuligescens	South Gate
177	Spectacled Weaver	Ploceus ocularis crocatus	Chobe safari Lodge
178	Holub's Golden Weaver	Ploceus xanthops	Xakanaxa
179	Lesser Masked Weaver	Ploceus intermedius cabanisii	Chobe safari Lodge
180	Southern Masked Weaver	Ploceus velatus velatus	Victoria Falls
181	Layard's Weaver	Ploceus cucullatus nigriceps	South Gate
182	Red-headed Weaver	Anaplectes rubriceps rubriceps	Xakanaxa
183	Fan-tailed Widowbird	Euplectes axillaris bocagei	Chobe river (boat)
184	Brown Firefinch	Lagonosticta nitidula	Third Bridge
185	Red-billed Firefinch	Lagonosticta senegala rendalli	Chobe safari Lodge
186	Blue Waxbill	Uraeginthus angolensis niassensis	Victoria Falls
187	Black-faced Waxbill	Estrilda erythronotos	Third Bridge
188	Shaft-tailed Whydah	Vidua regia	Chobe (game drive)
189	Angolan Wagtail	Motacilla capensis simplicissima	Third Bridge
190	African Pied Wagtail	Motacilla aguimp vidua	Victoria Falls
191	Rosy-throated Longclaw	Macronyx ameliae	Chobe river (boat)
192	African Pipit	Anthus cinnamomeus grotei	Chobe (game drive)
193	Buffy Pipit	Anthus vaalensis chobiensis	Xakanaxa

Animals

Vervet Monkey	Chlorocebus pygerythrus ngamiensis	Most areas
Chacma Baboon	Papio ursinus	Most areas - real menance at Third Bridge campsite
Elephant	Loxodonta africana	Most areas, very common at Chobe
Hippo	Hippopotamus amphibius	Most areas with a reasonable stretch of water
Warthog	Phacochoerus africanus	Most areas - very tame at Chobe Safari Lodge
Cape Buffalo	Synceros caffer caffer	Chobe and small numbers in Mosi-oa-Tunya NP
Bushbuck	Tragelaphus scriptus	Vic Falls, and darker race on river bank by Chobe Game Lodge
Nile Crocodile	Crocodylus niloticus	Most areas with a reasonable stretch of water
Red Lechwe	Kobus leche leche	Common at Chobe
Tree (Smith's Bush) Squirrel	Paraxerus cepapi	Very common in woodland
Monitor Lizard	Varanus niloticus	Chobe river
Giraffe	Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis	Most areas, very pale individuals at Mosi-oa-Tunya NP
Southern Impala	Aepyceros melampus melampus	Common at Chobe and Moremi, small numbers at Nxai Pan
Sable Antelope	Hippotragus niger	Small herd at Chobe
Slender Mongoose	Galerella sanguinea	Odd ones crossing the road
Kudu	Tragelaphus strepsiceros	Most areas, common at Chobe
Puku	Kobus vardoni vardoni	Small numbers at Chobe
Waterbuck	Kobus ellipsiprymnus defassa	Most areas with open water
Roan Antelope	Hippotragus equinus	Small herd at Chobe
Lion	Panthera leo	Most areas, hard to spot though
Zebra	Equus burchelli burchelli	Fairly common
Spotted Hyena	Crocuta crocuta	Only seen after dark at North Gate and Third Bridge campsites
White-bearded Gnu	Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus	Small numbers near South Gate
Banded Mongoose	Mungos mungo	Xakanaxa and Chobe Safari Lodge
Wild Dog	Lycaon pictus	3 on Dead Tree Island, Xakanaxa
Steenbok	Raphicerus campestris	Odd individuals seen alongside the road in Moremi and Nxai Pan
Tsessebe	Damaliscus lunatus	2 en route to South Gate
Dwarf Mongoose	Helogale parvula undulatus	South Gate campsite
Springbok	Antidorcas marsupialis	Common at Nxai Pan
Black-backed Jackal	Canis mesomelas	Small numbers at Nxai Pan
Gemsbok	Oryx gazella	1 by track to Nxai Pan

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