Ornithology in Botswana

The Okavango Delta is the very best area in Africa for bird watching. With all the different types of terrain the choice of species is immense. There are currently about 560 logged different species in Botswana.

Different birds will obviously be seen in different areas and sightings will depend on the time of year. Serious ornithologists will be searching for the rare birds but everyone can enjoy watching all this colourful birdlife. One great advantage of the Okavango Delta is the huge range of different habitats all relatively close together. In just one morning you can move between flood plains, deep water channels, arid areas, forest, bush and swamp.

In addition to the resident birds are the migrants. September/October to April/May is the time you will see migrants from Europe and northern Africa. The rains from around the end of November to April produce the seeds, berries and insects for these birds. This is when nesting takes place. However it is also the time for floods which can make it difficult to get around in some areas.

Many of the guides specialise in ornithology and are a fountain of knowledge. The only current confusion is that the Southern African countries have recently renamed many of their birds to conform to a standard list.