BABBLER - BirdLife Botswana - 56_0.pdfJournal of BirdLife Botswana Babbler No. 56 December 2011 1 1 Babbler No. 56 July 2011 J o u r n a l o f B i r d L i f e B o t s w a n a Editorial

BABBLERJournal of BirdLife Botswana

Number 56

ISSN 1012 - 2974

Cover Design by: Impression House Printing by Impression House December 2011

The sincere thanks of all the members of BirdLife Botswana go to Remi and Wendy Borello who have once again generously supported the printing of this issue of the Babbler.


Member of

The World Conservation Union

Partner designate of:

BIRDLIFE BOTSWANABirdLife Botswana is Partner-designate of BirdLife International.

BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.

Our missionThe BirdLife International Partnership strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.

Our visionBy focusing on birds, and the sites and habitats on which they depend, the BirdLife Partnership is working to improve the quality of life for birds, for other wildlife (biodiversity), and for people. BirdLife’s aims are to: • prevent the extinction of any bird species • maintain and where possible improve the conservation status

of all bird species • conserve and where appropriate improve and enlarge sites and

habitats important for birds • help, through birds, to conserve biodiversity and to improve

the quality of people’s lives • integrate bird conservation into sustaining people’s

livelihoods.

Recent good pictures from our Flikr website depicting “Birds of Botswana”http://www.flickr.com/groups/blb/pool

1. Broad-billed Roller • Photo: Bonnie Fairbanks

2. Red-headed Weaver • Photo: Ian White

3. African Barred Owlet • Photo: Bonnie Fairbanks

4. Purple Heron • Photo: Ian White

5. Green-backed Heron • Photo: Ian White

6. Lilac-breasted Roller • Photo: Mike Soroczynski

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July 2010 Babbler No. 54

J o u r n a l o f B i r d L i f e B o t s w a n a

BirdLife Botswana - Chairman’s report May 2010

Summary

It is apposite that in this Year of International Biodiversity, today is International

Biodiversity Day. BirdLife Botswana’s business is about helping to maintain

Botswana’s biodiversity. We do this through protecting species, sites, habitats and

creating opportunities for communities living near bird areas to earn a meaningful

income. Lastly we create an interest and awareness among the population,

especially the youth, in birds.

This has been a year of many challenges. We lost key staff at a crucial time,

financial issues were ever-present but we did organise a successful Council of the

African Partnership conference for twenty-three African partners in March at

Kasane and produced an outstanding calendar. We have struggled at times but I

believe are stronger for meeting these challenges.

Species Conservation

Kabelo Senyatso has continued his study of the Kori Bustard. Eight birds have

been fitted with transmitters (unfortunately two have died) and others have been

wing-tagged in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and their progress monitored

on a daily basis by satellite. The project is investigating the ecology of Kori

Bustard. After nearly three years of research, five components have been

developed, studied and are being written up:

o A review of Kori Bustard status across Africa

o The development of a census methodology for large grassland birds

o A better understanding of factors attributing to Kori Bustard presence or absence

o Census of other co-occurring species

o The use of satellite transmitters to understand the habitat use of Kori Bustard and

its seasonal movements.

This research is being done under the auspices of Dr Paul Dolman at the University

of East Anglia and Dr. Nigel Collar, the acknowledged world bustard expert based

at BirdLife International. Our thanks go to Debswana, Botash and the United States

of America-based Kori Bustard Species Survival Plan for their financial

contributions, which allowed us to purchase the transmitters.

Raptors and vultures are at the top of ecological food pyramids, and their

population numbers and trends reflect the state of Botswana’s ecosystem. For this

reason, Pete Hancock has a raptor monitoring programme, based on conducting

counts along fixed road transects, a standard method used throughout Africa, to

NUMBER 56 DECEMBER 2011

CONTENTS


NUMBER 56 JANUARY 2011

CONTENTS

Editorial 1

Chairman’s Report May 2011-09-27 2

Articles Fidelity to non-breeding grounds by migrant Red-billed Quelea

Quelea quelea lathami in Botswana 11

Wendy D. Borello & Robert A. Cheke

Breeding record of Klaas’s Cuckoo Chrysococcyx klaas near Tshabong 15 Chris A. Brewster

Lake Ngami from March to September 2011 16 Ken & Mel Oake, Stephanie J. Tyler, Tony Tree, Pete Hancock, Pat Nurse

and Ray & Val Lovett

Heuglin’s Robins in Francistown 20 Nicky Bousfield

More on African Pygmy-Kingfishers Ispidina picta in Francistown 21 Nicky Bousfield

Breeding birds at the Maunachira lagoons in mid August 2011 26 Pete Hancock

Further visits to Lake Xau 27 Pat Nurse, Ray & Val Lovett and Chris A. Brewster

Records of specimens collected on the Peterhouse Kalahari Expeditions 30 Peter Ginn

Reports from the Records Subcommittee Category A Records 34 Compiled by Chris A. Brewster

A summary of Category B records 36 Compiled by Chris Brewster and Stephanie Tyler

Interesting and Unusual Sightings 45

Compiled by Stephanie J. Tyler & Chris A. Brewster

Some breeding records in 2010 51

Compiled by Stephanie Tyler and Chris A. Brewster

Obituary: Edward Huw Penry (1943-2011) 54 Chris A. Brewster

Obituary: Dr Brooks Childress 55 Graham McCulloch and Stephanie J. Tyler

Letters - The History of BirdLife Botswana from Mavis and Kenneth Smith 56

- Disturbance at Lake Ngami from Ross Galbraith 57 Globally threatened birds 58

A Review: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D. A. eds. 2009. Handbook

of the Birds of the World. Vol. 14 Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows 60

Some publications of interest 61

Front Cover: Arican Rail, Photographer: Ian White • Back Cover: Black Crake, Photographer: Ian White


December 2011 Babbler No. 56

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Bird Life Botswana Donors and Sponsors 2011- Listed Alphabetically

Africa Bird ClubAnd Beyond Bergstan AfricaBirdLife InternationalBorello, Remi and WendyBotash Pty LtdBotswana Wildlife ManagementCanon OfficeChobe Holdings, Chobe Game LodgeChobeziCreations of AfricaDavies, RoyDepartment of Environment AffairsDebswana Diamond Co.Department of Wildlife and National ParksDesert and Delta SafarisDrotsky’s Cabins Equipment SalesEuropean UnionFedex ExpressGem DiamondsGlobal Environment FacilityIsland SafariIUCNJapanese EmbassyJICAJwaneng MineKalahari Kavango Safari Co.Kalahari ToursKori Bustard Species Survival PlanMagnum Freight McColaugh, Doreen and BobNgamiland Adventure SafarisOkavango BoatingOkavango StillOkavango Wilderness SafarisPlanet BaobabPremiere PersonnelRoyal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)Safari and Guide ServicesSerendipity B&BStevenson, PeterStewart Scott InternationalSunnyside LodgeTarbotan, WarwickThompson, RobinsonTuli Safari Lodge United Nations Development Program (UNDP)UnitransUS Embassy White, Ian


Babbler No. 56 December 2011

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Babbler No. 56 July 2011


Editorial

I was very sorry to hear that Huw Penry died on 23 April 2011 in Bristol after a

short battle with cancer. Huw will be known to many birders in Botswana as the

man who wrote the Botswana Bird Atlas in 1994. He personally spent an enormous

amount of time doing the fieldwork for the Atlas, visiting numerous far-flung

squares. Since he left Botswana Huw remained on the Records sub-committee and

provided a valuable input to many decisions on rarities. Our sympahies go to

Susan, his wife. Another sad loss to the birding world is flamingo specialist Dr

Brooks Childress who died in July (see obituaries on pages 54 and 55)

On another matter entirely, there is an article in African Birds & Birding by Phil

Hockey suggesting that the Palaearctic migrant, Black-winged Pratincole might be

in serious trouble. Very few pratincoles, relative to 20 years ago, are now being

recorded in South Africa (a flock of 1,000 in NE Free State in February 2011 was

of note) on their non-breeding grounds. Pesticides in South Africa, as well as

ploughing of steppes in their breeding range, may be causing the species’ decline.

The most recent estimate is of 68,000 to 90,000 pairs in the world. Phil Hockey

suggested that they have possibly moved northwards to northern Botswana; this is

not likely to be true though, judging by our rather few records from this area.

In this issue of Babbler I am pleased to include our Chairman’s Annual Report and

a paper on Red-billed Quelea by Wendy Borello and Bob Cheke. Bob and

colleagues have been working for many years on this so-called pest species

although the spectacle of tens of thousands of quelea flying in a dense flock is a

memorable sight for any bird watcher. Wendy and Bob report on Queleas that were

ringed at Atthol Holme Farm and subsequently caught or seen again in later years,

showing site fidelity of some birds when not breeding. Chris Brewster writes on

breeding of Klaas’s Cuckoo near Tshabong and Nicky Bousfield continues with

her interest in Pygmy-Kingfishers and in Heuglin’s Robins, documenting more

birds of both species seen or caught and ringed in Francistown. There are short

notes on birds seen at Lake Ngami and at Lake Xau by various observers.

Stephanie J. Tyler, Editor



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Chairman’s report May 2011

1. Introduction

Change is happening on a universal level: latterly we have been subject to

monstrous earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan and New Zealand, unprecedented

snow and ice in the Northern Hemisphere and rain storms leading to severe floods

in Australia, at the same time that we are exposed to an economic collapse on a

universal level with political change sweeping across North Africa and the Middle

East. With all these major happenings, how relevant is BirdLife Botswana?

2. Our missions and aims

To remind you, our mission is to conserve birds, their habitats and overall

biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural

resources. Our aims are to:

� Prevent the extinction of any bird species

� Maintain and where possible improve the conservation status of all bird species

� Conserve and where appropriate improve and enlarge sites and habitats important

for birds

� Help through birds to conserve biodiversity and to improve the quality of people’s

lives

� Integrate bird conservation into sustaining people’s livelihoods.

2.1 Species Conservation

Kabelo Senyatso has continued his research of the Kori Bustard towards his

doctoral thesis at the University of East Anglia. It is anticipated that he will have

completed the formal content by September. Although Kabelo is still to formally

publish his research, some of his findings include the following. A review of the

conservation status of Kori Bustard across its entire African range, comprising 14

countries in East and Southern Africa, suggests that from the late 1860s to present,

the East African sub-species has lost as much as 21 % of its former range, while

over the same time period about 10% range contraction has been observed in

southern Africa. In both sub-regions, population abundance is also much reduced.

Kabelo has also assessed the extent to which community-managed conservation

areas in the Kalahari may be effective at conserving large grassland birds and

hunted mammals, and the extent to which these areas may abate livestock-induced

bush encroachment. While the wildlife species respond differently in these

community conservation areas, overall these sites have definite benefits, relative to



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unprotected areas. Using satellite telemetry, Kabelo has also assessed seasonal

movement patterns of Kori Bustard, observing that, over the two years that eight

Central Kalahari Game Reserve birds were tracked, none flew outside the reserve,

much against his expectations and current theory of the bird’s movement. We look

forward to his return, and more details on his findings.

Unfortunately we have been unable to mobilise funds to counteract the poisoning

of raptors and vultures. We are continuing our efforts to lobby for stronger

controls of poisons and hope to meet farmers and communities in affected areas.

Recently stakeholders from the Slaty Egret range states in Southern Africa came

to Maun to participate in a workshop funded by the African-Eurasian Waterbird

Agreement (AEWA) to develop an Action Plan for conserving this globally

threatened species. The workshop was organised by Dr Stephanie Tyler and

formed a logical follow-up from the baseline survey of the species done by

BirdLife Botswana as part of the Okavango Delta Management Plan a few years

ago. BirdLife International has formed a partnership with AEWA to develop action

plans for species that are of common priority to both organisations, and Sergey

Dereliev and Evelyn Moloko from the AEWA Secretariat managed to secure the

necessary funding to make this a reality. Thanks are also due to Pete Hancock and

Dikabelo Koboyatshwene for helping to make all the local arrangements.

The Bird Population Monitoring Programme (BPM), formerly known as

Common Bird Monitoring, has progressed from strength to strength. The project

is sponsored by the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme

(GEF/SGP) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB, BirdLife

partner in the UK). The BPM scheme will develop a Wild Bird Index for Botswana

showing bird population trends over time and will use these trends to set

conservation priorities, to report on biodiversity changes/state of the environment

in Botswana and to contribute to the African/worldwide effort for a global Wild

Bird Index. Under the leadership of Ms Keddy Mooketsa, 152 counters traversed

122 transects last November. In February this year, 219 counters were involved on

161 transects. Both of these statistics were significantly better than what we had

achieved before.

Of interest, the number of species identified was 289 in November and 352 in

February and the number of species recorded per transect was 23 and 25

respectively. With the enthusiastic support of the Dr Danae Sheehan and her RSPB

team, we hope to do even better in the future. As an aid to beginners we organised

CDs of the hundred most common calls of local birds and these have been widely



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distributed. Through this project BLB has been successful in creating a greater

awareness of birds and is developing a most important database across the country,

which will be of use to a variety of researchers and conservationists.

The Records sub-committee under the leadership of Chris Brewster continues to

monitor our birds of concern and those on the A and B rarity lists and we

appreciate this contribution very much.

The bi-annual waterbird counts in January and July, which are coordinated by Dr

Stephanie Tyler, provide so much information. We are grateful to all the

members around the country who took part in these counts and we thank them for

their important contributions. There are many areas not being counted and if

anyone can help in any of these areas they should contact Dr Stephanie Tyler, the

BLB Co-ordinator of waterbird counts in Botswana for Wetlands International and

BirdLife International. Hopefully as the BPM counters become more confident we

can encourage some of them to take part in these waterbird counts which are so

important.

2.2 Conservation of sites and habitats

The Strategic Partnerships to improve the financial and operational

sustainability of protected areas project (PSPA) is a four-year project which

started in January 2009 and will end in December 2012. It is the biggest and most

important project we have undertaken and is largely funded by the Global

Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme

(UNDP), and implemented by BirdLife Botswana in partnership with the

Department of Wildlife and National Parks, and the Department of Environmental

Affairs. This project seeks to strengthen management partnerships between public,

private, NGO and community stakeholders for the improvement of financial and

operational sustainability of protected areas in a measurable manner; using

Makgadikgadi/Nxai National Park as a pilot site.

In Botswana, the responsibility for managing protected areas currently solely lies

with the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, and has proved to be very

expensive and a mammoth task. This project investigates an alternative way of

managing protected areas which will improve the effectiveness and cost efficiency

of management, ensuring that scarce protected area funds are optimally employed,

thus maximizing impact-per-unit investment. Local communities residing around

protected areas will be capacitated to co-manage these areas, together with

government, the private sector and NGOs, to reduce the current expenses, and also

the resentment which exists towards conserving these areas. Nature-based tourism



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initiatives will be developed so that local communities realise direct economic

benefits from conserving these eco-systems.

Recently an Economic Valuation of Protected Areas consultancy was completed

and showed overwhelmingly that co-management of the Southern Sua Pan

protected area would be the optimal solution for all concerned. The priority now

will be to facilitate this solution and persuade vested interests of this solution.

Pete Hancock has done a sterling job the last eighteen months in running with the

project and he now has handed over responsibility to Virat Kootsositse who has re-

joined us, and will take the project to conclusion. We thank Pete for his immense

contribution and total commitment and hope that he enjoys studying species in

future, which is his forte. This project is making a marked contribution to

extending the Southern Sua Pan site and habitat for the protection of flamingos and

for the benefit of the local communities.

The Instituting effective monitoring of Protected Areas as a contribution to

reducing the rate of biodiversity loss in Africa (Important Bird Areas monitoring

Project) experienced a hiccup this last year and the previous incumbent has now

left. Lesego Ratsie has taken over day-to-day running of the project and will report

to Virat. The project is dependent on the full cooperation of DWNP officers

around the country for submitting their monitoring results. This project has

significant benefit in protecting seven IBAs in Botswana

2.3 People programme

The 2010 World Migratory Bird Day celebration was held at Mogobane village

last May with school children showcasing Botswana’s diverse culture. Various

schools performed choral singing, dancing, drama and poetry depicting

conservation issues. The event was funded by the Embassy of the United States of

America, and was aimed at promoting culture, awareness and conservation of

migratory birds and developing children’s interest in birds. The celebration

included children from various orphanages and associations involved with Aids.

The 2011 celebration was held at Otse and was just as successful as previous years.

This is one of our flagship events and the shining eyes of children thoroughly

enjoying themselves is reward enough. This is one of our main avenues for

recruiting children as members. The celebration was organised by Yukiko Maki-

Murakami who was ably assisted by Dibelang Raphakele. The project is significant

in creating an awareness of birds among children who sadly now receive limited, if

any, environmental education in their schools.



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BLB continued publishing its popular scientific journal, the Babbler, under the

editorship of Dr Stephanie Tyler. This outstanding technical journal, which appeals

to the more serious birders, is a credit to the editor and is generously sponsored by

Remi and Wendy Borello. We also produced two quarterly newsletters, Birds &

People, edited by Pete Hancock and which is directed to wildlife officers, tour

guides as well as the general public, and the Familiar Chat edited by Eugenie

Skelton and which is directed more toward social members of BLB, and it has a

“Kids Page” that is useful for schools and clubs. Both have niche markets and both

enjoy an excellent reputation with their readers and do BLB proud.

The Society again produced a bird calendar for the year, this time featuring “Birds

of the Makgadikgadi”. To do this a partnership was entered into with Daniel

Suerga, a local graphic design artist, and feedback concerning the product has been

positive. Two differently sized calendars are being produced for next year under

the guidance of Mary Lane-Jones, Eugenie Skelton, Ian White and Daniel. The

theme for this calendar will be “Birds of Chobe River.”

2.4 Education

During this past year (2010-2011) BirdLife Botswana’s multi-faceted

Environmental Education (EE) Programme has continued to progress. Not only

does it focus on school children in Environmental Clubs and classrooms in selected

schools, many of which are junior members of BirdLife Botswana (BLB), but also

includes other teaching and learning experiences for Community Based

Organisations (CBOs), IBA Site Support Groups, Department of Wildlife and

National Parks (DWNP) personnel and the general public.

EE Coordinator Yukiko Maki-Murukami has carried out the school programme of

working with teachers and club advisors and their students, making weekly visits

to schools to present a variety of bird-related activities to help them become more

interested in the birds around them, their conservation and the need to maintain

biodiversity. These on-going activities culminated in the annual Migratory Bird

Day Festival held in Otse in April where approximately 500 students attended the

festival. The very talented groups of students presented dramas, poems, singing

and dancing that celebrated birds in myriad manners. Over the year Yukiko was

assisted by interns, Lesego Ratsie and Dibelang Raphakele. As difficult as it is to

work with schools in any extra-curricular activities these days, the hard work and

dedication put into the education programme continues to help BirdLife Botswana

shine in the NGO Environmental Education efforts in Botswana. The productivity

of their efforts is reflected in our increased membership of wildlife/environmental

clubs and school children.



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As a member of the NEEC (National Environmental Education Committee), BLB

takes a role in helping to celebrate national and international environmental days

such as World Environment Day, among others. This entails attending the national

celebrations at different locations around Botswana and having a booth/stand at the

accompanying Environmental Fairs. Because of this exposure, and award winning

efforts, BirdLife Botswana continues to become better known and spread its

influence and expertise in bird-related matters. BLB is also called upon to take

part regionally by providing a resource person, Doreen McColaugh the doyen of

EE in Botswana, in regional EE training programmes such as the recent SADC

REEP EE course for EE trainers held in Mahalapye in November-December 2010.

Also on a regional basis BLB takes part in the annual conferences of the

Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa (EEASA) – held in

Zambia in 2010 – where Keddy Mooketsa presented a paper about the Common

Bird Monitoring programme for schools. In addition BLB has made the Bird

Activity Book available to other environmental NGOs in the southern Africa region

to use as a basis in developing their own bird activity books that are specific to

their areas. Requests have come from Zambia, Namibia and Malawi, with Malawi

publishing theirs in 2010.

Through other projects concerning Birds, IBAs (Important Bird Areas) and

Common Bird Monitoring, education takes place through specialized training for

bird monitoring counters, bird recognition training for DWNP personnel, and good

governance and fiscal accounting training for CBOs, such as conducted by Pete

Hancock in the Makgadikgadi.

3. Membership

The table shown here illustrates the make-up of our membership during the last

three years:

2008 2009 2010

Ordinary 77 103 97

Student 42 24 21

Corporate 10 11 9

Corp members &Pro guides 68 58 52

Schools & Clubs with paying

members 7 12 14

School & Club members 111 79 189

Juniors 5 6 0

Honorary non paying 16 16 16



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Schools & Clubs non paying 21 19 19

Life 13 13 13

Professional 34 20 5

Total 404 361 435

Our membership last year reached the highest level ever, namely 435. That we

were so successful in signing on new members is a reflection of our work with

schools, fallout from our Bird Population Monitoring programme and to the

untiring efforts of Kathleen Toomey in encouraging newcomers to Gaborone to

join us in our social activities.

4. Finance

The last few years have been very difficult financially, but we have survived and I

think we have turned the corner. Thanks to Ian White, we are now on a sound

financial footing, and provided our capital house-keeping is good, we should now

start growing apace. I would like to thank particularly our auditor Mrs Jean Jones,

who has conducted two professional audits of our books of account. She has

pointed out shortcomings in our procedures, most of which we have addressed. All

of her recommendations will be implemented as soon as possible. Mention must be

made of the significant assistance and time given by Daphne Goldsworthy to

ensure that our accounts meet Quickbooks criteria.

I would like to thank our many donors who have helped in so many ways. Their

contribution is enormous and we would not be able to survive without their

support. A list of our donors is appended to the financial report.

We encourage donors and supporters to link their websites to ours so that we can

look forward to a growth in these linkages. Mike Goldsworthy has been proactive

in keeping the BLB website up to date, interesting and relevant to what is taking

place on the birding scene. Ian White has been very successful in engendering

significant interest in our BLB Flikr site which now hosts nearly 2000 pictures.

This idea has been copied by other BirdLife societies.

In the past I have made mention of an investment using a five year loan from one

of our generous members. That loan has matured and been returned, not a penny

more and not a penny less, and we have left under investment a million Pula to our

credit, subject to the vagaries of the market. The good news is that we saw the

financial clouds enveloping the world and acted accordingly. The bad news is that



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we suffered as badly as most in 2008 during the economic collapse. We are setting

up a Trust to handle these funds. We encourage members who would like to

contribute to this fund, either in the form of an endowment or legacy, to do so.

We do not have enough funds to be self-sustaining, but we do now have a treasure

chest which we plan to grow and use in the future for the long term conservation of

birds and sustaining people’s livelihoods.

5. Retail

After several years of a fruitful partnership with quilter Jenny Heeley, we decided

to move to “The Gift Shop” at Kgale View, where we are a small partner of

Creations of Africa. We are hopeful that this positioning in future will yield better

sales. Allied to this, Mary Webb has taken over the mantle of buyer from Angelika

Orford, who had filled that role for three years. We thank Angelika for her

contribution and look forward to Mary’s enthusiasm and new ideas.

6. Branches

The Kasane branch is very active. Pete Laver has done an outstanding job in

creating an interest in birds by organising walks and talks, doing vulture nest

surveys and particularly the bi-annual bird counts along the Chobe River. He will

be leaving Kasane in September, but has ensured that there is a vibrant committee

to take his place. We thank Pete for an outstanding contribution over a number of

years and wish him well in his future career. At the same time we welcome Phil

Zappala who is taking his place as branch chairman and Bonnie Fairbanks, the new

branch Secretary, and the rest of their enthusiastic committee.

The branches in Francistown, Maun, Ghanzi and Jwaneng have been supportive of

the BPM programme and we thank them for this and hope that they can generate

even more support in future.

Gaborone chapter has been very active; in fact some might say the walks have been

too popular. It has been good to welcome a large number of beginners on these

outings where they have gained a better understanding of what birds and birding

means. A number of successful camps have been organised which were also well

attended. We thank Helen Barbera for her role in stimulating this activity.

We are indebted to the support we receive from the BirdLife Secretariat in Nairobi

in so many ways for all our projects. I would particularly like to mention Jane



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Gaithuma and Thandiwe Chikomo who have been especially patient,

understanding and supportive.

Lastly I wish to thank our staff in Gaborone and Maun for their enthusiasm and

dedication and it has been a pleasure working with them.

7. Conclusion

BirdLife Botswana has developed into a fairly big wide-ranging business with a

staff of seven and a number of full time volunteers, two full time offices and four

additional branches. We enjoy excellent relationships with the Government

departments responsible for the environment, wildlife conservation and education.

From the projects being undertaken it can be seen that BLB is playing a vital role

in monitoring species, sites and habitats and is doing excellent work with the

communities around Southern Sua. Significant success has been achieved in

creating an awareness of birds among the general population. BLB has become

more financially independent and is relevant to the changes taking place in the

world today. It is my impression that BirdLife Botswana is indeed an important

and necessary role player in our changing world.

Harold Hester (Chairman BirdLife Botswana)

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7. Conclusion













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7. Conclusion















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Fidelity to non-breeding grounds by migrant Red-billed

Quelea quelea lathami in Botswana

Wendy D. Borello & Robert A. Cheke

Introduction

Breeding site fidelity is well known amongst populations of the Red-billed Quelea

Quelea quelea, both within-seasons (Jaeger et al., 1989) and between seasons.

Examples of the latter in Botswana include Gobojango at 21°52’S 28°46’E near

Bobonong where there was a breeding colony in February 2008 and February 2009

and many similar examples are known from the Francistown and Maun areas and

elsewhere. However, confirmation that the birds return to particular sites where

they do not breed, during times of year when they could breed and also during their

“off-season”, in Botswana is lacking. Here we show from re-sightings of marked

birds that birds do sometimes return to the same place in subsequent years to a site

where and when they do not breed.

Materials and Methods

Between February 1992 and January 2010, 324 Red-billed Queleas were caught in

mist-nets by various bird-ringers (M. Herremans, S.J. Tyler, U. Franke, P. J. Jones

and R. A. Cheke) at Atholl Holme farm (24° 45’S, 25° 51’E) near Gaborone and

marked with metal rings, as part of the AFRING bird-ringing scheme and, in many

cases, colour rings were also added. Birds at the site were attracted to feeding

stations supplied with grain and came to bird-baths to drink, close to the house.

Here it is possible to read their ring numbers using a telescope or binoculars and,

sometimes, to photograph the ringed birds with a digital camera and then magnify

the images on a computer. In addition, the presence of quelea at the site was noted,

to establish when they were present or presumed to be absent. The birds are only

known to have bred at Atholl Holme farm once, in February 1986 in Acacia

erubescens, and they did not do so during the period of this study.

Results and Discussion

The presence of Red-billed Quelea at Atholl Holme farm between 2004 and 2010

was confirmed by sightings and photographs, with absences in the intervening

periods presumed, in the following years and months: 2004 (September,

December); 2005 (January, November); 2006 (February, May, July to December

inclusive); 2007 (January, February, March, April); 2008 (May, September); 2009

(June, November, December) and 2010 (January).

Ringed queleas were first noted on 9 December 2006, with other sightings in each

year up to and including 2010 (Table 1, Fig. 1). A minimum of four birds were re-



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sighted at intervals of 11 to 39 months after they had been ringed, with intervening

periods when no queleas were noted at the site. Thus, it is very likely that these

birds had migrated away after being ringed and then returned to the site, using it as

a non-breeding feeding station. In addition, four re-sighted birds were seen two to

four months after capture which had probably remained at the site in the interim.

Details of additional birds noted less than two months after ringing are not

included in the Table.

Table 1. Details of re-sighted Red-billed Quelea at Atholl Holme farm

Ring

Number

Date(s) of

Re-

sighting

Age Sex Date of

Ringing

Age Sex Comments

AM83409

29 & 30

Nov 2009;

8 & 21 Dec

2009; 1 & 2

Jan 2010

Adult M 12 Oct.

2006

Adult M 39.

Metal ring on right

leg

A?????8 9 Dec

2006; 2, 9,

11 & 13

Feb 2007; 7

Dec 2008

Adult in

breeding

plumage

F ? Oct.

2006

? ? ?26.

Metal ring on right

leg, photographed

but unreadable,

possibly AM83308

(see below)

A????45 9 Feb 2007;

7 Dec 2008

Adult in

breeding

plumage

M ? Oct.

2006

? ? ?26.

Metal ring on right

leg, photographed

but only partially

readable

AM83346

or

AM83446

10 Aug

2008

Adult ? 11 or 13

Oct 2006

? ? 22.

Metal ring on right

leg. Both AM83346

and AM83446 were

ringed as Red-billed

Quelea (446 as an

unsexed adult)

AM83350 16 Sept

2007

? ? 11 Oct

2006

Adult ? 11.

Metal ring on right

leg, red above green

colour rings on left

leg

AM83308 9 Feb 2007 ? ? 11 Oct

2006

Adult F 4.

Metal ring on right

leg.

AM83349

or

AM83393

7 & 9 Feb

2007

? ? 11 Oct

2006

Adult F 4.

Metal ring on right

leg, red colour ring

on left leg

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sighted at intervals of 11 to 39 months after they had been ringed, with intervening

periods when no queleas were noted at the site. Thus, it is very likely that these

birds had migrated away after being ringed and then returned to the site, using it as

a non-breeding feeding station. In addition, four re-sighted birds were seen two to

four months after capture which had probably remained at the site in the interim.

Details of additional birds noted less than two months after ringing are not

included in the Table.

Table 1. Details of re-sighted Red-billed Quelea at Atholl Holme farm

Ring

Number

Date(s) of

Re-

sighting

Age Sex Date of

Ringing

Age Sex Comments

AM83409

29 & 30

Nov 2009;

8 & 21 Dec

2009; 1 & 2

Jan 2010

Adult M 12 Oct.

2006

Adult M 39.

Metal ring on right

leg

A?????8 9 Dec

2006; 2, 9,

11 & 13

Feb 2007; 7

Dec 2008

Adult in

breeding

plumage

F ? Oct.

2006

? ? ?26.

Metal ring on right

leg, photographed

but unreadable,

possibly AM83308

(see below)

A????45 9 Feb 2007;

7 Dec 2008

Adult in

breeding

plumage

M ? Oct.

2006

? ? ?26.

Metal ring on right

leg, photographed

but only partially

readable

AM83346

or

AM83446

10 Aug

2008

Adult ? 11 or 13

Oct 2006

? ? 22.

Metal ring on right

leg. Both AM83346

and AM83446 were

ringed as Red-billed

Quelea (446 as an

unsexed adult)

AM83350 16 Sept

2007

? ? 11 Oct

2006

Adult ? 11.

Metal ring on right

leg, red above green

colour rings on left

leg

AM83308 9 Feb 2007 ? ? 11 Oct

2006

Adult F 4.

Metal ring on right

leg.

AM83349

or

AM83393

7 & 9 Feb

2007

? ? 11 Oct

2006

Adult F 4.

Metal ring on right

leg, red colour ring

on left leg



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Ring

Number

Date(s) of

Re-

sighting

Age Sex Date of

Ringing

Age Sex Comments

??????? 5 Jan 2007 ? ? 12 Oct

2006

? ? 3.

Metal ring on right

leg, white colour

ring on left leg

AM83402 23 Dec

2006

? ? 12 Oct

2006

Adult ? 2.

Metal ring on right

leg, yellow above

white colour rings

on left leg

Three birds returning in subsequent seasons (AM3346/446, AM83350 and

AM83409) had been ringed within 48 hours of one another providing further

evidence for the phenomenon of cohesion amongst migrating flocks (Jaeger et al.,

1989, Jones 1989).

References

Jaeger, M.M., Elliott, C.C.H., Bruggers, R.L. & Allan, R.G. 1989. Distribution,

populations, and migration patterns of quelea in eastern Africa. Pages 113-

131 in Bruggers, R.L. & Elliott, C.C.H. (1989) Quelea quelea Africa’s Bird

Pest, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

Jones, P. J. 1989. Distribution, populations, and migration patterns of quelea in

southern Africa. Pages 132-143 in Bruggers, R.L. & Elliott, C.C.H. (1989)

Quelea quelea Africa’s Bird Pest, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

Wendy Borello, B.P. 603, Gaborone, Botswana

Robert Cheke, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich at Medway,

Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK

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Ring

Number

Date(s) of

Re-

sighting

Age Sex Date of

Ringing

Age Sex Comments

??????? 5 Jan 2007 ? ? 12 Oct

2006

? ? 3.

Metal ring on right

leg, white colour

ring on left leg

AM83402 23 Dec

2006

? ? 12 Oct

2006

Adult ? 2.

Metal ring on right

leg, yellow above

white colour rings

on left leg

Three birds returning in subsequent seasons (AM3346/446, AM83350 and

AM83409) had been ringed within 48 hours of one another providing further

evidence for the phenomenon of cohesion amongst migrating flocks (Jaeger et al.,

1989, Jones 1989).

References

Jaeger, M.M., Elliott, C.C.H., Bruggers, R.L. & Allan, R.G. 1989. Distribution,

populations, and migration patterns of quelea in eastern Africa. Pages 113-

131 in Bruggers, R.L. & Elliott, C.C.H. (1989) Quelea quelea Africa’s Bird

Pest, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

Jones, P. J. 1989. Distribution, populations, and migration patterns of quelea in

southern Africa. Pages 132-143 in Bruggers, R.L. & Elliott, C.C.H. (1989)

Quelea quelea Africa’s Bird Pest, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

Wendy Borello, B.P. 603, Gaborone, Botswana

Robert Cheke, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich at Medway,

Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB, UK



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Figure 1. Male Red-billed Quelea AM????45, photographed on 9 February 2007

(photograph W.D.Borello).



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Breeding record of Klaas’s Cuckoo Chrysococcyx klaas near

Tshabong

Chris A. Brewster

About 25 km northeast of Tshabong, to the south of Makalaleng, well developed

open Acacia woodland is found on dunes adjacent to pans. On the morning of 28

March 2011, in one such area of woodland, I heard the repeated unfamiliar call of

what was probably a recently fledged bird. The call was heard from within the

canopy of the Acacia woodland and it was difficult to see the bird that was making

the call. Eventually I located the source of the call, a juvenile Klaas’s Cuckoo

Chrysococcyx klaas that was apparently recently fledged. The juvenile Klaas’s

Cuckoo was begging from a male Pririt Batis Batis pririt. The Klaas’s Cuckoo,

always in the company of the Pririt Batis, was present in the area for an hour or

more. The Pririt Batis was seen to follow the Klaas’s Cuckoo as it flew from one

tree to another.

Klaas’s Cuckoo is recorded primarily in the east and north of Botswana. Though it

is also recorded around Ghanzi, and further west in Namibia, it is unrecorded from

the southwest of the country (Penry 1994). This record of Klaas’s Cuckoo is,

therefore, outside of the expected distribution of the species in Botswana.

Pririt Batis is one of the 16 known host species of Klaas’s Cuckoo in southern

Africa (Steyn 1996). The timing of the observation, in late March, indicates egg-

laying in February.

References

PENRY, H. 1994. Bird Atlas of Botswana. University of Natal Press.

Pietermaritzburg.

STEYN, P. 1996. Nesting Birds. Fernwood Press. Vlaeberg.

Chris A. Brewster, P.O.Box 26292, Gaborone



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Lake Ngami from March to September 2011

Ken Oake, Mel Oake, Stephanie J. Tyler, Tony Tree, Pete Hancock, Pat Nurse


Lake Ngami, one of Botswana’s Important Bird Areas, filled in July and August

2010 and again in 2011 and water extended again into the surrounding woodland

making access and views of the lake very difficult.

Ken and Mel Oake (KO and MO) with Pete Hancock (PH) periodically visited the

lake by boat throughout the summer 2010/2011 checking out what species were

nesting. On 6 March 2011 when the lake level was dropping slightly, Tony Tree,

who was visting from South Africa and who knew the lake well in the late 1970s,

and Stephanie Tyler were fortunate to be able to join KO and MO in their boat,

driven by O. Samuel for a trip along the Kunyere River out into the lake. We left

Maun in pouring rain and this continued all the way to a launching place on the

inflow river that was known to the Oakes. Soon after we launched the boat the rain

stopped and we began counting birds.

Along about 5 km of the tree-lined river we encountered rather few birds, mainly

Green-backed Herons Butorides striata, Squacco Herons Ardeola ralloides and

Common Sandpipers Actitis hypoleucos with the ubiquitous Pied Kingfisher Ceryle

rudis and a single Malachite Kingfisher Alcedo cristata. At one point we had to

negotiate past a Hippo in the narrow river channel. As soon as the river opened out

into a series of shallows and sand bars at the delta area birds were abundant – over

1,000 White Pelicans Pelecanus onocrotalus, Pink-backed Pelicans P. rufescens,

Yellow-billed Storks Mycteria ibis, a host of African Darters Anhinga rufa, Grey

Herons Ardea cinerea and Great Egretta alba and Little Egrets E. garzetta plus at

least eight Saddle-billed Storks Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis, several Marabous

Leptoptilos crumeniferus, many African Spoonbills Platalea alba and both Glossy

Ibis Plegadis falcinellus and Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus and sitting in

trees at least 11 African Fish Eagles Haliaeetus vocifer.

On the floating vegetation were a few Lesser Moorhens Gallinula angulata, many

more Common Moorhens G. chloropus, a smattering of Allen’s Gallinules

Porphyrio alleni many of them juveniles, numerous African Jacanas Actophilornis

africanus and the first of the Lesser Jacanas Microparra capensis. Whiskered

Terns Chlidonias hybrida flew overhead.

Once out on the more open lake the dominant birds were White-backed Duck

Thalassornis leuconotus, Red-knobbed Coot Fulica cristata, Common Moorhens,



17 17



African Jacanas, White-winged Terns Chlidonias leucopterus, Whiskered Terns

with some breeding on floating islands of Ludwigia and Potamogeton where Wood

Sandpipers Tringa glareola and Kittlitz’s Plovers Charadrius pecuarius fed, and

most exciting of all, almost 200 African Skimmers Rynchops flavirostris.

In all 4,737 birds were counted of 58 species with other notables including Purple

Swamphens Porphyrio madagascariensis, Long-toed Lapwings Vanellus

crassirostris, Purple Herons Ardea purpurea and Goliath Herons A. goliath. The

numbers were not high but we estimated that we had only covered 5-10% of the

lake.

KO and MO together with Pete Hancock continued to visit the lake and on 29 May

KO photographed a Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica that had been found by Mark

Muller. This gull is a real rarity in Botswana.

PH and KO monitored nesting birds. Pink-backed Pelicans started a few nests in a

tree, as did Marabou Storks, but these nests were abandoned, probably due to

human disturbance as more people are finding out about the lake. Unfortunately

the Pink-backed Pelicans and Marabou Storks chose an easily accessible place.

On 24 July PH, KO, MO with OS again visited the lake and made an incomplete

count conducted by boat, travelling along the southern part of the lake-bed, starting

at the eastern end, and ending near the centre of the lake at S20.46802 E22.80410.

Most of the shallows were inaccessible, and rank vegetation also obscured the

observers’ view. This count only gives a minimum number of birds present, and is

not useful for monitoring purposes but does give an indication of the relative

abundance of some species (see Table 1). White-faced Duck Dendrocygna viduata,

Reed Cormorants Phalacrocorax africanus and Whiskered Terns were the most

numerous species.

On 6 September PH, KO and OS went out onto the lake with Pat Nurse (PN) and

Ray & Val Lovett (RL and VL) and they again made a count but were unable to

access the shallow areas and much was hidden from view by tall emergent

vegetation. They estimated that about 6-8% of the open lake was surveyed. PN, RL

and VL also counted birds at two points on the shore – at Sehitwa where the road

south is now inundated and just east of Sehitwa where the old access track ends at

a fishing camp by the lake. The count in the table below includes birds at these two

points as well as on the lake itself.

Of note in the September count was the large number of African Darters, White-

backed Duck, Purple Swamphens, Grey-headed Gulls Larus cirrocephalus and

Whiskered Terns.



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Table 1. Counts of waterbirds at Lake Ngami on three visits between March and

September 2011.

N.B. All these counts are incomplete and only represent a fraction of birds at the

lake.

Species No. Birds on each

count date

Species No. Birds on each

count date

Mar Jul Sept Mar Jul Sept

Little Grebe 120 113 305 Cape Shoveler 14

Great White Pelican 1040 136 252 Southern Pochard 9 21 132

Pink-backed Pelican 55 28 5 Pygmy-Goose 30 27 185

White-br. Cormorant 7 58 Comb Duck 12

Reed Cormorant 94 384 325 Spur-winged Goose 5

African Darter 112 197 1092 African Fish-Eagle 17 3 9

Grey Heron 21 4 102 African Marsh Harrier 1 3

Black-headed Heron Black Crake 20 3 12

Goliath Heron 4 7 5 Purple Swamphen 7 34

Purple Heron 12 2 17 Allen’s Gallinule 14

Great Egret 42 32 7 Common Moorhen 280 66 155

Yellow-billed Egret 1 12 Lesser Moorhen 3

Little Egret 94 21 22 Red-knobbed Coot 420 17 183

Black Heron 1 African Jacana 560 63 266

Slaty Egret 1? Lesser Jacana 15 5 7

Cattle Egret 3 Common Sandpiper 8

Squacco Heron 77 10 124 Wood Sandpiper 56 5

Rufous-bell. Heron Common Greenshank 1

Green-back. Heron 6 Little Stint 4

Bl.-cr. Night-Heron 7 Ruff 48 6

Little Bittern 2 Ringed Plover 2

Yellow-billed Stork 70 Kittlitz’s Plover 4 13

African Openbill 1 21 18 Three-banded Plover 1

Saddle-billed Stork 8 12 Blacksmith Lapwing 4 7

Marabou Stork 2 50 80 Long-toed Lapwing 20 4

Hamerkop 6 Black-winged Stilt 4 3 1

Sacred Ibis 8 Water Thick-knee 1

Glossy Ibis 48 1 43 Collared Pratincole 65

African Spoonbill 42 Grey-headed Gull 7 24 394

White-faced Duck 34 1134 377 Whiskered Tern 174 277 874

Fulvous Duck 47 57 13 White-winged Tern 400 1

White-backed Duck 308 23 449 African Skimmer 190

Egyptian Goose

Hottentot Teal 13 13 59 Total count 4737 2835 5844

Red-billed Teal 150 1 194 No. Species 58 35 48

Yellow-billed Duck 2



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In the above table a small number of birds seen on the Kunyere inflow were

included in the March count (a few Squacco Herons, Common Sandpipers and

Green-backed Herons).

In September the river counts were kept separate. In all there were an additional

2708 birds on and by the Kunyere River on 6 September. These birds included

three Pink-backed and 77 White Pelicans, a White-breasted Cormorant

Phalacrocrax lucidus, 781 Reed Cormorants, three Darters, 20 Grey Herons Ardea

cinerea, 89 Great Egrets, 39 Yellow-billed Egrets Egretta intermedia, 1434 Little

Egrets, one Black Egret Egretta ardesiaca, nine Squacco Herons, a Green-backed

Heron, 12 Black-crowned Night Herons Nycticorax nycticorax, six Yellow-billed

Storks, 50 African Openbills Anastomus lamelligerus, 12 Saddle-billed Storks and

53 Marabou Storks, four Hamerkop Scopus umbretta, 25 White-faced Duck, a

Comb Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos, eight Egyptian Geese Alopochen aegptiaca,

18 Red-billed Teal Anas erythrorhyncha, nine Hottentot Teal A. hottentota, a

Common Moorhen, five African Jacanas, two Long-toed Lapwings, a Wood

Sandpiper, five Common Sandpipers and 28 African Fish Eagles.

An additional species, a Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres was photographed by

KO on 25 Sept and another was seen on the Kunyere River at Toteng on 10

October (per Trevor Hardaker).

Ken Oake, Mel Oake, Stephanie J. Tyler, Tony Tree, Pete Hancock, Pat Nurse


Gull-billed Tern Photo: Ken Oake

Gull-billed TurnPhoto: Ken Oake



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Heuglin’s Robins in Francistown

Nicky Bousfield

On 24 April 2010 I was mist-netting birds for ringing at Botshabelo, a 10 acre

housing estate some 500 m from the Marang Hotel in Francistown. I caught 33

new birds and five retraps (birds previously ringed by me there) and was very

surprised to catch a Heuglin’s Robin (White-browed Robin-chat) Cossypha

heuglini as I had never seen or heard one in Francistown before in all the years I

have lived there. On 26 March 2011 I caught a second Heuglin’s Robin in a mist

net at Botshabelo and I ringed this bird too and then on 1 May 2011 I caught

another two Heuglin’s Robins. John Hepburn, a very knowledgeable birder, has a

pair resident in his garden about 1 km from Botshabelo. That means at least six

birds have been seen in Francistown although I have not heard their typical

melodious call. One ponders the cause of a new species manifesting here.

This beautiful species with its very distinctive song occurs as a common resident in

northern Botswana in the Chobe and Linyanti areas and in the Okavango Delta.

Penry (1994) noted that it occurred in eastern Botswana along the Limpopo River

as far south as Martin’s Drift and it is known to occur in adjacent Zimbabwe and

South Africa. Its presence in Francistown is a significant extension of range to the

west.

Nicky Bousfield

Email: [email protected]

Editor: Chris Brewster commented that in the last four years there has been well

above average rainfall and it is possible that Heuglin’s Robin has had as a result

successful breeding seasons. This factor together with a positive impact of the

rainfall on riverine thickets may have resulted in Heuglin’s Robin expanding its

range. In this case it is possible that Heuglin’s Robin either moved up the Shashe

River or moved southwestwards from Bulawayo / Plumtree.



21 21



More on African Pygmy-Kingfishers Ispidina picta in

Francistown

Nicky Bousfield

I believe I have sufficient data to prove, not only that Pygmy-Kingfishers are seen

throughout the summer season in Francistown, but that they breed in the banks of

the Tati River (see also my observations in Tyler et al. (2010) in Babbler 54).

All references that I have indicate that they skim past Botswana on their annual

migration to breeding sites in the south. Usually they fly in small flocks at night

and at high speed, and low level. This behavior means that they commonly impact

buildings and other obstacles so that the usual way they are ‘seen’ in Botswana is

when they are stunned or killed. I have on one occasion, some years back,

resuscitated and released a Pygmy-Kingfisher and on another occasion witnessed

two dead specimens.

The following encounters with African Pygmy-Kingfishers were made at a 10 acre

housing estate named Botshabelo on the banks of the ephemeral Tati River, 2 km

south of Francistown city co-ordinates 21.11S 27.31E. The habitat is relatively dry

grassy woodland.

On the 20 October 2003 an adult Pygmy-Kingfisher was found injured in the city

centre and brought for rehabilitation. The left leg showed soft tissue injury and

water soluble doxybiotic was administered together with an adequate diet. By 3

November 2003 the bird was flying strongly in-house. It was ringed the following

day with ring no. E29404 – an adult, unknown sex, wing 57mm, tail 24mm,

culmen 26.8mm, tarsus 9.7mm, weight 13gms – and released on 5 November.

This episode is in keeping with the well reported annual migration to breeding

destinations in the south. These kingfishers migrate at night, flying at a low level at

high speed and are frequently killed or stunned when impacting buildings etc.

Fry et al. (1992) reported that the Pygmy-Kingfisher was absent in most of

Botswana and Newman described it as rare with its exact status not established.

Hockey et al. (2008) reported some passage through Botswana in

October/November and February/March.

I carry out monthly ringing at Botshabelo and on 19 February 2010 I captured a

very juvenile bird, (pale feather colours, black mandible, primary flight feathers



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only just “out of sheath”) which was fitted with ring No. E29424, wing 55mm, tail

24mm, weight 12gms.

On 6 March 2010 No.29424 was re-trapped, having gained 1.5gms and weighing

13.5gms. On the same day in the same locality a second immature pygmy

kingfisher was captured. These two birds seemed to be much the same age. Ring

No. E29425 was fitted, wing 54mm, tail 22mm, and weight 16.5gms.

At this stage it was assumed that these youngsters lagged behind in the Northern

migration to gather strength and fuel for the journey, or could they have bred here?

In late March a report was received that two Pygmy-Kingfishers had probably

impacted a plate glass door at a home 1/2km away. One died the second was given

a drink of water and flew off.

In October 2010 a Pygmy-Kingfisher was observed perching quietly under a bush

watching for prey. It was seen on several occasions.

On the ringing session on 6 November 2010 an adult Pygmy-Kingfisher was

captured. This bird slipped out of grasp before the ring was applied. During

November Pygmy-Kingfishers were frequently observed in quick flights – landing

on a low branch, sitting unmoving, waiting for prey to stir.

On 11 December ringing session an adult bird was caught and fitted with ring

E29432; it was possibly a male, wing 53mm, tail 23mm, weight 14gms. Pygmy-

Kingfishers were consistently seen through the month of December.

On 22 January 2011 an adult of unknown sex was ringed with no. E29435; its wing

length was 55mm, tail 23mm and weight 13.5gms. African Pygmy-Kingfishers,

including immature, were seen on several occasions during January,

On 25 February 2011, another adult was caught and ringed with no. E29445; it was

a probable male, with wing length of 56mm, tail 23mm and weight of 16gms.

My most recent sighting of a Pygmy-Kingfisher at Botshobelo was on 21 April

2011 – a singularly late date?

Given that the observer, a non resident of Botshabelo, spends perhaps one hour per

day at Botshabelo – other than at monthly ringing efforts where at least a full day is

spent there – there are a remarkable number of sightings. Sightings are also

reported by keen birders amongst the tenants living in Botshabelo.



23

Pied AvocetPhoto: Ian White

23



It is evident that African Pygmy-Kingfishers are present along this section of the

Tati River throughout their southern sojourn. It is also likely, given the number of

juveniles seen during the breeding season that they breed in the banks of the Tati

River.

References

Fry, C.H., Fry, K. & Harris, A. 1992. Kingfishers, Bee Eaters and Rollers. A

Handbook. Christopher Helm/A & C Blacks

Hockey, P., Dean, R. & Ryan, P. 2008. Roberts’ Birds of southern Africa. John

Voelker Bird Book Fund.

Tyler, S.J., Bousfield, N. & Muller, M. 2010. African Pygmy-Kingfishers Ispidina

picta in Botswana. Babbler 54: 40.



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Nicky Bousfield

Email: [email protected]

Chris Brewster noted that with regard to Pygmy-Kingfisher, trapping of young

birds and regular re-trapping of adults indicated that the species was almost

certainly breeding along the Limpopo at Seleka Farm when he used to ring there

10 to 15 years ago. He also suspected that it was breeding, in Aardvark

Orycteropus afer holes in the vicinity of the nets he was using to trap the birds, as

he noted in Tyler, Bousfield and Muller (2010) in Babbler 54.

On 12 October 2011 Nicky reported the first Pygmy-Kingfisher back at

Botshabelo.

African OpenbillPhoto: Cheryl Carolus



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Other news from Francistown

Tachila Nature Reserve (TNR) is slowly moving ahead. We had 50 children from

‘Child-line’ spending a week at the guest house. These traumatized youngsters

aged between 5 and 18 years old found great benefit experiencing nature. So TNR

is becoming known and used by the community. We also attended a Game Park

meeting at Orapa, the outcome of which was that Debswana pledged a donation of

four Giraffe, 30 Zebra, 30 Gemsbuck and 30 Eland – including the capture of

same. Tachila is required to foot the bill for transpost. We are encouraged and

delighted.

Nicky Bousfield, Email: [email protected]

Pied Kingfisher Photo: Ian White



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Breeding birds at the Maunachira lagoons in mid August 2011

On 14 and 15 August 2011 I visited the three lagoons on the Maunachira River

with Ara Monadjem and we counted all breeding birds present at each lagoon.

At Xakanaxa Lediba there was no breeding activity except for one Saddle-billed

Stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis on a nest with three large chicks. Two

Marabou Storks Leptoptilos crumeniferus were nearby but there was no evidence

of breeding.

There was virtually no bird breeding activity at Gadikwe Lediba considering that it

was mid-August and all the storks and herons should have been breeding by then.

There were no birds except two Marabou Storks sitting on nests. They may still

have been building or possibly incubating. One Pink-backed Pelican Pelecanus

rufescens appeared and flew low over the heronry – giving the distinct impression

it was checking the suitability of the site for nesting, or checking for the presence

of other pelicans or nesting birds.

A check of previous counts shows that breeding activity at this site and at

Xakanaxa Lediba has been steadily dwindling. The Marabou Storks have moved to

Gcobega Lediba but what about all the other species? Could the declines be due to

tourist disturbance?

At Gcobega Lediba six nests were being constructed by Marabou Storks, 16 nests

were being lined and there were a possible 10 other nests, giving a total of 32

Marabou Stork nests. There were also Reed Cormorants Phalacrocorax africanus

incubating eggs at six nests and African Darters Anhinga rufa on three nests.

Gcobega has now become a more active breeding site than Gadikwe. There were

however, only five Yellow-billed Storks Mycteria ibis present and none of them

had a nest – it was only the Marabou Storks, Reed Cormorants and Darters that

were nesting.

Pete Hancock

Email:[email protected]



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Further visits to Lake Xau

Pat Nurse, Ray Lovett, Val Lovett and Chris A. Brewster

In late 2010 the Boteti River reached Lake Xau for the first time for many years

and there was a small flow of water into Lake Xau, which had been dry for 30

years or more. In July 2011 the Boteti River started to flow strongly resulting in a

large amount of water reaching Lake Xau and inundating a large area of the

hitherto dry lakebed.

At the end of June Mike and Daphne Goldsworthy visited Lake Xau (Dow) but it

was dry at that time and they only saw Crowned Lapwings. In mid September and

at the end of September further visits were made by other observers as water

poured into the lake. Dust proved a problem to them all.

On 16 and 17 September Pat Nurse (PN) and Ray and Val Lovett (RL and VL)

found their way to the lake and made a partial count. They covered ca. 25 km of

the western shore where they could access it and also one spot point on the eastern

shore (see Table 1).

On 15 September, PN, RL and VL turned off near the dam wall at Mopipi and

looked for water on right, i.e. Lake Xau. They went south as far as Kedia and saw a

dry grassy lake bed there so headed up the western side before deciding to head out

east on small tracks. They eventually ended up just south of the main road where

they found a channel flowing east; they camped there for the night with thick black

fine dust and millions of mosquitoes. Next morning they decided to look a bit

further east and finally found water, lots of it but not as many birds as they had

thought or hoped for. They then spent the whole day following the western shore

of Lake Xau until late afternoon when the fences for cultivated fields prevented

them getting close to the water. On the next day there was a strong easterly wind so

that they could not see where they were driving for dust, having to keep stopping to

spot the holes. They finally retraced their steps and got back to the Xhumo road

and went east to Mopipi, again turning off near the dam wall, and turning right on a

small track. They did find the eastern shore but by then it was too late to do a full

count or drive too far. Where they had given up on the western side there was a

very swiftly flowing channel heading south and they had seen birds heading in that

direction. They commented that the lake would best be surveyed from the air as

there are so many inlets and undulating ground.

Whilst at the lake they also saw 54 White-backed Vultures Gyps africanus, six

Lappet-faced Vultures Torgos tracheliotos, a Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus, a



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Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax, a Greater Kestrel Falco rupicoloides and two Spotted

Thick-knees (Dikkops) Burhinus capensis.

From 30 September to 1 October Chris Brewster (CAB), who had been to the lake

in 2010 (see Babbler 55), drove right round the lake over 1.5 days. He accessed by

driving along the gravel road from Mopipi to Kedia and, about 2 km from where

this road leaves the tar road west of Mopipi, taking a track to the right (going

west). This track led to where the Boteti River flows over a shallow sill into Lake

Xau.

The lake extended southwestwards for about 15 km from the inlet, almost reaching

Kedia in the southwest of the lake. It was clear that due to a strong inflow from the

Boteti that the area of the lake was continuing to extend. As the lake was then

probably up to 3 to 4 km wide at its widest many birds would probably have been

missed by CAB due to distance from the shore. In the southern part of the lake

many birds would also not have been seen because the water extended into longish,

dry grass, making visibility poor. Near the inlet at the northeastern end CAB was

not able to access the western side, so missing some birds there also. In the newly

inundated part of the lake (western side) there were virtually no birds on the open

water though there were plenty of herons and egrets along the shore. Only near the

inlet was there any emergent vegetation at all. Over 4,000 waterbirds were

counted.

The area around the lake is very dusty due to the fine, black, alluvial soil and

overgrazing with cattle. On 1 October in the morning dust was a real problem, with

visibility down to a few hundred metres in the strong northerly wind. The

thousands of cattle and the moving vehicle compounded the problem – it took a

minute or so at each stop for the dust to subside, before CAB could see through the

windscreen and open the door. Driving was difficult and very slow (5 km/h) as

there were numerous Cape Ground Squirrel Xerus inauris and Aardvark

Orycteropus afer holes, into one of which CAB’s vehicle fell, resulting in one front

wheel stuck in the hole, one rear wheel suspended in the air and a puncture on a

third wheel. CAB eventually got out by jacking up the front wheel, then digging

under it and inserting the spare wheel in the hole under the wheel.

Table 1. Counts of waterbirds at Lake Xau in September 2011

Species Early

Sept

Late

Sept

Species Early

Sept

Late

Sept Little Grebe 6 2 Common Moorhen 2

Grey Heron 12 44 Red-knobbed Coot 8



29 29



Species Early

Sept

Late

Sept

Species Early

Sept

Late

Sept Goliath Heron 1 African Jacana 1

Great Egret 2 17 African Marsh Harrier 1

Yellow-billed Egret 9 Black-winged Stilt 11 80

Little Egret 20 77 Pied Avocet 1

Black Egret 2 Crowned Lapwing 30 NC

Cattle Egret 3 750 Wattled Lapwing 1

Squacco Heron 3 40 Blacksmith Lapwing 76 140

White Stork 5 Kittlitz’s Plover 3 8

Marabou Stork 15 21 Ringed Plover 1

Sacred Ibis 11 Grey Plover 1

Glossy Ibis 163 300 Wood Sandpiper 2 8

African Spoonbill 1 Greenshank 6 58

Wattled Crane 1 Marsh Sandpiper 2

White-faced Duck 1 Little Stint 750

Fulvous Duck 4 Curlew Sandpiper 40

S. African Shelduck 2 Ruff 50

Red-billed Teal 65 1450 Unidentified waders 61

Southern Pochard 19 56 Collared Pratincole 18 36

Spur-winged Goose 2 5 Grey-headed Gull 2

Unidentified duck 7 Whiskered Tern 14

Black Crake 1 White-winged Tern 20

TOTALS

Total no. species

541

26

4007

35

CAB also saw two Pied Kingfishers Ceryle rudis, a Lappet-faced Vulture, an adult

Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus, an adult female Bateleur, a Tawny Eagle, two

Secretary Birds Sagittarius serpentarius, a Kori Bustard Ardeotis kori and three

Fiscal Shrikes Lanius collaris. There were many thousands of Grey-backed

Sparrowlarks Eremopterix verticalis and Pink-billed Larks Spizocorys conirostris,

both species being abundant. Pink-billed Lark must be more numerous here than at

any other location in Botswana. CAB camped at Xorodumo Pan to the west; a

Western Redfooted Falcon flew by here at dawn on 1 October.

Pat Nurse,

Ray and Val Lovett,

Chris A Brewster



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(Continued from Babbler 55)

Records of specimens collected on Peterhouse Kalahari Expeditions

Peter Ginn

(Originally published in The Wagtail, special number January 1971)

Peterhouse Natural History Society, Marandellas; Kalahari Expeditions – List of Material

Collected 1966 – 1970 M = Male, F = Female; U = Sex not determined

272. Riparia cincta Banded Sand-Martin

Mompswe. 3 MM: 20g; 20g; 24g. 1 u: 22g. Parties of up to 10 or 15 birds

quartering back and forth over the grassland areas or drinking at pans.

274. Hirundo rustica European Swallow

Mompswe. 4 MM: 18g; 11g; 15g; 17g. F: 20g. Small numbers hawking insects

over grassland areas.

281. Hirundo abyssinica Lesser Striped Swallow

Mompswe. F: 13g. 1 u: 18g.

285. Delichon urbica House Martin

Mompswe.F: 15g. A new locality for this species.

288. Motacilla capensis Cape Wagtail

Mompswe.MM: 21g; 26g. This species moved into the area after the rains. Seen

along edge of temporary pans.

289. Motacilla aguimp Pied Wagtail

Khumaga. One seen near camp at about 17.30 on 4th

August, 1970.

290. Anthus novaeseelandiae Richard’s Pipit

Nata. 4 MM: 5 FF: 22g.

Khumaga. 6 MM: X=23g.; N=6; Obs. range 21-30g. F: 25g. 2 u: 18g; 21g.

Mompswe.15 MM: X=23.8g; N=14; Obs. range 21-27g. 23 FF: X=22g; N=21;

Obs. range 16-27g. 4 u: 21g; 22g; 20g. Very common in both grassland and

wooded grassland. Often very large loose groups.

Nthane/Mosu. 5 MM: 26g; 23g; 16g; 31g; 31g. 4 FF: 22g; 30g; 23g; 32g. Very

common on short grass flats, less so in cultivated lands whereas at Mompswe this

species was present both in the short grasslands and also in the areas with longer

grass and scattered trees.

Sokwane. 6 MM: X=23.4g; N=6; Obs. range 22-24g. 3 FF: 20g; 22g; 24g.

Common on the short grass flats next to the river.



31 31



292. Anthus vaalensis Buffy Pipit

Mompswe. 9 MM: X=27.6g; N=6; Obs. range 22-31g. 18 FF: X=25.5g; N=18.

Obs. range 20-36g. Usually occurred singly or in small parties in the short

grasslands, but did not hesitate to enter woodland or settle in trees when pursued.

298. Eurocephalus anguitinens White-crowned Wood Shrike

Nata. MM: 68g. FF: 84g.

Khumaga. M: 65g.

Mompswe. MM: 72g; 74g. Collected at Nata – not present in Mompswe.

Nthane/Mosu. 3 MM: 75g; 101g; 103g. F: 64g. Quite common, particularly near

Mosu.

Sokwane. M: 55.7g. FF: 59.0g; 65g. Widely but sparsely distributed in woodlands.

299. Prionops plumata White-helmet Shrike

Nata.MM.

Mompswe. 4 MM: 31g; 36g; 35g; 30g. 3 FF: 33g; 30g; 35g. Fairly common in

wooded areas.

Nthane/Mosu. 5 MM: 26g; 26g; 26g; 31g; 30g. FF: 38g, 38g. Very common.

Sokwane. 6 MM: X=30.1g; N=6; Obs. range 27-36g. FF: 29.4g; 33.3g. Fairly

common near river.

300. Prionops retzii Red-billed Helmet Shrike

Nata. MM: 45g. FF. This is an extension of known range. Smithers (1964).

301. Nilaus afer Brubru

Nata. MM: 25g. F: 20g.

Mompswe. 3 MM: 21g; 22g; 24g. 4 FF: 24g; 20g; 24g; 21g. Very common in

woodlands.

Nthane/Mosu. MM: 32g; 20g. 5 FF: 22g, 18g; 22g; 26g; 30g. Very common.

Sokwane. M: 22g. Not uncommon.

302. Dryoscopus cubla Puffback Shrike

Nata. MM: F: 22g.

Khumaga. MM: 26g; 28g.

Nthane/Mosu. MM: 36g. FF: 30g. Fairly common.

Sokwane. 3 MM: 24g; 24g; 25.3g. 4 FF: 22g; 23.8g; 21.0g; 21g. Common in tall

trees near the river.

303. Tchagra australis Three-streaked Tchagra

Nata. 4 MM: 28g. F.

Khumaga. 3 MM: 30g; 35g; 30g. F: 29g. 1 u: 30g.

Mompswe. 1 u: Rare.

Nthane/Mosu. 3 MM: 37g; 31g; 32g. FF: 26g; 30g. Common.

Sokwane. F: 29g. Quite common in the thicker wooded areas near the river.

304. Tchagra senegalensis Black-crowned Tchagra



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Nata. M: FF: 55g.

Mompswe. 3 MM: 51g; 55g; 65g. F: 54g. Mainly in thorn scrub.

Sokwane. M: 55g. Rather rare. Only in thornveld and scrub away from the river.

307. Laniarius atrococcineus Crimson-breasted Shrike

Nata. MM: 49g. F.

Khumaga. MM: 40g; 56g. FF: 40g; 45g.

Mosu. F: 46g. One pair seen in thornveld (mainly Acacia sp.) jutting out onto the

Makgadikgadi grass flats.

Sokwane. M: 44g. FF: 41g; 44g. 1 u: 50g. Very common in all areas of woodland

and scrub.

308. Malaconotus sulfureopectus Sulphur-breasted Bush-Shrike

Khumaga. MM: 27g; 29g. The nearest localities mapped by Smithers (1964)

appear to be near Maun so this represents a considerable eastward extension.

Sokwane. M: 28g. F: 26.3g. Fairly rare – only in tall trees along the river.

310. Corvinella melanoleuca Long-tailed Shrike

Nata. 4 MM: 96g; 84g.

Khumaga. F: 96g. MM: 88g; 90g. 1 u: 90g. Common. Parties of 3-10 birds.

Mompswe. M: 5 FF: 82g; 78g; 80g; 88g; 83g.

Nthane/Mosu. 3 MM: 89g, 93g; 90g. Fairly common above the escarpment.

Sokwane. 5 MM: 62g; 77g; 71.5g; 54.8g; 72.3g. F: 72g. Common especially near

the river.

311. Lanius collurio Red-backed Shrike

Mompswe. FF: 16g; 30g. Occasionally seen.

312. Lanius minor Lesser Grey Shrike

Mompswe. M: 52g. Several seen near Tsigara Pan.

315. Oriolus auratus African Golden Oriole

Nata. M: 76g.

316. Oriolus larvatus Black-headed Oriole

Nata. Seen in tall trees along river.

317. Dicrurus adsimilis Fork-tailed Drongo

Nata. MM: FF.

Khumaga. 3 MM: 40g; 45g.

Mompswe. MM: 41g. F: 41g. 1 u: 43g.

Nthane/Mosu. 3 MM: 56g; 50g; 42g. FF: 41g; 40g.

Sokwane. M: 43g. 3 FF: 39g; 30g; 30g. Common.

319. Lamprotornis chalybaeus Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling

Nata. MM: 79g. Only records from the Makgadikgadi.



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320. Lamprotornis nitens Red-shouldered Glossy Starling

Nata. 5 MM: 84g. FF.

Khumaga. M: 90g. FF: 82g; 79g.

Mompswe. MM: 82g; 87g. FF: 80g; 79g. Only Glossy Starling in area.

Nthane/Mosu. 8 MM: X=84g; N=8; Obs. range 72-90g. F: 81g.Very common.

Sokwane. 3 MM: 85g; 82g; 68g. FF: 92g; 70g. Fairly common in scrub areas –

drinking at river at all hours of the day.

321. Lamprotornis australis Burchell’s Glossy Starling

Khumaga. MM: 139g; 130g. FF: 127g; 100g. 1 u: 116g. Not uncommon along

river.

Sokwane. M: 144.4g. 4 FF: 130g; 120g; 108g; 100.4g. 1 u: 115g. Common all

along the river.

322. Lamprotornis mevesii Long-tailed Starling

Nata. MM: 90g. F. Common in riparian woodland.

323. Cinnyricinclus leucogaster Violet-backed Starling

Mompswe. 6 MM: 38g; 47g; 43g; 50g; 49g. F. Common in tall trees near

Mompswe well.

324. Creatophora cinerea Wattled Starling

Nata. M: 82g. F.

Khumaga. MM: 66g; 60g. F: 69g.

Nthane/Mosu. MM: 69g; 63g. 5 FF: 85g; 67g; 58g; 64g; 75g. Common. Many

drinking at borehole.

327. Corvus albus Pied Crow

Nata. M: F: 568g.

Khumaga. M: 592g. FF: 490g.

Mompswe. 3 MM: 560g. Fair numbers near camp and around pan.

Nthane/Mosu. FF: 515g. Common at Mosu, uncommon elsewhere.

Sokwane. F: 498.3g. Not common.

328. Corvus capensis Black Crow

Nata. MM: F: 511g. Fairly common in open areas.

Mompswe. F: 490g.

Mosu. One pair seen on tree on flats bordering the Makgadikgadi.

Sokwane. M: 612g. Few seen south of Tsoi airstrip.

To be continued in a future issue



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Reports from the Records Subcommittee

Category A Records

The following substantiated records were assessed by Chris A. Brewster, Andrew

Hester, Richard D. Randall, Grant Reed and Stephanie J. Tyler. Records were

accepted on the basis of majority votes or reports from referees. Observers did not

vote on their own records.

Species Square Date Comments

Common Quail

Coturnix coturnix

2320D2 07.04.10 One heard calling at Poswane

Pan (C.A.Brewster)

Narina Trogon

Apaloderma narina

1825D1 12.12.10 Adult female seen in garden at

Pandamatenga Farm 50

(D.Hatty)

African Emerald

Cuckoo

Chrysococcyx cupreus

1923D3 27-

29.12.10

One adult male seen and heard

calling near Thamalakane River,

15 km north-east of Maun

(R.D.Randall). Second

accepted record away from

Kasane

Schalow’s Turaco

Tauraco schalowi

1725C3 23.09.10 Two seen along Chobe River at

Kasane (P.Nurse). Fourth

accepted record for Botswana

Schalow’s Turaco

Tauraco schalowi

1725C3 05.10.10

and

29.11.10

Two seen along Chobe River at

Kasane (P.Laver). This record

and the previous record seem

likely to refer to the same birds.

Ross’s Turaco

Musophaga rossae

1823B4 09.08.11 One seen at Boscia Lagoon,

Linyanti (D.Luck).

Second accepted record for

Botswana

Bar-tailed Godwit

Limosa lapponica

2026A3 10.08.09 Four seen at Nata River mouth

(C.A.Brewster)

Terek Sandpiper

Xenus cinereus

2026A3 25.07.10 One seen at Nata sanctuary

(R.I.Bashford)

Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris malanotos

1923C4 06.03.10 One seen at Maun Sewage

Ponds (R.D.Randall, M.Muller)



35 35



Species Square Date Comments

Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris malanotos

1824C1 31.03.11 One seen at Harvey’s Pan,

Savuti (M. Kirk)

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

1923A2 25.09.11 One seen at Fourth Bridge area

of Moremi Game Reserve

(B.Reed). Second accepted

record for Botswana

Gull-billed Tern

Sterna nilotica

2022B/D 29.05.11 One seen at Lake Ngami

(M.Muller & K.Oake). Second


Levaillant’s Cisticola

Cisticola tinniens

2425D2 30.08.10 Two seen at Gaborone Game

Reserve (I.White).

Second accepted record for

Botswana

Croaking Cisticola

Cisticola natalensis

1825B3 14.02.10 Two seen and heard calling at

Kazuma Forest Reserve

(R.D.Randall). Fourth


Grey Wagtail

Motacilla cinerea

1824C1 12.11.09 One seen at Savuti Safari Lodge

(R.D.Randall). Third accepted

record for Botswana

Records not accepted

Northern Grey-headed Sparrow Passer griseus at Pandamatenga, 14 December

2010

Chris A. Brewster, Records Subcommittee, BirdLife Botswana



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Summary of Category B Records

Compiled by

Chris A. Brewster and Stephanie J. Tyler

All records refer to the period January to early November 2011 unless otherwise stated. For

species on the ‘B’ List, please see Babbler 52: 53-56 or visit BirdLife Botswana’s website.

The order of species given below follows the new Roberts’ Birds of southern Africa.

FULVOUS DUCK Dendrocygna bicolor

Six were noted at Lake Dow (Xau) on 1 Jan and four were there on 1 Oct (CAB). About 50

were seen at Lake Ngami on 6 March when only 5% coverage by boat, 47 on 24 July and 13

on 6 Sept (PH, SJT, KO, TT, PN, RL, VL). On 7 March 45 were at Shashe Dam (NB, BvM,

MT). There were 14 at Bokaa Dam on 29 Oct (CAB).

WHITE-BACKED DUCK Thalassornis leuconotus

The commonest duck on Lake Ngami on 6 March with over 300 seen in ca. 5% of the lake

(SJT, KO, TT, OS); on 24 July only 23 were seen (PH, KO, OS) but on 6 Sept 449 were

noted with only 6-8% of the lake covered by boat (KO, PH, PN, RL, VL).

AFRICAN BLACK DUCK Anas sparsa

One was on Shashe Dam on 7 March (NB, BvM), three at Thagale Dam on 3 April (BLB)

and three at Mogobane Dam on 6 Nov (CAB).

MACCOA DUCK Oxyura maccoa

Three males were at Kgoro Pan and one male at Hildavale Dam on 30 Jan. One was at

Ramotswa SP on 26 June (CAB), four at Jwaneng S.P. on 18 July, five at Gamoleele Dam

on 23 July (MMG, DG, HH) and 11 at Mahalapye S.P. on 18 July (PD’A).

EUROPEAN ROLLER Coracias garrulous

Two were seen at Mmashoro on 1 Jan (CAB), two near Maun in 1923D1 on 11 Feb (RH),

14 in Moremi Game Reserve (1923B3) on 16 Feb (SN) and three in Moremi Game Reserve

on 17 Feb (OD). One was at Savuti on 18 and 21 Feb (MBl, ED) and three near Olifants

Drift on 19 Feb (CAB).

RACKET-TAILED ROLLER Coracias spatulatus

Two were seen in Kasane Forest Reserve extension in 1725C3 on 17 July (MV).

GREY-HEADED KINGFISHER Halcyon leucocephala

Three were seen on 6 Jan 2011 at Pandamatenga Farm Q50 (DH).One was at Kasane on 12

Feb (BF), two at Savuti on 19 Feb, one at Kachikau (1824A2) on 20 Feb (GB, MBl) and one

by the Chobe River east of Kasane on 29 Oct (PZ).

ALPINE SWIFT Tachymarptis melba

One was seen at Moremi Gorge on 16 October (BLB).



37 37



PENNANT-WINGED NIGHTJAR Macrodipteryx vexillarius

Seen at Kasane S.P. on 16 Oct (MV).

DENHAM’S BUSTARD Neotis denhami

One was seen at Orapa Game Park on 15/16 Jan (PC) and one on 21 Jan at Pandamatenga

Farm 50 (DH).

KORI BUSTARD Ardeotis kori

Records: one at Serondella on 9 Nov (IN), one along KD15 cutline (2522B3) on 26 Nov

2010 (EMu), 10 at Pandamatega Farm 50 on 27 Jan (DH), three at Farm 102, Hainaveld

(2023C4) on 1 Feb (DS), one northeast of Tshabong (2522D1) on 8 Feb (EMu), seven at

Phalaphala (2021C1) on 17 Feb (MSM), one at Tswaiing Pans on 29 Mar, one at Boridze

Pan on 22 May, 16 in Deception Valley on 2 July, one at Khumaga on 5 July and 19 in Nxai

Pan National Park on 8 July (MGG, DG), three in Jwana Game Park on 12 July (KD), four

between Lediba loop and 3rd

Bridge and another on the South Gate to 3rd

Bridge track on 14

Sept (PN, RL, VL), singles in Chobe N.P. on 14 Sept and at Lake Xau on 1 Oct (CAB).

WATTLED CRANE Grus carunculatus

Three were seen at Vumbera Plains on 6 Feb (SD), 12 at Samedupi (2023C4) on 2 Feb

(CV), three near Jack’s Camp on 24 Feb (JE), two adults and an immature on the

Bodumatau loop in Moremi G.R. at S19º 22.56' E23º 30.36' on 4 March (SJT et al.), one by

a pool northwest of Fourth Bridge S19º 15.03' E23º 23.87' on 13 Sept (PN, RL, VL) and one

at Lake Xau on 30 Sept (CAB)

AFRICAN FINFOOT Podica senegalensis

One at Kasane Rapids on 30 Sept (PZ, JM).

AFRICAN RAIL Rallus caerulescens

One was seen and photographed at Gaborone G.R. on 26 Sept (IW). This is a regular site for

this elusive species which is more often heard than seen.

STRIPED CRAKE Aenigmatolimnas marginalis

An adult male and adult female were seen at a small wetland at Deception Valley, Central

Kalahari Game Reserve on 29 Jan (AT).

ALLEN’S (LESSER) GALLINULE Porphyrula alleni

On 13 Jan 14 were noted on the Thamalakane River near Matlapaneng on 13 Jan and three

upriver from Xobe on the Boteti River (PH, KO, OS). At the inflow end of Lake Ngami 14

birds were flushed on 6 March 2011, many of them juveniles (SJT, KO, TT). In July eight

were seen on the upper Boteti River between Dikgathong and Samedupi and just one on the

lower Thamalakane River (PH).

GREEN SANDPIPER Tringa ochropus

One was 10km south of Sepupa in the western Panhandle in mid Jan (TH).



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GREY PLOVER Pluvialis squatarola

Singles were at Lake Xau on 30 Sept, at Bokaa Dam on 29 Oct and at Mogobane Dam on 6

Nov (CAB).

CHESTNUT-BANDED PLOVER Charadrius pallidus

One was photographed at Bokaa Dam on 21 Aug (IW).

WHITE-FRONTED PLOVER Charadrius marginatus

One was at Bokaa Dam on 16 Jan (CAB), one by the Chobe River on 1 Oct and two at

Kasane seep on 22 Oct (MV).

BLACK-WINGED PRATINCOLE Glareola nordmanni

10 were seen at Bokaa Dam on 16 Jan and one at Thagale Dam on 3 April (CAB).

SANDERLING Calidris alba

Four were noted at Bokaa Dam on 29 Oct (CAB).

EURASIAN CURLEW Numenius arquata

One was at Nata Sanctuary on 9 Oct (per TH).

RUDDY TURNSTONE Arenaria interpres

There was one at Lake Ngami on 25 Sept (KO) and one on the Kunyere River at Toteng on

11 Oct (per TH).

AFRICAN SKIMMER Rynchops flavirostris

Between 190 and 200 birds were at Lake Ngami on 6 March 2011 (SJT, KO, TT, OS).

During the waterbird count along the Chobe River between Kasane and Ngoma Bridge 44

were seen on 23 July whilst two were at Kasane rapids on 31 July, two flew over Kasane on

6 Aug, four were at the rapids on 30 Sept, three at Kasane seep on 25 Oct and three over the

Chobe River east of Kasane on 29 Oct (CF, MV, PZ et al.).

CASPIAN TERN Sterna caspia

Two were at Bokaa Dam on 16 Jan (CAB), one at Shashe Dam on 21 Sept (PN, RL, VL).

OSPREY Pandion haliaetus

Two were seen on the Boteti River at Khumaga on 5 July (MGG, DG), one on the Chobe

River beteen Simwanza Valley and Ngoma Bridge on 23 July (MV) and one at Kasane seep

between 28 Sept and 2 Oct (MV, PZ, LF).

CAPE VULTURE Gyps coprotheres

Seven were seen at Mokolodi N. R. on 20 Feb (LN) and three, south of Kanye (2525A2) on

25 Feb (MGG, DG). In Moremi Gorge 18 were noted as breeding on 16 Oct (BLB).

39



LAPPET-FACED VULTURE Aegypius tracheliotos

No.

birds

Date Location Comments Obs.

1 7 Nov

2010

Savuti MBl

1 26 Nov

2010

Mmatshumo Quarantine

(2125B1)

MMa

7 6 Feb Phohushadi (2424C2) CM

2 13 Feb Nxai Pans N.P. DH

1 21 Feb Savuti Ed

2 4 March Moremi G.R. SJT et al.

2. 4 March Xini Lediba loop in Moremi

S19º 23.45’ E23º 30.90’

Flying over SJT et al

2 22 May Kalahari Rest north of Kang

in 2322D1

At a water trough with

ca.45 White-backed

Vultures and four

Marabou Storks

CAB

2 Late Aug Savuti Marsh GB, MBl

1 14 Sept Moremi G.R. Third Bridge

to S Gate S19º 23.28' E19º

23.28'

RL, VL,

PN

6 16 Sept Lake Xau With 54 White-backed

Vultures

RL, VL,

PN

1 1 Oct Lake Xau CAB

WHITE-HEADED VULTURE Trigonoceps occipitalis

No.

Birds


1 20 Nov

2010

Savuti MBl

1 6 Feb Kazuma Pan Flying over + 9 White-

backed Vultures

DH

2 24 June Sandibe in Okavango

Delta in 2319A4

JV

1 17 Aug West side Savuti Marsh Flying over lion kill GB, MBl

1 15 Oct Bottle Pan in 1825C1 DH

HOODED VULTURE Necrosyrtes monachus

Three were seen at Savuti on 21 Feb (ED), one on the Bodumatau loop track at S19 22.323

E23 30.053 on 4 March (SJT et al.), one at Katchikau on 13 May (JM) and one flying over

Kasane (17.80ο S 25.24

ο E) on 31 July (MV). Two were seen at a lion kill on the west side

of Savuti Marsh on 17 Aug (GB, MBl) and three in Chobe N.P. on 25 Sept (PZ).



39 39



LAPPET-FACED VULTURE Aegypius tracheliotos

No.

birds


1 7 Nov

2010

Savuti MBl

1 26 Nov

2010

Mmatshumo Quarantine

(2125B1)

MMa

7 6 Feb Phohushadi (2424C2) CM

2 13 Feb Nxai Pans N.P. DH

1 21 Feb Savuti Ed

2 4 March Moremi G.R. SJT et al.

2. 4 March Xini Lediba loop in Moremi

S19º 23.45’ E23º 30.90’

Flying over SJT et al

2 22 May Kalahari Rest north of Kang

in 2322D1

At a water trough with

ca.45 White-backed

Vultures and four

Marabou Storks

CAB

2 Late Aug Savuti Marsh GB, MBl

1 14 Sept Moremi G.R. Third Bridge

to S Gate S19º 23.28' E19º

23.28'

RL, VL,

PN

6 16 Sept Lake Xau With 54 White-backed

Vultures

RL, VL,

PN

1 1 Oct Lake Xau CAB

WHITE-HEADED VULTURE Trigonoceps occipitalis

No.

Birds


1 20 Nov

2010

Savuti MBl

1 6 Feb Kazuma Pan Flying over + 9 White-

backed Vultures

DH

2 24 June Sandibe in Okavango

Delta in 2319A4

JV

1 17 Aug West side Savuti Marsh Flying over lion kill GB, MBl


HOODED VULTURE Necrosyrtes monachus

Three were seen at Savuti on 21 Feb (ED), one on the Bodumatau loop track at S19 22.323

E23 30.053 on 4 March (SJT et al.), one at Katchikau on 13 May (JM) and one flying over

Kasane (17.80ο S 25.24

ο E) on 31 July (MV). Two were seen at a lion kill on the west side

of Savuti Marsh on 17 Aug (GB, MBl) and three in Chobe N.P. on 25 Sept (PZ).



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MARTIAL EAGLE Polemaetus bellicosus

No. Birds Date Location Obs.

1 20 Nov 2010 Motopi MJ

1 immature 13 Feb 2011 Tachila Nature Reserve, Francistown NB

1 21 Feb Savuti ED

2 5 July Khumaga in Boteti valley 2024B3 MGG, DG

1 8 July Nxai Pan National Park MGG, DG

1 Juvenile July Near Pandamatenga, eating a Yellow-billed

Hornbill

TG

1 25 Sept Chobe N.P. PZ

1 30 Sept Lake Xau CAB


BATELEUR Terathopius ecaudatus

All records of this species are of interest. Records should include number of birds seen.

Please if putting a list on Botswana Tickbird remember to put how many birds you

have seen.

No. Seen Date Location Obs.

5 8 Nov 2010 Savuti MBl

1 20 Nov 2010 Kasane BF

1 21 Nov 2010 Xigera MS

1 24 Nov 2010 Peach Pan, Kaa (2421C1) RM

1 25 Nov 2010 Kasane Forest Reserve (1825A2) PL

1 27 Nov 2010 Sibuyu Forest Reserve (1825D3) DH

1 28 Nov 2010 North of Tsetseng (2323A3) NK

1 adult male 2 Jan Semane, c36 km north of Francistown IN

1 immature 23 Jan 2011 Thagale Dam 50 km north of Gaborone CAB

2 22 Jan Flying over Kasane FR extension DH

1 1 Feb Farm 102, Hainaveld (2023C4) DS

1 4 Feb Khwai (1923B2) AN

2 6 Feb Kazuma Pan in 1825B1 DH

1 10 Feb Near Maun RH

1 immature 11 Feb Sibuyu Forest Reserve (1825D3) EH

5 12 Feb Moremi Game Reserve (1923D1) OSe

1 16 Feb Moremi Game Reserve (1923B3) SN

3 18 Feb Savuti MBl

1 24 Feb East of Mahalapye (2326B2) BR

1 24Feb Chobe Forest Reserve (1824B1) EM

1 25 Feb Maun (1923C4) LS

1 26 Feb Khutse Game Reserve (2324B3) JG



41 41



No. Seen Date Location Obs.

1 27 Feb Jwana Park, Jwaneng RK

1 27 Feb Passarge Valley TR

1 27 Feb Nossob Valley (2522B3) MM

1 28 Feb Monarch Siding, 15 km north of

Francistown

BvM

2 immatures,

1 adult

4 March S19º 22.323’ E23º30.053’ in Moremi

G.R.

SJT et al.

1 4 March Near above SJT et al.

3 4 March Near Bodumatau Lagoon, Moremi G.R. SJT et al.

Adult female 4 March S19º 23.291’ E23º 30.538’ Xini Lediba

loop, Moremi G.R.

SJT et al.

Adult male 4 March S19º 22.634’ E23º 30.570’, Xini Lediba

loop, Moremi G.R.

SJT et al.

4 24 June Sandibe, Okavango Delta in 2319A4 JV

3 28 June Lake Xau (Dow) in 2124B2 MGG, DG

3 2 July Deception Valley MGG, DG

2 5 July Kumaga in Boteti Valley MGG, DG

2 8 July Nxai Pan National Park MGG, DG

5-6 immature

and 3 adults

17 Aug Savuti marsh area of Chobe N.P. GB, MBl

1 16 Sept Lake Xau RL,VL, PN

1 25 Sept Kasane Forest Reserve extension MV

1 imm and 1

adult male

30 Sept Near Khama RS, probably attracted by

veld-fires that were active in the area

CAB

1 adult female 30 Sept Lake Xau CAB


STEPPE EAGLE

One was seen on 27 Jan at Panda Farm 50 (DH).

BOOTED EAGLE Hieraatus pennatus

There was one at Letlhakane on 1 Jan and one at Pitsane on 30 Jan (CAB); one at Savuti on

19 Feb (MBl) and one in Gaborone on 1 Nov (DC).

LONG-CRESTED EAGLE Lophaetus occipitalis

One was seen at Kasane Rapids on 30 Sept (PZ, JM, MV) and another seen and

photographed on 30 Oct in Francistown well outside the usual range for this species (MSZ).

HONEY BUZZARD Pernis apivorus

One was seen and photographed over the Thamalakane River, Maun on 29 Jan (GS & GA);

one was seen at Pandamatenga Farm 50 on 10 Feb (DH) and another on 17 Aug on the east

side of Savuti Marsh near Rhino Vlei (GB, MBl).



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BLACK SPARROWHAWK Accipter melanoleucus

One adult was seen by the Thamalakane River at Maun Rest Camp on 1 March 2011 (SJT)

and one was over the Main Mall, Gaborone on 23 Mar (CAB).

AFRICAN MARSH-HARRIER Circus ranivorus

In the Okavango Delta there were singles on the Okavango River near Shakawe on 8 July,

on the Jao River on 20 July, and on the Maunachira River and at Gadikwe Lediba on 15 July

(PH et al.). One was at Lake Ngami on 24 July (PH, KO) and three on 6 Sept (PN, RL, VL).

Singles were in Moremi G.R. on the Xini Lediba loop, between Third and Fourth Bridges

and between Fourth Bridge and Xakanaxa between 10 and 13 Sept (PN, RL, VL). Two were

on Savuti Marsh on 17 Aug (GB, MBl) and one at Lake Xau on 16 Sept (PN, RL, VL).

PALLID HARRIER Circus macrourus

Two were seen at Pandamatenga Farm 43 on 10 Feb (DH).

LESSER KESTREL Falco naumanni

22 were seen at Savuti on 8 Nov 2010 (MBl), one south of Kanye on 25 Nov 2010 (MGG)

and 12 at Pitsane on 27 Mar 2011 (CAB).

RED-FOOTED FALCON Falco vespertinus

One was at Xorodumo Pan on 1 Oct (CAB). This was an early date for this species.

AMUR FALCON Falco amurensis

On 1 Jan there was one north of Mahalapye (CAB), three were seen on 21 Jan at

Pandamatenga Farm 50 (DH) and one at Gweta on 17 Feb (OG, RB).

EURASIAN HOBBY Falco subbuteo

Two were seen at Kasane Forest Reserve (1825A2) on 25 Nov 2010 (PL) and one at Sibuyu

Forest Reserve (1825D3) on 27 Nov 2010 (DH).

BLACK-NECKED GREBE Podiceps nigricollis

There were seven at Kgoro Pan and 14 at Hildavale Dam on 30 Jan (CAB).

BLACK HERON Egretta ardesiaca

One was at Lake Xau on 1 Jan and two there on 1 Oct (CAB). There were 28 at Shashe Dam

on 7 March and nine on 3 Sept (NB, BM, MT).

SLATY EGRET Egretta vinaceigula

On 30 Jan M.Kays et al. counted 78 on the Jao Flats. On 4 March there were 12 on the

floodplain along the Xini Lediba loop off the South Gate to Third Bridge track and one on

the Bodumatau floodplain (SJT et al.). Eight were noted at Sandibe in 2319A4 on 24 June

(JV), two on the Jao River on 20 July and one on the upper Boro on 24 July (PH), two at

Savuti marsh on 17 Aug (GB, MBl) and 17 in Moremi G.R. between South Gate and

Xakanaxa, including the Xini Lediba loop, in early Sept (PN, RL, VL).



43 43



YELLOW-BILLED EGRET Egretta intermedia

Away from the northern wetlands, two were noted at Lake Xau on 1 Jan, three at Thagale

Dam on 23 Jan, one at Bokaa Dam on 14 Aug and one at Khama R.S. on 30 Sept (CAB).

WHITE-BACKED NIGHT HERON Gorsachius leuconotus

One was seen by the Chobe River between the safari lodge and Puku Flats on 1 Oct (MV).

BLACK STORK Ciconia nigra

Two were at Boatle on 21 May (CAB), three at Mahalapye sewage ponds on 18 July (PD’A)

and two at Lekgolobotlo on 21Aug (CAB, RG).

WOOLLY-NECKED STORK Ciconia episcopus

One was at Vumbera Plains (1922B) on 6 Feb (SD), 15 at Savuti on 21 Feb (ED) and one at

Xigera (1922B) on 28 Feb (BG).

SADDLE-BILLED STORK Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis

Away from the Okavango Delta and Chobe areas one was seen at Gweta on 17 Feb (OG,

RB), eight, including several juveniles, at the shallow inflow end of Lake Ngami on 6 March

(SJT, KO, TT) and one at Shashe Dam on 3 Sept (NB, BM, MT).

PEARL-BREASTED SWALLOW Hirundo dimidate

One was at Bokaa Dam on 4 Sept (CAB).

BROWN-THROATED MARTIN Riparia paludicola

About 15 were seen at Maokgamatshwane Dam, south of Ramotswa on 10 April, two at

Phakalane S.P. on 4 June and one at Bokaa dam on 14 Aug (CAB).

OLIVE-TREE WARBLER Hippolais olivetorum

Two were seen on 12 Feb in Acacia mellifera savanna by Tswaiing Pans (CAB) along with

four Icterine Warblers Hippolais icterina in the vicinity of wells. One was heard on 20 Feb

between Olifant’s Drift and Dibete in 2426B1, close to the Ngotwane River (CAB).

GARDEN WARBLER Sylvia borin

Individuals were caught and ringed at Botshabelo, Francistown on 14 Nov 2009, 16 Jan

2010, 19 Feb 2010, 11 Dec 2010 and 25 Feb 2011 (NB). One was singing at Crocodile

Pools, Notwane on 20 Jan – 19 Feb (CAB) and one at Ruretse on 13 Feb (JD).

DUSKY SUNBIRD Cinnyris fuscus

One was seen near Maralaleng (2522D3) on 28 March (CAB).

VILLAGE WEAVER Ploceus cucullatus

Active breeding colony at Moreokwe Farm, Otse in early 2011; this colony is active every

year (MB). One was present in a plot at Ngotwane on 20 Aug (HH).

CHESTNUT WEAVER Ploceus rubiginosus

A male was on the S.African side of the Nossob valley at Twee Rivieren on 13 Apr (TH).



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BUSHVELD PIPIT Anthus caffer

Two at Lekgolobotlo on 21 Aug and two at Lokgokgotho Hills on 10 Sept (CAB, AC, RG)

STREAKY-HEADED SEEDEATER Serinus gularis

One was at Selebi Phikwe on 22 Feb (MMa) and three at Ranaka on 24 Sept (CAB).

Chris A. Brewster P.O.Box 2316, Gaborone & Stephanie J. Tyler,

c/o BirdLife Botswana, P/Bag 003, Suite 348, Mogoditshane, Gaborone

Yellow-billed StorkPhoto: Ian White



45 45



INTERESTING AND UNUSUAL SIGHTINGS

Stephanie J. Tyler and Chris A. Brewster

This section does not cover rarities but rather interesting observations of more common

birds. It might report on a species seen out of its usual range or on notably large numbers of

a species. Observations on breeding or feeding behaviour are also welcomed. Records are

mainly from January to October 2011.

MONTAGU’S HARRIER Circus pygargus

Eight were at Pandamatenga Farm 41 (1825D1) on 9 Feb (DH).

LEVAILLANT’S CUCKOO Clamator levaillantii

Late departure: calling regularly at dusk at Crocodile Pools, Notwane until 5 May (CAB).

RED-CHESTED CUCKOO Cuculus solitaries

Early arrival: one calling at Crocodile Pools, Notwane on 2 Oct (CAB, MGG).

GIANT KINGFISHER Megaceryle maxima

One was on the Thamalakane River at Matlapeng on 1 March 2011 (SJT) and birds were

seen regularly at Ngotwane (HH, GH). In July four were seen on the Okavango River

between Shakawe and Mohembo and one on the lower Boro (PH et al.).

WHITE-FACED DUCK Dendrocygna viduata

Large counts in the winter came from the Chobe floodplain where there were 1,498 between

Simwanza valley and Ngoma Gate (MvD).

SOUTH AFRICAN SHELDUCK Tadorna cana

84 were at Tswaiing Pans on 12 Feb (CAB). 100 were seen during winter waterbird counts

in SE Botswana with the highest count being 42 at Tswaiing Pans on 4 June (CAB). Outside

the southeast stronghold were two at Mahalapye S.P. on 24 July (PD’A) and two at Shashe

Dam on 21 Sept (PN, RL, VL).

AFRICAN PURPLE SWAMPHEN Porphyrio porphyrio

Seven counted on a small area of Lake Ngami on 6 Mar and 34 on 6 Sept (RL, VL, PH, PN,

SJT, KO, TT).

LESSER MOORHEN Gallinula angulata

Three were seen at Lake Ngami on 6 Mar (SJT, KO, TT).

RED-KNOBBED COOT Fulica cristata

Some 420 were seen on a small area (ca. 5%) of Lake Ngami on 6 Mar (SJT, KO, TT).



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LESSER JACANA

Counts in July 2011 included one on the Jao/Kwetsani Flats, six on the lower Thamalakane

River and 10 on the Boteti upriver of Xobe; one was on the Bodumatau floodplain on 4

March and 15 were seen at Lake Ngami on 6 March and seven on 6 Sept with many more

undoubtedly overlooked (MC, PH, PN, RL, VL, SJT, KO, TT et al.).

BLACK-WINGED STILT Himantopus himantopus

The only high summer count was 190 at Lake Xau on 31 December 2010 and the highest

winter count was of 160 at Tswaaing Pans on 4 June (CAB).

COMMON RINGED PLOVER Charadrius hiaticula

Two were seen at Lake Ngami on 6 Mar (SJT, KO, TT), one at Shashe Dam on 21 Sept (PN,

RL, VL) and one at Kasane S.P. in Oct (MV).

AFRICAN WATTLED LAPWING Vanellus senegallus

Two were at Kasane seep on 29 Sept (PZ) and one at Lake Xau on 16 Sept (PN, RL, VL).

GREY-HEADED GULL Larus cirrocephalus

Seven were on Lake Ngami on 6 Mar (SJT, KO, TT), 46 on the Chobe River between

Simwanaza valley and Ngoma Bridge on 23 July (MvD) and 394 at Lake Ngami on 21 Sept

(PN, RL, VL).

WHISKERED TERN Chlidonias hybrida

Almost 200 were seen at Lake Ngami on 6 Mar when four nests were found – three with 1

or 2 eggs, and 874 on 21 Sept (PH, PN, RL, VL, SJT, KO, TT).

WHITE-WINGED TERN

At least 400 were observed at Lake Ngami on 6 Mar (SJT, KO, TT).

SECRETARY BIRD Sagittarius serpentarius

There were 12 in Deception Valley on 2 July, four in Nxai Pan N.P. on 8 July (MGG, DG),

two on the Xini Lediba loop, one between Third Bridge and Mboma Island on 11 Sept and

two northwest of Fourth Bridge, Moremi G.R. on 13 Sept (PN, RL, VL).

YELLOW-BILLED KITE Milvus aegyptius

Departure was late in 2011; regularly present at South East District Council Landfill Site

along main road south of Boatle until last seen 4 April, when a pair was present (CAB);

departure is typically in early March.

WHITE-BACKED VULTURE Gyps africanus

There were 85 active nests in the Lesoma Valley along the Zimbabwe border from

Kazungula in the winter of 2010 (PL).



47 47



No.

birds


60 27 March Good Hope, SE Botswana At a carcase CAB

50 27 March Makgomane At a donkey

carcase

CAB

15 27 March West of Mabule CAB

45 22 May Kalahari Rest north of Kang At water trough CAB

13 24 June Sandibe in 2319A4 JvE

18 28 June Lake Xau MGG

42 5 July Khumaga MGG, DG

29 8 July Nxai Pan N.P. MGG, DG

5 6 Sept Between Ghanzi and Maun Group 2 and 3 PN, RL, VL

6 10-14 Sept South Gate to Third Bridge Groups 2,1,2,1 PZ

6 15 Sept Maun to Motopi PN, RL, VL

1 15 Sept Motopi to Mopipi PN, RL, VL

54 16 Sept Lake Xau PN, RL, VL

2 23 Sept North of Serule PN, RL, VL

4 23 Sept Palapye to Tewane PN, RL, VL

34 23 Sept 70km north of Gaborone PN, RL, VL

15 25 Sept Chobe N.P. PZ

25 29 Sept Kasane S.P. PZ

2 15 Oct Bottle Pan 1825C1 DH

3 26 Oct Kasane Flying over PZ

GREAT CRESTED GREBE Podiceps cristatus

Only 19 were seen in the southeast in the winter waterbird counts, one at Moshupa Dam on

18 July and 18, including six young birds, at Gamoleele Dam on 23 July (MGG, DG, HH).

LITTLE GREBE Tachybaptus ruficollis

Few were seen in summer counts at any site, presumably because so many waterbodies were

full. In the winter 300 at Ramotswa S.P. on 26 June was the highest count (CAB). Some

305 were counted on a small area of Lake Ngami on 6 Sept (PH, PN, KO, RL, VL).

WHITE-BREASTED or GREAT CORMORANT Phalacrocorax lucidus

Seven were seen on Lake Ngami on 6 Mar (SJT, KO, TT, OS) and 58 on 6 Sept (KO, PH,

PN, RL, VL); this is not a common species in the Okavango system.

BLACK-HEADED HERON

One was seen between First and Third Bridges, Moremi G.R. on 11 Sept (PN, RL, VL).

GOLIATH HERON Ardea goliath

Two were at Gaborone Game Reserve on 26 Sept (IW).

DWARF BITTERN Ixobrychus sturmii

One was seen at Tswaiing Pans on 30 March and 25 April (CAB).



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LITTLE BITTERN Ixobrychus minutus

One was at Shashe Dam on 7 March (NB, BM), two at Lake Ngami on 6 Sept (PH, KO, PN,

RL, VL) and one by the Chobe River east of Kasane on 29 Oct (PZ).

GREATER FLAMINGO Phoenicopterus roseus (ruber)

One was at Kgoro Pan on 15 Feb and one at Shashe Dam on 7 March (CAB, NB & BvM).

There were five at Ramotswa S.P. on 26 June, one at Sojwe Pan on 28 June and 11 at

Bokaa Dam on 14 Aug (MGG, DG, HH, CAB).

GREAT WHITE PELICAN Pelecanus onocrotalus

>1,000 were at Lake Ngami on 6 Mar (SJT, KO, TT, OS) and 252 on 6 Sept (PH, PN, RL,

VL). At Shashe Dam there were 28 on 7 Mar with 64 there on 3 Sept. (NB, BvM, MT).

Eight were seen on the Chobe River between Simwanaza valley and Ngoma Bridge on 23

July (MV) with 42 further downriver (CF et al.) and eight in Savuti marsh on 17 Aug (GB).

PINK-BACKED PELICAN Pelecanus rufescens

One or two were seen daily on the Thamalakane River near the River Lodge east of Maun in

late Feb/early March (PH, SJT et al.). At least 40 were at Lake Ngami on 6 March when

only a small % of lake was covered (KO, PH, SJT, TT). Small numbers attempted to breed,

unsuccessfully, in June at Lake Ngami, where 28 were counted on 24 July and five on 6

Sept (PH, KO, PN, RL, VL). Elsewhere in the Okavango Delta singles were noted at

Gcobega and Gadikwe Lediba on 15 July and two on the upper Boro on 24 July. At Shashe

Dam 12 were counted on 7 March (NB, BvM, MT).

WHITE STORK Ciconia ciconia

Four were at Maun Airport on 28 Feb (SJT) and 30 at Shashe Dam on 7 Mar (NB, BvM).

Two were at Tswaiing Pans on 4 June and five at Lake Xau on 30 Sept (CAB).

MARABOU STORK Leptoptilos crumeniferus

One was at Jwaneng S.P. on 18 July (MGG, DG & HH) and 27 at Shashe Dam on 3 Sept

(NB et al.). There were 15 at Lake Xau on 16 Sept and 21 on 30 Sept (PN, RL, VL, CAB).

YELLOW-BILLED STORK Mycteria ibis

Over 70 were at Lake Ngami on 6 Mar (SJT, KO, TT).

BARN SWALLOW Hirundo rustica

10,000+ in Francistown in May 2008 (TB) and large roost at Third Bridge (KB).

GREY-RUMPED SWALLOW Pseudohirundo grisepyga

One was seen at Thakadu south of Ghanzi, outside its usual range, on 10 Oct (per TH).

BURNT-NECKED EREMOMELA Eremomela usticollis

Four or five were seen north of Kang at Kalahari Rest in 2322D1 on 21/22 May (CAB); the

Kalahari is outside their usual range.



49 49



COMMON WHITETHROAT Sylvia communis

18 recorded, together with 6 Icterine warblers Hippolais icterina along a 2 km transect east

of the Ngotwane River in 2426B1 (west of Olifants Drift) on 20 Feb (CAB)

EUROPEAN MARSH WARBLER Acrocephalus palustris

Single birds were caught and ringed on 5 Dec 2009, 16 Jan 2010, 19 Feb 2010, four on 11

Dec 2010 and singles on 22 Jan 2011, 25 Feb 2011 and 26 Mar 2011; a bird originally

ringed on 17 Jan 2009 was re-trapped on 11 Dec 2010 (NB).

DUSKY LARK Pinarocorys nigricans

About 10 were near Tswaiing Pans on 13 Feb, one at Kui Pan (2522D3) and one along

Tsabong – McCarthy’s Rust road on 28 March, ca. 10 at Thagale Dam on 4 April, one at

Maokgamatshwane Dam, south of Ramotswa, on 10 April (CAB); the species appeared to

be more numerous in southern Botswana in early 2011 than in other years.

COMMON MYNA Acridotheres tristis

A pair was seen along the Molopo Valley at Boshoek (2524C) on 27 March and another pair

seen at Maralaleng (2522D3) in southwestern Botswana on 27 March (CAB).

PLAIN-BACKED PIPIT Anthus leucophrys

One, east of the Ngotwane River, in 24126B1 (west of Olifants Drift) on 20 Feb and one at

Thagale Dam on 3 April (CAB).

BUFFY PIPIT Anthus vaalensis

Two were seen north of Tsabong and three at Kui Pan on 28 March, one at

Maokgmatshwane Dam, south of Ramotswa, on 10 April (CAB).

REFERENCES

BARNES, J. & BUSHELL, B. 1989. Birds of the Gaborone area. A Checklist.

Botswna Bird Club, Gaborone.

BEESLEY, J.S.S. & IRVING, N.S. 1976. The status of birds of Gaborone and its

surroundings. Botswana Notes and Records 8: 231-261.

HOCKEY, P.A.R., DEAN, W.R.J. & RYAN, P.G. (eds). 2005. Roberts – Birds of

southern Africa. The Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape

Town.

TYLER, S.J. & BORELLO, W.D. 1998. Birds in the Gaborone area and where to

watch them. Botswana Bird Club, Gaborone.

Stephanie J. Tyler & Chris A. Brewster,

c/o BirdLife Botswana, P/Bag 003, Suite 348, Mogoditshane, Gaborone



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CONTRIBUTORS

AC Alan Curry

AN Amos Nkatholang

AT Antero Topp

BF Bonnie Fairbanks

BG Barobi Garenomotse

BR Boikobo Ready

BvM Buzz von Memmerty

CAB Chris Brewster

CF Craig Foaden

CM Collin Morris

CV Cornelius Vanderpost

CVr Cheryl Vroom

DC Dean Chalmers

DG Daphne Goldsworthy

DH Dean Hatty

DS Dave Steyn

ED Ezekial Ditshameko

EH Ellen Hatty

EM Ernest Madimabe

Emu Edwin.Mudongo

GA Grant Atkinson

GB Gavin Blair

GS Graeme Skinner

HH Harold Hester

IN Ian Nuttall-Smith

IW Ian White

KB Keith Blomerley

KO Ken Oake

JD John Dalziel

JE John Easer

JG Jan Graaf

JV Jacques Van Eck

LF Lyn Francey

LS Leutlwamang Samosupa

LN Lincoln Njiru

MB Mark Bing

MBl Marjorie Blair

MGG Mike Goldsworthy

MJ M.Jotia

MK Mark Kirk

MM Mmatli Matlotle

MMa M.Makwati

MS Max Seigal

MSZ Mike Soroczynski

MSM M.S.Mokara

MT Michael Turner

MV Mark Vandewalle

NB Nicky Bousfield

NK Nametle Knortze

OD Olorato Dipuo

OG Oyapo Gotshajwang

OS O. Samuel

OSe Olebile Sebogiso

PC Patrick Cairns

PD’A Peter D’Arcy

PH Pete Hancock

PL Pete Laver

PN Pat Nurse

PZ Phil Zappala

RB Robert Barclay

RG Ross Galbraith

RH Robyn Hartley

RK Reuben Kokole

RM Rapula Mooketsi

RL Ray Lovett

SD Simon Dures

SJT Stephanie Tyler

SN Stopper Nkate

TG Tony Goosen

TH Trevor Hardaker

TR Thatayaone Rabakane

TT Tony Tree

VL Val Lovett



51 51



Some Breeding Records in 2011

Species Date Location Nest site; nest contents Obs

Spur-winged Goose

Plectropterus gambensis

7 Mar Shashe Dam Many immature birds NB, BM

Egyptian Goose

Alopochen aegyptiaca

16 Jan Bokaa Dam Pair with seven young, ca. 7

days old and a pair with three

young < 5 days old

CAB

Egyptian Goose 12 Feb Tswaiing Pans

2524B2

Pair with six young, ca. 10 –

14 days old

CAB

Egyptian Goose 30 Mar Tswaiing Pans Pair with 6 young, ca. 2

weeks old

CAB

Egyptian Goose 3 Sept Shashe Dam Pair with 7 goslings NB, BM

& MT

South African Shelduck

Tadorna cana

26 June Ramotswa S.P. Pair + 5 young, c10 days old CAB

South African Shelduck 29 Oct Bokaa Dam Pair + 1 young, circa 10 days

old

CAB

Cape Teal

Anas capensis

26 June Ramotswa S.P. Pair with 7 young, ca.5 days

old,

CAB

Cape Teal 26 June Ramotswa S.P. Pair with 8 young, ca.5 days

old

CAB

Cape Teal 26 June Ramotswa S.P. Pair with 5 young ca. 2 weeks

old

CAB

Cape Teal 18 July Jwaneng S.P. Adult with 8 small ducklings

on small dam below sewage

ponds

MGG,

DG, HH

Red-billed Teal

Anas erythrocephala

3 Sept Shashe Dam Adult with 6 ducklings NB, BM

& MT

Cape Shoveler

Anas smithii

25 Apr Tswaiing Pans

2524B2

Adult with 5 tiny young, ca. 5

days old

CAB

Cape Shoveler 26 June Ramotswa S.P. Female + 3 young, ca.7 days CAB

Red-knobbed Coot

Fulica cristata

30 Mar Tswaiing Pans Nest of floating vegetation

with 2 young, c 10 days old

CAB

Red-knobbed Coot 24 Sept Bathoen Dam,

Kanye

Adult with 3 young ca. 14

days old

CAB

Black-winged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus

25 April Tswaiing Pans 23 nests of floating

vegetation, some being built.

10 nests had adults on nests;

One young, ca. 10 days old

present on 4 June

CAB

Blacksmith Lapwing

Vanellus armatus

16 Jan Bokaa Dam Pair with one young ca. 5

days old

CAB

Blacksmith Lapwing 14 Aug Bokaa Dam Pair with 1 young ca. 12 days CAB

Blacksmith Plover 29 Oct Bokaa Dam pair + 1 young, ca. 10 days CAB



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old

Kittlitz’s Plover

C. pecuarius

1 Jan Lake Xau Pair with one 3-5 day old

chick

CAB

Great Crested Grebe

Podiceps cristatus

23 July Gamoleele Dam 2 pairs, each with 3 young MGG,

DG

African Darter

Anhinga rufa

7 Mar Shashe Dam Nests with 7 young NB, BM

African Darter

3 Sept Shashe Dam Nest with 3 chicks NB, BM

& MT

White-breasted (Great)

Cormorant Phalacrocorax

lucidus

14 Aug Bokaa Dam 6 nests with fully grown young

CAB,

KM

White-breasted

Cormorant

3 Sept Shashe Dam 5 active nests containing 11

chicks

NB, BM

& MT

Cattle Egret

Bubulcus ibis,

Grey Heron

Ardea cinerea and

Black-headed Heron

Ardea melanoocephala

19 Jan Mogobane Dam Breeding in reeds at inflow

end of dam – also Black-

crowned Night Herons

Nycticorax nycticorax

MGG,

DG, HH

Cattle Egret and Black-

headed Heron

18 July Mogobane Dam Some still on nests in reeds at

inflow end (263 adults + 27

young Cattle Egrets; 34

herons)

MGG,

DG, HH

Black-headed Heron 3 Sept Nr Boat Club,

Shashe Dam

32 adults in active heronry in

large Acacia tree

NB, BM

& MT

African Spoonbill

Platalea alba

3 Sept Shashe Dam 2 nest each with 4 chicks NB, BM

& MT

African Openbill

Anastomus lamelligerus

August Kasane Rapids 15 nests in waterberries

Syzygium, laying in August

and fledging in October

PZ

Green (Red-billed) Wood

Hoopoe

Phoeniculus purpureus

Feb/Mar Crocodile Pools,

Ngotwane

Nest in Aloe marlothii – 2

young flew on 6 and 7 March;

no other birds assisted in

rearing the young.

CAB

Whiskered Tern

Chlidonias hybrida

6 Mar Lake Ngami Four nests on floating

vegetation; two with 2 eggs,

one with 1 egg and one empty

SJT,

TT, KO

Arrow-marked Babbler

Turdoides jardineii

25 Apr Moroekwe

Farm, Otse

3 eggs in a cup of grass in

dense bush, ca. 1 m above

ground. A Levaillants Cuckoo

Clamator levaillantii pinned

down several babblers

MB



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Kalahari Scrub-Robin

Cercotrichas paeana

19 Jan Mabuasehube 2 eggs in a cup of grass, just

above ground in a tuft of

grass

DD

Amethyst Sunbird

Chalcomitra amethystina

25 Sept Croc. pools,

Ngotwane

Adult feeding young in nest, a

ball of grass and plant

materials, 2m above ground

CT

Red-winged Starling

Onychognathus morio

7 Mar Moeding

College, Otse

2 young, ca. 7 days old, in

nest under overhang of roof, c

6 m above ground

CAB

Red-winged Starling

Onychognathus morio

9 Mar Moeding

College, Otse

2 young, full-grown, in nest

under overhang of roof, c 3.5

m above ground

CAB

Red-headed Finch

Amadina erythrocephala

4 June Tswaiing Pans pair with two recently fledged

begging young

CAB

Village Indigo-Bird Vidua

chalybaeta/, Red-billed

Firefinches Lagonosticta

senegala

21Apr Gaborone A recently fledged Village

Indigo-Bird was

accompanying Red-billed

Firefinches.

DC

Observers: CAB Chris Brewster; DC Dean Chalmers; CT Chris Toye; DD Dian

Derksen, DH Dean Hatty; PD’A Peter D’Arcy; BM Buzz von Memmerty; IW Ian

White; KM Keddy Mooketsa; MB Mark Bing; MS Mike Soroczynski; MT

Michael Turner; NB Nicky Bousfield; PN Pat Nurse; PZ Phillip Zappala;

RS Robert Smith

Compiled by Stephanie J. Tyler and Chris Brewster

Look out for colour-ringed Chestnut-banded Plovers

If you are in the Makgadikgadi Pans and see any Chestnut-banded Plovers please

check their legs carefully to see if any bear colour rings. Mark Boorman has been

colour-ringing these small plovers at Swakopmund on the Namibian coast and it is

possible that there is movement between the coast and the pans in Botswana.

Please note the colour of any ring you see and whether on the left or right leg.



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Obituary: Edward Huw Penry (1943-2011)

Edward Huw Penry was born and educated in the UK. He qualified as a medical

doctor in 1967 and came to Zambia in 1971 to work as a Medical Officer on the

Zambian Copperbelt. He remained in Zambia for nine years.

During his time in Zambia Huw became involved in birdwatching and devoted

most of his spare time to watching birds. He joined the Zambian Ornithological

Society (ZOS) and became editor of the monthly Newsletter of ZOS. He wrote

several articles and notes for the ZOS Bulletin and in his last year in Zambia in

1979 he took over as editor of the Bulletin from Bob Dowsett. He spent four years

contributing records to the Zambian Bird Atlas Project.

In 1980 Huw left Zambia and moved to Jwaneng and took up a post as Chief

Medical Officer at the new diamond mine there. His main leisure activity

continued to be birdwatching and it was not long before he initiated the Botswana

Bird Atlas project in conjunction with the newly formed Botswana Bird Club.

Until its publication in 1994 Huw was the sole coordinator of the project. For ten

years he made numerous field trips to the Kalahari for data collection, either with

Nigel Hunter or by himself, and also published regular updates of the project in the

Babbler. In 1982, after only two years in Botswana, he was transferred by his

employers to South Africa. Despite being transferred to South Africa he continued

to enthusiastically coordinate the project and make regular field trips to Botswana.

For the final four years of the project, Huw prepared the maps and text, a time

consuming and onerous task. In 1994 the Bird Atlas of Botswana was published by

University of Natal Press with Huw as the sole author.

After retirement from his post as Medical Director of AngloGold Health Service in

2001, Huw moved to the Bristol area of England where he worked as a Medical

Officer until his retirement in 2004. He was a member of the Records

Subcommittee of BirdLife Botswana for many years and he continued to actively

participate in the committee until his death in 2011.

Huw will always be remembered for his unwavering support for the Botswana bird

atlas project. The Bird Atlas of Botswana has been the authoritative reference to

bird distribution in Botswana since its publication in 1994 and it is likely to remain

so for years to come. Though I only met Huw a few times I corresponded with him

regularly for the past 25 years. I always found him to be full of enthusiasm. He

always took the time to write a courteous, thorough and considered reply anytime I

wrote to him concerning birds in Botswana. It was a loss when he died

unexpectedly after a short illness in 2011.

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Huw is survived by his wife Susan and two daughters.

Chris A. Brewster

Obituary: Dr Brooks Childress

Sadly bird conservation suffered the loss of another champion in July 2011 when

Dr Brooks Childress died. His name is now synonymous with flamingos as he had

done a huge amount of work raising funds for flamingo research and developing an

international action plan for the near-threatened Lesser Flamingo after organising a

workshop in Kenya. From this flowed national action plans in Kenya and

Tanzania. Action plans in Botswana and South Africa are in the pipeline with

country representatives agreeing to co-ordinate in a combined workshop for the

development of respective country action plans.

From 2001 to 2009 he carried out research on Lesser Flamingos in East Africa

including one of the first ever satellite-tracking studies of Lesser Flamingos. He

was a very effective Chair of IUCN’s Flamingo Specialist Group (FSG) for many

years, where he instilled a sense of responsibility and an appetite for progressive

collaboration among its many members. His positive approach to research and

conservation, enveloped with a contagious enthusiasm was truly inspirational to all

that knew and worked with him.

Originally a business man in the USA, UK and Canada for 27 years he had a total

change of lifestyle when he went to Kenya with his wife in 1991 and studied for a

doctorate on the breeding biology and feeding ecology of the Great (White-

breasted) Cormorant on Lake Naivasha. From this came his passion for birds and

flamingos in particular. Dr Childress was also a prominent figure in the fight to

prevent a soda ash factory being developed at Lake Natron. His wife Sandy sent

this message to the FSG list serve, via his colleague and long-standing friend Baz

Hughes of Wetlands International:

“He died of cancer, at home, listening to a recording of the dawn chorus, garden

birdsong and woodland birdsong. He loved birds because they are gentle (except

for cormorants!) and beautiful and some of them make the most amazing sounds.

He especially loved waterbirds and the interplay in their lives of water and air. He

was proudest of the growth and direction of the FSG under his guidance. He felt

blessed to have had the opportunity to travel and meet conservation-minded people

all over the world”.

Graham McCulloch and Stephanie Tyler



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Chris A. Brewster

































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Chris A. Brewster



































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LETTERS

The History of BirdLife Botswana from Mavis and Kenneth Smith

Dear Harold,

The reason for contacting you is to ask whether BirdLife Botswana has any system

of keeping records of the society's history, and whether it has records of the

formation of the society.

Looking through our documents of the old Botswana Bird Club, we have

the record of a meeting of the Botswana Society dated 27th October 1980 at the

National Museum, Gaborone, attended by over 100 birdwatchers at which the

decision was taken to form a Birdwatching Club in Botswana, initially under the

auspices of the Botswana Society. The meeting also elected a Bird Club

Committee, of which the Chairman was Malcolm C. Hodgson. We were both

present at that meeting. In November 1981 a circular to all members announced

that its membership then stood at 175, but that Malcolm Hodgson and four other

committee members had left Botswana. He had been replaced as Chairman by Mrs

Janet Barnes; and Kenneth was added as a Committee Member. The First Annual

General Meeting of the Botswana Bird Club was held at the National Museum on

December 1st 1981 at 7.30pm. Janet Barnes was formally elected President, and

Kenneth was among those elected to the Committee. He continued as a

committee member until Easter 1986 when Kenneth and Mavis left Botswana.

We have kept copies of the Minutes of all the Bird Club's committee meetings and

of the Newsletters circulated to members, during the years we were in Botswana.

If those documents are of any value to you and the present members as archives to

add to the records of the Society, or to be deposited with the Botswana National

Archives, we would be very happy to send them to you. However, you may already

have these documents, or you may not want them, in which case, please let us

know and we will dispose of them ourselves. We also have copies of the Babbler

from the first issue dated February 1981 - though interestingly the title 'Babbler'

was not determined until Issue No.2. Again, if you would like any copies to

complete the club's records, please let us know, and we would be happy to forward

them.

And our family Visitors book has the signatures of the 25 or so Bird Club members

who enjoyed a monthly Bird Walk through the bush near to Moeding College in

September 1983 and again two years later on 1st September 1985, followed

by their picnic lunches and coffee in our front garden at the college.



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More recent editions of the Babbler are beautifully printed and with coloured

covers, thanks to the generosity of Remi and Wendy Borello - whom we remember

with pleasure from our time in Botswana. The Babbler continues to provide quality

information which we appreciate, as we are sure do all who receive it.

We now live in Norwich, England, and continue to receive the Babbler regularly,

for which we are most grateful. We do sometimes meet Janet Barnes who lives in

neighbouring Suffolk.

With all good wishes to you and to the Bird Club members,

Mavis and Kenneth Smith

Disturbance at Lake Ngami – from Ross Galbraith

Dear Mr. Hancock,

My name is Ross Galbraith and I work for Environment Canada as a federal

Wildlife Enforcement Officer. Following an INTERPOL sponsored work-related

training assignment at the Police Academy in Otse, I have recently returned from a

fabulous vacation in Botswana. Due to the fact that one of my favourite activities is

bird watching, the highlight of my entire trip to Botswana was without a doubt a

visit to Lake Ngami with local guide Richard Randall.

As incredible as my trip to Lake Ngami was, it was very disturbing to see that there

were jet skis operating in close proximity to the breeding colonies of many species

of birds. These watercraft were traveling at high speed and making a lot of noise. I

know from personal experience that watercraft such as these can be very disruptive

of the breeding behaviour of waterbirds and I would urge the authorities to do

whatever is necessary to control the access of these individuals and to protect the

breeding colonies on the lake.

Despite the brief tenure of my visit to Lake Ngami, I consider it to be one of the

truly amazing wonders of the world. Properly advertised and managed, this

spectacularly beautiful natural feature will provide not only a critically important

breeding site for many species but also a sustainable source of tourist-generated

income for the local economy. If these craft are permitted to continue to operate in

the manner which I witnessed at first hand, I believe that it will only be a short



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period of time before the breeding colonies are abandoned because of the high

levels of unnatural disturbance.

I am writing this note to you as I understand that you are involved in Birding

Botswana; and that you will know to whom this complaint should be forwarded.

Accordingly, please forward this message to the appropriate authorities as there is

so much at risk in this particualr case. Unrestricted access to this lake for personal

watercraft is a recipe for disaster waiting to happen. I look forward to returning to

Botswana and Lake Ngami will definitely be on my itinerary if the breeding

colonies survive.

Thank you very much and best regards,

Ross Galbraith, Operational Support Officer, Environment Canada

Globally threatened Birds

In the latest changes to the list of globally threatened species Hooded Vulture

Necrosyrtes monachus has been moved from Least Concern category to

Endangered whilst Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius has been moved from

Least Concern to Vulnerable. Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni has now been

downlisted from Vulnerable to Least Concern.

The bird species in Botswana that are considered by IUCN and BirdLife

International to be Endangered, Vulnerable or Near Threatened are given below:

Scientific name Common name Red List Category

Agapornis nigrigenis Black-cheeked Lovebird VU

Balearica regulorum Grey Crowned-crane VU

Bucorvus cafer Southern Ground-hornbill VU

Charadrius pallidus Chestnut-banded Plover NT

Circus macrourus Pallid Harrier NT

Circus maurus Black Harrier VU

Coracias garrulous European Roller NT



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Scientific name Common name Red List Category

Egretta vinaceigula Slaty Egret VU

Falco vespertinus Red-footed Falcon NT

Gallinago media Great Snipe NT

Glareola nordmanni Black-winged Pratincole NT

Grus carunculatus Wattled Crane VU

Gyps africanus White-backed Vulture NT

Gyps coprotheres Cape Vulture VU

Limosa limosa Black-tailed Godwit NT

Mirafra cheniana Melodious Lark NT

Necrosyrtes monachus Hooded Vulture EN

Neotis denhami Denham's Bustard NT

Numenius arquata Eurasian Curlew NT

Oxyura maccoa Maccoa Duck NT

Phoeniconaias minor Lesser Flamingo NT

Polemaetus bellicosus Martial Eagle NT

Rynchops flavirostris African Skimmer NT

Sagittarius serpentarius Secretarybird VU

Terathopius ecaudatus Bateleur NT

Torgos tracheliotos Lappet-faced Vulture VU

Trigonoceps occipitalis White-headed Vulture VU

Two species found in Botswana, White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus and Grey

Crowned Crane Balearica regulorum, are the subject of current consultation as to

whether they should be considered more threatened than the listing suggests.

VU = VulnerableNT = Near ThreatenedEN = Endangered



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A Review - del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Christie, D. A. eds. 2009. Handbook of

the Birds of the World. Vol. 14 Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Lynx

Edicions, Barcelona.

The Handbook has received widespread accolades for each volume. This is the 14th

of 16 volumes and it lives up to all expectations. All the adjectives have been used

before – superlative, excellent, inspiring and masterly.

In this volume there is an initial chapter on Birding Past, Present and Future. The

past covers 100 years of birding from the ‘preserve of a few eccentric enthusiasts

to the mass-participation leisure activity of today’. The present section discusses

such topics as the economics of bird-watching, birding and the media and

technological advances in the study of birds. The future section is rather depressing

as looks at the loss of habitat and birds – more declines and extinctions are forecast

– and the problems of birding in some countries – with political instability, credit

crunch and the need to reduce our carbon footprints all moving us away from travel

to far-flung places in search of new species for our life lists. The authors argue that

turning away from seeking rarities and towards looking at birds in your local patch

may bring benefits in for example, more in depth studies of behaviour.

The family texts are written by experts with a now familiar format. Each family

has a general chapter of 30-40 pages covering systematic, morphology, habitat,

general habits, voice, food and feeding, breeding, movements, relationships with

man and arguably, the most important section on status and conservation, and of

course references. The whole chapter is liberally sprinkled with stunning

photographs of various species in the family, many photos depicting bird

behaviour. Then space is allocated to species accounts. These cover most of the

topics in the general chapter and also cover taxonomy and subspecies and include a

map of the distribution. Colour plates illustrate every species with separate

illustrations where relevant for males and females and subspecies.

Volume 14 includes much of interest to ornithologists in Australia and New

Zealand with the families covered including Wattlebirds and Stitchbirds, mudlarks

and other mud-nesters, Wood Swallows, Butcherbirds and Bowerbirds. Vangas of

Madagascar and Birds of Paradise of New Guinea and NE Australia are also

covered. However, there is much for African birders too – Bush-shrikes, Helmet-

shrikes, Drongos, Crows, Starlings and Old World Sparrows. I particularly enjoyed

the chapter on Bush-shrikes and the superb photos of all those colourful bush-

shrikes, tchagras, puffbacks, brubrus and boubous with which we are familiar in

Botswana. The Bush-shrikes occur throughout Africa, occupying mainly woody



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habitats from the lowlands to highlands with a few species in high altitude

heathland and others in papyrus swamps.

This is not a book to sit down and read from cover to cover but rather one to dip

into. I for one would not be without my own set of HBW volumes. Each volume is

authoritative; it is a mine of information and it is a pleasure to look at as it has so

many excellent photos, many of which depict the behaviour of birds rather than a

simple portrait photo. My only grouse is that the volumes are so heavy.

The number of volumes has increased since the series’ inception with 10 or so

originally planned but with the wealth of new data available, both family and

species texts increased in size resulting in 15 huge volumes. Later volumes are

inevitably more up-to-date than earlier volumes.

Stephanie J. Tyler

Publications of relevance to birds in Botswana

Honeyguide, the journal of BirdLife Zimbabawe continues to include much of

interest. Below are two papers by Tony Tree on two waders familiar to most

BirdLife Botswana members in Botswana. BLB has copies of Honeyguide in its

office should anyone want to read them.

Tree, A. J. 2008. The Common Sandpiper in Zimbabwe. Honeyguide 54: 40-51

The Common Sandpiper Tringa hypoleucos is a widespread migrant in Africa

especially in the mesic eastern half. In Zimbabwe it is the first Palaearctic migrant

to arrive, mostly from mid July with the main arrival from September to

November. The earliest birds are probably the southernmost breeders. Birds leave

Zimbabwe from late March. Common Sandpipers are most numerous on

southward migration when there is lots of good habitat – muddy edges to dams and

rivers – and tend to overfly on northward passage when areas are flooded.

All ringing recoveries are from Russia except for two from Sudan. There is limited

movement between sites within Zimbabawe and recaptures within and between

seasons suggest strong site fidelity. It seems that birds seen from July to

September are on passage through the country whereas those that arrive from

October onwards are over-summering.

The mean weight was 45-50g from July to February with a peak in the pre-

migration period when the maximum weight was 93g. Primary moult is descendent

in adults with a duration of 4.5 to 5 months. First year birds may have a full or



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partial moult and moult may be descendent or centrifugal. The proportion of young

in the population varied from 16-50% between 1972 and 1982.

Tree, A.J. 2011. The Black-winged Stilt in Zimbabawe and southern Africa.

Honeyguide 57(1): 5-9.

Tony Tree documents the occurrence of the Black-winged Stilt Himantopus

himantopus in Zimbabwe where when he arrived in 1958 it was a rather scarce

bird, occurring mainly in the Zambezi and the Save valleys and only rarely being

seen briefly on the plateau. He notes that the creation of man-made wetlands has

encouraged a massive increase in numbers. In particular when Lake Manyame

(Lake Darwendale/Lake Robertson) began to fill in 1976 numbers increased

markedly. The highest numbers ever recorded were in 1993 – 1,030 at Whitehead

Pools.

Tony caught a small number of birds at Whitehead Pools and Lake Manyame and

he provides biometric data for 17 birds caught and compares these with South

African data.

He discusses the species’ status and its movements throughout southern Africa and

notes that the highest reporting rates in southern Africa came from the Free State

and Western Cape in South Africa and from northeast Botswana. He reported that

in Botswana stilts are 30 times more common on man-made wetlands than at

natural wetlands. Unfortunately he overlooks more recent data from Botswana,

gathered since the inception of waterbird counts in 1991. Our highest counts in

Botswana come from natural wetlands –Lake Ngami (4,200 in December 2004)

and Nata Delta (1,300 in January 2002). In the northeast the highest count from the

Chobe River was of only 365, in July 2007.

Tony also notes that breeding may occur in Zimbabawe in any month of the year as

has been found in Botswana. Although Neville Skinner reported them breeding

from May to December in Botswana, more recent records come from January and

February.

Stephanie J. Tyler

Member of

The World Conservation Union

Partner designate of:

BIRDLIFE BOTSWANABirdLife Botswana is Partner-designate of BirdLife International.

BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.

Our missionThe BirdLife International Partnership strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.

Our visionBy focusing on birds, and the sites and habitats on which they depend, the BirdLife Partnership is working to improve the quality of life for birds, for other wildlife (biodiversity), and for people. BirdLife’s aims are to: • prevent the extinction of any bird species • maintain and where possible improve the conservation status

of all bird species • conserve and where appropriate improve and enlarge sites and

habitats important for birds • help, through birds, to conserve biodiversity and to improve

the quality of people’s lives • integrate bird conservation into sustaining people’s

livelihoods.

Recent good pictures from our Flikr website depicting “Birds of Botswana”http://www.flickr.com/groups/blb/pool

1. Broad-billed Roller • Photo: Bonnie Fairbanks

2. Red-headed Weaver • Photo: Ian White

3. African Barred Owlet • Photo: Bonnie Fairbanks

4. Purple Heron • Photo: Ian White

5. Green-backed Heron • Photo: Ian White

6. Lilac-breasted Roller • Photo: Mike Soroczynski

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Number 56

ISSN 1012 - 2974

Cover Design by: Impression House Printing by Impression House December 2011

The sincere thanks of all the members of BirdLife Botswana go to Remi and Wendy Borello who have once again generously supported the printing of this issue of the Babbler.


Documents

BABBLER - BirdLife Botswana - 56_0.pdfJournal of BirdLife Botswana Babbler No. 56 December 2011 1 1 Babbler No. 56 July 2011 J o u r n a l o f B i r d L i f e B o t s w a n a Editorial