Water reaches Savuti Marsh

Water in the Savuti Channel reaches Savuti Elephant Camp (Photo courteousy Orient Express Safaris)

The high flood levels in northern Botswana during mid- and late-2009 caused great excitement and speculation, with the Boteti River in particular being the focus of attention for many people. However, the highest water levels in decades in the Kwando led to the hope and belief that the Savuti Channel would at last flow again. Indeed, the water soon reached Wilderness Safaris ‘Savuti Camp’ in the Linyanti concession, but as it approached the western boundary of the Chobe National Park it slowed down and lost momentum (most of the water having bypassed the mouth of the Savuti at Zibadianja, and flowed down the Linyanti and into the Chobe River). Eventually the water stopped several kilometres from the Savuti Marsh.

Much to the surprise of many people, the channel started flowing again in earnest in December, possibly due to heavy unseasonal rains that fell in mid-2009, as well as good local summer rains. By mid-January, the water had flowed past the safari lodges at Savuti and was close to the top end of the marsh.

The 2010 floods promise to be above average, with water levels in the Zambezi and Chobe systems having already risen considerably. With plenty of water remaining from 2009, there is a high probability of the Savuti Marsh being seriously inundated later this year. It is entirely possible that Savuti will once again become one of Africa’s most spectacular wildlife areas. Watch this space!

African Emerald Cuckoo seen in Maun

Over the Christmas period, Richard Randall was fortunate to see an adult male African Emerald Cuckoo at Sexaxa near Maun. This beautiful cuckoo is a forest species and is seldom, if ever, seen in the Okavango. It 'normal' distribution in Botswana is along the Chobe River in the northern part of the country. Like most cuckoos, this species is shy and not easily seen; however its distinctive 'pretty Geor-gie' call is a give-away. The African Emerald Cuckoo parasitises the camaropteras.

Biannual African Waterbird Census

Photo: Thuto Moutloatse

The January waterbird counts are looming fast, and this is a reminder to all participants to get ready to undertake their counts at their favourite waterbody or stretch of river/waterway. New participants are always welcome; as with Common Bird Monitoring (see previous post) a small individual commitment twice a year adds up to a significant amount of data when information from a large number of counters is pooled. Some of the transects have been conducted twice annually for close on 20 years now, and represent a valuable dataset.

If you would like to find out more, with a view to participating, contact Stephanie Tyler at steph_tyler2001@hotmail.com

Common Bird Monitoring gains momentum

The European Roller is one of the migratory species being monitored (Photo: P Hancock)
BirdLife Botswana’s Common Bird Monitoring (CBM) project aims to establish trends in the numbers of birds in Botswana, even those which are not globally or nationally threatened, to provide an indication of the status of biodiversity in the country. It is anticipated that the information gathered will be useful for the Convention on Biological Diversity as well as within the country where it will inform conservation priorities in terms of species and issues.

The monitoring is conducted during February and November every year, and the November session has just been completed. Transects were conducted mainly throughout the Chobe, Ngamiland and Ghanzi Districts with lower coverage of other areas, and our sincere thanks go to all who participated. The good returns from the northern part of the country are largely due to the CBM co-ordinators within the Department of Wildlife and National Parks: Mothusi Jenamiso, assisted by BirdLife Botswana member Pete Laver, in Kasane; Zee Mpofu in Maun; and Lucas Matthys and Gloria Ndobano in Ghanzi.

The project only really started in February of this year, and since then the number of participants has increased markedly. However, it is too early for any trends to be determined; these will only become apparent after several years. Consequently we urge participants to prepare themselves for the February 2010 monitoring period. New participants are always welcome, to increase the national coverage. The counts are fun, and only take a morning twice a year. If you are interested in contributing, contact one of the co-ordinators mentioned above, or Justin Soopu at the BirdLife Botswana office in Gaborone (3190541) or Pete Hancock at the BirdLife Botswana office in Maun (6865618/74654464). We especially need more transects done in Central and Kgalagadi Districts.

Special thanks to the following for assistance with the November counts: Danae Sheehan (RSPB), Rumbidzai Kaparadza, Mothusi Jenamiso, Baldwin Mashaba, Thatayaone Rabakane, Kabo Kgopa, Cruise Mollowakgatla, Cedric Somotanzi, Martin Kays, Johnny Mowanji, Kambango Sinimbo, Kevin Grant, Lorraine Boast, Birthe Gjern, TJ Lesifi, Eugenie and Mark Skelton, Zee Mpofu, Gloria Ndobano, Pete Laver, Mike Soroczynski, Nicky Bousfield, Harold Hester, and Oreemetse Dingake. (Photos: D Sheehan)

Capacity-building for communities: Mosu workshop

BirdLife Botswana and the Dept. of Wildlife and National Parks are conducting a series of capacity-building workshops for the communities of Mmeya, Mosu and Mmatshumo in the southern part of Sua Pan, to empower them to conserve the natural resources of the area (in particular, the second largest breeding site of the Lesser Flamingo in Africa) and to improve their livelihoods through tourism in the Makgadikgadi. The first workshop was held in Mmatshumo Village during October this year, and explored ways of bringing the three villages together to achieve a common vision for their area. This was followed last week by a second workshop in Mosu Village, where community members developed a Strategic Plan to guide their activities. The third workshop will be held in Mmeya Village early in the new year.The first workshop was held at the Gaing-O Trust offices in Mmatshumo
Back to school in Mosu! The second workshop was held at Mosu primary school
The community workshops are part of the UNDP-GEF funded project “Strategic Partnerships to Improve the Operational and Financial Sustainability of Protected Areas”. The project aims to promote stakeholder engagement in biodiversity conservation in the Makgadikgadi area, and is a sister project to the Makgadikgadi Integrated Management Plan currently underway.

African Openbill breeding colonies

An aerial survey of the wetlands of the Caprivi region (lower section of the Okavango River in Namibia, and the Kwando-Linyanti-Chobe-Zambezi system in Namibia) in September this year revealed approximately 2,000 nesting African Openbills in Lake Liambezi and a nesting site of about 2,500 African Openbills on the Chobe/Zambezi floodplains.

In 2009, the Zambezi River reached its highest level since 1969, inundating most of eastern Caprivi. More than 55,000 people were displaced and 100 people lost their lives. For the first time in 30 years the Okavango Delta is connected to the Kwando-Linyanti and Chobe-Zambezi rivers via the Selinda Spillway. The Savuti River is flowing for the first time since 1983. In early October the water was 8 km east of the Chobe National Park cut-line (the water was ~20 km from reaching the Savuti Marsh).

Chris Brown, Executive Director, Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF)

This observation is of interest since Lake Liambezi is on the border with Botswana, and also because these are probably the largest breeding colonies for this species in Southern Africa (they exceed the largest site in the Okavango Delta, even though they may only be temporary nesting sites). Pete Hancock, BirdLife Botswana

Okavango fish traps

by Grant Atkinson and Helena Faasen (Okavango Wilderness Safaris)

The recent high water levels in the Okavango Delta are now a thing of the past. One result of this year’s big flood is the exciting bird viewing that is taking place as thousands of fish become trapped by the receding waters.

These fish become a magnet for many species of waterbirds, and on a recent visit to Chitabe Camp we got to experience some of the action associated with these so-called ‘fish traps.” Instead of viewing birds just flying overhead, or standing somewhere, the fish traps bring many species together and the interaction that occurs between them is fascinating. Forced into close proximity with one another, the birds compete, co-operate, fight and steal from one another. The particular pool that we spent most time at near Chitabe was dominated for a while by a pair of Saddle-billed Storks. The pair were happy to share the pool with several smaller species of birds, but objected to a flock of Yellow-billed Storks, and some Pink-backed Pelicans, that joined in the action. For almost an hour the two Saddle-billed Storks chased all the other storks and pelicans away, but eventually they either grew tired of the effort, or else they had caught enough fish for themselves.

Birding action like we observed will be happening all over the Okavango over the next few months, and it will last until the annual floodwaters arrive and once again bring the sanctuary of deep water to the fish.