ETOSHA BIRDING

This map and tick list will make birdwatching in this popular park a breeze.

Most of us visit Etosha National Park to see elephants, giraffes and lions. But if the big game leaves you hanging, you can always count on the birds. They’re everywhere! In the veld, around the waterholes and in the camps. Pompie Burger, author of Birds of Namibia: A Photographic Journey and Birds of Namibia: The Journey Continues, tells you where to focus your attention.

Dolomite In Etosha you can see nine of the 13 birds endemic to Namibia. The mountainous landscape surrounding Dolomite Camp offers a unique habitat and it’s your best bet if you want to tick these special birds off your list.

If you stay in the camp, your day will start on a high note with the call of Hartlaub’s spurfowl. Be on the lookout for lesser striped swallow, little swift and white-rumped swift on the camp’s koppie. Olifantsrus You can watch the action around the camp waterhole from a twostorey hide: Look through the windows on the ground floor or the open hatches on the top floor. The hide also has a good view of the trees in the veld. Tawny eagle and red-necked falcon often hunt here. Just after sunrise, Namaqua sandgrouse come to the water in numbers and you’ll also see blacksmith lapwing and double-banded sandgrouse. The grassveld around Olifantsrus is the hunting ground of kori bustards, secretarybirds and little sparrowhawks.

FOR THE CONNOISSEURS

The latakoo fiscal, a subspecies of the common fiscal, occurs west of Okaukuejo. It has white eyebrows. Look for black-faced babbler east of Namutoni. Swallow-tailed bee-eaters are active around Halali during the rainy season.

Dwarf bittern (a migratory bird) is often spotted in seasonal pools.

The great sparrow is only found in the western parts of Etosha and doesn’t occur further south in Namibia.

Only two martin species can be seen in Etosha yearround – the rock martin and brown-throated martin.

Disclaimer: The information here is merely a guide. The birds might well be seen elsewhere during different times of the year.

Okaukuejo

This camp is surrounded by open plains with few trees, so chances are you’ll find a raptor in just about any tree you come across. Look for the camel thorn tree with the sociable weaver nest behind stand 30 in the campsite – it’s also now home to a pygmy falcon. There are white droppings outside his “room” in the nest.

SEASONAL VISITORS

Summer in Etosha coincides with the rainy season and many migratory birds visit the park. The rainfall is much higher in the east of the park, which makes it a popular stop for the foreign visitors. If it’s cuckoos you’re after, you can see common cuckoo in Okaukuejo. Jacobin cuckoo and Levaillant’s cuckoo prefer Namutoni.

Namutoni

The camp itself is not a great birding spot, but Fischer’s Pan – a stone’s throw north-east – is a whole other story. Drive the circular route around the pan and you’ll see lots of raptors – it’s one of the best places in the park to see birds of prey.

Flamingos are abundant during the rainy season and the many duck species will make any twitcher smile.

Halali

When it comes to birdwatching, Halali is the most underrated camp in Etosha. At least four endemic species are found here and it’s the owl capital of the park. The owls are fairly active during the day. Listen closely: Pearl-spotted owlet and African scops-owl are the loudest of the camp residents. Barn owls are common and you’ll also hear nightjars during the rainy season, especially around the waterholes in the area.

Raptor enthusiasts can head to Sueda waterhole, west of camp on the edge of the pan. Scan the branches of the scentedpod acacias: The most common sightings are greater kestrel, lesser kestrel and lanner falcon. Blue crane also breed here occasionally. This species is unique because they only occur as an isolated group in Etosha.