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One of the first endemics we found were the localized Monteiro's Hornbills. We got very good views of them in the Erongo Mountains, and also near Windhoek. Our local guide Tarry Butcher got a lovely image of two of these interesting birds perched together.

Our November 2019 Namibia and Botswana tour took place during the worst drought ever recorded, leaving some areas totally without living vegetation. At first reading this might seem depressing, but in reality it turned out to be a wonderful time to visit, with all the endemic/near endemic birds we hoped for, and a spectacular mammal list too. Such a widespread drought meant that for many species the remaining waterholes were vital for their survival - attracting far more Lions, Black Rhino and Elephant than usual, plus many large herds of zebra, wildebeest and springbok.

As always we met in Johannesburg and flew to Windhoek the following day. We then had lunch at the Galton Guesthouse before spending the afternoon at the local sewage works. This might not sound like an ideal way to begin a tour, but in a country which is largely desert (and in a drought year) any area of water is worth a visit. South African Shelduck was a highlight here, as were African Swamphen, Three-banded Plover, African Jacana, African Darter, Hamerkop, Little Bittern, and Sacred Ibis. While in the surrounding acacia woodland Gray Go-away-bird, Dideric Cuckoo, White-backed Mousebird, the endemic Monteiro's Hornbill, Pied Barbet, and Scarlet-chested Sunbird were all enjoyed. To cap off a great first day we then went to a local site for the almost endemic Bradfield's Swift and had super close looks at these localized birds as they came to roost in palm trees.

Leaving Windhoek behind we then drove south-west for a two night stay at the luxurious Hoodia Desert Lodge - our base for a visit to the giant red sand dunes at nearby Sossusvlei. Only quarter of an inch of rain had fallen here in the past 13 months, so this really was a true desert experience. The birding though was excellent, with our main target - the endemic Dune Lark, being found within an hour of walking, and then a super tame second bird resting right in the shade of our vehicle! Other special birds seen in this area were Namaqua Sandgrouse, Ludwig's and Rueppell's bustards, Burchell's and Double-banded coursers, Lappet-faced Vulture, Greater Kestrel, Lanner Falcon, Pririt Batis, Layard's Warbler, Mountain Wheatear, Karoo Scrub-Robin, Dusky Sunbird, Scaly and Sociable weavers, and Red-headed Finch. We had nice looks at several mammals too, including Chacma Baboon, Cape Ground-Squirrel, Gemsbok, and Springbok.

Heading west and crossing the Tropic of Capricorn we picked up another very localized endemic - Gray's Lark. And then at the coast itself, we spent several hours at the Walvis Bay lagoon enjoying spectacular numbers of both Greater and Lesser flamingos, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, over 950 Chestnut-banded Plovers in a single flock, and yet more thousands of migrant shorebirds including Bar-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Common Greenshank, and Marsh Sandpiper. Gray-hooded, Hartlaub's and Kelp gulls were present, as were 5 species of tern, including at least 7 very localized Damara Terns.

Our last new species at the coast was Orange River White-eye, and we then headed inland and north for three nights in the Erongo Mountains (based at two different lodges). As always the birding here was superb and we all enjoyed our walks in the dry river beds and rocky hill country as we encountered Hartlaub's Francolin, Freckled Nightjar, Verreaux's Eagle, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Green and Violet Woodhoopoe's, Damara Red-billed Hornbill, flocks of Rosy-faced Lovebirds, the endangered Rueppell's Parrot, White-tailed Shrike, White Helmetshrike, Crimson-breasted Gonolek, Carp's and Ashy tits, Rockrunner, Rufous-vented Warbler, Southern Pied Babbler, Herero Chat (a difficult to find endemic), Short-toed Rock-Thrush, and Green-winged Pytilia. Dassie Rat - a range restricted species in its own family was undoubtedly the most interesting mammal in this area.

Again heading north we then spent three nights in the Etosha area, where the dry conditions attracted numerous zebras and a variety of antelopes to the life-saving waterholes. Additionally we saw Warthog, Common Giraffe, Greater Kudu, and at night 5 endangered Black Rhino! Of course this permanent water attracted the predators too, giving us great looks at Spotted Hyaena, and Lion (in five different areas). The bird life was as varied as always and just some of the most memorable were Common Ostrich, Kori and White-quilled bustards, Rufous-cheeked Nightjar, Temminck's Courser, Marabou Stork, Bateleur, Martial and Tawny eagles, Pale Chanting-Goshawk, Southern Yellow-billed and Southern Red-billed hornbills, Spike-heeled, Stark's and Pink-billed larks, Rufous-chested and Mosque swallows, Bare-cheeked Babbler, Burnt-neck Eremomela, Chat Flycatcher, Yellow Canary, and Violet-eared Waxbill.

The final part of our stay in Namibia was at Taranga Safari Lodge on the banks of the Okavango River, and then passing through Mahango Game Reserve as we headed in to Botswana. With greener vegetation than what we'd experienced so far we added many new species; again just a few of the highlights were large flocks of White-faced Whistling-Duck, Spur-winged Goose, Crested Francolin, African Green-Pigeon, Wattled Crane, Long-toed Lapwing, African Openbill, Goliath Heron, White-headed Vulture, Ovambo Sparrowhawk, African Fish-Eagle, Woodland Kingfisher, Southern Carmine Bee-eater, Lilac-breasted Roller, Black-collared Barbet, Gabon Boubou, Southern Black-Tit, Yellow-bellied Greenbul, Hartlaub's Babbler, White-browed Robin-Chat, Violet-backed and Meves's starlings, Red-billed Oxpecker, Southern Brown-throated Weaver, and Eastern Paradise-Whydah. Star of the show here though, was a superb Ross's Turaco - only the second record ever for Namibia!

Moving on to Botswana, the first part of our stay was at Drotsky's on the banks of the Okavango River. Set in beautiful gardens and riverine woodland the spacious cabins were a great base while we explored the area by boat and on foot. The first morning boat trip was truly spectacular, as we enjoyed White-backed Night-Heron, Burchell’s Sandgrouse, African Skimmer, and 2 separate Pel's Fishing-Owls all between 8 and 9:20 am - a record??? While other new birds we enjoyed here included African Pygmy-goose, Coppery-tailed and White-browed coucals, Water Thick-knee, Collared Pratincole, Purple Heron, Black-winged Kite, Giant and Pied kingfishers, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Wire-tailed Swallow, Chirping Cisticola, Arrow-marked Babbler, Yellow-billed Oxpecker, Collared Sunbird, Spectacled Weaver, and Common Waxbill. We also had our best views to date of Hippo and African Elephant.

The second (and final) part of our stay in Botswana was taking a private charter flight to Macatoo, a luxury fully inclusive camp on a huge private concession deep within the Okavango Delta. We were not disappointed as we took morning and afternoon drives in this vast wilderness area. A major highlight was having an unexpected lunch in the shade of a tree over-looking a new waterhole where a procession of up to 60 elephants were drinking and bathing only hundred yards away. Other mammals we enjoyed here included 2 more Spotted Hyaena, a super tame Leopard that wouldn't move from its shady vantage point on top of a termite mound, 4 more Lions, Side-striped Jackal, at least 200 African Elephants, 130+ zebra, close hippos at their resident pool, and several hundred buffalo, lechwe and impala. We also had lesser numbers (but excellent views) of giraffe, warthog, reedbuck, topi, wildebeest, and steenbok. The birding was great too, as we revisited many species from earlier in the tour and added Double-banded Sandgrouse, Small Buttonquail, Saddle-billed Stork, Hooded Vulture, Southern Ground-hornbill, Striped Kingfisher, Broad-billed Roller, Dickinson's Kestrel, Meyer's Parrot, Lesser Striped Swallow, Piping and Desert cisticolas, Capped Wheatear, and Red-billed and Brown firefinches.

Another charter flight to Maun, for our connections to Johannesburg and home was a fabulous way to round off this ever popular tour.

Our next tours to Namibia and Botswana are led by Joe Grosel and run March 31 - April 19, and 3 - 22 November, 2020.

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

Since the area was in extreme drought, animals were concentrated at the remaining waterholes, which allowed us to have some memorable encounters with some of Africa's iconic mammals. One of the best of these was our close-up view of a herd of elephants at Macatoo. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

Herero Chat is an endemic that can be difficult to find, but we had good luck in the Erongo Mountains. Photo by participant George Sims.

Water Thick-knees waited until we reached the Okavango in Botswana to appear, but once there, we had some great views of these large shorebirds. Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

This Leopard at Macatoo was very comfortable, resting in the shade of a termite mound. We were able to get a wonderful view of this gorgeous cat. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

The endangered Rueppell's Parrot is another bird that can be hard to locate, so we were thrilled to see them in three locations! Photo by participant George Sims.

African Fish-Eagles were a common sight along the Okavango River. Here, local guide Tarry Butcher captured an adult and an immature together in flight.

One of the animals that thrives in the Namib Desert is the Gemsbok. We saw a good number of these beautiful antelopes, including this herd at Etosha. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

This pair of Rueppell's Bustards were seen at Sossusvlei. Photo by participant George Sims.

Rosy-faced Lovebirds were a common sight in Namibia, where we saw flocks of these lovely little parrots. This charming trio was part of a larger flock. Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

We found African Skimmers in Botswana, including at Macatoo Camp, where they are not commonly found. Photo by participant George Sims.

The huge sand dunes of Sossusvlei are one of the wonders of Namibia. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

Participant George Sims got this great image of an especially lively Green-bellied Greenbul in the woodlands along the Okavango River.

This Temminck's Courser was quite cooperative, and came right next to our vehicle where we were able to get great views! Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

At Macatoo we enjoyed a lunch near a waterhole, complete with a herd of elephants. What a fantastic experience! Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

A Ross's Turaco that we found at Taranga provided us with the most unexpected sighting for the tour. This was only the second time this bird has been recorded in Namibia! Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

Helmeted Guineafowl were a common sight in many of the drier locations. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

A pair of White-backed Night-Herons tried to hide from us at Drotsky's, but we were able to get good looks at them, and participant George Sims got a nice image of one peering back through the foliage.

We saw thousands of Burchell's Zebras at Etosha, where guide Terry Stevenson got this shot of a group at a waterhole.

Drotsky's was a wonderful place where we found a number of great birds on our first morning, including a pair of Pel's Fishing-Owls. Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

This adult and juvenile Crested Francolin were seen at Taranga Safari Lodge. Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

The Long-tailed Cormorant is sometimes called "Reed Cormorant"; a number of these showed well in Namibia, including at the sewage works in Windhoek. Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

We saw many more Lions than expected, including this big male that guide Terry Stevenson caught snoozing.

The endemic Dune Lark was our main target at Sossusvlei, and we did well, seeing one bird in the dunes, and another resting in the shade of our vehicle. Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters showed nicely for us along the Okavango River. Photo by participant George Sims.

This sparkling Collared Sunbird was one of three that we found at Drotsky's. Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

Photographers on the Okavango River. Photo by guide Terry Stevenson.

The wonderful African Paradise-Flycatcher was seen in small numbers in the woodlands. Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

Bare-cheeked Babblers are difficult to find, but we were lucky and saw three at Halali. Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

Black Rhinoceros were affected by the drought, and we saw several of these massive beasts at waterholes in Etosha. Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

Gabon Boubou showed nicely for us in several locations. Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

Guide Terry Stevenson shot this aerial view of the Okavango as we took our charter flight to Macatoo.

White-fronted Bee-eaters showed well along the Okavango River near Shakawe. Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Reptiles seen on the tour included;

Wedge-snouted Lizard; about 10 at Sossusvlei.

Namibia Rock Agama; 2 or 3 in the Erongo Mountains area.

Kalahari Tree Skink; 1 at Etosha.

Water Monitor; 5 in the Drotsky's area.

Nile Crocodile; at least 100 along the Okavango River near Drotsky's (included several really huge ones).

Leopard Tortoise; 1 at Etosha.

Western Barred Spitting Cobra; nice looks at 1 being mobbed by birds in the river bed at Okombahe.

Totals for the tour: 331 bird taxa and 35 mammal taxa