The Bats of Kasanka: Part Four - The Birds

Part One - Kariba

Part Two - Forest Inn

Part Three - Kasanka, the Mammals

I saw 122 bird species during the three days in Kasanka. The dambos were dry at that time of year, so I unfortunately missed a lot of wet grassland specials. I also had a tough time birding the Miombo Woodlands, where I only found one mixed feeding party over the three days.

Other than that, birding was a joy in the park, with exciting stuff flitting about everywhere.

Map of the park. Most of the green area is Miombo woodland, with browner dambos cutting through. Near Fibwe Hide there is a large stand of Mushitu and a swamp, and Riparian forest fringes some sections of river. Wasa Lodge overlooks a lake.

Miombo Woodlands:

Non Southern Africa 'specials' are in bold.

Difficult birding with birds mostly seen individually, but I did eventually get lucky and find a mixed feeding party - Steppe Buzzard, Schalow's Turaco, Pennant-winged Nightjar, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Woodland Kingfisher, Racket-tailed Roller, Cardinal Woodpecker, White-breasted Cuckooshrike, African Golden Oriole, Rufous-bellied Tit, Spotted Creeper, Miombo Scrub-robin, Green-capped Eremomela, Black-necked Eremomela, Red-capped Crombec, Stierling's Wren-warbler, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Chinspot Batis, Miombo Blue-eared Starling and Black-eared Seedeater were the highlights in the Miombo.

Female Arnot's Chat

Great Arnot's Chat and Racket-tailed Roller habitat

Sunrise through the Miombo on our last morning in the park

Helmeted Guineafowl - with a yellow 'helmet'! Different to those further south

Red-capped Crombec

Steppe Buzzard

Yellow-bellied Hyliota

Dry dambos & reedbeds:

During the wet season the dambos have the potential to be much more exciting.

African Marsh-harrier, Red-necked Spurfowl, White-browed Coucal, Coppery-tailed Coucal, Speckled Mousebird, Malachite Kingfisher, Böhm's Bee-eater, White-fronted Bee-eater, African Stonechat, Moustached Grass Warbler, Broad-tailed Warbler, Chirping Cisticola, Croaking Cisticola, Golden Weaver, Yellow-mantled Widowbird and Red-backed Mannikin were some of the birds seen in these habitats.

Böhm's Bee-eater pair, near Pontoon Camp

Böhm's Bee-eater

Chirping Cisticola

Thick grass near BBC Platform. I saw Coppery-tailed Coucal, Moustached Grass Warbler and Broad-tailed Warbler here

Moustached Grass Warbler

Red-necked Spurfowl

Open water:

Wasa Lake held a few waterbirds that I didn't see elsewhere, but most of the species on this part of the list come from the small pan in front of Pontoon Camp.

The list includes: African Darter, Hamerkop, Hadeda Ibis, Yellow-billed Stork, White-faced Duck, Spur-winged Goose, African Fish-eagle, African Jacana, Blacksmith Lapwing, Wood Sandpiper, Pied Kingfisher and Cape Wagtail.

African Fish-eagle

Pied Kingfisher

Riparian & Mushitu Forest:

The most exciting birds were in these habitats, and a great deal of them were found in and around Pontoon Camp. African Green-pigeon, Schalow's Turaco, African Emerald Cuckoo, Black Cuckoo, Red-chested Cuckoo, African Wood-owl, Pel's Fishing-owl (heard only, unfortunately), Narina Trogon, Böhm's Bee-eater, Crowned Hornbill, Trumpeter Hornbill, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Black-backed Barbet, Lesser Honeyguide, Olive Woodpecker, Green-backed Woodpecker, African Broadbill, Square-tailed Drongo, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Hartlaub's Babbler, Little Greenbul, White-browed Robin-chat, Yellow-breasted Apalis, African Paradise-flycatcher, Black-throated Wattle-eye, Olive Sunbird, Collared Sunbird, Purple-banded Sunbird, Spectacled Weaver, Dark-backed Weaver, Red-throated Twinspot and Brown Firefinch were the best finds.

African Broadbill

Black-backed Barbet. A candidate for best bird of the trip

Black-throated Wattle-eye male bringing food to the nest

...And here he is feeding chicks

Brown Firefinch

Dark-backed Weaver carrying nesting materials

Pontoon Camp, Broadbill habitat

Green-backed Woodpecker

Little Greenbul

Narina Trogon male

Purple-banded Sunbird male

Schalow's Turaco

Spectacled Weaver

Square-tailed Drongo nesting in Pontoon Camp, with chicks

Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird

Purple-throated Cuckooshrike female

Raptors were plentiful, and mostly not restricted by habitat.

The 13 species included Black-shouldered Kite, Yellow-billed Kite, White-headed Vulture, Bateleur, African Marsh-harrier, Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Wahlberg's Eagle and the best, African Hobby - a rare bird in Southern Africa.

Yellow-billed Kite

Whilst waiting one evening at Fibwe Hide for the bats to emerge, I was treated to a spectacular Barn Swallow sighting. A small flock flew in, flying around over the swamp. The flock grew larger and larger, reaching about 3,000 Barn Swallows before they flew out of sight. Amazing!

It may not look like much, but there are nearly 3,000 Barn Swallows in this picture!

I like to include other interesting critters that I find, but in Kasanka I was so busy birding I didn't have time for much else. I did disturb a bright green snake in Pontoon Camp, probably a Green Snake sp. (Philothamnus sp.).
I saw African Striped Skink (Trachylepis striata) at Wasa Lodge and found a few small Guttural Toads (Amietophrynus gutturalis) in camp.

African Striped Skink

Guttural Toad

Sadly, we had to leave this fantastic place, and we made our way to Lusaka early on the 23rd of October, 2013. The 520km drive took roughly six hours.

To be continued... Mana Pools next!

Part five - Mana Pools