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The following largely unconfirmed records have all been published for interest only in Bulletins of the African Bird Club.

The following records are from July 2008–January 2009. At Shashe Dam, in eastern Botswana, 42 Great White Pelicans Pelecanus onocrotalus were
counted on 3 August whilst 14 were observed at Lake Ngami on 27 July and six on the Boteti River near Samedupi on 3 August. In the Okavango Delta, c.57 Slaty Egrets Egretta vinaceigula were noted on the Jao / Kwetsani flats on 4 August. At two breeding colonies in Moremi Game Reserve, 132 Yellow-billed Storks Mycteria ibis were seen at Xaxanaka Lediba on 13 August and 25 at Gadikwe Lediba on 14 August. Over 1,500 African Openbills Anastomus lamelligerus were observed on the Chobe floodplain near Kasane on 3 July, with a Black Sparrowhawk Accipiter
melanoleucus along the river on the same date. In December, a Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus, hunting over Impalila Island, and an African Hobby Falco cuvierii were noted. On 21 December, a male Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus, 12 Lesser Kestrels Falco naumanni and 300 Black-winged Pratincoles Glareola nordmanni were found on Dautsa Flats, west of Sehitwa.

In the south-east, a total of 119 Maccoa Ducks Oxyura maccoa was seen at five sites in July. A single Fulvous Whistling Duck Dendrocygna bicolor was at Bokaa
Dam on 20 July and single White-backed Ducks Thallasornis leuconotus at Thagale Dam on 20 July and Sojwe Pan on 12 August. A Baillon’s Crake Porzana pusilla was seen at Planet Baobab near Gweta, north of the Makgadikgadi, in late
November. On 12 December, c.100 Chestnut-banded Plovers Charadrius pallidus were seen at Rysana Pan and 23 at Mopipi Dam, where over 4,000 waders and terns were counted, including 1,000 Black-winged Pratincoles, 1,500 Caspian
Plovers C. asiaticus and two White-fronted Plovers C. marginatus. A Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos, 304 Black-winged Pratincoles and a Caspian Tern Sterna caspia were at Bokaa Dam on 18 January.

In the Makagadikgadi Pans, 31 Chestnut-banded Plovers and three Caspian Terns were seen between Sua Spit and Nata Delta, in the north of Sua Pan, on 10 August. A flock of 500 pratincoles, most of which were Black-winged Pratincoles, was at Mopipi Dam, in the south of the Makgadikgadi system, on 30 November. In
Moremi Game Reserve, a Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus seen at Xakanaxa on 18 November was possibly the same as that seen on 21 August at Dead Tree Island. At Maun, a Garganey Anas querquedula was seen at the sewage ponds on 20 January, whilst a Thick-billed Cuckoo Pachycoccyx audebertii was of note in November. At Lake Ngami c.28,500 waterbirds were counted on 14–16 December, including 550 Fulvous Whistling Ducks, 200 Black-winged Pratincoles, two Grey Plovers Pluvialis squatarola, a Pectoral Sandpiper, ten Black-tailed Godwits
Limosa limosa and 18 African Skimmers Rynchops flavirostris.

Pink-billed Larks Spizocorys conirostris were numerous west of Rysana Pan and at the edge of the central Kalahari Game Reserve in mid August. A Rosy-throated
Longclaw Macronyx ameliae was found on the Jao / Kwetsani flats, in the Okavango, on 4 August. Ten Bronze Mannikins Spermestes cucullatus were drinking at a garden pool in Francistown on 31 October; this is outside their usual
range. Two Common Mynas Acridotheres tristis were also seen in Francistown, consolidating their hold in east and south-east Botswana. A trip along the border with Namibia, east of Mohembo, on 17–18 December produced an African Hobby, a Corncrake Crex crex in 1821B, pairs of Mosque Swallows Hirundo senegalensis at three locations, Purple-banded Sunbirds Cinnyris bifasciatus in 1822A2 and 1822B1, and six Sharp-tailed Starlings Lamprotornis acuticaudatus.

The following records are from the period November 2007–April 2008. Three South African Shelduck Tadorna cana at Lake Ngami on 3 February were the first at this site since the 1970s, and well north of the species’ usual range in south-east Botswana. Maccoa Duck Oxyura maccoa also occurs mainly in the south-east where 56 were seen in January at various sites; of note were 51 at Jwaneng sewage ponds, one at Sojwe Pan on 15 January and another in the Moshaweng Valley near Kotoloname on 18 January. White-backed Ducks Thallasornis leuconotus bred at Lake Ngami, with numerous broods seen in late January; this species was also seen on the northern arm of Ntwetwe Pan in the Makgadikgadi on 30 January.

A flock of 17 Grey Crowned Cranes Balearica regulorum was seen at Nata Sanctuary in Sua Pan in the Makgadikgadi system on 13 March. Other noteworthy records included a Black Stork Ciconia nigra south of Kasane, a male Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus at Nata Sanctuary on 3 January, a Denham’s Bustard Neotis denhami at Tale Pans, south-west of Lake Ngami, on 4–5 February, a Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus and a Eurasian Curlew N. arquata at the Botsash site on Sua Pan in early January and a Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola in the Linyanti on 24–26 November. Black-winged Pratincoles Glareola nordmanni were recorded at Thagale Dam, 50 km north of Gaborone, on 15 January (one), at Sojwe Pan on 13 January (four) and flocks of up to 500 at Lake Ngami on 31 January – 4 February and at Masalanyane Pan, near Sehitwa, on 16 February.

Along the Namibian border, between Mohembo and the Linyanti, an African Hobby Falco cuvierii, a pair of Grey-headed Parrots Poicephalus fuscicollis, a Shelley’s Sunbird Cinnyris shelleyi and four flocks of Sharp-tailed Starlings Lamprotornis acuticaudus were recorded on 9 – 14 February. Shelley’s Sunbirds continue to be reported from the Chobe area.

A Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava was at Thagale Dam, on 15 January. In the southern Kalahari, between Tsetseng and Dutlwe, Buffy Anthus vaalensis, Plain-backed A. leucophrys and Long-tailed Pipits A. longicaudatus were identified on 21–23 April.

The following records are from the period June - December 2007, with one from March. On 22–23 July, 834 Great White Pelicans Pelecanus onocrotalus were counted on the Chobe River and its floodplain, 19 Pink-backed Pelicans P. rufescens at Shashe Dam, and 180 Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus (ruber) roseus and 31 Lesser Flamingos Phoeniconaias minor at Bokaa Dam. Some 50 Slaty Egrets Egretta vinaceigula were on the Boro River on 14–15 July, 16 on Jao Flats on 17 July, and seven on the Chobe River on 22 July. On 17 June, 63 Maccoa Ducks Oxyura maccoa were found at three sites, the largest count being 44 at Jwaneng Sewage Pond.

Jackal Buzzards Buteo rufofuscus have been noted at least four times since August. Of interest was an Orange River Francolin Francolinus levaillantioides heard near Oodi in November. During waterbird counts in the Okavango in July, 68 Wattled Cranes Bugeranus carunculatus were recorded at six sites. Common Quail Coturnix coturnix and Burchell’s Coursers Cursorius rufus were observed at Lake Ngami on 29 July; the latter species was also found at Tshane Tshane Pan.

Grey Plovers Pluvialis squatarola were reported from Bokaa Dam on 22 July (one), where there was also a White-fronted Plover Charadrius marginatus, and in the Liyanti at the mouth of the Savuti Channel on 24 November (two). Two Caspian Terns Sterna caspia were seen at Shashe dam on 30 September. African Skimmers Rynchops flavirostris were observed on the Okavango River near Shakawe on 7–8 August (39) and on the Chobe River on 22 July (42). Large numbers of Grey-headed Gulls Larus cirrocephalus were recorded, including 377 on the Chobe River on 22–23 July and 161 at Nata Delta.

A survey of Short-clawed Lark Certhilauda chuana in south-eastern Botswana in November–December found the species to be common on fallow fields north of Gaborone around Oodi and Kopong, between Molepolole and Thamaga and between Molepolole and Hatsalatladi, and further south around Ranaka and Ntlhantlhe. Two Tree Pipits Anthus trivialis were discovered at Chanoga, on the Boteti River south-east of Maun, on 18 November; this species is rare this far south. A Bokmakierie Telophorus zeylonus was near Nnywane Dam north of Lobatse on 9 March and a Southern Boubou Laniarius ferrugineus was heard along the Gamoleele River near Molepolole in December.

On 8 September, the first Rose-coloured Starling Sturnus roseus for Botswana was photographed at Mowana Safari Lodge, at Kasane in the north, amongst a large group of Wattled Starlings Creatophora cinerea on the golf course; this irruptive species very rarely strays south of North Africa. Further down the Boteti at Leroo le Tau good numbers of Cape Sparrows Passer capensis were noted from 23–25 September; this sparrow is scarce in northern Botswana.

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The following records are mostly from the period December 2006 - early June 2007, with a few from earlier. Totals of 3,206 Great White Pelicans Pelecanus onocrotalus and 49 Pink-backed Pelicans P. rufescens were at Nata Delta on 30 January, with another seven of the latter at Sua Spit on 11 February. On 2 January a Black Stork Ciconia nigra was seen at Dopotta, Tuli Block, and four in nearby Majale; two were at Coombe Farm on the Limpopo on 2–3 June. At Sua Spit, in the Makgadikgadi system, there were an estimated 100,000+ Lesser Flamingos Phoeniconaias minor on 11 February, together with 500+ Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus (ruber) roseus. In early March an aerial survey was made of the flamingo colony on Sua Pan. With the lack of rain and intense heat during late January and February only 1,000–2,000 chicks remained, huddled around an already abandoned nesting colony; no adults were on nests.

Away from the northern wetlands, a Fulvous Whistling Duck Dendrocygna bicolor was at Bokaa Dam on 21 January and three at Sua Spit on 11 February; a count of 500 was made on the Chobe floodplain in January. There were 831 White-backed Ducks Thalassornis leuconotus on the Boteti River and 204 on the Thamalakane River near Maun during January. The total count of Maccoa Ducks Oxyura maccoa in south-east Botswana in January was 91 birds at four sites. Knob-billed Ducks Sarkidiornis melanotos rarely breed in the south-east, exceptions being in the wet summer of 1999/2000, so two ducklings in the Kopong Hills on 4 March 2006 are of note. On the Chobe floodplain 3,559 were seen in late July 2006. A male Northern Pintail Anas acuta was observed in Chobe National Park on 2 February.

Two nests of African White-backed Vultures Gyps africanus were seen with well-grown juveniles on 23 September 2006, between Phitsane Molopo and Metlojane in the south-east, whilst in northern Botswana 172 nests were located in an aerial survey. At least 20 nests were seen near the Limpopo River at Coombe Farm on 2–3 June. A male Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus was at Lake Ngami in early January and two were reported from Nata Sanctuary on 30 January, where four Montagu’s Harriers C. pygargus were noted in the month. A single Pallid Harrier C. macrourus was seen further south at Sua Spit in early February. Black Sparrowhawks Accipiter melanoleucus were seen in March/April at three sites in south-east Botswana: near Kanye, at Ngotane near Gaborone and near Mogobane. Jackal Buzzards Buteo rufofuscus were observed near Kanye on 21 January (one) and near Lobatse (a pair). Peregrine Falcons Falco peregrinus were reported from near Francistown in early January, on the Chobe River near Kasane on 27 January and in Chobe National Park, where two were seen in early February.

The only significant group of Wattled Cranes Bugeranus carunculatus was on the Jao Flats, Okavango Delta, where 56 were present on 27 January. There were 12 Grey Crowned Cranes Balearica regulorum at Nata Sanctuary on 30 January and two at Sua Spit on 11 February; this species was also seen at Kazuma Pan on 31 January and at Savuti waterhole, on the western side of Savuti Marsh, on 6 February.

There was a count of 210 Black-winged Pratincoles Glareola nordmanni at Bokaa Dam on 21 January and of over 1,000 at Lake Ngami in the second week of January. In the same month, two White-fronted Plovers Charadrius marginatus were at Bokaa Dam, one at Lake Ngami and eight at Maun sewage ponds. Also at Bokaa Dam in January were five Caspian Plovers C. asiaticus. The only sightings of Chestnut-banded Plovers C. pallidus were in the Makgadikgadi system where 14 were at Nata Sanctuary on 30 January and eight at Sua Spit on 11 February. There was a count of 59 Common Ringed Plovers C. hiaticula at Bokaa Dam on 21 January. African Wattled Lapwings Vanellus senegallus are scarce in south-east Botswana but three were seen at Lobatse on 28 October 2006 and 8–12 on 23 January. Single Green Sandpipers Tringa ochropus were reported from Dopotta, Tuli Block, on 5 January 2006, Gamoleele Dam on 21 January 2007 and along the Chobe River on 8 April. In the southern Okavango Delta, 14 Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa were seen on 26–27 December and 10 at Lake Ngami in the second week of January.

A single Grey-headed Gull Larus cirrocephalus was at a small pan near Sojwe Pan on 21 May 2006, five at Nata Delta and 30 at Sua Spit on 10/11 June 2006, with three there on 8 October. Small numbers bred at Lake Ngami in late October. In 2007, 98 were counted at Nata Delta on 30 January and 65 at Sua Spit on 11 February. An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull L. fuscus was photographed in the Linyanti in December and two immatures were at Lake Ngami in early January. A flock of 38 African Skimmers Rynchops flavirostris was on the Boteti River on 28 January.

Two Grey-headed Kingfishers Halcyon leucocephala were at Dopotta, in the Tuli Block, on 30 December, one near Kazungula in early January and two on the Jao Flats on 27 January. Also at Dopotta, hundreds of Dusky Larks Pinarocorys nigricans were present on 28 December–9 January, with up to ten seen together. The summer drought may have resulted in the appearance of three groups of Grey-backed Sparrow Larks Eremopterix verticalis near Mogobane Dam on 15 April, well away from their usual range. In the south-east five Orange-throated Longclaws Macronyx capensis were on grassland north of Kgoro Pan on 15 October 2006.

Highlights of a trip in south-west Botswana in late April - early May included a pair of Burchell’s Coursers Cursorius rufus at Tshane Tshane Pan, c.100 Stark’s Larks Eremalauda starki at Swart Pan, c.12 in two locations in the Nossob Valley within Botswana, and c.40 at Tshane Tshane Pan, pairs and small groups of Pink-billed Larks Spizocorys conirostris noted on six occasions in dune slacks, a Plain-backed Pipit Anthus leucophrys near Sita Pan, a pale Tractrac Chat Cercomela tractrac at Swart Pan and a pair of slightly darker chats at Tshane Tshane Pan, with a total of 39 Dusky Sunbirds Cinnyris fuscus at the northern boundary of Mabuasehube Game Reserve (part of Kgalakgadi Transfrontier Park), probably representing an influx into Botswana.

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Records from June - December 2006 include the following. In July, in the Gaborone area, were 31 Great Crested Grebes Podiceps cristatus, including a pair with a 10–14 day-old juvenile, at Bokka Dam and nine at Moshupa Dam. On the Boteti River, in the southern Okavango Delta, c.1,000 Great White Pelicans Pelecanus onocrotalus were seen on 28 July and at Lake Ngami some 342 in late July. The highest winter count of Slaty Egrets Egretta vinaceigula was of 27 on the Jao/Ketswane Flats, in the Okavango, in July. A large winter flock of 213 White Storks Ciconia ciconia was at Sojwe Pan on 11 June and 94 were at Lake Ngami on 20 August. Along the Chobe River, between the old Chobe National Park entrance and Ngoma Bridge, more than 16,000 birds were counted in July. A total of 92 Yellow-billed Storks Mycteria ibis, over 10,000 White-faced Whistling Ducks Dendrocygna viduata and 3,500 Knob-billed Ducks Sarkidiornis melanotus were of note. One Fulvous Whistling Duck Dendrocygna bicolor was seen at Ramotswa sewage ponds. Maccoa Duck Oxyura maccoa numbered 17 at Bokaa Dam, ten at Gamoleele Dam, one at Bathoen Dam and eight at Jwaneng sewage ponds.

An adult Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus was seen in the Tuli Block on 18 June. Surveys by air in northern Botswana revealed 172 nests of White-backed Vultures Gyps africanus, nine nests of Lappet-faced Vultures Torgos tracheliotus, 12 nests of White-headed Vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis and many nests of other raptors and storks. In the south Jackal Buzzard Buteo rufofuscus sightings have been more frequent, with birds noted near Otse and Lobatse. A flock of Wattled Cranes Bugeranus carunculatus was observed along the Boteti River and another flock of 17 at Mea Pan in May.

Few unusual waders were seen in this period, but there was a Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus at Chanoga on the Botetii River on 11 August, three Sanderling Calidris alba at Sua Spit in the Makgadikgadi system on 8 October and a Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus at Lobatse sewage ponds on 3 November. There were seven White-fronted Plovers Charadrius marginatus at Sua Spit on 11 June and 8 October and one at Shashe Dam on 1 July, whilst seven Chestnut-banded Plovers C. pallidus were seen at Sua Pan and 46 at Mea Pan, including 19 juveniles. Four immature Lesser Black-backed Gulls Larus fuscus were at Lake Ngami on 29 August.

A dead Pennant-winged Nightjar Macrodipteryx vexillarius was found at Phakalane, just north of Gaborone on 15 September; this is far south of its usual range. In November a Broad-billed Roller Eurystomus glaucurus was seen just north of Lobatse, the first record of this migrant in south-east Botswana. Also outside their known range were Bradfield's Hornbill Tockus bradfieldi, Spike-heeled Lark Chersomanes albofasciata and Dusky Sunbird Cinnyris fuscus in the Groot Laagte area, north of Ghanzi, on 28 August.

Since the discovery of South African Cliff Swallows Hirundo spilodera nesting at Ramatlabama in 2000, a further four colonies have been located in south-east Botswana, the most recent being c.50 pairs on a derelict house at Papatlo, north-west of Ramatlabama.

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Last page update 7th September 2009