Namibia's Caprivi Strip: 3

South of Popa Falls, about 15 km on the main road to Botswana (D3403), is the Mahango Section of the Okavango National Park, one of Namiba's birding hotspots. The reason for this is the variety of habitats, ranging from open water, flood-plains and swamps to dry, dense broad-leaved woodland. The most important areas are accessible by two-wheel-drive vehicle (except the western section) and you are allowed to walk in the park. However, you should exercise extreme caution when birding in the Mahango. Elephant, buffalo, hippo and lion all occur and are, needless to say, highly dangerous.

The loop road running down along the Mahango Omuramba and onto the flood-plain margin provides the best viewing opportunities. From the gate to the turnoff onto the loop road (c 1 km) the vegetation is short, broad-leafed woodland and scrub and is an excellent area to see African Cuckoo Falcon, Pale Flycatcher, Bradfield's Hornbill, Mosque Swallow and flocks of Black-throated Canary. Striped Kingfisher breed in the large false mopane, Guibortia coleosperma, at the main gate. Turn left (east) along the omuramba (deep sand on the road west necessitates four-wheel-drive vehicles) and search the tops of the large trees for raptors in the early morning. Martial Eagle, Brown Snake Eagle, Bateleur, Tawny Eagle, Dickinson's Kestrel, Common Kestrel, Lanner Falcon, African Hobby and Dark Chanting Goshawk are regularly seen along the first 2 km of the road.

Secretary Bird can often be found striding through the short grasslands in the omuramba bottom. Dusky, Red-capped, Fawn-coloured, Rufous-naped and Flappet Larks commonly occur. Waders found in the short grasslands include Temminck's Courser, Crowned Plover, Spotted Dikkop and Bronze-winged Courser (late evening). Blue Wildebeest, Burchell's Zebra, Tsessebe, Roan Antelope and Warthog favour this area, particularly when there is a green flush following rain. Small herds of Red Lechwe move into this area when the lower sections flood.

About 4 km from the turnoff the road passes a series of small wetlands on the west and this is an excellent area for waterbirds, including Red-billed Duck, Greater Painted-Snipe, African Snipe and Three-banded Plover. Baillon's, African and Spotted Crake have been found in the grassier areas. Slaty Egret, Rufous-bellied Heron, Squacco Heron and Dwarf Bittern occur here following good rains.

The flood-plains of the Okavango River are variable in width and character through the northern end of the park. On quieter lagoons and backwaters African Pygmy Goose, African and Lesser Jacana (rare), White-backed Duck and Allen's Gallinule should be looked for. Listen out for Chirping Cisticola, Greater Swamp-Warbler, Swamp Boubou and Winding Cisticola in dense stands of papyrus and Phragmites reedbeds.

There are three resident pairs of Wattled Crane in the Mahango and these are mostly seen on the northern flood-plains and near the Giant Baobab picnic site, which is also the best place to watch the flood-plain. Long-toed Lapwing, Wattled Plover, Coppery-tailed and Black Coucals, Black Heron, Goliath Heron, African Open-billed Stork, Saddle-billed Stork, Glossy Ibis, several species of Bee-eater, Banded Martin, Grey-rumped, Wire-tailed and Lesser Striped Swallow and White-winged Widow can all be seen from here. Pink-throated Longclaw, Collared Pratincole, African Skimmer (dry season only), Parasitic Weaver, Osprey and African Marsh Harrier occur directly in front of the baobab. This area is also good for mammals including, with luck, more elusive species such as Sable and Sitatunga (very early morning).

The picnic site at Kwetche (about 4 km south of the Baobab) is set in a narrow strip of riparian woodland and overlooks a broad backwater. Kwetche is a good spot to see White-fronted Bee-eater, Golden and Southern Brown-throated Weaver and Swamp Boubou. Playing tapes near the papyrus reed swamps for Greater Swamp-Warbler, Chirping Cisticola and African Water Rail is often successful. African Barred Owlet, Crested Barbet, Yellow-billed and Red-billed Oxpeckers and African Little Sparrowhawk have all been recorded breeding in the very tall trees just to the south of the picnic site. Pel's Fishing Owl and Smaller Banded Snake Eagle have been recorded in this area in the past, but there are few recent records.

Have a look at the (former) woodlands just to the south and west of the picnic spot to get an idea of the destruction that Elephants can cause. The area around Kwetche used to be an excellent site to see 'forest' species such as Terrestrial Brownbul, Collared Sunbird and White-browed Robin-Chat - no more. This was also the favoured habitat of Chobe Bushbuck which is now rare within the park. There is a strong case to be made for culling of Elephant in the Mahango, but no decision has been made because of the intense pressure brought to bear on the wildlife authorities by international 'green' groups.

The dry woodlands in the western section of the park are mostly only accessible by four wheel drive vehicle. However, birding in the woodlands about 500 m south of the loop road turnoff (ie about 1.5 km from the park gates) is quite good. Long-billed Pipit of the race, nyassae, (often known as Wood Pipit) is a rare species which favours open woodland habitat where it feeds in the grassy areas. When flushed it tends to fly up and perch on an exposed branch fairly high up.

Look in the canopy of the taller trees for small bird parties which often contain Yellow White-eye, White-breasted Cuckoo-shrike, Green-capped Eremomela, White Helmet Shrike, African Golden Oriole and Southern Black Tit. Bennett's Woodpecker is most commonly seen in broad-leafed woodlands such as these. Check the undergrowth for Grey Cisticola and Neddicky. Rufous-bellied Tit is rare and difficult to find in the park as is Sharp-tailed Starling. They are more easily seen outside the park in the vicinity of some livestock pens and a cattle crush about 3 km north of the park gates.

Dense teak, Baikiaea plurijuga, woodlands in the extreme west of the Mahango may yield views of White-headed Black Chat, Racket-tailed Roller, Stierling's Wren-Warbler and Wahlberg's Honey-bird (Sharp-billed Honeyguide), but they are sparsely distributed and very hard to find. Meyer's Parrot is found throughout the park but the Brown-necked Parrot tends to favour the drier woodlands and they can be most often seen flying up the omurambas in the early morning on their way to feeding grounds.

A frustration for birders is that the park closes at sunset and it is difficult to see nocturnal species. However, a slow drive back towards Popa Falls is often quite profitable and you can pick up Barn Owl and European Nightjar as well as most of the nightjars and owls mentioned earlier. However, Fiery-necked and Rufous-cheeked Nightjars are the commonest species, while Spotted Eagle-Owl is the commonest large owl in the area, with Verreaux's Eagle-Owl being heard more often than seen. Spotlighting along the road may yield views of Lesser Bushbaby and Common Genet.

There is no accommodation in the park, but there is a range of facilities in the area. Popa Falls Rest Camp (administered by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism) has inexpensive campsites and pleasant hutted accomodation. Ngepi Camp, about 5 km south of Popa, has basic camping facilities but is sometimes difficult to get to. Ndhovu Lodge, 2 km north of the Mahango Gate, is a luxury tented camp, set right on the river and the owners are sensitive to birder's needs. A short boat trip here may yield White-backed Night Heron and Pel's Fishing Owl, while Bat Hawk and African Hobby have been seen hunting over the river in front of the camp on several occasions. If Pel's Fishing Owl is a 'have to see' on your trip you may be tempted to dash down to Shakawe Fishing Camp or Drotsky's Cabins about 30 km south in Botswana.

Last page update 4th August 2010