10,000 Birds

JUNE 3, 2015

I bring this up because birding the Chobe River in northern Botswana gave me the interesting opportunity to bird a country I technically wasn’t in. The river cruises up the Chobe River are most famous for the dry season aggregations of African Bush Elephants drawn to the year-round water. Hippo and attending Cattle Egret.

Botswana 162

Botswana Birds Lesotho Elephants 162

10,000 Birds

MARCH 18, 2015

White-faced Whistling Duck ( Dendrocygna viduata ); Kasane, Botswana, 1 January. Knob-billed Duck, or Comb Duck ( Sarkidiornis melanotos ); Chobe NP, Botswana, 2 January. Egyptian Goose ( Alopochen aegyptiaca ); Chobe NP, Botswana, 1 January. Egyptian Goose ( Alopochen aegyptiaca ); Chobe NP, Botswana, 1 January.

2015 180

2015 South Africa Botswana Singapore 180

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 16, 2022

One study found that birds living in Botswana had elevated levels of lead in their bloodstreams during hunting season, presumably coming from lead bullets used on animals killed by hunters. A slightly more surprising threat for the vultures comes from elephants. Elephants destroy the trees the vultures live and nest in.

Elephants 147

Elephants Birds Congo Africa 147