Whales, Wildlife & Wilderness                                                                                                                                                 Pam & Wayne Osborn

Botswana - The Panhandle

Southern Carmine Bee-eaters

 

Southern carmine bee-eaters arrive in the delta from southern Africa to breed during October to March. These spectacular migrants are a challenge to photograph in flight. These images were taken as the birds returned to a nesting site near Shakawe. It was quite a large colony and the birds were doing very well in their forays along the flats of the Okavango River.

Okavango River

 

Elephant grass and papyrus conceal the river banks. Sand banks provide vital nesting sites for African skimmers.

 

African Skimmers

 

African skimmers fly south to the delta to breed between September and December. The lower mandible is longer than the upper and cuts the water as they fly fast and low to feed (hence the name). Exposed river banks are used as nesting sites.

 

African Jacana

 

Lesser Jacana

 

African Fish Eagles

These fish eagles are catching tilapia. The images are not a natural hunt as the tilapia have been injected with air so they float and then are thrown from a boat. The number of feeds is controlled so the birds don't become habituated.

 

Juvenile African Fish Eagle

Pel's Fishing Owl

 

Collared Pratincole

A near-threatened species, a collared (red-winged) pratincole comes in to drink on a sand bank.

 

Duma Lillies

 

 

Green Water Snake

 

 

Cardinal Woodpecker

 

 

Nile Crocodile

 

 

White-fronted Bee-eaters

 

 

Pied Kingfisher

 

 

African Darter

 

 

Long-toed lapwing

 

 

Okavango River Sand Banks

African skimmers were using these sand banks as a nesting site. Most of the skimmer images were taken at this site. A fire had been through several days before we arrived.

 

Panhandle Meanderings

A typical Okavango River scene through the Panhandle.

 

Makoro at Shakawe

Boys in a Makoro or traditional dugout canoe on the Okavango River at Shakawe. A palm frond is being used as a paddle.

 

Bomas in the Kalahari Sand

Away from the influence of the Okavango River, the bush quickly transitions to dry Kalahari. These bomas or animal enclosures make a striking geometric contrast in the landscape.

 

Storm Clouds in the Panhandle