The South Luangwa - Bird species

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Birdwatching is superb in the Valley

Near the end of the dry season, when the river and oxbow lagoons begin to recede, hundreds of large waterbirds can be seen wading through the shallows. The red faced yellow billed storks move along with their beaks open underwater, disturbing the muddy liquid with their feet until the fish flop into their mouths. The pelicans tend to operate in lines abreast, driving the fish before them into shallows before scooping them up into their beak pouches. The striking 1.6m saddle bill stork makes quick darting movements into the water. Then there's the marabou stork, great white egrets, black headed herons, open billed storks and the stately goliath heron that can stand in the same position for hours before pouncing.

The most beautiful are the elegant crowned cranes, with their golden tufts congregating in large flocks at the salt pans. Around the same time, just before the rains set in, in November, the pale arctic migrants from Northern Europe and the intra-African migrants arrive to exploit the feeding opportunities that the warm rainy season brings. These include the red chested cuckoo, white storks, European swallows. Swifts, hobbies and bee-eaters, as well as birds of prey such as the Steppe eagles and Steppe buzzards that come all the way from Russia.

A special sight is the hundreds of brightly coloured carmine bee-eaters nesting in the steep sandy banks of the river. The ever-present sounds of the birds in the Valley takes some getting used to. An early caller is the ground hornbill, looking like a well-dressed turkey, but emitting the sound of a deep base drum. The melodious Heuglin's robin, the shrill cry of the fish eagle and the background cooing of doves and larks. With about 400 of Zambia's 732 species of birds appearing in the Valley, including 39 birds of prey and 47 migrant species, there is plenty for the birdwatcher to spot, whatever the season. For an enhanced experience of the bush, one would do well to develop an interest in the varying vegetation in Zambia.

Some magnificent trees grow in the Valley and it certainly adds to the richness of one's experience to begin to recognise different tree species and figure out the implications of them growing in that particular area.