Birds of Botswana

PSA Journal, Nov, 2006 by Thomas Kreulen

Travel to Africa is usually filled with anticipation of seeing the large mammals. Safari advertisements display elephants, lions, leopards, hippopotamus and the like. Frequently overlooked are the wealth of birds which are as abundant and provide the photographer with outstanding opportunities to obtain beautiful images. The trip I made with my wife to South Africa and Botswana met our every expectation. Although the supply of large animals was plentiful, we rapidly became fascinated with the birds and focused a good deal of our energy in photographing them. Let me share some tips, experiences and facts,

Travel Arrangements

Access to southern Africa can be accomplished by joining a photographic safari or arranging a safari independent of a photographic group. We arranged a "non-photographic" safari and found ample opportunity for photography. We met many people in the game camps who were also oriented to photography, sharing our enthusiasm and did not provide an obstacle to our photography in the game vehicles. Access to the game parks in Botswana is through various companies which manage them, in our case Wilderness Safaris (www.wilderness-safaris.com). To arrange a trip one's own, it is best to contact an agent who is a specialist in African travel. We found Gateway Travel in Grosse Point, MI to be outstanding. They supplied all we needed to know as well as making all necessary travel arrangements. The fall months (April/May) are an excellent time to go as the weather is comfortable and dry and the flows from the northern rivers are filling the Delta. The game camps are very modern and not at all primitive as one might expect. One can have a private room with both an indoor and outdoor shower! (Only the animals will notice). The food is plentiful, high quality and fits a wide variety of tastes.

Equipment

The amount of camera equipment the photographer carries is his decision but I would recommend considerable redundancy. There are no camera shops in the bush. We used digital cameras only which has the advantage of not dealing with film in the airports. A storage device is needed for images acquired, however. I brought 2 Nikon digital bodies including a D100 and D70, several lens including a 500 mm lens, a laptop computer and an additional DVD storage device. This may seem excessive. However, it is important to duplicate your critical components including storage media. If any of these components fail, photography may be doomed. I fit all the equipment into a combined camera/ computer pack. In addition I had a clothing duffle which also contained my tripod. My wife used a Nikon Coolpix 8800 with a 10x zoom lens which was easy to transport and took excellent images.

Travel

We flew from Johannesburg, South Africa to Maun, Botswana where travel to the camps begins. The small planes which fly travelers into the bush have a weight restriction of 40 pounds including clothing and equipment. My camera/computer pack alone weighed 40 pounds. I was able to get along by taking very few clothes, washing them while in the camps and combining some items with my wife's pack. Most of the game camps are located in the Okavango Delta which is in the northwestern section of the country. Water flows from Angola through the Okavango River into this beautiful oasis providing an ideal habitat for mammals and birds alike. Game rides occur twice daily, morning and night, with a rest period in midday. Travel is by open Range Rovers which are equipped to travel through water as well as on land. Some of the camps become quite flooded during the later fall season making this an excellent location for bird photography.

The Range Rovers are tiered so that the traveler has visual access to the front as well as the sides. However, if the vehicle is filled with additional guests, there may he three to a seat and vision will be limited. For that reason we reserved a single vehicle to ourselves for at least one day in each camp. This allowed me to set up my tripod on the floor and use my 500mm lens. Without this setup, I could not have obtained some of the images. I found a bean bag awkward to use since it requires me to lean over a handle bar. Ideally, one could clamp a support onto the bar in front of the seat but I currently do not know of such a device.

The guides are quite knowledgeable in identifying the birds both visually and by their songs. They have all taken courses and passed examinations to qualify. In addition, I would recommend taking notes while photographing as it is easy to forget the names of the birds by the end of the day. A guide book also will enhance any photographic experience. There are several large guides which can be purchased or found in the game camps. We obtained a smaller version entitled Birds of Botswana by Kenneth Newman which was quite adequate.

Photography

Photographing some of the birds is a real challenge. The terrain is rough and one is confined to the vehicle. It can be difficult in a noisy vehicle to get close enough to a bird to make a shot instead of chasing the subject away. It requires being prepared and to begin shooting promptly even if the composition may not be ideal. There is no time to be too analytical: this is another advantage of digital when there is no concern about wasting film.