Zambia

Day 1: The tour begins in Livingstone where, depending on arrival times, we’ll have our introduction to Zambia’s birds on our accommodation’s grounds along the banks of a tributary of the Zambezi River. We may encounter Black Crake, Bennett’s Woodpecker, Magpie Shrike, Violet-backed Starling, White-fronted Bee-eater, White-browed Robin-Chat, Holub’s Golden-Weaver, and with luck, the resident Ross’s Turaco, a rare vagrant that arrived a few years ago and decided to stay. Night in Livingstone.  

Day 2: We’ll visit the wastewater treatment plant, a productive spot for shorebirds and waterfowl. We can expect White-faced Whistling-Duck, Blue-billed Teal, Red-billed Duck, African Swamphen, Long-toed Lapwing, Greater Painted-Snipe, and Collared Pratincole. The area also attracts falcons and with luck we may spot Dickinson’s Kestrel, Red-necked Falcon, or Eurasian Hobby. We'll be hyper-alert as this site has a reputation for turning up vagrants.. 

Nearby Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park offers a diverse mix of habitats, including Zambezian and Mopane Woodlands, riverine forests, and the mighty Zambezi River. As we explore, we’ll be on the lookout for Rock Pratincole, Yellow-billed Stork, Goliath Heron, Bateleur, Western Banded Snake-Eagle, Broad-billed Roller, Retz’s Helmetshrike, and Collared Palm-Thrush. The park is also home to an array of mammals, including Plains Zebra, Giraffe, Hippopotamus, African Elephant, and Impala—and with luck, we may even encounter a White Rhinoceros. 

After lunch, we’ll experience the breathtaking Victoria Falls, where the Zambezi plunges 350 feet into the gorge below. The constant spray has created a lush rainforest, providing habitat for species like Schalow’s Turaco and Trumpeter Hornbill. Night near Livingstone. 

Day 3: We’ll venture west of Livingstone for a full day’s birding in prime habitat for our main target, the near-endemic Black-cheeked Lovebird. Along the way, we’ll encounter a rich variety of other birds including Meyer’s Parrot, Brown Snake-Eagle, Green Woodhoopoe, Marico Flycatcher, Violet-eared Waxbill, and Shaft-tailed Whydah. Night in Livingstone. 

Day 4: We’ll target any species we may have missed in the Livingstone area before departing in the afternoon for Choma and the fig-tree savanna biome. Night in Choma. 

Day 5: We’ll have the full day to bird the Nkanga Conservation Area, one of the most reliable sites for the endemic Chaplin’s Barbet. Other distracting birds include Black-chested Snake-Eagle, Martial Eagle, Racket-tailed Roller, Mimobo Barbet, Miombo Tit, Stierling’s Wren-Warbler, and Sooty and Arnot’s Chats. If there’s water, we may find Lesser Moorhen, Allen’s Gallinule, and Parasitic Weaver. Night in Choma. 

Day 6: A travel day: After breakfast, we’ll make our way toward the capital and our lodging north of the city. A nearby private farm offers outstanding birding, and if time allows, we’ll make an evening visit where we could witness an impressive gathering of waterfowl, waterbirds, and shorebirds, including over a thousand Marabou Storks. Other highlights might include Coppery-tailed Coucal, Kittlitz’s Plover alongside a dozen other shorebirds, African Spoonbill, and both Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans. Night north of Lusaka. 

Day 7: We’ll complete our drive to Kasanka National Park, our base for the next three nights. Along the way, we’ll make a few stops to stretch our legs and pursue some target birding for Black-backed Barbet, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Bocage’s Akalat and the elusive Evergreen-forest Warbler. If time allows, we may even have the chance to witness the truly spectacular sight of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of Straw-colored Fruit Bats emerging from their roosts at dusk. Night at Kasanka. 

Days 8-9: Kasanka is home to over 110 mammal species and an impressive array of birds. We’ll spend two full days exploring the National Park on the lookout for species such as Boehm’s Bee-eater, Pel’s Fishing-Owl, Purple-throated Cuckooshrike, Boehm’s Flycatcher, Miombo Scrub-Robin, Rufous-bellied Tit, White-tailed Blue Flycatcher, among many others. On the mammal side, we may encounter the rare Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest, which has a healthy population here, as well as Sable, Puku, Sitatunga, and Sharpe’s Grysbok. 

Our lodge, nestled beside a productive lake, home to a variety of fantastic waterbirds including African Openbill, Lesser Jacana, and Wattled Crane. The lodge deck provides a perfect spot for relaxed scanning of the lake. Nights in Kasanka. 

Days 10-11: We’ll depart Kasanka, then detour to search for the highly localized Katanga Masked-Weaver, which has a patchy distribution in northwest Zambia and southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. We may also spot a few hundred Black Lechwe. From there, we’ll continue on to Mutinondo Wilderness Lodge, where we’ll stay for two nights in one of Zambia’s most scenic regions. 

Nestled among dramatic inselbergs, the area offers species exclusive to the region such as Eastern Miombo Sunbird, Bar-winged Weaver, Laura's Woodland-Warbler, White-tailed Crested-Flycatcher, Marsh Widowbird, and Green-headed Sunbird. In addition, Bocage's Akalat, Gray-olive Greenbul, White-tailed Blue Flycatcher, Anchieta's Sunbird, and Western Miombo Sunbird are more readily found here than in Kasanka. 

We’ll also spend time searching for the rare and super elusive Chestnut-headed Flufftail. As of this writing, there are only about a dozen records of this bird on eBird. Nights at Mutinondo Wilderness Lodge. 

Day 12: We’ll spend the morning looking for species we may be missing before relocating to Forest Inn, halfway back towards Lusaka. Although a stopover, the birding around the Inn can be productive and may include species we haven’t seen. Night at Forest Inn. 

Day 13: Leaving the north behind, we’ll make the long trek south towards the Lower Zambezi valley. Along the way, we’ll stop for an excellent lunch and locally roasted coffees near Lusaka. Upon arrival in the valley, we’ll find another unique woodland habitat dominated by open-canopied mopane trees and crossed by the occasional streams lined with riparian vegetation. Night near Chirundu. 

Day 14: We’ll concentrate on the highly prized African Pitta. Having just returned to their breeding territory, they’ll be on full display making it easier to see this normally secretive species. We’ll also search for other marvelous birds that occur in this new habitat, including Barred and African Emerald Cuckoos, African Broadbill, Eastern Nicator, Livingstone’s Flycatcher, and Bearded Scrub-Robin.  

In the afternoon we’ll take an evening cruise along the Zambezi River traversing both sides of the Zambia/Zimbabwe River as we circle around sandbars and islands. Knob-billed Ducks are often in the hundreds, and we should expect to see a fine variety of waterfowl, shorebirds, waterbirds, and other birds such as White-winged Tern, White-fronted, Southern Carmine, and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, White-crowned Lapwing, Collared Pratincole, and with luck, African Skimmer. Night near Chirundu. 

Day 15: We’ll have a second morning as a backup for African Pitta and mop-up birding before heading back to Lusaka for flights home.  

South Luangwa Extension 

Ext Day 1 (Day 15): Those continuing on the extension will spend the night in Lusaska.  

Day 2: We’ll take a one-hour flight from Lusaka to Mfuwe and transfer to our accommodation on the scenic Luangwa River. Our stunning lodge has literally thought of everything to make our stay as comfortable and personable as possible. Here we may encounter some mammals for the first time including hippos, Impala, and perhaps lion. The lush property should be full of birds including Jameson’s Firefinch, Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike, Tropical Boubou, Retz’s Helmetshrike, and perhaps our first Lilian’s Lovebirds. The river supports a host of waterbirds including an excellent representation of storks, namely Yellow-billed, Saddle-billed, and Marabou. At night we may fall asleep to the sounds of hippos, distant hyenas and perhaps a Square-tailed Nightjar. Night in South Luangwa. 

Ext Days 3-4: Covering an area over 5,600 sq miles, South Luangwa National Park has a reputation for being an unspoiled wilderness and is a renowned destination for mammal viewing. Among the large numbers of Impala and Puku, we’ll keep an eye out for African Buffalo, “Crawshay’s” Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Giraffe, and a host of predators including African Lion, African Wild Dog, Spotted Hyena, and an impressive number of Leopards. Not only is the safari aspect unparalleled, but the birding is exceptional with over 400 species occurring in the park. One of our main targets will be Lilian’s Lovebird, which is unlikely to be seen on the main tour, but common in the park. 

The river hosts an impressive array of birds such as flashy Southern Carmine Bee-eaters, which breed in colonies on the riverbanks, African Skimmer, various lapwings that prefer sandy islands, and perhaps large gatherings of Gray Crowned-Crane. If we are particularly lucky, we may spot the elusive African Finfoot in the shadows of trees overhanging the water or a roosting Pel’s Fishing-Owl.  

We’ll explore a variety of habitats, from the distinctive mopane woodlands to the lush riverine forests along the Luangwa River. In this area, we recently discovered a remarkable local population of African Pittas, and during our first tour here, we recorded half a dozen individuals—including a riveting sighting of two battling it out. This will serve as an excellent backup for our primary pitta location on the main tour. 

In addition to the pittas, we’ll keep our eyes peeled for Red-billed and Yellow-billed Oxpeckers riding around on the abundant game, the striking Red-throated Twinspot, a diverse array of hornbills, and vibrant starlings. We’ll also observe small flocks of finches at waterholes, including Southern Cordonbleu, Green-winged Pytilia, and Red-billed Firefinch. Every day, we’ll accumulate an impressive variety of species totaling around a hundred species. Nights in South Luagnwa.    

Ext Day 5: Depending on the flight, we may have some time to bird locally after breakfast before catching our flight back to Lusaka where the extension concludes.