Botswana bird sanctuary
Nata Bird Sanctuary
62 bird species recorded; the most in April.
Steve Garvie from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland · CC BY-SA 2.0
This month here
18 species in January.23 species in February.27 species in March.41 species in April.14 species in May.6 species in June.1 species in July.10 species in August.2 species in September.13 species in October.1 species in November.30 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
NT
VU
NT
NT
NT
NTVU
NT
NTVUNTNTNTNT- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
62 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 62Speciesrecorded more than once
- 24Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 1ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 325Recordsopen records within 4 km
- 901 mAltitudeabove the sea
- 6Raptors
- 10Waders
- 3Gulls & seabirds
- 4Ducks & geese
- 6Herons, ibises & grebes
- 6Storks & cranes
- 2Flamingos
- 18Songbirds
- 7Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 62 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- BateleurTerathopius ecaudatus
- Montagu's HarrierCircus pygargus
- Amur FalconFalco amurensis
- Greater KestrelFalco rupicoloides
- Black KiteMilvus migrans
- LannerFalco biarmicus
Waders10 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Blacksmith LapwingVanellus armatus
- Pied AvocetRecurvirostra avosetta
- Double-banded CourserRhinoptilus africanus
- Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
- Black-winged StiltHimantopus himantopus
- RuffCalidris pugnax
- Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
- Crowned lapwingVanellus coronatus
- Marsh SandpiperTringa stagnatilis
Gulls & seabirds3 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- White-winged TernChlidonias leucopterus
- Whiskered TernChlidonias hybrida
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
Ducks & geese4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Red-billed TealAnas erythrorhyncha
- Cape TealAnas capensis
- Blue-billed TealSpatula hottentota
- Cape ShovelerSpatula smithii
Herons, ibises & grebes6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Great White PelicanPelecanus onocrotalus
- African SpoonbillPlatalea alba
- Pink-backed PelicanPelecanus rufescens
- Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
Storks & cranes6 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Leptoptilos crumeniferLeptoptilos crumenifer
- Yellow-billed StorkMycteria ibis
- Wattled CraneBugeranus carunculatusVU
- Grey Crowned CraneBalearica regulorum
- White StorkCiconia ciconia
- Abdim's storkCiconia abdimii
Flamingos2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Lesser FlamingoPhoeniconaias minorNT
- Greater FlamingoPhoenicopterus roseus
Songbirds18 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- African Red-eyed BulbulPycnonotus nigricans
- Pied CrowCorvus albus
- Grey-backed Sparrow-LarkEremopterix verticalis
- White-browed Sparrow-weaverPlocepasser mahali
- Southern Masked WeaverPloceus velatus
- Fork-tailed DrongoDicrurus adsimilis
- Ant-eating ChatMyrmecocichla formicivora
- Green-winged PytiliaPytilia melba
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Cape CrowCorvus capensis
- Shaft-tailed WhydahVidua regia
- Cape StarlingLamprotornis nitens
- Cinnamon-breasted BuntingEmberiza tahapisi
- Desert CisticolaCisticola aridulus
- White-crowned ShrikeEurocephalus anguitimens
- Lesser Grey ShrikeLanius minor
- Arrow-marked BabblerTurdoides jardineii
- Green-backed CamaropteraCamaroptera brachyura
Other birds7 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Northern Black KorhaanAfrotis afraoides
- Kori BustardArdeotis koriNT
- Southern Yellow-billed HornbillTockus leucomelas
- Common OstrichStruthio camelus
- Blue-cheeked Bee-eaterMerops persicus
- Grey LourieCorythaixoides concolor
- Ring-necked DoveStreptopelia capicola
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in April.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan34°/20°100 mm
- Feb33°/20°97 mm
- Mar32°/19°65 mm
- Apr31°/16°21 mm
- May28°/12°3 mm
- Jun26°/9°3 mm
- Jul25°/8°0 mm
- Aug29°/11°0 mm
- Sep33°/15°5 mm
- Oct36°/19°17 mm
- Nov35°/21°54 mm
- Dec34°/21°96 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Nata Bird Sanctuary.
Protected area in Botswana
Nata Bird Sanctuary is a bird sanctuary in Botswana, 901 m above the sea.
62 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 325 open records.
The most recorded are the Northern Black Korhaan, the African Red-eyed Bulbul and the Great White Pelican.
13 species come for the summer, 9 for the winter and 2 only pass through.
1 are threatened worldwide, including Wattled Crane.
The most species are recorded in April.
Get there and watch
- Community Camping Sitecampsite · 7.3 km · 1 within 10 km
- Natanearest town · 15 km in a straight line
- Phillip Gaonwe Matante International Airport (FRW)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 156 km in a straight lineCar hire at FRW airport (Francistown)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 4viewpoints within 5 kmHide and 3 more
- 1campsites within 10 kmCommunity Camping Site
- bird hides within 6 km
- observation towers within 6 km
- marked trails within 4 km
- visitor centres within 6 km
- car parks within 3 km
- restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- places to stay within 10 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Other places nearby.
Nata Bird Sanctuary
Botswana
- 42Birdyas Score
- 62Species
- 24Migrants
- 1Threatened
Victoria Falls National Park
Zimbabwe · 269 km
- 93Birdyas Score
- 474Species
- 165Migrants
- 12Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q6967911) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 325 open bird records within 4 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
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lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit 
mountains
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islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
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viewpoints
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birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit