Birds to See in Botswana in September
50 species listed for September · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
50 bird species on our list for Botswana are recorded regularly in September. Of these, the most often recorded are Fork-tailed Drongo, African Jacana, Great White Egret, Squacco Heron and Egyptian Goose. New this month: Barn Swallow, Willow Warbler, Barn Owl and Yellow Wagtail and 4 more.
New in September8
Leaving after last month
No departures — all species from last month remain.
Residents
(33)Recorded all year
Fork-tailed Drongo
Dicrurus adsimilisLC
Recorded all year

African Jacana
Actophilornis africanusLC
Recorded all year

Great White Egret
Ardea albaLC
Recorded all year

Squacco Heron
Ardeola ralloidesLC
Recorded all year

Egyptian Goose
Alopochen aegyptiacaLC
Recorded all year

Helmeted Guineafowl
Numida meleagrisLC
Recorded all year

Grey Heron
Ardea cinereaLC
Recorded all year

Little Egret
Egretta garzettaLC
Recorded all year

Spur-winged Goose
Plectropterus gambensisLC
Recorded all year

Magpie Shrike
Urolestes melanoleucusLC
Recorded all year

Cattle Egret
Ardea ibisLC
Recorded all year

Hoopoe
Upupa epopsLC
Recorded all year

Glossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellusLC
Recorded all year

Cape Starling
Lamprotornis nitensLC
Recorded all year

Common Ostrich
Struthio camelusLC
Recorded all year

Pied Crow
Corvus albusLC
Recorded all year

Purple Heron
Ardea purpureaLC
Recorded all year

Southern Masked Weaver
Ploceus velatusLC
Recorded all year

African Marsh Harrier
Circus ranivorusLC
Recorded all year

Great Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carboLC
Recorded all year

Black-crowned Night-heron
Nycticorax nycticoraxLC
Recorded all year

Little Bittern
Ixobrychus minutusLC
Regularly Apr–Jan

Little Grebe
Tachybaptus ruficollisLC
Recorded all year

Moorhen
Gallinula chloropusLC
Recorded all year

Secretarybird
Sagittarius serpentariusEN
Recorded all year

Common Reed-warbler
Acrocephalus scirpaceusLC
Regularly Apr–Feb

Rock Dove
Columba liviaLC
Recorded all year

House Sparrow
Passer domesticusLC
Recorded all year

Lanner Falcon
Falco biarmicusLC
Recorded all year

Osprey
Pandion haliaetusLC
Regularly May–Mar

Cape Sparrow
Passer melanurusLC
Regularly May–Mar

Greater Flamingo
Phoenicopterus roseusLC
Recorded all year

Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Dendrocygna bicolorLC
Regularly May–Feb
Summer visitors
(12)Arrives to breed; scarce or absent in winter
Common Sandpiper
Actitis hypoleucosLC
Regularly Jul–May

Wood Sandpiper
Tringa glareolaLC
Regularly Aug–May

Greenshank
Tringa nebulariaLC
Recorded all year

Ruff
Calidris pugnaxLC
Regularly Aug–May

Little Stint
Calidris minutaLC
Regularly Aug–Apr

Barn Swallow
Hirundo rusticaLC
Regularly Sep–May

Barn Owl
Tyto albaLC
Regularly Sep–Jul

White-winged Tern
Chlidonias leucopterusLC
Recorded all year

Ringed Plover
Charadrius hiaticulaLC
Regularly Sep–Mar

House Martin
Delichon urbicumLC
Regularly Aug–May

Yellow Wagtail
Motacilla flavaLC
Regularly Sep–Mar

Willow Warbler
Phylloscopus trochilusLC
Regularly Sep–Mar
Winter visitors
(2)Present outside the breeding seasonPassage migrants
(3)Seen mainly in spring and autumn migrationData: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made




