Zambia – Frank’s Camp

Zambia’s bird life is better understood and more thoroughly documented because Frank Willems is in it. For the last 13 years Frank has been all over Zambia tracking down rarely recorded Zambian birds. Originally from the Netherlands, Frank and his family moved to Zambia 13 years ago (as of the time of this writing) and Zambia is better for it. Frank runs an eco-tourism/bird watching company, Birding Zambia, and he developed a new birding camp, Kalwelwa Bushcamp, that works with the local people in the far northwest region of the country. Frank is so serious about the birds of this under-appreciated country that he co-created an app, Birds of Zambia, with text, sound, and photos for ID purposes. No trip would be complete without it. We referenced this app constantly. Zambia may only have one true endemic, Chaplin’s Barbet, but there is so much more to see on a trip to this landlocked African country full of rugged terrain and diverse wildlife that I can’t help but recommend a visit.
We were here last year, pre-COVID, and birded up along Zambia’s Eastern side. We saw birds like Oustalet’s Sunbird, Zambian Papyrus Warbler, and Katinga Weaver. A full year later we returned and were getting ready for a trip into far northwestern Zambia, but before we went out birding, we were lucky enough to grab pizza with the guy who knows more about birdlife in Zambia than anyone else we know, Frank Willems. After a lovely dinner with Frank and his family, the next morning we headed off to a nearby farm for a quick twitch of the endemic Chaplin’s Barbet before heading in the direction of the camp that Frank established about 4 years ago. Not only did Frank create an eco-camp, he then wrote a guide all about how to bird it. Of course he did. This guy is serious when it comes to Zambia’s birds! In his guide to Kalwelwa, Frank describes Kalwelwa Bushcamp as being “situated within the 10,000 hectare Kalwelwa Depression, a scenically stunning and amazingly diverse complex of wet grassland, wetland, evergreen forest and woodlands.” I couldn’t agree more. Even along the route to the camp there are plenty of birds to see. We picked up Bamboo Warbler and visited the Chitunta Plains, where after a long hot afternoon walk, we managed to find the colony of Bocage’s Weavers that has taken up residence. This colony is the only known site in Zambia (and one of only a few in the world) for this rare African species.

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Eventually we arrived in an immaculate camp and immediately were greeted by friendly staff and unlimited access to dambos and forests. (Much of the area is still an active farmland and therefore cows are present almost everywhere.) Our first morning was spent tracking down the skulky Spotted Thrush Babbler, and the rest of the day was spent exploring the area finding other difficult birds such as Dambo Cisticola, Grimswood Longclaw, Bannerman’s Sunbird, Bate’s Sunbird (building a nest at our camp!), and Black-faced Canary. We also spent time developing a plan and scouting access points to find Vermiculated Fishing-Owl, a species that has only recently been recorded in Zambia by you know who. Although he warned us, we might get to hear it but no one gets to see it. Challenge accepted.

Our scouting the day prior had paid off, and by 0500 we had a pair of Vermiculated Fishing Owls calling above our heads. We managed not only to hear that Vermiculated Fishing Owl, but also to see it well and Ross obtained photos and videos, the FIRST EVER photographic documentation of this species in the country outside of audio recordings and camera trap pictures. Even Frank has yet to see this bird as more than a silhouetted flyby! Soon the low pitched calls of Vermiculated Fishing Owl were replaced by the low pitched calls of Afep Pigeon. We stood in the middle of the swampy forest and with each passing minute daylight approached so we watched and listened as the forest woke up around us and the nightshift birds all around went to sleep. This moment where the night world and day world collide is the advantage of crawling out of your tent at 0400, hiking across a dambo and into a swampy forest despite the cold temperature and complete darkness, and pausing to take it all in.

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The rest of our time at Kalwelwa was spent enjoying the picturesque views around the campsite and enjoying other regional specialties including Sharp-tailed Starling, Black-collared Bulbul, and Black-and-Rufous Swallow. We had an extremely enjoyable time at Kalwelwa and would highly recommend a visit to anyone thinking of birding Zambia, it is not to be missed!

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