by Alison Betelak, of University of Vermont
When I arrived in Botswana one of the first things I noticed was the constant background noise. From the hum and chatter of insects and birds to the late-night calls of lions and hyenas, silence is non-existent in the bush. During the beginning of the semester, these noises were foreign and hard to interpret. However, as time has gone on we have begun to understand the noises that we hear, the mammals and birds they come from, and their different meanings.
In the early morning when we first wake up, the birds beginning calling out to reestablish their territory and communicate within their species. One call we have become accustomed to is that of the Cape-turtle Dove, Streptopelia capicola, whose call “kuk-coorrr-uk” is said to sound like “Work harder, drink lager”. We are also often woken up by the call of the Grey go-away Bird, Corythaixoides concolor. The Grey go-away Bird’s call sounds like a baby crying, with an unmistakable “waaaa”.
Throughout the day, the bird calls continue and we often hear birds such as the Red-billed Spurfowl, Pternistis adspersus, the African Grey Hornbill, Tockus nasutus, and the African Fish Eagle, Haliaeetus vocifer. These calls can be for general communication, establishing territory, or serve as alarm calls. Alarms calls are used by birds as a way to communicate between species when predators are around. On one fence transect in Meno a Kwena, we observed a Black Mamba, Dendroaspis polylepis, moving across a patch of grass with its body raised up in the air. Almost as soon as the snake was visible, we could hear birds alarm calling and a chaotic chorus ensued in the trees.
An African Fish Eagle, Haliaeetus vocifer, perched on a tree near Meno a Kwena. Taken by: Allison Betelak
As sun sets, especially in our current camp at Meno a Kwena, we are lucky enough to be so close to the Boteti River that we can hear elephants, Loxodonta africana, splashing around the river, trumpeting, and browsing in vegetation. Nighttime in Botswana is especially exciting because we know every night we may be able to hear lions, Panthera leo, hyenas, Crocuta crocuta, and leopards, Panthera pardus. In Meno a Kwena, almost every night we have fallen asleep to the background noise of lions calling in the distance, sometimes close enough to our camp that we can hear them huffing under their breath. Being able to distinguish between the different calls of predators is both interesting for painting a picture of wildlife activity when the sun goes down, but also vital for being aware of our surroundings when we stay so close to wildlife.
Slowly learning more and more calls and being increasingly able to understand the language of wildlife in Botswana has opened my eyes to how little I know about the wildlife in my own home. Our Botswanan instructors, Dix and Cosmos, have an advanced understanding of their environment and wealth of traditional ecological knowledge that is rare in the United States, especially among younger generations. As we pass the halfway point of our time in Botswana, I am increasingly inspired to return home and expand my own knowledge of my surroundings in New England and to continue tuning into the symphony of natural noise that is often ignored in our day to day lives.
Colleen Powers looking and listening for birds during a birding transect. Taken by: Natalie Albrecht.
Our instructor Dix using a bird book to identify a bird species during transect. Taken by: Natalie Albrecht