Birdwatching at Semowi Nature Camp

This week at Semowi Nature Camp, deep in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, I was lucky enough to witness one of Africa’s most iconic raptors—the African Fish Eagle. With its echoing cry and powerful presence, the African Fish Eagle Okavango Delta experience is something every birdwatcher dreams of.

Spotting the African Fish Eagle in the Okavango Delta

At Semowi Nature Camp, located along the beautiful Gomoti River, sightings of the African Fish Eagle in the Okavango Delta are a near-daily highlight. Whether you’re sipping coffee on the deck or listening to the dawn chorus from your tent, its haunting call—”weee-ah hyo-hyo-hyo”—often fills the air.

This majestic raptor thrives in wetlands, making the Okavango Delta one of the best places in Botswana to see it. With over 300 bird species recorded around Semowi, you can often spot the African Fish Eagle from camp, without even using binoculars.

What Makes the African Fish Eagle Unique

The African Fish Eagle is easy to recognize:

• A bold white head and chest

• A chestnut-brown body and back

• Long black wings with a 2.4-meter wingspan

• Yellow feet with strong talons made for fishing

• A hooked beak, yellow at the base with a sharp black tip

Though fish is its main prey, it also hunts birds, reptiles, and scavenges when needed. Known for their loyalty, Fish Eagles mate for life and build large stick nests high in trees, often returning to the same one every breeding season.

African Fish Eagle Behavior

These eagles are patient hunters. They perch in tall trees above the water, scanning for movement. When they spot a fish, they dive talons-first to snatch it from just below the surface. If the catch is too heavy, they may paddle to shore using their wings or simply drop it.

After feeding, they often bathe in shallow water, then dry and preen in the sun. You’ll sometimes see them circling high above the Okavango Delta on thermal currents—an awe-inspiring sight against the blue Botswana sky.

Where to See the African Fish Eagle at Semowi

Thanks to its ideal riverbank location, Semowi offers one of the best viewing points for the African Fish Eagle experience. You can see them:

• Perched in trees across the river

• Circling above the floodplain

• Flying over camp at dawn or dusk

• Occasionally landing right near the restaurant

Other birds to spot during your stay include the lilac-breasted roller, white egret, African jacana, ground hornbill, and many others. You can even spot the African Fish Eagle during our mokoro excursions through the Delta

Cultural and Conservation Significance

The African Fish Eagle is the national symbol of Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. In Botswana, its presence signals a healthy, functioning ecosystem—elders say its cry is “the heartbeat of the bush.”

Though currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, the species faces risks from habitat loss, deforestation, water pollution, and climate-related changes in fish populations. Protecting wetlands like the Okavango Delta is key to its survival.

An African Fish Eagle resting in a tree near Semowi Nature Camp, watching over the Okavango floodplain. Photograph by Morgan Mosebola