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Lukanga Swamps has long been on my wish-list of IBAs to visit. Two ornithologists from Barcelona, Daniel and Albert Burgas, have been in Zambia for the past month, and have a particular interest in waterbirds. They were eager to see as much of Zambia as possible, and this was the perfect excuse for me and Chris Wood to visit Lukanga with them.

We spent two days exploring the swamps. On both days we approached the swamps from the south, through Landless Corner. On day 1, we drove to Chitanda (14.6374°S 27.5927°E), and then turned east in the direction of the village of Kausha, close to the tiny fishing village and harbour of Lutanga (14.5530°S 27.6356°E). Here we hired a banana boat and two paddlers. They took us along narrow channels through dense reedbeds (mostly Phragmites) into three separate expanses of open water. The area was well populated by fishermen, and we encountered several temporary floating fishing camps within the swamps, and even a floating shop selling soap, batteries, biscuits and panadol. Occasional openings in the reeds were full of water lilies and were ideal for lesser and African jacana and pygmy geese. Lesser swamp warblers were abundant and responded well to 'spishing'.

On the second day we decided to explore the Mukunkwa Channel, which is to the north-west of Chitanda. We drove to the village of Mukunkwa (14.4363°S 27.5101°E), which is directly on the channel and again hired a banana boat, but this time got five paddlers, although we had only hired two. They paddled us west along the channel, which we estimate to be at least 10 kms long and about 200m wide. To the north of the channel was a large island, beyond which they claimed Lukanga began. They did not regard the channel as part of Lukanga Swamps. The channel was lined mainly with papyrus (Cyperus papyrus) but also with some Typha (bulrush) and a little Phragmites. This area was notable for the abundance of reed cormorants and little egrets. An interesting interaction occurred between grey-headed gulls and reed cormorants. A group of about 50 reed cormorants were moving along the channel apparently following a school of fish and feeding. When a cormorant emerged with a fish in its beak it was immediately attacked by a gull, and dropped the fish which was snapped by the gull. Occasionally the cormorants managed to dive again before the gulls could steal their fish.

On both days our banana boats leaked badly. Chris suggested that an essential piece of equipment for exploring the swamps would be some fibre-glass and resin to repair the banana boats. To the list I can also add a comfortable chair that would fit into a banana boat, after suffering from sitting on logs for many hours on the first day.

We also saw several wattled cranes in this area, as well as some immature saddle-billed storks. African marsh harriers were abundant on both days, as were yellow-billed kites, our first sightings of these for the season. We saw the following species that are not on the IBA list yet: slaty egret, black-headed heron, common pratincole, crowned plover and white-browed coucal.

When we stopped briefly on our way to the swamp on the 22nd, I got my first sighting of Plum-coloured starlings for this season, about 10 kms south of the town of Chitanda.

On the morning of the 24th we searched for Zambian (Chaplin's) barbet near the town of Keembe (14.9040°S 27.7926°E). This is a historical sighting locality for Chaplin's barbet and, to my knowledge, no-one has looked for them or seen them here for at least 20 years. We searched to the south of the town in an open field with a few old fig trees. We only found black-collared barbets here. We then drove back in the direction of Landless Corner, and stopped just outside the town where there were some huts in small-scale fields with several large old fig trees in view, and adjacent to an area of clay soils with acacia woodland. I played the call and we waited for a minute or two, when suddenly the response came. A pair of birds came into view and flew in a semi-circle around us, stopping to call periodically, trying to find the 'invader' birds. After no further response from the 'invaders', they went back to the business of searching for insects in the acacia trees.

On the way back to Lusaka, we called up another pair of Zambian barbets on Murundula Farm (14.9468°S 28.0183°E), which is south-west of Landless Corner. One of the birds fed something to the other bird, possibly this was nuptial feeding, as they should be about to start breeding.

List of birds seen in Lukanga Swamps