All Creatures Great and Small
Travel+Leisure US|April 2023
A typical safari might give the Big Five top billing, but on a bird-watching tour of Botswana, Jeffrey Gettleman discovers that the country’s winged species offer a unique—and thrilling—way of seeing the African wilderness.
Jeffrey Gettleman
All Creatures Great and Small

Halfway through our birding safari in Botswana, my wife, our two sons, and I had somehow identified more than 150 winged species-no small feat for a family that had only recently taken up bird-watching as a hobby. We'd spotted giant kingfishers, pied kingfishers, and woodland kingfishers (the boys are big on kingfishers). We'd seen spindly saddle-billed storks and graceful herons, bee-eaters, sunbirds, and a difficult-to-find Pel's fishing owl, with its orange feathers and black, marble-like eyes. But one little sucker remained elusive: the violet-eared waxbill.

This diminutive creature sports an amazing paint job, with red eyes, a pink beak, violet cheeks, an orange body, and a striking indigo tail. In the pictures I saw, the bird looked like a figment of the imagination. But it is also really hard to spot. "Private," even "secretive," is what the guidebooks say. So one afternoon we made that our mission: violet-eared waxbill or bust. We loaded into our open-sided safari truck, cruised out of our camp in the Okavango Delta, passing herds of red lechwe and kudu nibbling on the grass, and headed to an empty airstrip where someone had allegedly seen a violet-eared waxbill once, several years ago. That's how desperate we were.

As we rolled along, I was overcome by the sense of space miles and miles of waist-high grass stretching in every direction, the woody smell of bush sage filling my lungs. There wasn't another truck in sight, or house on the horizon. Though bigger than France, Botswana has only 2.5 million inhabitants. It's vast, empty, and gorgeous.

When we arrived at the deserted airstrip, Diphonso Ditshupelo, one of our guides, cut the engine. He and lan Lombard, a bird specialist who was traveling with our family, raised their binoculars and scanned the thornbushes-a favorite habitat of the violet-eared waxbill.

この記事は Travel+Leisure US の April 2023 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Travel+Leisure US の April 2023 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

TRAVEL+LEISURE USのその他の記事すべて表示
The Luxury of Silence - Grieving a dissolved marriage, Nora Walsh seeks peace and compassion at a meditation retreat in California.
Travel+Leisure US

The Luxury of Silence - Grieving a dissolved marriage, Nora Walsh seeks peace and compassion at a meditation retreat in California.

My decade-long marriage to a man I deeply love had dissolved, and I had come to the Spirit Rock Meditation Center, in the secluded hills of Marin County, north of San Francisco, to steady myself. Led by the author and meditation teacher Oren Jay Sofer, the seven-day silent retreat focused on the four brahmavihāra, or Buddhist virtues: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.

time-read
4 分  |
October 2024
Family Values - Gay father and blogger Jonathan Bailey shares his proudest moments of traveling with his partner and daughters.
Travel+Leisure US

Family Values - Gay father and blogger Jonathan Bailey shares his proudest moments of traveling with his partner and daughters.

My partner and I grew up in families that didn't travel a lot, so we've always had a sense of wanderlust. Before we had kids, we traveled together, and it was life-changing-travel opened our minds to different ways of life.In 2000, Triton and I decided to have kids. At the time, my mom had terminal cancer, and we were all about connecting with family. We wanted to adopt, because we felt like there were so many children in the world who needed love and a good home. In 2002, my mom passed away, and Sophia was born two weeks later. We welcomed our second daughter, Ava, in 2004.

time-read
3 分  |
October 2024
Back to Sri Lanka - The past few years have not been easy on this alluring South Asian island. But on a return visit, Prasad Ramamurthy finds a place-and a people-on the upswing.
Travel+Leisure US

Back to Sri Lanka - The past few years have not been easy on this alluring South Asian island. But on a return visit, Prasad Ramamurthy finds a place-and a people-on the upswing.

I was at the end of a five-day journey that had begun in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Galle Fort, in southwestern Sri Lanka, and taken me across the southern tip of the island to the leopard reserve of Yala National Park. In between I had taken in the dramatic coastline of Weligama and had stopped for some beach time in Hiriketiya. Sri Lanka is a country I'm particularly fond of, so when I was asked to revisit to report this story, I seized the opportunity. Yes, I was dying to go back, but I'd had another motive for coming: I wanted to see if the island nation was ready to welcome international visitors again.

time-read
10 分  |
October 2024
Experiences: Hands On - Single-malt whiskies and triple-cream cheeses are the stuff New York's Hudson Valley is made of.
Travel+Leisure US

Experiences: Hands On - Single-malt whiskies and triple-cream cheeses are the stuff New York's Hudson Valley is made of.

The Hudson Valley has long drawn New York City dwellers in search of clean air, spectacular hikes, and upstate culture. Now a budding community of artisans-young farmers, bakers, vintners, distillers-is turning the region into a modern breadbasket.It is a tightly woven ecosystem that also extends to restaurants and hotels. At Tenmile Distillery, in the town of Wassaic, for example, the grain used to make whiskey comes from a farm in Tivoli, 30 miles away, while the gin and vodka it produces are served at stylish addresses like the Troutbeck (doubles from $580), a hotel in Amenia, and the restaurant Stissing House (entrées $22-$155), in Pine Plains.

time-read
6 分  |
September 2024
LAGOS RISING
Travel+Leisure US

LAGOS RISING

Africa's biggest city is a powerhouse of art, culture, and fashion. Shirley Nwangwa reflects on her relationship to her family's home and to her Nigerian identity, while photographer Ike Edeani captures the creative scene.

time-read
10 分  |
October 2024
DEEP DIVE
Travel+Leisure US

DEEP DIVE

Go for a swim with sperm whales, and you may find yourself hooked. Maggie Shipstead journeys to the Caribbean island of Dominica, where these giants of the deep are making a big splash.

time-read
10+ 分  |
October 2024
AMERICAN VINTAGE
Travel+Leisure US

AMERICAN VINTAGE

After years of being in the shadows, Virginia winemakers are finally getting the attention they deserve. Wanda Mann takes a tasting tour.

time-read
8 分  |
October 2024
Take a Hike
Travel+Leisure US

Take a Hike

A beloved Malibu spa renowned for embracing the outdoors makes its way to the East Coast. Jess Feldman takes an inside look.

time-read
3 分  |
October 2024
Just Dive In
Travel+Leisure US

Just Dive In

The most nautical Four Seasons has to be this scuba-centric ship, which sails a rarely visited corner of the Pacific.

time-read
3 分  |
October 2024
The Next Frontier
Travel+Leisure US

The Next Frontier

With deep pockets and mighty ambitions, Saudi Arabia is building a high-end resort area with serious green cred.

time-read
2 分  |
October 2024