June 2025 - Week 2 Roundup

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Burchell's Sandgrouse

Sighted on: 09.June.2025

The highlight of the week was a flock of Burchell’s Sandgrouse at one of the many pans in our private reserve. These extraordinary birds are perfectly adapted to the harsh, arid landscapes of the Kalahari. Among their most remarkable behaviours is the way males collect water for their chicks. After flying long distances to reach a waterhole, the males soak their specially adapted belly feathers in water. They then return to the nest, where the chicks drink by sucking the moisture from these feathers.

This unique adaptation allows the vulnerable chicks to stay safely hidden from predators while still receiving essential hydration. Watching flocks of sandgrouse descend on waterholes at dawn or dusk—some drinking, others taking off in swift, whirring flight—is one of the Kalahari’s most mesmerising wildlife spectacles.

Content Creator / Photographer:

Mogomotisi Maboga

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