Hi Josh,
Ive been to southern Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana but not Mozambique. I found these countries ok to do independently, and if you have funds to hire a car, can be done as a road trip. Each country has its own different charms, but Zimbabwe is probably my favourite generally speaking.
Mozambique can also be driven into from the Zimbabwe highlands. You may want to do some reading on Mozambique, there was a
fairly recent incident towards the Zambezi valley involving armed robbery. It may have been a one off, I don’t know whether birders are going back now.
Id probably split the countries fairly evenly; you are covering such a wide area that each locale will have a good range of species, but with some overlap. Botswana probably has fewest such 'specialties', especially if you have been to Namibia and/or South Africa previously and aren’t heading south into the Kalahari biome (great landscapes and wildlife, but requires lots of planning and off roading, and the birds can more or less all be seen in South Africa).
I would recommend the
Southern African Birdfinder if you dont already have a copy, great for site gen and planning how many days at each site you are going to.
Re African Pitta, there are a number of options in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique. The main sites at present seem to be:
Zimbabwe:
- Lower Zambezi, Masoka Village & Camp and Murara Camp (Murara can be organised through the Lukosi link below), Zimbabwe - 6 hours drive north of Harare (4x4 recommended) or there is a
combination of shared minivans Harare to Masoka Village.
-
Lukosi Camp, run by Derek & Deirdre Adams with Doug Kok, not far from Vic Falls (guaranteed there for last couple of winters BUT appears there is no activity this winter),
- Mana Pools (again part of the Lower Zambezi but you need to stay at the posh places so only for the high end budget - eg this place has territories near it this winter -
Kavinga Safari Camp).
- Chizarira NP in Zimbabwe also has potential, I know nothing about this other than it is quite a remote site.
Mozambique:
- the Coutadas (Coutada 11/12), along the Lower Zambezi in Mozambique. The incident linked above probably put a dent in the growing stream of birders to this site, which may explain the lower output of news. I think the birds will still be there.
Zambia:
- Mutulanganga watershed & Lower Zambezi in Zambia -
Birdquest seem to be favouring this area in 2019. It may be worth contacting Birdlife Zambia over potential sites here. The dry river valleys on the road north of Siavonga was the classic site, I think where Chris Gooddie went on his big pitta year.
- South Luangwa in Zambia is also said to have breeding birds at least on occasion, but birding there for that sp. is tricky as you are not technically allowed out of your vehicle.
As Alan mentioned, the Pittas come with the first rains, and this arrival varies year on year. They are very vocal when first arrived, with high territorial activity for a period (can be short - 2-3 weeks), whereby they can be fairly conspicuous for a Pitta. This is the easiest time to see them, but predicting the rains is not easy. For the last couple of winters (2016/17 & 2017/18) they arrived in region around the third week of Nov. This winter the first individuals didn’t arrive until the very end of Nov.
I was in Zimbabwe end of last year, and drove to Masoka Village, staying overnight at the Masoka Camp. Here we saw 4 Pittas and heard 6-7 in just a couple of hours around dawn with Mackenzie. I also spent three nights at Lukosi - very nice, but the pitta hadnt returned.
Aside from the Pitta, you may be a little early for the rainy season species, but if you do Harare area last then that gives you the best chance if the rains are early you may get lucky with some of the Vlei and Dambo specials, but some of these species are usually a lot easier in Jan-March.
If you intend to go for Black-cheeked Lovebird in either Kafue NP or the Mutelo area (both 4x4 access only) you want to go before the rains as the roads can become impassable, they are both remote areas, and you dont want to get stuck. Some info here:
https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=331953
The other regional specialties are mostly resident so will be present, even if you are not at the best time. Miombo and Mopane birding is hot and dry before the rains and can be slow, but you can still see the birds with some effort. The eastern highlands of Zim are great. Id recommend Seldomseen, and the specialities are not too difficult.
Some eastern Zambian sites can also be combined with Malawi, worth considering/leaving for another trip, depending how far north west or north east you intend to go in Zambia.
Hope that helps,
Cheers