In 2024, Botswana used Slaty Egret surveys to track ecosystem damage at Okavango Delta. 2 years later, researchers found 3 eggs, offering fresh hope for the Delta after a very long search

Slaty Egret Okavango Delta: The Slaty Egret is a rare waterbird, with most of its estimated population living in Botswana's Okavango Delta. But researchers are watching the species for a reason that goes beyond its rarity.

The bird is considered an important indicator species for the Delta. Changes in its distribution and presence can provide clues about habitat changes, potential pollution and other conditions affecting the wider ecosystem.

In 2024, Botswana's Department of Wildlife and National Parks worked with BirdLife Botswana and other partners to establish the National Slaty Egret Working Group. The group was created to support ongoing monitoring and conservation of the species.


Two years later, researchers searching deep inside the Delta made an encouraging discovery: three bluish Slaty Egret eggs hidden among vegetation on a small island.

Why the Slaty Egret matters to the Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta is one of the world's few major inland deltas. Its waters never reach a sea or ocean. Instead, they either soak into the soft sands of the Kalahari Desert or cycle back into the atmosphere.

The Delta's annual flood flows down between June and August after rains in Angola's highlands. For the Slaty Egret, the arrival of the flood in August signals that it is time to breed. This also makes the period important for researchers and conservationists monitoring the bird's behaviour and population trends.

The Slaty Egret is sensitive to environmental disturbances and changes in the ecosystem. Researchers track its distribution and presence because changes in those patterns can provide clues about the wider condition of the Delta.

An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 Slaty Egrets remain, with most of them living in the Delta. The species is currently classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, although its classification is being debated, as per an UNEP report.

Slaty Egret surveys reveal changes in Okavango Delta breeding sites

The latest monitoring has not produced an entirely positive picture.

At the previous year's main breeding site in the western Okavango Delta, researchers found no Slaty Egrets nesting and very few sightings of the birds.

In Jao Conservancy, two of four former nesting sites had also disappeared. One was lost to fire, while another was damaged after elephants used the area to cool off in the water following a summer heatwave.

The Delta is also under pressure from climate change, which is resulting in more erratic rainfall, as well as agriculture, livestock and other human activities. These pressures affect the habitat on which the Slaty Egret depends.

Researchers find 3 Slaty Egret eggs after a long search

As part of this year's monitoring effort, environmental journalist and photographer Jeffrey Barbee and local activist Jay Haikera travelled deep into the Delta.

They moved through narrow channels in mokoro boats, searching for signs of the bird. The area they visited is primarily accessible by helicopter.

As their boat moved through one of the channels, they heard the chirping of baby birds and the calls of adult birds. They followed the sounds towards a small island.

Hidden among leafy vegetation, they found three bluish eggs resting on a small platform of twigs. It was the first Slaty Egret nest Barbee and Haikera had seen that year.

The discovery offered some new hope after a long and frustrating search. However, the current survey is still collecting data, so it is not yet possible to know what the findings mean for the bird's population or its potential reclassification.

Okavango Delta conservation brings local communities into Slaty Egret monitoring

The effort to understand the Slaty Egret also involves local communities.

Haikera's Etsha Bird Monitoring and Conservation Club works with local communities and eco-tourism ventures to collect and share observations using mobile phones, mapping tools and identification apps.

Young people are increasingly getting involved as well. Feedback from the monitoring is helping communities understand the importance of the Okavango Delta.

Because migratory species do not recognize national borders, protecting them also requires regional and international cooperation. The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, administered by the United Nations Environment Programme, can help countries coordinate conservation efforts and mobilize resources.

What the 3 Slaty Egret eggs could mean for the Okavango Delta

The discovery of the nest does not by itself show that the Slaty Egret population is recovering.

The current survey is still collecting data, and researchers need more information to understand what the findings mean for the species and its possible reclassification.

For now, the three eggs are an encouraging discovery after a long and frustrating search. Whether they are simply a stroke of luck or a sign that years of monitoring and advocacy are beginning to pay off will require further research.