South Sudan’s Boma and Badingilo national parks are best known for the massive herds of antelope that migrate across them each year.But the landscape is also a key habitat for birds — resident species like shoebills, and those that migrate between southern and northern parts of Africa.In July, the parks and surrounding areas were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which conservationists hope will attract support to conserve the region’s rich biodiversity.
The onset of the rains in South Sudan around April each year is accompanied by a remarkable avian spectacle. “There are so many storks that they kind of look like flies in the sky,” said Megan Claase, a conservation manager with African Parks, the organization that manages the Boma and Badingilo national parks in partnership with the South Sudanese government.
The vast flocks congregating in the skies above Boma and Badingilo include African openbills (Anastomus lamelligerus), Abdim’s storks (Ciconia abdimii), and other birds moving across Africa in sync with the changing seasons.
“I think it’s a very productive system after the first rains,” Claase told Mongabay, citing as an example the large blooms of winged alates that emerge from termite holes and are eaten by a wide variety of birds, including the storks.
