Eastern Angola and western Zambia are dominated by the Zambezi catchment, where high precipitation and a dense river network cause annual flooding of extensive areas from January to May. Cameia National Park in Angola is such a seasonally flooded savanna. A SASSCAL Biodiversity Observatory was established in May 2016, as little is known about the area's particular flora and fauna. Based on three visits to the observatory, we present a first description of the ecology of this dynamic ecosystem, its vegetation units and plant species, occurrence and turnover of bird assemblages, and human land-use practices. We observed that the turnover in species composition, temporal niches of functional groups and guilds, and land uses are controlled by seasonally changing flood, fire, and precipitation patterns. Our results highlight the conservation value of the area; sustainable management plans and conservation strategies are urgently needed to restore the formerly dominant herbivore guilds and to prevent destructive agro-industrial development schemes.