126
BIRDSCONTOUR REPORT (07.08.’13 – 19.08.’13)
Text from Stefan Rust
2013
(In terms of the Geneva Convention the copyright of these
texts belong to Stefan Rust)
Dear birding friends,
as birdwatching is a relatively new and one of the fastest
growing and a most popular pursuit, it attracts people of all ages around the
world. There can hardly be a better place than southern Africa (Namibia,
Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho, South Africa) to nurture an
interest in birds as it supports almost 1000 bird species, which is about 10
per cent of the world's entire bird. Taking birding to new heights,
Hobby-Ornithologist Stefan Rust together with BirdsConTour represents some of
the ontour bird sightings and several other interesting birding aspects to
showcase the fun of birding, promote citizen science, highlight conservation,
indicate where to view what birds and raise awareness of southern Africa's
(sometimes international) birds and their habitats.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS WORK GETS DISTRIBUTED INTERNATIONALLY
Have a quick look if you, your site or neighborhood is
included in this scientific informational work (alphabetically arranged):
A-Little-Sossus Lodge
Canon Roadhouse (Gondwana Collection)
Chamäleon Reisen
Damara Mopane Lodge (Gondwana Collection)
Dias Point
Etosha NP. (Gemsbokvlakte and Okondeka Waterhole)
Etosha Safari Camp (Gondwana Collection)
Fish River Canyon
Garub Game Ranch (Heidi & Heinz Kühl)
Garub Wild Horses
Gemsbokvlakte Waterhole (Etosha NP)
Gondwana Collection (Etosha Safari Camp, Damara Mopane
Lodge, Klein Aus Vista,
Canon Roadhouse, Kalahari Farmhouse)
Hotel A la Mer (Swakopmund)
Helmeringhausen
Hohenstein Lodge
Kalahari Farmhouse, Stampriet (Gondwana Collection)
Klein Aus Vista Lodge
Kolmanskuppe
Kühl Heidi & Heinz (Garub Game Ranch)
Leicher Birgit & Nino
Mesosaurus Fossils
Namib Sand Sea, Sossusvlei (Unesco World Heritage Site)
Okondeka waterhole (Etosha NP)
Omandumba Farm (Deike & Harald Rust)
Onjala Lodge
Pack Safari
Petrified Forest
Rust Harald & Deike (Farm Omandumba)
Seeheim
Solitaire Guest Farm
Sossusvlei , Namib Sand Sea (Unesco World Heritage Site)
Stampriet, Kalahari Farmhouse
Swakopmund (Hotel A la Mer)
Twyfelfontein (Unesco World Heritage Site)
Unesco World Heritage Site (Twyfelfontein and Namib Sand
Sea)
Walvisbay Lagoon
Windhoek
BirdsConTour Report (Namibia) Personal Highlights:
AFRICAN FISH-EAGLE
A-LITTLE-SOSSUS LODGE – BIRD & BIRDER FRIENDLY AWARD
BRADFIELD’S HORNBILL
CINNAMON-BREASTED BUNTING
GREATER KESTREL
KLEIN AUS VISTA LODGE – BIRD & BIRDER FRIENDLY AWARD
LANNER FALCON
SICKLE-WINGED CHAT
Distance traveled: 4 549 km
07.08.'13 Windhoek Burnt-necked
Eremomela (6) A handsome little bird that
isn’t seen in Windhoek as often as the very common Yellow-bellied Eremomela.
07.08.'13 Garub Game Ranch (Heidi & Heinz
Kühl), Otavi Bradfield’s Hornbill (3) According to Mr. Heinz Kühl, this species is found on his 6 000 ha
big farm only in the past five years. This is a definite indication that the
ecology on the Garub Game Ranch has improved through a proper management scheme
so that the habitat developed suitable for this species. Although logging has a
negative impact, benefit is gained from creation of open patches that attract
game on these areas.
08.08.'13 Garub Game Ranch (Heidi & Heinz
Kühl), Otavi Senegal Coucal
(1) In the central northern Namibia these birds definitely benefit from
man-modified habitats with thick cover such as parks and gardens.
08.08.'13 Etosha NP, Okondeka Waterhole
South African Shelduck (2) It is
assumed that this species was historically restricted to central and west South
Africa and recently colonized Namibia and south east Botswana. They nest in
pre-existing holes in ground, mainly in those of Aardvark. This reliance on the
threatened Aardvarks for nest sites can be of some concern.
08.08.'13 Etosha Safari Camp, Godwana Collection
Familiar Chat (1) Six subspecies
do occur in southern Africa. Here in the northwestern part of Namibia it is the
Cercomela familiaris angolensis.
09.08.'13 Etosha Safari Camp, Gondwana Collection
Bare-cheeked Babbler (3) Within
southern Africa, the Turdoides gymnogenys kaokensis can only be
seen in the central and western parts of north Namibia. No data exist about the
incubation aspect of these birds.
09.08.'13 Etosha NP, Gemsbokvlakte Waterhole
Lappet-faced Vulture (1) Although
sunbathing usually takes place in the midday at a waterhole after drying its
feathers, this individual was quite a distance away from the waterhole and it
was about 9:30 in the morning. Standing on the ground with spread wings
sunbathing, perhaps the sudden cold temperature during the night, about 4
degrees above freezing, caused this behavior. Only when a Black-backed Jackal
arrived to inspect, the vulture stopped sunbathing.
10.08.'13 Petrified Forest White-throated
Swallow (2) The first pair of this
intra-African breeding migrant was seen here. It is not impossible that this
record may be passage birds.
10.08.'13 Twyfelfontein (Unesco World Heritage
Site) Verreauxs’ Eagle (2)
Both birds of the Twyfelfontein pair were seen simultaneously in the air. One
high up in the sky and the other one lower down carrying a twig with green
leaves on. Most probably they are busy preparing their nest. About a month and
a half ago they were seen in courtship. It is not uncommon that the copulation
takes place up to 30 days before egg laying.
10.08.'13 Damara Mopane Lodge (Gondwana
Collection) Common Fiscal (1)
It is commonly found in well-watered farmhouse and lodge gardens with trees and
responds aggressive towards Fork-tailed Drongos.
11.08.'13 Farm Omandumba (Harald & Deike
Rust) Pririt Batis (1) It
seems as if the Pririt Batis benefits from the alien mesquite tree. Sometimes
some birds gather to call excitedly, snap their bills and frip their wings.
Such formations are called ‘batis parliaments’.
11.08.'13 Hohenstein Lodge, Erongo White-throated
Canary (3) Southern Africa presents four
subspecies of this near-endemic bird and is well represented in the protected
areas of the Nama and succulent Karoo as well as in Namibia.
12.08.'13 Hotel A la Mer, Swakopmund Scarlet-chested
Sunbird (1) As in the case of the garden
of the A la Mer establishment with only one nectar spending aloe plant, it is
sufficient to attract this beautiful little bird. Still it is unknown with what
age these birds start breeding.
13.08.'13 Walvisbay Lagoon Common
Greenshank (1) Most of these birds arrive
in August till September. Often after dark, they fly a distance of up to 10-15
km to their favorite roost site, roosting while standing in shallow water,
moving with ebb and flow.
13.08.'13 Solitaire Guest Farm Red-billed
Spurfowl (1) Solitaire Guest Farm is the
most south western distribution area of this species Further into this
direction it becomes too dry for this species.
14.08.'13 Sossusvlei, Namib Sand Sea (Unesco
World Heritage Site) It is scary what devastating footprints guests
cause with their visit to Sossusvlei. A research showed that every guest
climbing the dune Dune 45, walking to the Death Vlei and back and/or walking in
the surrounding of Sossusvlei unconsciously kills with his or her stay an
average of ±50 small animals (ants, beetles etc.). With hundred guests per day
this is a loss of ±5 000 potential food items of in this case birds. Given the
fact that most birds living in this hot and dry part of the Namib Desert prey
on small animals to replenish their body moisture as an alternative to water,
these footprints left behind by the guests cause a big loss in possible moisture
for the feathered animals. This results in a severe decrease of the natural
bird population in this area.
To counteract this negative influence and to help the
birds to replenish their body moisture, BirdsConTour together with Pack Safari
and Chamäleon (German travel company) came up with a solution. Every tour guide
who leads Chamäleon guests into the Sossusvlei area takes a portable water
feeder, constructed and funded by BirdsConTour, along. When the tour vehicle is
parked at the 4x4 parking area, the guide fills the water feeder and hangs it
to the wiper, a tree or puts it onto the ground close to the Pack Safari tour
vehicle. With peace of mind, the Pack Safari guide together with the Chamäleon
guests can now go and discover and enjoy the Sossusvlei area, while the birds
can refill their needed body moisture with water as an alternative for the
small animals that are destroyed unconsciously by each visitor.
The water feeder gets either attached to the wiper, a tree
or put onto the ground for the birds to replenish their body moisture. This
"Water for Sossus Birds" project is a joint venture between
BirdsConTour, Pack Safari and Chamäleon.
14.08.'13 Sesriem Canyon Speckled
Pigeon ( ) A proud age of up to ten years
can be reached. Often they benefit from man-made structures for breeding
purposes.
14.08.'13 A-Little-Sossus Lodge Bird
& Birder Friendly Award Jandré Germishuizen took the initiative to create an
environment on the lodge ground that suits the birds and the bird watchers. And
the bonus? Bird conservation and tourism (BirdsConTour) rewarded
A-little-Sossus Lodge with a two out of six penguin rated Bird & Birder
Friendly Award for their level of input.
15.08.'13 Helmeringhausen Pygmy
Falcon (1) Destruction of large trees may
lead to habitat destruction and although the erection of utility structures
allows Sociable Weavers to colonize previously unoccupied areas, it is arguable
that the Pygmy Falcon follows this colonization because the nests in these
artificial poles are never big and according to experience these falcons mostly
occupy bigger nests of the Sociable Weaver.
15.08.'13 Garub Wild Horses Greater
Kestrel (2) Its distribution range has
certainly increased into this area with the erection of the telephone line and
electricity line across the treeless Sperrgebiet NP., creating nest sites for
the Cape Crow and the Pied Crow and hence for the Greater Kestrel.
15.08.'13 Klein Aus Vista Cinnamon-breasted
Bunting (1) In southern Africa the
subspecies Emberiza tahapisi nivenorum is found as an isolated
group from the nominate and occurs only in Namibia within the southern African
region. This individual bird was observed further south as the distribution map
shows!
16.08.'13 Kolmanskuppe Sickle-winged
Chat (2) About 250 km west of its
registered distribution range in Namibia, a pair of this endemic to southern
Africa species has been observed at Kolmanskuppe. They gave themselves away
with the dark ‘V’ on the rufous tail instead the ‘T’ as with the Familiar Chat.
16.08.'13 Klein Aus Vista Bird &
Birder Friendly Award This establishment goes the extra mile
to create a suitable habitat for birds and an attractive place for bird
watchers. For this responsible input, Klein Aus Vista Lodge is rewarded with a
two penguin rated Bird & Birder Friendly Award from bird conservation and
tourism (BirdsConTour).
17.08.'13 Seeheim African Fish-Eagle
(2) In this remote area of Namibia, the
distribution of this species only stretches all along the Fish River. Elsewhere
it is too dry. Even here at Seeheim it is an unusual sighting.
17.08.'13 Fish River Canyon Lanner
Falcon (2) When breeding, pairs favor cliff habitat and otherwise
they prefer open habitat. In treeless area, utility pylons and poles are of
benefit, having contributed with spreading into these areas.
17.08.'13 Seeheim,
Fish River picnic site BirdsConTour for a cleaner Bird Habitat BirdsConTour arranged a cleaning session of the picnic site
at the Fish River at the B4 road close to Seeheim. Such cleaning sessions are
part of the "BirdsConTour for a cleaner Bird Habitat" project.
17.08.'13 Canyon Roadhouse Grey-backed
Cisticola (2) All six African subspecies
occur in southern Africa. In this region only the Cisticola subruficapilla
namaqua occurs and is classified as uncommon for here.
18.08.'13 Mesosaurus Fossils Kori
Bustard (1) A nice surprise to have seen
this large bird with a wingspan of 2.2-2.5 m and weight of up to 12.4 kg. In
this area they are rather sparsely distributed.
18.08.'13 Kalahari Farm House (Gondwana Collection)
Bird & Birder Friendly Award
By traveling directly with
BirdsConTour or making use of a guide from BirdsConTour you support bird
conservation and create an economic platform for local livelihoods. Sometimes
travelers also participate in other BirdsConTour projects. To say THANK YOU,
every tour participant receives a Bird & Birder Friendly Award at the end
of the tour.
Seven German-speaking guests were rewarded with one
penguin-rated Bird & Birder Friendly Awards:
Nicole & Heinrich Buchal
Annette Menzel
Reinhild & Manfred Schnitzmeier
Ingrid Andrea & Jobst-Joachim Suchsland
This Etosha Tour, organized by Pack Safari and Chamäleon
Reisen, took place from the 6th of August until the 21st
of August 2013.
19.08.'13 Onjala Lodge Lappet-faced
Vulture (1) In the Caprivi-Strip in
Namibia a few hundred birds have been reported poisoned this year. Ivory
poachers deliberately kill these scavengers so that they do not give their
illegal practices away by showing carcasses when circling in for feeding.
19.08.'13 Windhoek Spotted Eagle-Owl
(1) Sadly notice was taken of the
unexplained death of the owl that lived for years in the area of the
Falkenhausen Street in Pionierspark, Windhoek. Birgit and Nino Leicher found
this big owl dead on the pavement, perhaps it died of old age. They have a life
span of up to ten years in the wild and up to twenty in captivity.
Enjoy Birding,
Stefan Rust
Please note: Most scientific information has been taken
from Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, V11th edition!
(For more information contact Stefan Rust on +264
(0)81 129 8415 or birdscontour@iway.na)
