219
Art. # 219
BIRDSCONTOUR
REPORT
(15.02.’14 – 25.02.’14)
Text and photos from Stefan Rust
2014
(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
Sites and countries visited during this period incl.
amount of species per site:
(0-0 - Haven’t been there myself)
(single letter – indicates several sites per day)
15.02: (A) Kempinski Estate (Birgit Leicher) (23 species)
16.02: (A) Garden Olympia (Heidi Rust), Windhoek (13
species)
17.02: (A) Road from Windhoek (33 species) – (B) Farm
Gauchas (Argo Rust) (29 species)
18.02: (A) Farm Gauchas (5 species, excluding those from
yesterday) – (B) Road from Farm Gauchas to Mount Brukkaros (26 species), (C)
Mount Brukkaros (18 species)
19.02: (A) Mount Brukkaros (9 species, excluding those
from yesterday), (B) Road from Brukkaros to Farm Gauchas (11 species, excluding
yesterday), (C) Farm Gauchas (2 species, excluding those from yesterday) – (D)
Road from Farm Gauchas to Windhoek (3 species, excluding those from 17th)
24.02: (A) Garden Pionierspark (Schneider), Windhoek
Total Distance traveled:
1 240 km
Have a quick look if your name is included in this
scientific informational work (alphabetically arranged):
Leicher Birgit (Namibia)
Rust Argo (Namibia)
Rust Heidi (Namibia)
Schneider (Namibia)
Personal Highlights:
MOUNT BRUKKAROS
ANTI-POACHING CRUSADE
CAR MIRROR BIRD GUARD
LESSER FLAMINGO
Index to bird species observed in this period:
(English names and date when seen)
(* - See
text about species on according date beneath species list)
(A or B – Appears when species is recorded at different
sites on same day, specifying where on according date beneath species list)
-*Abdim’s Stork 19.2.(B) /
-Acacia Pied Barbet 15.2.(A) / 17.2.(A)(B) / 18.2.(C) /
-African Harrier-Hawk 17.2.(A) /
-African Red-eyed Bulbul 16.2.(A) / 17.2.(B) /
-*African Sacred Ibis 19.2.(B) /
-Barn Swallow
18.2.(B) /
-Black-chested Prinia 15.2.(A) / 17.2.(B) / 18.2.(B) /
-Black-chested Snake-Eagle 19.2.(B) /
-Black-faced Waxbill 15.2.(A) /
-Black-shouldered Kite 17.2.(A) /
-Black-throated Canary 16.2.(A) /
-Black-winged Stilt 19.2.(B) /
-Blacksmith Lapwing 15.2.(A) / 18.2.(B) /
-Blue Waxbill
16.2.(A) /
-Bokmakierie
18.2.(C) /
-*Booted Eagle
18.2.(C) /
-*Burchell’s Courser 18.2.(A) /
-Cape Bunting
18.2.(C) /
-*Cape Eagle-Owl 19.2.(A) /
-Cape Glossy Starling 15.2.(A) / 17.2.(A)(B) /
-Cape Sparrow
17.2.(A)(B) /
-Cape Teal
19.2.(D) /
-Cape Turtle-Dove 17.2.(A)(B) / 18.2.(B) /
-Cape Wagtail
15.2.(A) /
-Capped Wheatear 17.2.(A) /
-Cardinal Woodpecker 18.2.(A) /
-Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler 18.2.(A) /
-Common Fiscal
17.2,(A) / 18.2.(A) / 19.2.(B) /
-Common House-Martin 19.2.(B) /
-Common Ostrich 18.2.(C) / 19.2.(B) /
-Common Swift
16.2.(A) / 17.2.(A) / 18.2.(B) /
-Diderick Cuckoo 15.2.(A) / 17.2.(B) /
-Dusky Sunbird
17.2.(B) / 18.2.(B)(C) /
-Egyptian Goose 18.2.(B) /
-European Bee-eater 15.2.(A) /
-Familiar Chat
15.2.(A) / 17.2.(B) / 18.2.(C) /
-Fork-tailed Drongo 17.2.(A)(B) / 18.2.(B) /
-*Gabar Goshawk 24.2.(A) /
-Great Sparrow
17.2.(A)(B) /
-Greater Striped Swallow 15.2.(A) / 17.2.(A) / 18.2.(B) /
-*Grey-backed Cisticola 18.2.(C) /
-Grey-backed Sparrowlark 17.2.(A) / 18.2.(B) / 19.2.(A) /
-Grey Go-away-bird 15.2.(A) / 16.2.(A) / 17.2.(A) /
-House Sparrow
16.2.(A) / 18.2.(B) /
-Lark-like Bunting 15.2.(A) / 17.2.(A)(B) / 18.2.(B)(C) /
-Laughing Dove
15.2.(A) / 16.2.(A) / 17.2.(A)(B) / 18.2.(B)(C) /
-*Lesser Flamingo 19.2.(B) /
-Lesser Grey Shrike 19.2.(D) /
-Lilac-breasted Roller 17.2.(A) /
-Little Swift
15.2.(A) / 16.2.(A) / 17.2.(A) / 18.2.(B) / 19.2.(A) /
-Long-billed Crombec 19.2.(A) /
-*Long-billed Pipit 18.2.(C) /
-Marico Flycatcher 17.2.(A)(B) /
-*Mountain Wheatear 15.2.(A) / *18.2.(C) /
-Namaqua Dove
17.2.(A)(B) / 18.2.(B) /
-Namaqua Sandgrouse 17.2.(A)(B) / 19.2.(A) /
-Northern Black Korhaan 17.2.(A)(B) / 18.2.(B) /
-Orange River Francolin 15.2.(A) /
-Pale-winged Starling 18.2.(C) /
-Pin-tailed Whydah 19.2.(B) /
-Pririt Batis
15.2.(A) / 17.2.(B) /
-Red-backed Shrike 17.2.(A) /
-Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver 17.2.(A) /
-Red-billed Spurfowl 15.2.(A) / 17.2.(A) /
-Red-crested Korhaan 15.2.(A) / 17.2.(B) / 19.2.(C) /
-Red-faced Mousebird 18.2.(B) /
-Red-headed Finch 16.2.(A) / 17.2.(B) /
-Rock Kestrel
18.2.(C) /
-Rock Martin
15.2.(A) / 16.2.(A) / 17.2.(A)(B) / 18.2.(B)(C) /
-Sabota Lark
17.2.(B) / 19.2.(A) /
-Scaly-feathered Finch 17.2.(A)(B) / 18.2.(B) / 19.2.(A) /
-*Secretarybird 18.2.(B) /
-Shaft-tailed Whydah 19.2.(C) /
-*Sociable Weaver 17.2.(A)(B) / 18.2.(B)*(C) /
-South African Shelduck 18.2.(B) /
-Southern Grey-headed Sparrow 17.2.(B) /
-Southern Masked-Weaver 16.2.(A) / 17.2.(B) / 18.2.(B) /
-Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk 17.2.(B) / 18.2.(B) / 19.2.(A)(B) /
-Southern Red Bishop 19.2.(D) /
-Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill 17.2.(A) /
-Speckled Pigeon 15.2.(A) / 17.2.(A) / 18.2.(C) /
-Tawny Eagle
18.2.(B) /
-Three-banded Plover 19.2.(B) /
-Verreaux’s Eagle 18.2.(C) /
-Village Indigobird 16.2.(A) /
-Violet-eared Waxbill 18.2.(A) /
-White-backed Mousebird 16.2.(A) / 17.2.(A) /
-White-browed Sparrow-Weaver 15.2.(A) / 17.2.(A)(B) / 18.2.(B) /
-White-rumped Swift 17.2.(A) /
-White-throated Canary 19.2.(A) /
-Yellow Canary
17.2.(B) /
-Yellow-bellied Eremomela 15.2.(A) /
Total number of species identified:
92
16.02.'14 ”Input gives Wings”, BirdsConTour
Anti-Poaching Crusade project BirdsConTour gets involved with the Anti-Poaching
Crusade project by directly and indirectly addressing the problem
with various activities, aiming for the preservation of wildlife. Read more in
Birds in Words www.birdscontour.blogspot.com
article # 213.
17.02.’14 Farm
Gauchas, Schlipp, Namibia Architecture
for a better Bird Life The project Car Mirror Bird Guard,
initiated on the 9th of February, kicks off very well. The first
city and farm vehicles are effectively equipped with this helpful product,
protecting birds and vehicle side-mirrors. For more information, read Birds in
Words www.birdscontour.blogspot.com
in articles # 208 and 212.
18.02.'14 Farm Gauchas, Schlipp, Namibia
Burchell’s Courser (1) The rapid
decreases and local extinctions of this breeding near-endemic species in
Botswana and South Africa are serious cause for concern. It is possible that
intensification of agriculture and the use of pesticides may play a role in
this decrease.
18.02.'14 ±35 km east of Brukkaros, Namibia
Secretarybird (2) Ever increasing
bush encroachment might be of risk to these open grassland dependant birds.
18.02.'14 Brukkaros, Namibia Booted
Eagle (4) Two color forms occur of this smallest brown eagle in
southern Africa, a pale and a dark. The pale morph forms ±80% of the
population. At Brukkaros one dark form and three pale forms were seen. From the
three pale birds one was a juvenile. It is possible that the Brukkaros birds form
a breeding population and that they even overwinter here.
18.02.'14 Brukkaros, Namibia Sociable
Weaver (±60) In the central depression with a diameter
of about 3 km (47.124 km2) grow about 250 quiver trees. They form the only
structures used by the Sociable Weavers to build their large nests. Sociable
Weaver nests occupy about 25 of these trees, giving a nest density of 1
nest/1.88 km2. If every nest houses 50 birds (altogether 1 250 individuals),
conservatively calculated, it comes down to 26.53 birds/km2, being quite a high
population density for an area that receives 50-100mm annual average rainfall.
These large nests protect these birds from the extreme temperatures that occur
here.
18.02.'14 Brukkaros, Namibia Mountain
Wheatear (2) Although the Brukkaros
mountain is situated on the border of the distribution area of the two
subspecies occurring in southern Africa, the Oenanthe monticola monticola
and Oenanthe monticola atmorii, the
observed birds (male and female) belong to the former subspecies.
18.02.'14 Brukkaros, Namibia Grey-backed
Cisticola (2) Seven subspecies occur in southern
Africa. Most probably the Brukkaros birds belong to the Cisticola
subruficapilla karasensis,
the group of subspecies with the smallest distribution area of all seven. These
two birds were seen carrying nest material.
18.02.'14 Brukkaros, Namibia Long-billed
Pipit (1) In southern Africa 5 subspecies
occur. The Brukkaros lies more or less on the border line of the Anthus
similes leucocraspedon (northern subspecies) and the Anthus
similes nicholsoni (southern subspecies)
distribution area.
19.02.'14 Brukkaros, Namibia Cape
Eagle-Owl (1) Classified as generally
uncommon, this species is more numerous in Namibia than expected. The Brukkaros
complies absolutely the habitat demands of the Cape Eagle-Owl.
19.02.'14 Mariental, Namibia Abdim’s
Stork (±200) This species is generally
absent from wetlands and flocks in semi-desert areas after good rains. They
gather in large numbers at insect irruptions and keeps those populations under
control.
19.02.'14 Mariental, Namibia African
Sacred Ibis (±80) Surely the benefit from
the commercial agriculture and irrigation in this area.
19.02.'14 Sewage work, Kalkrand, Namibia
Lesser Flamingo (13) Most
probably these are migrating birds, resting at daytime and traveling during
night, in response to the thunderstorms in the south of Namibia during last
night.
24.02.’14 Garden
Pionierspark, Windhoek, Namibia
Gabar Goshawk, dark morph (1) In
Namibia the dark morph makes up about 10% of the entire population and mostly
in higher rainfall areas.
Enjoy Birding,
Stefan Rust
Please note: Most scientific information has been taken
from Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, V11th edition!
(For further reading see www.birdscontour.blogspot.com)
(For more information contact Stefan Rust
on +264 (0)81 129 8415 or birdscontour@iway.na)
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