422 | Travelers stop at Connys Restaurant

TOURISM

Welmien, the daughter of the late Conny, has made her favorite recipes available to travelers passing Klein Aub to enjoy on the terrace.

Her effort earns her a one penguin-rated Tourism Support 2016 Award from BirdsConTour.

420 | Delightfully different Guesthouse Voigtland

CONSERVATION & TOURISM

Only 45 km from Windhoek and even less from the international airport, you will come across the delightfully different Guesthouse Voigtland.

Originally built in the 1900, the guesthouse is set on farm Voigtland in the Namibian savannah.

With initiatives such as garden bird feeding, sustainable hunting and sustainable tourism, Gaby & Stephan Voigts from Guesthouse Voigtland earned a two penguin-rated Conservation & Tourism Support 2016 Award from BirdsConTour.

419 | Water for Sossus Birds

CONSERVATION & TOURISM

Tourism is an important industry for Namibia but can cause significant disturbance to animals in their natural habitat. 

Sossusvlei, the main attraction point of the Namib Sand Sea (Namibia's first UNESCO natural Heritage Site since 21st June 2013) for example, is a very sensitive environment and heavy visitor disruption wipes out a big amount of seeds, reptiles and insects, resulting in a lack of food and moisture for birds. For many species these food items are also a primary source of moisture their body needs.

In order to counteract this visitor-birdlife conflict and to help birds to replenish their body moisture and food, BirdsConTour introduced the Water for Sossus Birds project in 2013. Hereby tour guides, visiting the Sossusvlei area, are requested to put outa filled water and food feeder, constructed and funded by BirdsConTour, at the 4x4 parking area. With peace of mind the guide and guests can now go and discover and enjoy the magnificent Sossusvlei area.

418 | International Migratory Bird Day

CONSERVATION

BirdsConTour celebrates migratory birds

You're out on a game drive and absorbing the fascinating bird life your guide points out. But, have you spent a thought on who of them are migrants and what their threats are?

Being a guest in Namibia is always exciting. For some visitors, simply taking in the sights and sounds of the wild avifauna is the most exciting and fun-filled part, but most come for the learning experience. If you are in the latter category, here is something for you to get your fill.

Migrant birds are important biodiversity ambassadors not only for Namibia but for the whole world. It is therefore that each year the International Migratory Bird Day gets celebrated, this year on the 10th of May. Every year, from October to April, more than 150 migrant bird species visit Namibia from northern and central Africa, Europe and Asia.

Palearctic migrants, such as Barn Swallow, Common Swift, European Bee-Eater, Willow Warbler, European Roller, Red-backed Shrike, Red-footed Falcon, Steppe Eagle, Black Kite, Ruff, Sanderling, Bar-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew, Black Tern and White Stork, fly from Europe and Asia to Africa.

Intra-African migrants, such as Diderick Cuckoo, Dusky Lark, Yellow-billed Kite and Abdim's Stork fly a north-south route in Africa.

Damara Terns use the coastal route to and from west Africa.

Many wading species such as Sanderling, Bar-tailed Godwit and Arctic Tern, use a coastal migration route.

Did you know that a satellite tracked Arctic Tern flew 70 900 km in one year?

In many instances, though, our migrating birds face many threats en-route and at their destinations. These are illegal hunting, powerline collisions, overgrazing, deforestation, pesticide pollution, water pollution, air pollution and climate change.

BirdsConTour established the Bird of the Year Namibia project to create an awareness of these threats by annually choosing an ambassador bird species in order to pronounce the different threats.

417 | Getting Kids involved in Birds

CONSERVATION & WELFARE

Kids are naturally curious and love to learn about birds because they hold a special fascination, they can fly!

Leni loves and enjoys helping birds by feeding them

Enzo proudly points out his self made bird feeder

Parents and teachers can help children learn about birds by taking them out to build a bird feeder. Children love to feed the birds outside in the garden. 

A Cape Glossy Starling feeds its chick with a small snake

And then it's so much fun to sit back and watch all the wonderful birds come over to feed. Making bird feeders with the kids is a great activity to get them outside and enjoying nature.

BirdsConTour shows a few ideas that you and your kids can enjoy.

Using empty cold drink cans to create seed feeders

Sunflower seed tube feeder

Porridge feeder

Fruit feeder

Nectar feeder

Corn feeder

Suet (peanut butter) feeder

Water table

The other thing parents and teachers can do is to encourage kids to build a bird house. Before and while building nests, one can do a little reading and explaining about birds and the purpose of a nest.

Small bird nest

Large bird nest out of a plant pot

Building bird feeders and bird houses with kids is a great way to get kids engaged in bird conservation.

Late Mrs Heidi Rust was a great example of engaging kids in DIY projects

Thank you to all parents and teachers for all you do to turn kids into citizen scientists!

415 | The Healing Power of Birds Program

WELFARE & CONSERVATION

BirdsConTour (Birds Conservation & Tourism) uses local wild birds as an aid program to treat people. Natured is one of the best medicines. The Healing Power of Birds Program brings peace and joy to many people and at the same time, by establishing wild bird sanctuaries (feeding stations), the program gives local wild birds a boost, too.

Attracting local wild birds to people's environment (home, school, guest farm, church, lodge, business, residential care community, nursing home), through BirdsConTour transforming sites into havens for birds, the sensory observation of these birds - the colors, the sounds - and the chance to watch their behavior in the wild bird sanctuaries (feeding stations) outside, are stimulating aspects for:

Companionship and Relief from boredom

According to an old Chinese proverb, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. BirdsConTour finds that people owning or staying at a wild bird sanctuary have a lot of laughter and peace of mind. BirdsConTour designs the wild bird sanctuaries in such a way that the birds give the residents companionship, relief from boredom and the chance to care for other living things. BirdsConTour observes that residents who used to stay in their houses all day now come out daily and sit and watch the birds for hours. One can see them slip into another world and watch them react to the birds.

Dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Patients go and sit nearby the wild bird sanctuary (feeding station) to watch the birds' behavior and listen to their calls. This is stimulating for people with dementia. Side effects from their medication make them drowsy, but the bird activities wake them up. Some start smiling, smiles last longer and some become much more talkative. In some cases these wild birds trigger happy and soothing memories. Bird observation can tap into long-lost visual or auditory memories and can evoke strong happy reactions in people with Alzheimer's, improving their mood for hours afterwards.

Duty, Commitment and Responsibility 

Owning a wild bird sanctuary teaches people duty, commitment, responsibility and care for wild creatures through regular feeding and cleaning sessions.

Focusing

Wild birds singing can also make it easier to focus, for example on homework, because birdsong relaxes people physically but stimulates them cognitively. Over thousands of years people have learnt when the birds sing they are safe but it's when birds stop singing that people need to worry. Birdsong is also nature's alarm clock, with the dawn chorus signaling the start of the day, so it stimulates us cognitively. Birdsong works because it's stochastic, made up of lots of random sounds. It lacks repetition or pattern to focus on.

Comfort and Solace

Observing birds can help people through medical, physical and emotional crises. Birds, their characters, activities and stories, aid in communication and healing.

Cancer

The gentle chattering of wild birds is found a healing and soothing presence by cancer patients suffering pain.

Fear

Listening to birdsong calms patients as they receive injections and can help them de-stress before undergoing treatments or surgery.

Ears and Eyes

Bird observation can reset the ears and eyes.

Depression and Heart problems

Walks in wild bird sanctuaries can comfort depression and treat heart problems.

Fear of flying

Airports can use birdsong and bird observation possibilities as a calming method for passengers to relax before their flight.

Business

Hearing and seeing birds means good business. Attracting birds at ones business through an implemented wild bird sanctuary (feeding station), creates a mental connection with freshness and therefore improves customer and staff satisfaction.

While not a substitute for therapy, The Healing Power of Birds Program is created to aid in communication, healing and wellbeing.

414 | Namibian Bird of the Year 2016 announced

CONSERVATION

As the Bird of the Year 2016 Namibia the birds conservation and tourism organization BirdsConTour elected the Lappet-faced Vulture, our biggest vulture species, whose existence is under threat. In the Lappet-faced Vulture Year our vultures - the Palm-nut Vulture, Egyptian Vulture, Hooded Vulture, White-backed Vulture, Cape Vulture, White-headed Vulture - will become even better known.

Each year since 2013 a Bird of the Year Namibia is chosen by BirdsConTour. Birds are excellent flagship animals and useful health indicators of the environment. This annual initiative serves BirdsConTour for creating awareness about birds and bird habitat conservation.

The Lappet-faced Vulture (Torgos tracheliotos) is an Old World vulture belonging to the bird order Accipitriformes and is the only member of the genus Torgos. It does not share the good sense of smell of some members of the New World vultures and is not closely related to them.

This largest African vulture has a 3-meter wingspan and weighs 15 kilos. This powerful species can open a fresh carcass. Pesticide poisoning and persecution has caused a decline in its population.

Previous birds of the year

2015 - House Sparrow

2014 - Kori Bustard

2013 - Common Ostrich