Namibia & Botswana 2014 A Tropical Birding Custom Trip Namibia & Botswana Tropical Birding Custom Trip August 7-23, 2014 Guides: Ken Behrens & Charley Hesse Photos by Ken Behrens. Most photos taken during the trip. Annotated checklist by Jerry Connolly www.tropicalbirding.com WINDHOEK After arrival in Namibia’s capital, we had a day to relax and enjoy the excellent birding on offer around this small and charming city. Windhoek has a population of about 300,000, out of Namibia’s tiny population of only 2.1 million, remarkable for a country that is twice the size of California. Crimson-breasted Gonolek (left), the national bird of Namibia, showed well at Avis Dam. On our morning walk at Avis Dam, we enjoyed Marico Sunbird (bottom left) and Southern Cordonbleu (top right), while there were a bounty of waterbirds at the Gammons Water Care (Sewage!) Works, including African Darter (bottom right) and Red-knobbed Coot (top left). Our day in Windhoek was relaxing but still productive. From Windhoek, in the central mountains, we descended into the Namib Desert, where species like these Common Ostrich survive despite incredibly harsh conditions. South African Ground Squirrel (top); Namib Dune Ant (bottom right); and Rueppell’s Bustard (bottom left), creatures of the Namib. WALVIS BAY AND SWAKOPMUND The Namib dune fields hold Namibia’s sole political endemic, the Dune Lark. Walvis Bay itself is a mecca for waterbirds, including thousands of flamingos. SPITZKOPPE From the Namib coast, we headed inland to Spitzkoppe, one of Namibia’s most striking landmarks. Our avian target at Spitzkoppe was the scarce Herero Chat. OMARURU AND ERONGO MOUNTAINS We spent two nights in this area, exploring the Erongo Mountains, one of the most ancient mountain ranges on earth, and the most diverse place for Namibian near- endemic species. Swallow-tailed Bee-eater (far left) Right page: Violet-eared Waxbills and Scaly-feathered Finches (top left) Damara dik-dik (top right) Erongo landscape (bottom left) The sometimes elusive Rockrunner that we saw amazingly well on this trip (bottom right) Birding the riparian woodland and adjacent thornveld in Omaruru yielded amazing views of a flock of Rueppell’s Parrots (left), Gray Go-away-bird (middle) and one of Namibia’s best near-endemic birds, the White-tailed Shrike (right). The bird feeders of Erongo Wilderness Lodge are among the best in Africa. Visitors included dozens of Rosy- faced Lovebirds (far left). The surrounding habitat held prizes like Acacia Pied Barbet (above left) and male Hartlaub’s Francolin (above right). ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK The middle portion of our safari was spent in Etosha, one of the World’s great parks. Our timing was perfect, as huge numbers of mammals and birds were concentrated around the park’s waterholes due to the parched conditions prevailing late in the dry season. Giraffe (left) against a typical dry season landscape of tawny grass, flowering Acacia nebroni, and a yellowing mopane tree. Dry season Etosha is all about the waterholes, whose visitors shown here include African elephant, giraffe, and Helmeted Guineafowl, just a taste of the bounty of wildlife that we saw by visiting waterholes. We enjoyed incredible leopard sightings (above). Left page: Namaqua Sandgrouse (top left); Red-headed Finch (top right); Double-banded Courser (bottom left); and an elephant at Okakuejo’s waterhole (bottom right). Pearl-spotted Owlet (above left) is a tiny bird-eating owl that is much hated by other birds! Animals of all different stripes mix at Etosha’s waterholes (above right). Right page: Foxy Charaxes (top right); Black-backed jackal (bottom right); and Pale Chanting Goshawk (left). This page: friendly Leopard (top); Northern Black Korhaan (bottom left); and Scaly-feathered Finch (bottom right - by Jerry Connolly). Left page: Pale Chanting Goshawk bombing Martial Eagle (top left); spotted hyena (top right); dust-blowing baby African elephant (bottom left); and Swainson’s Francolin catching some air (bottom right). This page: Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (bottom left); Crowned Lapwing (bottom right); giraffes (top right); and White Helmetshrike (top left). Right page: southern oryx are a common sight throughout Etosha. A magnificent Cheetah (far left) might have been our best sighting in Etosha. We also spotted banded mongoose (top above); Sabota Lark (bottom left); and Black-faced Babbler (bottom right). SHAMVURA RIVER LODGE, NORTHERN NAMIBIA We struck north for the Okavango ecosystem, where a bounty of creatures like this Pied Kingfisher awaited. With species like Nile Crocodile (top), Malachite Kingfisher (bottom left), and Purple Heron (bottom right) around, life isn’t safe for the fish of the Kavango! There were all species that we sighted during boat trips from Shamvura Lodge, on the banks of the river. Seeing two separate Ostrich creches (left) attended by protective males was one of the highlights of Mahango Game reserve. In the Okavango, Giant Kingfisher and White-fronted Bee-eater are common birds (right). XARO & NXAMASERI LODGES, BOTSWANA These two lodges are perched on the banks of the Kavango River in the area known as the “Okavango Panhandle”. By walking around the lodge grounds and taking boat trips out into the vast adjacent wetlands, we turned up a huge array of birds and other wildlife. The Okavango is a remarkable inland delta formed by several rivers which run out of the mountains of Angola, then pour into and evaporate upon the sands of the Kalahari semi-desert. We watched several African Fish-Eagles (right) plummeting out of the sky and snatching fish from the river. We had wonderful views of the incredible Pel’s Fishing-Owl (left) in Botswana. Boat trips are the prime way to explore the endless papyrus and reed wetlands of the Okavango. Little Bitterns (right) were remarkably common and cooperative this year. Also shown are a Yellow-billed Oxpecker near Nxamaseri Lodge (top left) and the pugnacious Pied Kingfisher (bottom left). A colony of breeding African Skimmers right next to Xaro Lodge was a special treat this year. Skimmers are the only birds in the world that have a longer lower than upper mandible! A couple of Little Bee-eaters show off on the edge of a mysterious papyrus swamp (far left). Wading birds like this Little Egret (above left) are abundant throughout the Okavango, as are cisticolas like this Chirping (above right). Walks around Xaro Lodge turned up Bennett’s Woodpecker (top right), while birds spotted on the boat trips included Long-toed Lapwing mobbing an African Marsh-Harrier (top left), African Openbill (bottom left), and Banded Martin (bottom right). The Okavango holds an abundance of colorful and conspicuous birds, like Giant Kingfisher (top left), African Jacana (bottom left), and White-fronted Bee-eater (right). BIRDS Common Name Scientific Name Location Ostrich Struthuinidae Ostrich Struthio camelus C-14 to Walvis Bay, Etosha, Mahango Ducks, Geese and Waterfowl Anatidae White-faced Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna viduata Mahango Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiaca wet areas South African Shelduck Tadorna cana Gammons Sewage Works, etc Spur-winged Goose Plectropterus gambensis Mahango African Pygmy-Goose Nettapus Auritus Okavango Delta Cape Shoveler Anas smithii Gammons Sewage Works Red-billed Duck Anas erythrorhyncha Gammons Sewage Works, etc. Hottentot Teal Anas hottentota Gammons Sewage Works Cape Teal Anas capensis wet areas Guineafowl Numididae Helmeted Guineafowl Numida meleagris throughout Pheasants, Grouse and Allies Phasianidae Crested Francolin Francolinus sephaena Shamvura Hartlaub's Francolin Francolinus hartlaubi Erongo Red-billed Francolin Francolinus adspersus First at Avis Dam, common almost throughout Swainson's Francolin Francolinus swainsonii Etosha Grebes Podiceps Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis wet areas Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis Walvis Bay Flamingos Phoenicopteridae Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus Walvis Bay, by the 100s Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus minor Walvis Bay, by the 1000s Penguins Spheniscidae Jackass Penguin Spheniscus demersus Walvis Bay. Rare record on shore this far north. Storks Ciconiidae African Openbill Anastomus lamelligerus Mahango, Okavango Delta floodplain Saddle-billed Stork Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis Okavango Delta Marabou Stork Leptoptilos crumenifer Mahango Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis First at Shamvura Boobies and Gannets Sulidae Cape Gannet Morus capensis Walvis Bay Cormorants and Shags Ardeidae Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo Gammons Sewage Works, Walvis Bay Cape Cormorant Phalacrocorax capensis Walvis Bay Bank Cormorant Phalacrocorax neglectus Walvis Bay Long-tailed Cormorant Phalacrocorax africanus Gammons Sewage Works, etc. Crowned Cormorant Phalacrocorax coronatus Walvis Bay Anhingas Anhingidae African Darter Anhinga rufa Gammons Sewage Works, etc. Pelicans Pelicanidae Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus Gammons Sewage Works, Walvis Bay Hamerkop Scopidae Hamerkop Scopus umbretta First at Shamvura Herons, Egrets and Bitterns Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus First at Shamvura Gray Heron Ardea cinerea First at Gammons Sewage Works Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala Gammons Sewage works Goliath Heron Ardea goliath First at Shamvura Purple Heron Ardea purpurea First at Shamvura. Many around Xaro Lodge. Great Egret Ardea alba Gammons Sewage Works, etc. Intermediate Egret Mesophoyx intermedia First at Shamvura Little Egret Egretta garzetta widespread Slaty Egret Egretta vinaceigula Mahango, Okavango Delta Black Heron Egretta ardesiaca First at Shamvura