www.tropicalbirding.com Namibia and Botswana From the Desert to the Swamp 22 August – 5 September 2014 Guide: Josh Engel Namibia during the dry season is a stark land, yet it abounds with life. Birds and animals have evolved in its deserts to cope with a long, harsh dry season, knowing exactly where and how to get the moisture and sustenance they need to survive. It’s a brilliant time to visit the country, when these creatures gather around waterholes, puddles, and leaking pipes to find the water they so desperately need. It’s also the season that flamingoes gather on the coast, that antelope and their predators gather at waterholes, and that the clear desert sky is uninterrupted by even a single cloud, day or night. Botswana is dry, too, but the mighty Okavango River pumps water into the dry land, bringing with it an abundance of life and supporting forests and wetlands in the middle of the Kalahari Desert. This trip took advantage of it all. The flocks of thousands of flamingoes at Walvis Bay; the birdbaths pumping with Rosy-faced Lovebirds in the stunning Erongo Mountains; hundreds of antelopes, giraffes, and ostrich wary of the lurking lions at an Etosha waterhole; and the abundant birdlife of the Okavango swamps. In between we visited the world-famous San rock engravings at Twyfelfontein, had our evening checklist session interrupted by rhinos and elephants, found virtually all of the endemic Kalahari birds, took boat trips on the Okavango River to find hippos and Pel’s Fishing Owl, and found ourselves wondering at the myriad forms that a desert can take. Below is a day-by-day account, with all of the photos presented taken on this single trip. Day 1, Arrival in Windhoek We headed through the Kalahari Desert from the airport into Windhoek, Namibia’s clean and orderly capital. We took a slight detour on the way to the hotel to check out a few historic buildings in town alongside the brand new Independence Museum. We saw a few birds around town, including a beautiful Lilac-breasted Roller. Day 2, Windhoek to the coast An early morning outing near the hotel was very active for birds. Best were our first Kalahari specialties, including Black-faced and Violet-eared Waxbills and Ashy Tit. After a lovely breakfast we started on our Namibia and Bostwana August-September 2014 1 www.tropicalbirding.com way to the coast. We took the scenic route in order to enjoy the desolate beauty of the Namibian countryside—winding our way first through the Kalahari Desert before dropping down into the Namib Desert—and, of course, in the hopes of seeing birds and animals. Just after leaving town Sharon spotted a Purple Roller that sat up obligingly. Later stops yielded many other birds, including a beautiful male Short-toed Rock Thrush and a flock of swifts that included many Bradfield’s. Dropping down the escarpment into the Namib Desert we came across a group of mammals that included the rock-loving Hartmann’s Mountain Zebra that put on a great show taking a dust bath right in front of us. Later on we found the Namib Desert specialty Rueppell’s Korhaan right by the roadside, and we stopped to admire— and move off the road—a wonderful Namaqua Chameleon. Just before arriving in Swakopmund we found that there were ponds in the Swakop River that were full of birds. A quick stop yielded several goodies including Chestnut-banded Plover and our first Lesser Flamingoes. On Namibia’s coast, desert-loving animals like this Namaqua Chameleon rub shoulders with water- loving creatures like Pied Avocet. Day 3,The coast We headed south after breakfast and soon arrived at the world famous Walvis Bay Lagoon. It quickly lived up to its reputation (at least after the fog cleared) with thousands of Lesser and Greater Flamingoes, including a large flock very close to the shore. There was also a good variety of shorebirds and terns, including Bar-tailed Godwit. Happy with our haul, we headed inland into the Namib Desert to Rooibank to search for Namibia’s one true endemic bird, Dune Lark, and to spend some time in Namibia’s famous red dunes. It was a beautiful walk, but our quarry proved elusive. We enjoyed the Tenebrionid beetles and Shovel-snouted Lizards scurrying over the sand and found many Dune Lark tracks. Finally giving up, we headed back the car, stopping for a stunning Swallow-tailed Bee-eater en route. Nearing the car, I could hardly believe my eyes as a pair of Dune Larks strutted out of the scrub into the riverbed in front of us. What luck! We watched them root around in the sand for insects before heading back into town for lunch. Heading back towards Swakopmund after lunch, we stopped in at the guano platforms that are just off the beach. As usual, they were covered in thousands of Cape Cormorants with a few Crowned Cormorants and Great White Pelicans mixed in. We were also thrilled to find a young Cape Fur Seal playing in the surf and two Bottle-nosed Dolphins swimming a bit further off shore. We spent the remainder of the Namibia and Bostwana August-September 2014 2 www.tropicalbirding.com afternoon enjoying the town of Swakopmund and its German colonial architecture, topped off by another fresh seafood dinner. Day 4, Coast to the Erongo Mountains We took a short beach walk near town the following morning. Besides getting one last look at both species of flamingoes, we had nice looks at beach-running White-fronted Plovers, our only Gray-hooded Gull, and many Lesser Swamp Warblers. Finally we were off back to the interior, into the scrublands of the Kalahari. A few roadside stops yielded several new birds, before we made it to the wonderful root carving shop in Omaruru for some retail therapy. After lunch at a café in town, we made it to our stunning lodge set among the granitic Erongo Mountains. Freckled Nightjars put on a good show as we showed up for dinner. Day 5, Erongo Mountains We spent a wonderful, bird-filled, and relaxing day in the stunning surrounds of our lodge. An early morning walk yielded many of the specialty birds of the region, including Hartlaub’s Francolin, Rockrunner, Carp’s Tit, Monteiro’s Hornbill, and White-tailed Shrike. We ate a leisurely breakfast while watching myriad birds coming to bath and drink just outside, including many Rosy-faced Lovebirds and Pale-winged Starlings. After a refreshing afternoon rest, we headed out to a nearby dry riverbed. We were quickly distracted in our search for birds by a group of mostly young giraffes (with two oryx) that we slowly approached. On our return to the car we did turn up two of our target birds: Southern Pied Babbler and Rueppell’s Parrot. Cool birds: Damara Red-billed Hornbill and Rosy-faced Lovebirds, both found primarily in Namibia. Day 6, Erongo Mountains to Twyfelfontein Before breakfast we enjoyed the morning show at the bird baths, including dozens of Rosy-faced Lovebirds and a couple of the locally endemic dassie rat. On a short walk nearby we had wonderful looks at a Yellow-bellied Eremomela alternately enjoying meals of bugs and nectar. We said goodbye to the lodge and its abundant rock hyrax and headed back into the desert. We stopped for a picnic lunch in a shaded campground along a tree-lined dry watercourse near our destination. In no time, we had both Bare-cheeked Babbler and Damara Red-billed Hornbills (among others) begging for scraps and giving brilliant photo ops. We finished the day with a tour of the world-famous Twyfelfontein rock engravings. Day 7, Twyfelfontein to Etosha Namibia and Bostwana August-September 2014 3 www.tropicalbirding.com We got an early start, quickly disrupted first by Bokmakierie at the lodge soon followed by a Secretarybird and a group of Ostrich as we were leaving on our way out. We were soon on our way again, eventually making a stop to visit the fascinating petrified forests and finally seeing many Welwitschia plants. We continued straight into the great Etosha National Park. At the first waterhole we found many of the typical animals—giraffe, impala, zebra, oryx, kudu, springbok--but even better were the lions resting under a nearby mopane tree. We made a note to check back on our way out. We made it to the first camp and sat by the waterhole for a while. Before long, two male elephants made an appearance and put on a show of blowing muddy water all over themselves. We had to leave the park for the night, but it turned out to be fortuitous. As we approached the area where the lions had been earlier, we found they were still there. But not just a couple—there was an entire pride, including seven playful cubs. The last to show up were the male closely attending an estrus female. We had an incredible experience watching the cubs, lactating females, and the male interacting in front of the setting sun. It was quite the introduction to the park. Cape Glossy Starling was with us for much of the desert part of the trip, but we had to make a special effort to see the unique and remarkable Welwitschia plant. Day 8, Etosha We again started the day with a pre-breakfast walk. It was very quiet until we found a dripping water tank—apparently that’s where all the birds had been! Among the numerous birds were a stunning male Shaft-tailed Whydah, but soon havoc broke out when a Little Sparrowhawk arrived.