Tropical Birding Trip Report Namibia & Botswana, Aug-Sept 2019 A Tropical Birding custom tour August 22 – September 4, 2019 Tour Leaders: Crammy Wanyama & Emma Juxon Report and photos by Crammy Wanyama Groundscraper Thrush is not a tough bird but one full of character Our August 2019 Namibia custom tour was a success. Namibia is a fascinating country of flats, hills and mountains with constantly changing habitats. These unique habitats that have given a home to diverse wildlife that can easily be overlooked while wandering around. These include a couple of perfectly camouflaged reptiles, endemics like the reddish Dune Lark, the long-legged Tenobriodis beetles with legs made for handling this dry and hot part of the world. We searched for birds and other wildlife from the plains, dry flatlands and dunes, along with life-supporting sandy rivers, the incomparable game-filled Etosha National Park. and the wooded sand-lands of Botswana. August is not the time of the year to expect rains, but the country is filled with wildlife that has adapted to this dry climate. It also has very welcoming people and some of the most panoramic views of the region. It is a destination with perfect backgrounds for photography, great for casual as well as hardcore photographers, and these shots help enjoying the beautiful memories that will linger. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report Namibia & Botswana, Aug-Sept 2019 Red-backed-Scrub-Robin Day 1 - August 22, 2019: Arrival to Walvis Bay With Emma, we had arrived in Namibia the previous day and spent a night in Windhoek the country's Capital. We didn’t do much, but but admired the beauty of this very scenic country as we got to our hotel. Although the sighting was not very lengthy and we had not yet met with the members of the group, it is worth mentioning our only sighting of the three Orange River Francolins that we saw first thing after getting out of the airport! The other birds seen between the airport and before nightfall at our lodge included Red-billed Francolin, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, White-backed Mousebirds, Southern Masked Weavers, a big flock of Wattled Starlings heading out to their roosts, Cape Sparrow, Mariqua Sunbird, Cape and Pied Crows, Helmeted Guineafowl and Great White Pelicans. On this first full day, we drove to Walvis Bay to catch up with our group that was coming in from Cape Town, all worked well and decided to go out and find some birds. After meeting the team, we headed out birding right away, and our first animal was the desert-adapted Namaqua Chameleon that we pulled out of the most perfect camouflaged on a rock. Further on, while looking for the most significant target, the Dune Lark, we saw Namaqua Sand Lizards the other reptile in less than two hours of nature activity. We got spectacular observations of the Dune Lark and enjoyed the niceness of seeing the country's most true endemic on the first day of the tour. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report Namibia & Botswana, Aug-Sept 2019 The desert-adapted Namaqua Chameleon blends in well in Dorob National Park After the Dune Lark search, we birded to the lodge for check-in. We looked hard for the Tractrac Chat in vain but got great looks of White-fronted Plover, both Lesser and Greater Flamingos, Kelp and Hartlaub's Gulls, Cape Wagtail, Cape Sparrow and many more. During our drive from Windhoek, we saw the Karoo and Tractrac Chats, Chat Flycatcher, Capped Wheatear, Cape Starling, Fork-tailed Drongo, Little Egret and Gray's Lark, among others. We checked in and later went out for our first dinner as a team; we enjoyed delicious Seafood that was swimming that morning. Day 2 - August 23, 2019: Birding Walvis Bay and Swakopmund We expected a little windy morning, but things turned out a lot much better. We had a pleasant morning with brilliant ocean views, and in general, the good weather gave us good birding day to the end. We started with a couple of Common Waxbill that love the tree at our lodge, Red-faced Mousebird, very nice Orange River White-eye and Greater and Lesser Flamingos which we were able to observe through our breakfast window. Dune Lark - We were lucky to find Namibia’s most true endemic on the first day of the tour www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report Namibia & Botswana, Aug-Sept 2019 We drove to the Walvis Bay's great salt evaporation pans and made several stops to scan and find several migratory waders. Walvis Bay is undoubtedly one of the most productive coastal spots throughout southern Africa. We were able to observe hundreds of Curlew Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Ruff, Common Greenshank, Marsh Sandpiper, Little Stint, White-fronted, Kittlitz's Lesser Sand and the tiny Chestnut Banded Plover. An excellent collection of Terns; Common, the uncommon Arctic, Swift, Caspian, Sandwich and the small Damara. Our Cormorant list had three species for today; Cape, Crowned and Great. We also scanned the ocean for some mammals and got Heaviside and Common Bottlenose Dolphins and a Cape Fur Seal. After lunch, we went back to the desert to take care of the unfished business from the previous day. We got our Tractac Chat, Gray's and Red-capped Larks along with hundreds of Eared Grebes. Day 3 – August 24, 2019: Birding to Omaruru via Spitzkoppe After our breakfast, we drove towards Omaruru, which was the end of the day's destination. On the way there, we paid brief visits to a couple of spots, among which the most scenic and iconic Spitzkoppe was. Spitzkoppe which is easily describable as a series of granitic inselbergs has attracted a few regional endemics animals including birds, and because of its stunning looks, it is a prime site for travellers. On our way driving through a sunny and very windy day, we were able to have more looks at the Tractrac Chat, Grey-backed Sparrow- Lark, Stark's and the Red-capped Larks, a pair of Lanner Falcons, Ruppell's Bustard, Alpine Swift and Rock Martin. We saw Pied Crow and found also found the Karoo Long-billed Lark. Chestnut-banded Plover at Walvis Bay When we arrived at the Spitzkoppe, we decided first to have our packed birding lunch and then looked around for the regular resident species. Interestingly, while at lunch, we got guests that understood that caring human beings shared. www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report Namibia & Botswana, Aug-Sept 2019 The Pale-winged Starling and Mountain Wheatear as the head of the guests were joined by Black-fronted Bulbul and South African Ground Squirrel. The walk around after our lunch, saw the uncommon Layard's Warbler, Black- chested Prinia, Pririt Batis, White-tailed Shrike, Yellow-bellied Eremomela, a pair of Monteiro's Hornbills, Cape Crombec, Pied Barbets, a pair of fly-by Violet Woodhoopoes among others. We also got excellent views of Cape Hyrax and a Namibia Rock Agama. The last drive to the lodge added, Fort-tailed Drongo, Short-tailed Rock- thrush, Karoo Chat, Chat Flycatcher, Sabota Lark, White-quilled Bustard, Damara Red-billed Hornbill, Gray Go-away-bird and many more others. After a very delicious dinner and back to our rooms, we decide no to go to sleep until we got looks at the African Scops-Owl that called close to our rooms. A pair of African Scops-Owl was the reward to our tireless efforts. Day 4 – August 25, 2019: Birding Omaruru areas and Transfer to Erongo Mountains. We woke up early for a pre-breakfast which lasted about an hour. We walked down river Omaruru and added Bearded Woodpecker, Damara Red-billed Hornbill, Red-billed Francolin, and useful observations of the African Hoopoe. After breakfast, we drove to Khan River where we looked for Rupell's Parrot in vain but good looks at Chestnut-vented Warbler, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Kalahari Scrub-Robin, Short-toed Rock-thrush, Burchell's Starling and Ashy Tit. We saw Rosy-faced Lovebird (above) in big numbers and Red-winged Pytilia (below) at Erongo www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report Namibia & Botswana, Aug-Sept 2019 We proceeded to our lodge at Erongo and had a warm lunch before checking in. The very well located restaurant that seats in the rocks attracted a very tame Familiar Chat, White-throated Canary, Green-winged Pytillia and the unusually attractive Rosy-faced Lovebirds. We later did a walk around the facility, which ended atop the rocks to enjoy the profound reflections of the sun on the rocks and an incredible sun-downing experience. Before and after darkness fell, we added Hartlaub's Francolin, Yellow-throated Petronia, Rock Kestrel and Freckled Nightjar to our sightings. This was a very tame Familiar Chat at Erongo www.tropicalbirding.com +1-409-515-9110 [email protected] Tropical Birding Trip Report Namibia & Botswana, Aug-Sept 2019 Day 5 – August 26, 2019: Birding to Etosha Practically, this was a driving day; however, we started with watching birds at the lodge's birdbath. The previous day, we had not successfully found the Rockrunner, so we made another try, and this time, it is acceptable to say that it was effortless. Our drive was full of good sighting; the Martial Eagle, Brown Snake-Eagle, an immature Gabar Goshawk, Lapped-faced, Double- banded Courser, Namaqua Sandgrouse and White-backed Vultures were among them.