Author: martintayler

Another amazing day on this amazing continent. Our hosts Merryl and Steve really indulged us today and and took us to, what I consider to be, the best place I have ever been for bird watching – False Bay Nature Reserve.

The highlights in the main centre at Rondevlei were pelicans, African sacred ibis, glossy ibis, spoonbills, various plovers, black-winged stilts, little egrets, Cape wagtails, Cape teal, red-billed teal, Egyptian geese, Blacksmith lapwings and loads that I haven’t identified yet. It was quite windy and there didn’t seem to be many little birds darting around the beautiful vegetation but there was no reason to complain.

When we moved on to the lakes near the sewerage works (Strandfontein birding area) it was just as exciting as our visit last year, with all of the above plus flamingos, Hadeda ibis, little grebes, barn swallows, pied avocets, and a raptor which I think may have been a black-shouldered kite.

You visit this section by car and you get to see the birds really close up. The birds are not bothered by the cars which aren’t numerous anyway – we didn’t see another car at all today and only two last year.

There was certainly so much else to see but I didn’t want to push my luck too much; our hosts had been so accommodating and the thought of a lunch by the beach at Muizenburg was even more enticing than an overdose of birds.

Thanks Merryl and Steve for a very special day.

Beautiful vegetation

An amazing setting

Very accommodating hosts

Glossy ibis

Flamingos

Black-shouldered kite ?

Egyptian goose

Pied avocet

Sacred ibis

Pelican

Red-billed teal

Cape teal

Cape wagtail

Spoonbills and pelicans 

Terns

Black-winged stilt

Kittlitz plover

Three-banded plover

Flamingo

Hadeda ibis

Spur-winged goose

White-necked raven

Click below for a gallery of some of today’s photos:

Black-winged Stilt

Black-winged Stilt

Caspian Tern

Caspian Tern

Blacksmith Lapwing

African Spoonbill and Great White Pelican

African Spoonbill

Cape Wagtail

Cape Wagtail

Great White Pelican

Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

Cape Teal

Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

Pied Avocet

Pied Avocet

African Sacred Ibis

African Sacred Ibis

Greater Flamingo

African Sacred Ibis

Egyptian Goose

Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

Cape Teal

Greater Flamingo

Glossy Ibis

Glossy Ibis

Blacksmith Lapwing

Glossy Ibis

Black-shouldered kite ?

Little Egret

Kittlitz Plover

Three-banded Plover

African Spoonbill and Great White Pelican

African Spoonbill

Great White Pelican

Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

Pied Avocet

African Sacred Ibis

African Sacred Ibis

African Sacred Ibis

Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

Glossy Ibis

Glossy Ibis

Hadeda Ibis

Spur-winged Geese

African Sacred Ibis

White-necked Raven

Whilst I was looking out at the beautiful view from the balcony of our excellent accommodation in Camps Bay (51, Camps Bay) I saw some Cape White-eye feeding off the nectar of the tree right in from of me.

A room with a view

Cape White-eye

A little worryingly behind us I could see a fire rampaging on the hillside of the Lion’s Head. However, the fire brigade seemed to be coping well with their helicopters.

We then drove to Hout Bay and had a walk along the beach. Even quite early in the morning the temperature was around 30 degrees, but with the gentlest of breezes coming off the sea it was bearable. As we walked we saw a few cormorants (Cape and Bank Cormorants), some distant Kelp Gulls and a Swift Tern.

Swift Tern

As it was getting even hotter we decide to take a boat trip to Duiker Island, the Seal Colony, where we could view thousands of wild Cape Fur Seals close up in their beautiful natural habitat. There were also lots of Cape and Bank Cormorants, some Kelp Gulls and even one Penguin.

A Kelp Gull

A solitary penguin (Lost and Found?)

Pet seal?

Chapman’s Peak (outside looking in)

Click below for gallery of photos:

Cape White-eye

Cape White-eye

Cape White-eye

Cape Cormorant

Kelp Gull

African Penguin

African Penguin

African Penguin

Cormorants

Cormorants

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves of the hugely impressive natural phenomena of the Zambezi River and the Victoria Falls seen from the air.

Click below for gallery of photos from this afternoon’s flight.

Friday 25th January 2019

Windhoek to Victoria Falls

Our flight to Victoria Falls was slightly delayed and so we  had just 20 minutes to drop off our bags before departing for a visit to a local Zimbabwean woman’s home to hear about local customs and to take part in a meal of local products. It was particularly interesting hearing about family attitudes to boys and girls forming relationships and the role of aunties and uncles.

By the time we returned to the hotel there was no opportunity for any wildlife photos.

Saturday 26th January 2019

We had yet another early start as we set off to visit the Victoria Falls. We stopped en  route to visit an ancient Baobab, believed to be between 1000 and 1500 years old.

At the entrance to the park we had a talk from our local guide about the Falls and, in particular, the story of their discovery by Dr Livingston. It was very interesting but, with the roar of the Falls in the background we were all desperate to move on to get our first sight of them.

Walking through the park we could see and hear plenty of bird life amongst the very green vegetation which was interspersed with lots of orchids and other plants such as Deadly Nightshade.

As we had not had even the slightest glimpse of the Falls (except, what even Livingston had considered to be, clouds of smoke) until we were well into the park, it was indeed a magical moment when we did at last get a glimpse of them.

Our very first glimpse of the Falls

We had nine major view points along the pathway, many of them quite precariously close to the cliff edge which was extremely slippery from the spray. It was not perfect weather for photographs as the sky was quite hazy and the spray was, at times, very heavy. However, there was no doubt that the Falls were an amazing sight to see.

In the afternoon w elected to take a short helicopter ride to see the Falls. This was an expensive excursion and the flight only lasted 12-13 minutes. Nonetheless, this was a most amazing experience and enabled us to see (and photograph) the Falls at their best.

Two of the younger members of our “ Namibian Group” took a microlight flight which sounded even more amazing than our flight, lasting longer and even presenting opportunities to see wildlife from the air.

Click below for gallery of photos from this morning:

Red-eyed Bulbul

Western Cattle Egret

On the way back to Windhoek we stopped at the Cheetah Conservation Fund centre at Otjiwarongo. The CCF is an international non-profit organization headquartered in Namibia, with operations in the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy and the United Kingdom, and partner organizations in several other nations.

Our visit started at the very informative museum; we then went out into the field to see some of the “rescue” cheetahs before having lunch at the centre. During lunch we had two talks; one from an intern about the work of the centre and then another from the Founder and Executive Director, the very impressive Dr Laurie Marker, who told us about the world-wide scope of the CCF.

After lunch we went to see some more of the “rescue” cheetahs being fed and told more about the work of the centre from a Canadian intern and from the head of the department, who hailed from just outside our home city of Bristol.

A fascinating visit was made even better by seeing flocks of vultures overhead as the meat was put out for the cheetahs.

The CCF’s website is well worth a look at.

Click below for gallery of photos:

Black Kite

We were due to set off early for the trip back to Windhoek but fortunately we had a short period of delay as a flat battery was sorted on the coach (our driver Immanual was trying to keep our drinks cool) and we had a further hour at the waterhole. The highlight was the action of a jackal attempting to steal a baby Springbok. Some photos are not for the squeamish.

(Labelling to follow)

African Red-eyed Bulbul

Helmeted Guineafowl (Etosha National Park – January 2019)

Cape Turtle Dove (Etosha National Park, Namibia – January 2019)

Helmeted Guineafowl (Etosha National Park – January 2019)

Red-billed Spurfoul

Click below for gallery of photos:

African Red-eyed Bulbul

Helmeted Guineafowl

Pied Crow

Shaft-tailed Whydah

Western Cattle egret

Shaft-tailed Whydah

African Red-eyed Bulbul

Helmeted Guineafowl

Pied Crow

Shaft-tailed Whydah

Western Cattle egret

Shaft-tailed Whydah

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

A glutton for punishment we had another visit to the waterhole and, again, saw some magnificent birds and mammals.

I’ll name some of these later.

Shaft-tailed Whydah

Southern red-billed Hornbill

Baby Springbok swimming to his mum

Three-banded Plover

Blue Wildebeast

Lilac-breasted Roller

Lilac-breasted Roller

Click below for gallery of photos:

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

Lilac-breasted Roller

The game drive in the afternoon started at 3 p.m. and was really hard work in the heat of the day. (What did the bushman tell us about not moving around between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. ?)

The highlight of the mammals were the Black Rhinos – one of whom wallowed in the mud right under our noses) but I particularly enjoyed some of the bird life we saw: notably, the Northern Black Korhaan and the raptors which I am yet to identify.

South African Ground squirrel

The remains of a giraffe which, we were told. was slow to get up less than a week ago

Scrub Hare 

Hartmann’s Zebra

Kori Bustard

Black Rhino

Northern Black Korhaan

Crowned Plover

Northern Black Korhaan

Black-faced Impala

White-headed Vulture ?

African harrier hawk

Rhino

The cool group ?

Click below for photos from this afternoon

We were up very early this morning to set off at 5 a.m. on the first of two game drives in the Etosha National Park. The park was proclaimed a game reserve in 1907 and covers an area of 22,270 square kiometres.

The park was named after the Etosha Pan, which is located within the park. In Oshivambo, “Etosha” means “Great White Place”. A unique feature of Etosha is this vast salt pan, which temporarily becomes a shallow lagoon after a good rainy season. It had rained the night before our arrival but not enough to flood the pan. It must be a magnificent sight to see.

For the first part of our game drive we travelled in the dark and our guide pointed out animals by using a red light.

The highlight of this morning’s drive were the two pride of lions.

The mammals and birds in my photographs represent only a small amount of what we saw. Truly an amazing experience.

Aardwolf

Lionness

Jackel

Lion

Southern Red-billed Hornbill

Not sure – need to look at my bird book!

Kori Bustard – the heaviest flying bird in Africa

Springbok

Blue Wildebeest

Zebra

Lion cub

Giraffe

Ostrich

Spotted Hyaena

Click below for gallery of photos from this morning:

Kori Bustard

Kori Bustard

Kori Bustard

Common Ostrich

The first evening at the Okaukuejo Lodge we had our first real taste of the National Park when we visited the water hole next to the lodge. We were lucky to see an elephant arrive almost straightaway. At the time we didn’t realise how lucky we were as this was the only time we saw an elephant in the park. There was an interesting stand off with a rhino and the elephant and it was fascinating to see the elephant take evasive action.

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

Shaft-tailed Whydah

Southern Red-billed Hornbill

Southern White-tailed Shrike

Purple Heron

Blacksmith Lapwing 

Common Greenshank (on right)

Crowned Lapwing (amongst the Blacksmith Lapwings)

Zebra

Black Rhino

Black-backed Jackel

Gemsbok (Southern Oryx)

SpringbokAfrican Elephant

African Hoopoe

Groundscraper Thrush

Click below for a gallery of photos:

Shaft-tailed Whydah

Red-winged Starling

Southern Masked Weaver

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

Southern White-crowned Shrike

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

Southern White-crowned Shrike

Purple heron

Blacksmith Lapwing

Crowned Lapwing

Pied Crow

African Hoopoe

Groundscraper Thrush

We had an hour at Palmwag Lodge before setting off for Etosha and so I made the most of it by taking some bird photos. I was especially pleased to see the Rosy-faced Lovebirds.

Speckled Pigeon

African Red-eyed Bulbul

Swift

Speckled Pigeon

Marisco Flycatcher

Rosy-faced Lovebirds

The journey to Etosha was stunning especially as our guide and driver were brilliant at spotting wildlife and stopping frequently for us.

Giraffe

Giraffe

Kudu

Welwitschia Mirabilis

The age of individual plants is difficult to assess, but many plants may be over 1000 years old. Some individuals may be more than 2000 years old. Because Welwitschia only produces a single pair of foliage leaves, the plant was thought by some to be neotenic, consisting essentially of a “giant seedling.”

Petrified wood

Click below for photos of the journey.

African Red-eyed Bulbul

Red-eyed Bulbul

Speckled Pigeon

Marisco Flycatcher

Marisco Flycatcher

Rosy-faced Lovebirds

Rosy-faced Lovebirds

Rosy-faced Lovebirds

Rosy-faced Lovebirds

Rosy-faced Lovebirds

Rosy-faced Lovebirds

We covered long distances today but, nonetheless, it was a very full and exciting one.

Just up the road from Sakopmund we stopped  to see a shipwreck which, although fairly recent, was completely inhabited by cormorants.

Skeleton coast?

We had got used to the gravel roads but around our next stop, at Hente Bay, we saw them spraying saltwater onto the roads which made them much smoother but I imagine a nightmare in rainy conditions.

We were soon back to the gravel roads but the landscape on our way to Twyfelfontein was much more undulating and even more spectacular.

At Twyflefontein we visited the ancienrpetroglyohs which were named Namibia’s first UNESCO World Heritage site. The site is thought to be the largest concentrations of Bushmen engravings in Africa, with over 2500 figures ranging from 2000 to 5000 years old. Our local guide described them as a sort of blackboard to teach about the animals to hunt and their various tracks. He also told us that they demonstrated that the Bushman had travelled further afield with pictures of animals, such as penguins and flamingos, as testament.

En route we observed the two tribes we had learned about in the township in Swakopmund, the Herero and the Himbo tribes which originally were part of the same tribe but now with very different costumes.

On approaching our lodge (Palwag) our guide and driver were constantly pointing out wildlife and we had plenty of stops to observe and photograph.

In the evening we didn’t have much time for observing wildlife but there were plenty of birds flying around the lodge.

Southern Masked Weaver

Sunset at Palmwag Lodge

Click below for gallery of today’s photos:

Cormorants

Cormorant

Red-winged Starling

Common Ostritch

Common Ostrich

Southern Masked Weaver

Pied Crow