Archive for June, 2010
Bird of the week – Week 24 : Red-billed quelea
We were sitting at Hippo Pools, on the banks of the Kunene River in the late afternoon when we were witness to huge flocks of Red-billed quelea moving overhead to settle for the night in the thick reeds that lined the river and that also covered an island that lay in the river ahead of us. They came in flocks of thousands, nay, tens of thousands, looking like plumes of smoke drifting across the water; the flocks perfectly coordinated as they wheeled over the water in unison. No sooner had one flock landed, sometimes half a dozen birds vying for the same spot on the same reed that bent precariously under their combined attentions, than the next appeared. Where they came from, we do not know. And soon after sunrise the following morning the process was reversed as the queleas left the reeds for destinations unknown to us. An amazing sight!
Red-billed queleas are very small birds, with a length of about 11 cm, and weighing not much more than 20 g. During the breeding season the males have a pink or yellowish head with a black facemask; their backs buff-coloured, streaked with brown; the lower body white. Females and non-breeding males do not have the facemasks, instead their heads are buff streaked with brown, as are their backs and upper parts. Diagnostic is the red bill, which all red-billed queleas have, save for the breeding females that have a yellow bill.
They are widespread throughout Africa south of the Sahara, being locally abundant in the grasslands, savannah and farmlands, as mentioned in the first paragraph. In fact they may be the most abundant wild bird species on earth. They feed on seed and grain and the vast flocks can cause significant damage to crops. For this reason they are considered serious pests and farmers trying to protect their crops kill millions each year. They are fairly nomadic and can cover great distances in search of a suitable feeding site.
When gathered together in their colony, queleas are noisy and there is constant chattering from the colony until they have settled. Their song is a mixture of chattering and tsssr reeee and chee-chee notes.
Red-billed queleas weave a small ball of a nest from strips of grass, making a large entrance on one side. They are colonial breeders and hundreds of nests may be made in a single tree. The female lays a clutch of 1 to 5 greenish-blue or bluish-white eggs that hatch after an incubation period of approximately 12 days. The nestlings are usually fed on insects.
The scientific name for the Red-billed quaelea is Quelea quelea. Quelea from the Latin for a quail. Somewhat strange really, as I wouldn’t have thought that they look much like quails, but nevertheless repeated within the binomial for emphasis.
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WORLD CUP SOCCER 2010 – PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN
Soccer fever has hit South Africa with a vengeance and any description of the happy spirit prevailing in the country at the moment would be a gross understatement! It is absolutely staggering to see how this has drawn the people together in an atmosphere of co-operation and national pride. If nothing else, it will prove to be one of the loudest and most colourful World Cups ever.
South Africa has been waiting in joyful anticipation for June 11 2010, the start of the first World Cup Soccer event hosted on the African continent. This is a truly auspicious occasion for a third world country and our nation can be justifiably proud of being given the honour of leading the way in this regard.
As South Africans who can only watch from afar, we at Wilkinson’s World wish our national team, Bafana Bafana, all the very best as they take on the heavyweights in the world soccer arena. All eyes will be on them as they represent our beautiful country and, like the rest of South Africa, Namibia and the neighbouring countries, we will be blowing our vuvuzelas and waving our flags for them.
We wish the visiting teams and supporters a wonderful trip to South Africa and hope that the many happy memories that they take back home with them afterwards will draw them back to this amazing part of the world sometime again in the future.
GO BAFANA ! GO! GO! GO!
Climbing to Konigstein in the Brandberg
June 8th, 2010 | 
Author: Rob
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Posted in Trips | 
Show on Map (Geotagged at lat -21.1166668, lng 14.5500002)
At the beginning of May 2010 we took a walk to the highest point in Namibia, the Konigstein in the Brandberg (Fire Mountain), which lies in Damaraland. This is a three day trek that is surprisingly strenuous for such a short excursion at fairly low altitude – you can read a brief report on this trip here.
Bird of the week – Week 23 : Scarlet-chested sunbird
The male Scarlet-chested sunbird is a magnificent bird. Fairly large for a sunbird, with a length of about 15 cm and a weight of up to 16 g, they are a sooty black overall, but with a brilliant metallic green crown and throat, with the lower throat and chest a bright scarlet. Admittedly, the green crown and throat are not always noticeable in the field, but when the sun catches it, the colours glow wonderfully. As with many of the sunbirds, the female suffers by comparison and is rather drab, with a greenish brown back; yellow bellow, and mottled with brown on throat and chest. As with the male, the bill, legs and feet are black
The Scarlet-chested sunbird is widely spread throughout Africa South of Sahara; inhabiting woodland, riverine bush, and also gardens. In South Africa it is a common resident in most areas, although it is absent from most of Cape Province. It is usually solitary or may be found in pairs.
They feed on nectar, especially favouring Aloes, while hovering or while perched and will often feed while hanging upside-down. They also eat insects and spiders. In summer, when the aloes are in flower, these birds are a dazzling sight.
The voice of the Scarlet-chested sunbird is a loud series of 3-5 notes that are repeated over and over, “chip cheeu chip chip”. The male perches quite conspicuously on the top of a tree while singing and is a delight to watch as he puffs out his scarlet chest. Of course the song is also a declaration of his presence and a marking of his territory, which he defends quite aggressively against intruders.
The nest of the Scarlet-chested sunbird is an untidy ball of grass and leaves, often bound together with spider webs. It may be lined with hair or feathers, or with soft plant material and is suspended from the branch of a tree, usually over water. The female lays a clutch of 1 to 3 white or cream eggs that hatch after an incubation period of about 16 days. The nest may be parasitized by Klaas’s cuckoo or the Emerald cuckoo (Chrysococcyx cupreus).
The binomial for the Scarlet-chested sunbird is Chalcomitra senegalensis. Chalcomitra from the Greek for a copper or bronze headband and senegalensis after the West Africa country of Senegal.
Shark Island – Namibia’s landmark of shame
June 2nd, 2010 |
Author: Jane
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Posted in Trips | Show on Map (Geotagged at lat -26.6572781, lng 15.0842285)
We planned to spend Easter weekend at Luderitz, camping on Shark Island. As any traveler knows, it pays to do a little research on an area before visiting it to make the visit more interesting. The facts about Shark Island are rather chilling.
Shark Island, the only campsite in Luderitz, was the setting for one of the low points in the history of Namibia, or rather South West Africa, as it was known at that time. The site of a concentration camp operated by German forces between 1905 and 1907 during the war between the indigenous Herero and Nama people and the Germans, history paints a gruesome picture of the atrocities that were carried out on Shark Island at that time. The sunshine of the Namib desert did little to warm the hearts of the brutal German occupiers, who left a trail of death and destruction as they decimated the local population.
Situated on a rocky peninsula, Shark Island (or Haifisch Island) overlooks the little harbour of Luderitz. When the weather is calm it is an idyllic spot, but it is almost as if the elements want to remind those who dare to enjoy themselves here of the spot’s brutal history, and cruel winds whip off the cold Atlantic Ocean to show the harsh reality of life on this island.
During the war prisoners were housed in whatever tents were available, with very little to protect them from the harsh environment. They were beaten and raped by their captors on a daily basis. The majority died of exposure, hunger, disease and cold, and they were all, including women and children, forced to work as labourers on the railway lines and other building projects around Luderitz. Prisoners died at a rate of about eighteen a day. It is said that their bodies were buried in shallow graves on the beach at low tide and when the incoming tide washed them into the sea, sharks devoured their remains. Is this where the island earned it gruesome name? Other bodies were allegedly sent to Europe for research on racial anatomy.
Today a memorial on the Island honours Cornelius Fredericks (the most prominent of the indigenous guerilla leaders during the war) as well as the brave men, women and children who perished on the island, but history hasn’t entirely been portrayed in a sensitive manner on Shark Island as there are numerous plaques honouring the Germans who lost their lives in the war as well.
During our short stay we also experienced the ‘ill wind’ that blows over the island and after enduring a gale for most of the night, we pulled down our rooftop tent and slept in our car. It gave us a small sense of the enormity of what the prisoners must have endured so many years ago. The next morning we packed up and left Shark Island a day earlier than intended. It was not a place to linger for too long.
