Archive for August, 2010
Bird of the week – Week 35 : Abdim’s stork
August 29th, 2010 | 
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Posted in Let’s be honest. The Abdim’s stork is not a beautiful bird. Not as immediately repulsive as the Marabou stork, perhaps, but still not a beautiful bird. It is quite graceful in flight, but on the ground it looks quite clumsy and its red eye patch set into blue cheeks gives the impression that its eyes are terribly bloodshot. But perhaps I’m just being unkind. In some African countries it is considered to bring good luck, especially in the form of rain, which is not surprising really, as its migratory pattern follows the rains. Rather usefully (from the stork’s point of view), superstition requires that the bird is left undisturbed.
The Abdim’s stork is a visitor to Southern Africa, most arriving from its breeding grounds in East and West Africa during November and departing again in April. They are gregarious birds, usually found in large flocks, especially where there are plenty of insects. They are quite large birds, although they are the smallest of the storks, about 75 cm in length, and are mainly black, with a purple sheen to their feathers. The belly and rump are white and the bare skin on their cheeks is blue, although this is somewhat duller when they are not breeding. There is a red patch in front of the eyes. The bill and legs are olive green and their toes and knees are red. Sexes are similar, although the males are a little larger than the females.
During the  months that they spend in Southern Africa, the Abdim’s storks remain in the more Northerly parts of the region, restricting themselves to the highveld grasslands and parts of the Kalahari. During this time they are largely silent although there is some bill clattering that takes place.
Abdim’s storks feed mainly on insects, lizards, frogs, and army worms. They seem to be especially fond of locusts, grasshoppers and crickets and for this reason in some areas they are known as “grasshopper birds”. Like several other stork species, Abdim’s Storks defecate on their legs to assist with cooling in the hot weather.
The scientific name for the Absdim’s stork is Ciconia abdimii; Ciconia from the Latin for a stork and abdimii being derived from the name of the governor of Wadi Halfa in the Sudan, Bey El-Arnaut Abdim(1780-1827).
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The Gemsbok – courageous, elegant and proud
Namibian’s think so highly of the gemsbok, or Oryx gazella that their national coat of arms depicts two of these magnificent animals on either side of a shield covered with the national flag – representing courage, elegance and pride. If you see these antelope in their desert surroundings, you will understand why they hold such a prominent place in the hearts of all Namibians.
We come across them often in our travels in Namibia and Botswana and they never fail to give us a thrill when we see them. Their coats vary in colour from light grey to light brown, with patches of white, highlighted by dramatic black lines on their backs, legs and faces. These striking markings are offset by long straight horns that are sported by both males and females – the female’s horns being slightly thinner and longer.
Gemsbok can survive in harsh semi-desert conditions and dry savannah areas as they have adapted to tolerate heat better than other antelopes. Able to withstand temperatures in excess of 45 degrees C they use rapid breathing to cool the blood that passes through their noses. This cooler blood is transported to their brains and their body temperature is brought down a few degrees.
They are able to survive for long periods without water. Like most antelopes, they are mainly grazers, but they also eat tsamma melons, bulbs and tubers, which add moisture and fibre to their diet. During the day gemsbok mostly try and find a shady tree to stand under, as they prefer feeding early in the morning, evening and sometimes during the night, when temperatures are cooler.
Lions, hyenas and dogs are their main predators, apart from humans, who hunt them for trophies or meat. We came across a lion kill in the Central Kalahari last year, where a pride of lions had brought down a gemsbok.
The lions guarded their kill very jealously because a large number of black-backed jackals were keen to get any pickings that they could.
Gemsbok give birth to a single calf, arriving at any time during the year, after a nine month gestation period. The calf is usually hidden for the first few weeks of its life before it joins the rest of the herd. The baby’s horns grow very quickly, giving rise to the myth that gemsbok are born with horns, which obviously isn’t true. As can be seen from the photo below, the baby is brown with very few markings.
Wherever we see them – in the sand dunes of Sossusvlei, the savannah grasslands of Botswana or the arid rocky Etosha game reserve, they remain one of our absolute favourite animals and we always admire their grace and beauty.
Bird of the week – Week 34 : Rosy-faced lovebird
I think that many people will agree that the Rosy-faced lovebird is one of the most beautiful birds to be found in Namibia. Unfortunately, as with many small birds, their beauty has resulted in them becoming very popular cage birds. Â It is a fairly small bird, about 15 cm in length, and is very colourful. It is largely bright green, with a face, throat and breast that is rose-pink. The forehead and eyebrow are bright red and the rump is bright blue; legs and feet are grey; the bill yellowish and the eyes brown. It has a short tail, which adds to its dumpy appearance. Sexes are alike, although the red on the head of the males is brighter than that on the females.
It is classified as a “near-endemic” in the Southern African region, and its range lies almost totally within Namibia, overflowing a little in the north into Southern Angola and a little in the south into the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. They are locally common, preferring dry woodland areas and the woodlands that follow the watercourses in the dry countryside.
Lovebirds are very gregarious and occur in small flocks. Their flight is fast and for a reason that I can’t explain they remind me of a Spitfire! They drink regularly and several of the photos shown here were taken near waterholes.
Their diet consists of seeds and berries, and they can often be seen foraging through trees seeking out berries and even flowers. They are quite noisy birds that are often heard before they are seen as they fly past, screeching a shrill “shreek” that is quite distinctive.
Rosy-faced lovebirds are monogamous and are colonial breeders, building a cup-nest out of leaves and grass. Unlike most other birds, the female lovebird does not carry the material to build the nest in her bill, but tucks it into her rump feathers for the flight. Nests are built in rock crevices or in the chambers of a Sociable weaver’s nest (cheeky!). The female lays four to six dull white eggs and the chicks hatch after an incubation period of about 23 days.
The scientific name for the Rosy-faced lovebird is Agapornis roseicollis; Agapornis from the Greek for a lovebird and roseicollis from the Latin for a rose-coloured neck. Hence a lovebird with a rose-coloured neck. Well, it is the face that is red rather than the neck, but I suppose that is close enough.
Weekend at Hobatere
Rob and I were full of happy anticipation when we drove up to the Reception area of the campsite at Hobatere Lodge, on the western side of Etosha. We’d heard that the place was game-rich and that the birding was very good so the weekend seemed quite promising. Imagine our dismay when the gentleman manning the gate advised us not to wander too far from the campsite as there were lions in the area. When you’ve just driven over 400 kms to have a birding weekend, hearing that does somewhat put a damper on your plans, but we reckoned that a (safe) lion encounter would no doubt make up for the inconvenience.
We located a nice campsite on the edge of a rocky outcrop and then drove the 16 kms further up the road to the lodge to confirm what we’d been told. And sure enough, the manager said that we did have to be careful of lions. He told us, however, that there were folks doing research on black mongooses and that we should go with them when they checked traps. This didn’t really suit us at all from a birding perspective.
There is an enormous hide at the lodge itself where one can look out over the plains. We didn’t have much luck with animal sightings there though, possibly due to the time of day. We were hesitant to book a guided early morning walk* (see footnote below) because of the rather long road we’d had to negotiate to get from the campsite to the lodge. It looked like we’d be confined to the campsite for most of the weekend.
On our way back to the campsite we came across this beautiful chameleon making its jerky way across the road. Â What a magnificent specimen!
We also saw a pair of double-banded sandgrouse sunning themselves in the road. I love the striking markings on these birds.
In spite of the lion warnings, the weekend turned out to be very enjoyable after all. We managed to take a short walk down the river bed and saw lots of different birds. There was actually also plenty of bird activity around the campsite – enough to keep us occupied and not fretting about not being able to walk far.
The campsite also has a hide that overlooks a waterhole, but we didn’t have any unusual animal sightings – all we saw were a couple of klipspringers on the rocky mountainside, baboons and dassies.
The campsite is very well laid out – each site has its own ablution set-up surrounded by sticks.
There were literally thousands of koringkrieks (armoured ground crickets) around, which was rather unpleasant as they are ugly-looking creatures and make a horrible popping noise if you step on them accidentally! So an inspection of the shower and loo area was necessary before entering.
If you like to take long walks, then Hobatere campsite is not the ideal spot, but it is a great stop-over if you’re going to Ruacana or if you’ve braved (and survived) the Khowarib-Schlucht. The rocky scenery is very pretty and the remoteness of the campsite is a big plus as far as we’re concerned.
As a footnote to what I’ve written above about not going on a 6.00 a.m. guided walk at the Hobatere Lodge: I have four acquaintances who actually went on the walk together, with an armed guide. They were given strict instructions not to run if they encountered a lion, but to stand dead still and face the animal. Well, the adult, John, was at the back, with the guide leading everyone in single file, when he noticed two lions nearby. When John pointed them out, everyone, including the guide, ran for their lives. John stood his ground and faced the two lions that started to walk slowly towards him. With the whole party watching, he stared the lions down for a couple of minutes before they turned around and walked off into the bush. Afterwards they asked the guide if he would have shot the lion if it had attacked John and the surprising answer was that unless you can guarantee to kill the lion with one or two shots, it is better not to injure it, as this would only worsen the situation.  So be warned if you’re taking an early morning walk in lion territory – make sure your guide is a crack shot, and that he won’t run if you’re in danger! Or maybe you should just be able to run faster than everyone else.
Bird of the week – Week 33 : Laughing dove
The first bird that I photographed when I got a new camera was a Laughing dove. This is not unusual as the Laughing dove is extremely common and this particular specimen  was visiting a water bowl at our home. What was perhaps unusual was that when I looked at the first photograph, was that I noticed a mosquito sitting on the bird’s underside. This can be seen in the photo below.
Laughing doves are fairly small as doves go, being about 25 cms in length. The sexes are similar in plumage, the female being slightly paler than the male. They are pinkish grey in colour, and are the only doves in the Southern African region that have pinkish-grey heads, rufous breasts spotted with black and that lack the black collar on the back of the neck.  The Afrikaans name for this bird is  “Rooiborsduifie” or “Red-chested little dove” which fits its description pretty well. The bird’s belly is white, fading into the pale rufous of the breast. Legs and feet are purplish, the bill is black and the eyes are brown.
The Laughing dove is very widespread, being found throughout Southern Africa and northwards through the rest of Africa as well as parts of Central Asia. It may occur in pairs or small flocks, although solitary birds are not uncommon. It adapts well to the presence of people and is found in most towns and built up areas, where it frequently visits bird feeders. When it forages on the ground it adopts a hunched posture and bobs its bead frequently as it walks with forward with small steps. It feeds mainly on seeds and fallen grain, but will also take insects and snails.
Its bubbling call gives the bird its common name, as the multiple notes “koo-koo-kuRUkuku-koo”, has a distinctive laughing quality about it.
Laughing doves are monogamous and the nest that they build is a small platform of twigs in the fork of a tree or bush. The female lays a clutch of two white eggs that hatch after an incubation period of about 14 days.
The scientific name of the Laughing dove is Streptopelia senegalensis; Streptopelia from the Greek words for “collar” and “dove”, and senegalensis from the African country of Senegal. Thus a collared dove from Senegal, which is not apt at all as the Laughing dove does not have a collar.
