Wilkinson's World

The Yellow-billed stork is a large bird, reaching about a metre in length, and the sexes are similar in both plumage and size. They are predominantly white in colour, with black  edging to their wings and tails. Their bills are bright yellow, and their facial skin, legs and feet are red. A conspicuous bird that is not likely to be confused with any other species, In flight their necks are  outstretched in typical stork fashion and their legs trail well behind their tail feathers.

Although they feed mainly on fish, Yellow-billed storks also eat frogs, worms, crustaceans and insects. They move very slowly and deliberately when feeding and spend long periods of time standing very still. They are well adapted to fishing and have very quick reflexes; they will often stir up the surface mud with one foot in order to disturb their prey, and when a likely morsel moves they are able to snap it up in their slightly decurved beaks.

They are usually silent birds, although during breeding they may give vent to a series of squeaky calls and hissing sounds.

In southern Africa there are both resident and migrant populations of Yellow-billed storks, with the migrants arriving around October and leaving again around April. The migrants do not breed in this region, but the resident birds are monogamous and generally nest colonially in heronries with other wading birds. They build a large nest of sticks in a tree, usually over the water or very close to it.  The female lays a clutch of two to four dull white eggs that hatch after an incubation period of approximately 30 days.

The scientific binomial for the Yellow-billed stork is Mycteria ibis; Mycteria from the Greek for “a nose” and ibis from the Greek for an “ibis”. Thus we have an ibis with a nose! Good grief, how do they come up with these names?

Palmwag Lodge is surrounded by waving palm trees and is situated on the banks of the ephemeral Uniab River (‘Uniab’ meaning ‘the one that carries you away’ in Damarana.)  It has about six campsites, some of which overlook the dry riverbed and the plains beyond.  All the campsites have shaded areas and private kitchen sinks.  From our idyllic spot we were able to see a variety of game and birds – of special interest was a hornbill’s nest that Rob will write about in another blog.

We hired a guide from the local community and spent a wonderful morning with him searching for desert elephants.  Unfortunately we didn’t have any luck, but he took us over the Grootberg Pass to remote settlements that we would never have visited otherwise and it was great to see how the locals live in such an isolated and demanding environment.

There are beautiful walks around the Lodge which give one a feel of the countryside.  The area is dotted with weird looking trees, like the bulbous Herero Sesame-bushes (Sesamothamnus guerichii) which are reminiscent of Baobab trees.  The Euphorbia Damarana, Namibia’s most toxic plant, is everywhere.  Although this bush is lethal to humans, it is grazed on by kudu, black rhino’s and steenbokke with no ill effects.  It leaks a deadly milky liquid when the branches are broken and needs to be avoided at all costs.

The valley around Palmwag is surrounded by flat-topped mountains and conical hills, with the massive Grootberg visible in the east.   The ground is scattered with basaltic rocks that add their own beauty to the scenery.

Although the Lodge looked a bit ‘tired’ to us, with unkempt gardens and buildings in need of repair, it was well worth a visit.  For folks planning a trip in the dry season, there is every chance that elephants could walk through the campsites or Lodge grounds.  What a drawcard!

The sexes are alike in plumage and in size, having an overall dull brown appearance, with a black face, grey head with a prominent crest.  The bill is black and white, the eyes black and the legs and feet are purplish-brown.

The Speckled mousebird is highly vocal, with the most frequent call being a sharpish chee, chee, chik, chik.  They are very social birds, often feeding and dust bathing together.  Usually found in groups of between five and twenty birds, they occupy the edges of forests, and riverine thickets, as well as gardens and orchards.  In early morning and late afternoon they are often to be found sunning themselves, sitting with their legs well apart and bellies exposed to the sun.

Speckled mousebirds forage in the upper canopy, where they eat a wide variety of fruit, leaves and flowers.

Their nest is an untidy shallow bowl of plant material, lined with soft material and leaves.  The female lays two to four cream-coloured eggs that hatch after an incubation period of approximtely 15 days.

The scientific binomial for the Speckled mousebird is Colius striatus; Colius from the Greek for a scabbard (apparently a reference to the long tail), and striatus from the Latin meaning striped.  Thus we have a striped bird with a tail like a scabbard.  Well, it has a long tail, but why it should be reminiscent of a scabbard  I have no idea.  And it certainly isn’t striped in any obvious way!

These aggregates of salt crystals are for sale on an honesty system; if you take one you are honour bound to deposit the correct amount of money in the tin provided. The salt sellers return to the tables at the end of each day to collect the money and to replace any of the stock that has been sold.

Known as halite, or rock salt, these isometric crystals of sodium chloride may be colourless, white, light blue, pink, orange, yellow or gray depending on the type and quantity of impurities present. These variations in colour add to their charm.

The road north of Henties Bay (a small but rapidly expanding settlement north of Swakopmund) is known from its construction as a “salt road” and is as smooth as tar, but is, of course, devoid of road markings, being constructed of gravel and salt. When wet it can be very slippery and it carries a speed restriction as a result.

The global production of salt (sodium chloride – NaCl) is in excess of 210 million tons per annum, of which less than 6% is for human consumption. The rest is for industrial use. In the big picture, Namibia is a relatively small player in the global market, producing around 700 thousand tons per annum, or approximately 0.33% of the worldwide production.   At the large salt-works not far from Cape Cross  salt is mined on a commercial scale.
Salt is also produced in Namibia through the evaporation of water from sea water, for example in the large open pans near Walvis Bay. The climate of Walvis Bay being conducive to rapid evaporation, these salt pans are quite extensive, covering over 3,500 hectares and producing more than 400 thousand tons of high quality salt annually. At the time of our visit, the water in the pans from which the evaporation was taking place varied in colour from the expected pale blue to an eerie pink that looked totally unnatural.