Green Desert

I am back at work at the lodge on Namib Rand Nature Reserve and it is an amazing time to be here. We have had such exceptional rain this year that everything is out in bloom. Today I walked from my house to the lodge (about 1.5km) and saw a Pygmy Falcon and found a Lark-like Bunting nest with two downy chicks in it.

I have worked in the desert for some 6.5 years now, and the biggest privilege for me has been being about to witness the large swings from supper green to shriveling dry. When green it is a nature festival. Everything pours in. The birds, especially the seed eaters go ballistic. The lark like buntings for example, are turning out fledglings by the month, and it only takes a little concentrated effort to find a nest - almost anywhere. And not only the birds, but bugs, scorpions, herps, the works.

But the dry times are amazing as well. This is really the time to take out your notebook and learn how desert adaptation really works. Because as dry as it gets, there are always the hangers on. And here in the Namib that includes large herbivores, ostriches and hyenas. As anyone who is a keen observer of nature and life knows, it is just amazing how resourceful nature is, filling every available niche. It isn't picky!

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