What we do about the birds

Yesterday I had a chat with various people who are interested in doing a 'big year' in Namibia this year. I'll be posting more about that later because one of the ideas is that each person who wants to do it can blog about their year and post a list.

But one really good question came up which often comes up in this kind of arrangement..."is there any ornithological benefit to this activity?"

Well, sometimes it is tempting to try to say something to the effect that we could contribute our sightings to some database or towards someone's research. The reality, of course, is that there is no such database (unless we actually see a bird not previously found in Namibia).

I have some clear feelings about this. I see three branches of interaction with birds that birders can get involved in. Ornithology..for sure there are opportunities to get involved in ornithology. Any zoologist studying avian populations or various other aspects of bird life in an are would often be interested in the help of a knowledgeable local. Bird, probably by a long way, have a huge contribution to the body of knowledge from non-scientists.

That's true, but on the whole there isn't really that much meaning in your daily birding activities to ornithology. When this question is asked, I often think that people actually mean to ask a related question, namely 'is there any conservation benefit to our activities?'

Here again I would say that just potting around looking at birds around the whole country has little real contribution to ornithology. Mad twitching is actually bad for the environment in a way...a big contribution to global warming with all the fuel used up doing all that travel.

Of course there is a meaningful contribution made to conservation and population monitoring by birders...a huge contribution. If you have been following my blog for a year you would know that last year this time I was really involved in counting birds down at the coast at this time.

This leaves the third, just birding for pure fun. I don't personally have any dilemma with doing birding for pleasure. Writing up my life list (which I am busy with at the moment) has reminded me of a time when I was borderline crazy with all my birding. Actually, one of the reasons for doing a bit of a big year is to re-capture that madness. It didn't matter to me if I was conserving, ornithology..ing, or even if I was any good at it. I just wanted to add birds to my life list, enjoy getting out an about, and enjoyed doing something that was a little different from the norm. I loved (and still do) birds, but it was nature more than the birds that was so compelling. I was somewhat of a 'twitcher' (depending on how you want to define that term). I was having fun, and that was important to me.

In recent times that has gone one step further. I am now really interested in people who want to bird for fun, because I earn some of my living from taking people out birding.

If you got through all my jabbering on till here, I would love to have your thoughts about birding. Why do you bird. Is there some compelling reason, just because birding is done in nature that it should contribute to ornithology. How much does cricket, rugby, soccer, drama and Disney have to contribute to ornithology?

I LOVE contributing to conservation. I have a set of personal goals or more a sort of core of focus that I want my life to be about, and one of the things clear on there is that I want to make some contribution to conservation throughout my life. I feel I have had some contribution in the past, be it counting birds or just having a chat to the conservation officials in the Namib Naukluft Park. I've picked up lots of rubbish in my life. I've given a little money to some conservation organizations either directly, through magazine or club subscriptions, or through organizations I have worked with. I haven't saved the world, but I have done a bit. And I feel a little bit chuffed about that.

I have contributed to science a little. Very little. I don't have much feeling that any old contribution to science is meaningful in a moral way. I don't pat myself on the back for any involvement I may have had in that way, even if it had been bigger. But science is fun. I am interested. Most of the jabbering on about nature I am able to do today is because of the access that I have had to a lot of information about nature.

I am also not a very good birder and don't feel to bad about that. Sometimes a Warber that you can barely see through the reeds, or a Cisticolla that will not sing or perform makes me feel like looking the other way for brighter, easier stuff. That's a poor claim for a birding guide to make, but it is true. I promise that a birding trip in Namibia with me will be interesting, I am certainly no beginner. I do 'know my birds' for the most part. I know where to find many of the countries specials. I do an okay job with a number of hard birds. But I would be really lying to claim that I was a hotshot, top-notch birder.

But when I go out to bird, none of the above affect my thinking at all. I just plain simple get a kick out of going to watch birds.

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Today's birding at Mile 4 salt works

I went out this morning for a nice bit of birding at the Mile 4 salt works. It was foggy when I went out, but the fog was not obstructing the view, so it was fine.

Today's birds: Cape Cormorant (thousands,) Common Whimbrel, Kelp Gull, Ruddy Turnstone, Grey Plover, White-fronted Plover, Sandwich Tern, Hartlaub's Gull, Greater Flamingo, Damara Tern (only a few, they will be gone soon,) Common Tern, Swift Tern, Common Greenshank, Black-necked Grebe, Pied Avocet, White-breasted Cormorant, Cape Teal, Little Egret, Barn Swallow (heading off soon?) Cape Wagtail, Black-winged Stilt, Lesser Flamingo (actually lots today,) African Black Oystercatcher, Ruff (only a few, and looking better by the day, ready for breeding further north,) and lastly the star of the day, a Common Redshank, a rare bird we have been seeing lots of, but it is still a rare vagrant. The picture with this post is a much cropped picture with the Common Redshank.

There were lots of young White-fronted plover's around. It's always amazing how they make it in these very open habitats. You would think the Kelp Gulls would have them all.

I also watched Kelp Gulls harass Cape Cormorants until they regurgitate the contents of their crops, which the Gulls would quickly eat.

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New Life Bird

Today we decided to take a drive north of Swakopmund, past the town of Henties Bay and past Cape Cross. It's an interesting area mainly because it is so remote. The beach stretches for miles with very few people around.

We drove out to the beach and just had a look around. We were north Cape Cross where the huge Fur Seal colony is and there were hundreds of dead seal bodies along the beach. We really didn't know why? Is it just normal, or has the recent warm water or overfishing or something like that had an impact? Not sure.

But we did see a number of Kelp Gulls, a very normal bird along this coast. But as we drove along we saw another bird sitting on the coast. It was a little smaller than the Kelp Gulls. As we got close we had a good look and identified it as a Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus. It's not a very unusual bird, but it was new for me. These days each new bird is celebrated, so it's a good day for me!

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A bird day

This morning I went out to count the Swakop River Mouth with six other birders. Two of those were young kids, and had a great time. We didn't see any rare birds, which was actually a first for me with the Swakop River Counts. We also missed Damara Terns, which we usually check up on after the Swakop River Mouth each count. There was a lot of activity in the area, and that probably chased them away.


In the late afternoon I took my family up the beach north of Swakopmund. As we passed the area where I saw the gull (it seems to have gone, dashing my chance at my first report of a proper rare bird!) I saw a dead tern.


I went to have a look. It had a ring. I have looked at litrally hundreds of dead birds. This is my first ring recovery. It's a safring ring, which may mean that it is local. The number is 5-87866. Of course I have reported it, and will let you know when I hear more.

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Daily birding turns up a rare bird

Well, recently I go birding every day. Very often I go alone. Sometimes I go in the late afternoon with my kids and just have a look around. I just feel it's important to get out every single day. I am really working on building tours on the one hand, and just having fun on the other. But almost every birder has the idea at the back of their head that they may just turn up something rare.

This afternoon I was out with my boys at the Mile 4 Salt works. It isn't too far from home, and I take the boys out there to get a bit of space and let my older one ride his bike. I went round to have a look at a tern roost while I was there.

While I was looking around I saw a gull with a dark head. It's easy to miss in the group of terns. But sure enough it was a gull with a somewhat darker head. It didn't look dark enough to be Franklin's Gull. I thought it must be a Common Black-headed Gull.

My kids were getting restless, and so I took them back home, grabbed various field guides to help with the id. The bird was really far off, not moving much at all, and the day was running out. I tried and tried to get a better view. I would still put my money on Common Black-headed Gull, which, though we had one in Walvis Bay recently, is still a rare bird. A Franklin's would be much better.

Anyway, day ran out, and I still haven't seen the wings, which would really clinch it. I hope to get out there with a friend tomorrow with a scope and hope to still catch up with the bird. It's no mega, but it's still a big deal to call in a rare bird. It was a lifter for me just recently, and I am getting to the point where lifers are starting to be very hard to come by in this region of the country.

If you know these birds, here is some of what I saw:

It sat low down, hardly lifing it's head at all. That could just be the result of getting lost. Other rare birds I have seen in this area do have a bit of a daze about them. I think if you show up lost on the central Namib coast as a bird, you are super lost.

Anyway, head looked a bit grizzled in front, more uniform behind. It doesn't extend very far down the back of the neck.

There is some white around the eye. It was really hard to get a good look at it, despite great light. It was just to far off. But it seemed to me that the white around the eye was only above the eye.

The color of the beak I couldn't say. Legs too. The belly was a yellowish compared with the terns. Still white, but not as white as the terns. The back was similar color to a Common Tern, slightly darker than Sandwich tern. It was never near other gulls, but when I compared it with Hartlaub's gulls, it seemed smaller. But that could just be the fact that it sat low down, and perhaps it was further in the water. It was constantly surounded by a lot of terns.

Anyway, hopefully we shall see.

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My new bird

Well, I thought that I was to breaf on my new bird. So a little more on that.

My Southern Africa list is now on 530. That's really well below the big guys. They are sitting in the 750 plus range. I'll get there - just wait a little.

My life list is sitting at 613. I have only really done a little birding outside of Southern Africa. I did grow up in Kenya, and sure I enjoyed birds, even watched them and learned about them. But I wasn't listing. To some people the concept of listing is wrong. To me it's my hobby and it's a lot of fun. My ethics are my own and it is really a question of what do you do (flushing, bird calls, spot lights, etc...) to get your bird that determines if your listing is good or not for the bird. In my experience it is a hobby where honesty is the most valued characteristic (in which other competitive endeavor does your word count 100% to your rank? What if Tom Gullick lied about one bird. Why would he bother traveling the world to see the other 8700 odd that he's seen when he has lied about one? You need to be honest or you just wouldn't want to do it. It's the nature of the hobby. But it's competative just the same. It's a challange - often with yourself. Even with other. Often with that one elusive or vagrant bird.

My new bird is the Benguela Long-billed Lark Certhilauda benguelensis. It's really great to get a new bird like that. Most new birds for me in Namibia is going to depend on where I travel and rare birds showing up at the right time, in the right place.

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Some birding

Yesterday I had no guests, and went out birding on my own. I had seen what I thought was Eastern Clapper Lark some time back, which would be new for the reserve. However, I had no luck finding it. I did see a lot of Larks. I also saw a couple Yellow-bellied Eremomelas and a pair of Booted Eagles, pale form.

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Raptors

Over the last couple of days there have really been some good birds around. We know that all the grass this year on the reserve would start to increase the number of birds by millions. Now the raptors are following them in.

Yesterday I had my second sighting in the year of Black Harrier. This is a very special bird almost anywhere, and especially here on NamibRand Nature Reserve.

Today I watched as two falcons were attacking another. At first it was hard to ID them, but as they came closer, it was clear that it was a single Lanner Falcon being attacked by two Red-necked Falcons. All of which are exciting to see on the reserve.

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Some birds

Just wanted to mention a few good birds that I have seen around recently. On a drive on the reserve I saw a pair of Red-necked falcons. The next day I saw a pair of them at the lodge. We see them in the area year round, but they are never common.

We also had a pair of Secretary birds near the lodge. It is very unusual for us to see these birds here in the desert.

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