The Bird of the Week – Week 86 – Brubru
The Brubru is a fairly unobtrusive shrike that is quite difficult to see clearly as it hops about in the thickly leaved tree canopies that it favours. It is found through most of sub-Saharan...
Monthly Archive: August 2011
Go ape about Chacma baboons
It’s sad when humans encroach on the habitat of wild animals and it’s not often that they can live side by side without conflict. Here, on the outskirts of Windhoek, we live beneath a...
Bird of the Week – Week 85 – Helmeted guineafowl
One of the most common of the larger, easily recognized birds often seen along the quieter roads in southern Africa is the Helmeted guineafowl. They gather in fairly large flocks and are somewhat reluctant...
Gamsberg – Namibia’s Table Mountain
We had a weekend with a difference recently when we decided to hike up Gamsberg, a Namibian mountain with an elevation of 2347 m above sea level. This flat-topped mountain closely resembles Table Mountain...
Bird of the Week – Week 84 – Familiar chat
The Afrikaans name for the Familiar chat is “Gewone spekvreter” which means “Common fat-eater“, a strange name that it apparently earned during the 1800’s when the Voortrekkers were migrating northwards from the Cape of...
Bird of the Week – Week 83 – Rock kestrel
Rock kestrel used to be considered a sub-species of the Common kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), but on the basis of recent genetic findings it is now considered to be a separate species. As the classification...
Camel Thorn Trees – Stalwarts of the Desert
I have to confess that I am known to hug beautiful trees. Not wanting to appear loopy, I usually first have a good look around to make sure that no-one is watching me! Namibia,...
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