Ever seen a Palm-Nut Vulture while driving  to work? I did.

My excitement, anticipation and curiosity were battling for first prize, as always is the case when doing some birding in PUT, Previously Unbirded Territory. Importantly, I am emphasizing some here, because the purpose of my week long trip to Namibia was to see places, speak to people and collect information for a few articles for De Telegraaf, the 800.000 copy daily newspaper that I work for.  So I couldn't, wouldn't and shouldn't go all out - and the birding actually came down to 1 morning in the Waterberg, 1 morning on the Kunene river and 1 Sunday in Daan Viljoen, a lovely Game Reserve just outside of the capital of Windhoek...

Some road side birding also had to be done, not only to get my Namibia list to 122 but also to stay awake during those 2500km of driving in effectively 4 days. My first lifer was even seen before the road trip began as Bradfield's Swift was swifting around during a blissful Monday morning at the Hosea Kotuka International Aiport. The trip north to Otjiwarongo showed quickly that White-browed Sparrow-Weaver is as common as Tafel lager in Namibia. At 120,5 km/h I was also treated to a flyby of a pair of Secretarybirds. Lekker stuff! 

But what a funny looking hornbill is that, I thought, while driving over a dirt road to my first appointment at the Cheetah Conservation Fund, on the northern slopes of the Waterberg. Although I would have prefered my other half next to, my bird book was staring at me from the passenger seat and obligingly suggested that this was Monteiro's Hornbill. I quickly checked with my handy binos, but this was effectively the second of the four lifers that I IDed that day without the help of binoculars. Between talking, admiring and petting cheetah I noted Black-faced Waxbill, Southern Pied Babbler, Crimson-breasted Shrike and many more. The garden around the visitors centre also turned up a female Pririt Batis and a short but affirmative glance of Carp's Tit - I can tell a tit if I see one, someone once said.

The next day I woke up in the Waterberg Rest Camp on the other side of the ridge, which means I must have driven 2 hours through the nightly unknown to reach my scenic destination. Eager to use my 3 allocated hours of birding, I was up before dawn and started trotting around when the lazy light also got its behind in gear. After a few minutes of eeire quiet, I heard the shriieeek that I was so eagerly anticipating and I found the birds quicky: Rueppell's Parrot - the only parrot species that was still missing on my Southern African list! Rockrunner seemed a much tougher cookie, but I managed three unsatisfying sightings - a tick but not a memory. The same goes for the group of Rosy-faced Lovebird that flew over: unmistakable but too quickly gone. A bit earlier I had stared for a long time at close range at an illegally cute pair of Little Sparrowhawk, eyeing me from a tree. After other cool stuff like Pale-winged Starling, Brubru, Yellow-bellied Eremomela and noise Grey-backed Camaroptera the last newby was also a lekker one: Damara Hornbill.

I drove around Etosha on the eastern side only ticking a few herons, crows and grebes - but Ovamboland is a sight in itself. Little shops, shebeens, bakkies - everything I like about Africa. This was my only birding detour: in stead of driving straight to Opuwo, I slept over in Ruacana so I could bird the Kunene river bank in the moring. My heart started pouding when two jolly black-and-white birds shot in the road down to the river: flipping gel, White-tailed Shrike! In retrospect my excitement was really cute 'cause the birds are like the Common Mynas of north-west Namibia: they are plentyful, noisy and hang out in couples or in bigger congregations. I knew Cinderella Waxbill, Grey Kestrel and Rufous-tailed Palm-Thrush were the real specials of the site and hoped to see at least the last one, but failed dismally. One may say it was winter, I only had one morning and no 4x4. One may also say I am a enthusiastic but lousy birder.

Some of you know I lived for a year along the shore of the Limpopo river, so I was right at home on the Kunene and it was great to see Meve's Starling again, along with Spectacled Weaver, Golden Weaver and my second Rufous-bellied Heron, one of the highlights of my lifelist. I was clever enough to wander a bit off river and there I heard the unmistakable sound of Arrow-marked Babbler... which doesn't occur on that turf so after a few seonds I managed to set my eyes on a group of Bare-cheecked Babbler, which was discussing the latest gossip that was fresh in from Angola. Non-breeding Chestnut Weaver was a tock too and my spirit rose again when I heard my riverine friend, the boubou. In this case it wasn't my Tropical variety but the bright white-and-black Swamp Boubou.

Time was up and I was one my way to Opuwo, where I would work for two full days on a reportage. About 50 km inland a raport was soaring low ahead of me and since it was white with black I was hoping for Augur Buzzard, which I targeted as well. Can you imagine my surprise when I got closer to the bird: it was H.U.G.E. And wait, it was a VULTURE! The field guide was already jumping up and down and then said it straight to my face: "Boy, you're looking at a Palm-nut Vulture." I know they are frequently found in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, but I wasn't aware of the sporadic sightings in the Kunene area. They apparently need oil or raffia palms so the tree experts can tell me if they occur along the Kunene. I was and am chuffed as a boy that told a tit when he saw one, as  someone once said.

Not untill a few days later was there time for birding again and this turn Daan Viljoen Game Reserve was the venue. I had to stay over in Windhoek for the Sunday for an appointment on Monday and decided to stay in the nearby reserve rather than in town. A visit is really recommended for anybody who has some sort of business in the Namibian capital. I had nice sightings of Common Scimitarbill, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Shaft-tailed Whydah, Violet-eared and many Black-faced Waxbill. On a nice hike I encountered Rock Kestrel and plenty of Bradfield's Lark, which is actually just a regional form of Sabota Lark with a stubbier bill and a few other subtle differences. And hey, those tweeting tiny yellowish things proved to be Cape Penduline-Tit! Close to my chalet, on the edge of a dam I found Pink-billed Lark and then finally - on a late afternoon walk I had a lekker sighting of a former bogey bird: Ashy Tit. And boy, did I tell a tit the minute I saw one!

On the last morning, I stopped at the so-called Avis Dam on my way to the airport. According to various sources this should have teemed with ducks but I only found two big white blobs in the distance. Nice! Great White Pelican. To cut a long story short: 17 lifers took me past  the magical 500 mark - all the way to 511. And the good news is that Namibia still has plenty in store.

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