charlie adds

Adriaan has just reminded me that in the last week the Grey-headed Parrots have started regularly flying overhead and stopping at Shamvura Camp and surrounds on their daily fly-over on their way to feed on fruits in Angola, we had 8 at Combretum site yesterday morning.  They fly through/over us twice a day as they roost South of us at night!

Charlie says

Shoo its been quite a week, Adriaans family visited after a mammoth journey from Uniondale in South Africa and had a great time, he was able to show them Sharp-tailed Starlings and Souza's Shrikes, his Dad also managed to catch a Shamvura Tiger fish.  Ethan (Nomadic Birder) moved on to Sitwa on the Kwando River to start some training with Conservancy bird guides for IRDNC (Integrated Rural Development and Nature Conservation).  We also had the Bassi-Hanssen family visit for 2 days from Okonjima, Rosalee, Luigi and their 3 kids.  They experienced their first hippos and crocodiles, enjoyed the river and caught a wide range of different fish, all catch and release except for 1 a Pink Happy which we prepared as a starter for dinner.

The Paradise Flycatchers arrived during last week always a sign to us that summer is really well on its way........this has been confirmed by the Manketti trees starting to leaf in the garden always welcome as we head into the hot dry October and November months.

Mark prepared his own power point presentation (a first and a milestone for him) normally Charlie prepares them from information he gives her.  This was a presentation that he gave to the OKACOM (Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission) Biodiversity Task Force holding a 3 day meeting at the Fisheries Institute at Divundu.  Mark leads OkBMC (Okavango Basin Management Committee) Biodiversity and Environment working group here in the Kavango Region. The presentation went really well and although he was given only 20 minutes the discussion went on for 2 hours.  The main aim was for the BDW to gain collaboration with particularly Angola for their planned monitoring programme at the 8 Biodiversity hotspots or areas of interest along the Namibian stretch of the Okavango River.  So all in all its been a WOOHOO week at Shamvura Camp!

Charlie adds

Mark has been working really hard on forming an Association for the Kavango Open African Route, this falls under the Open Africa project which offers a free website for any tourism enterprise in the Kavango Region, they have 3 other routes they promote 2 in the south and of course the Caprivi Wetland Paradise route.  He has arranged posters, t-shirts and sign-boards with the 5 indicator species (Tiger fish, African Skimmer, Grey-headed Parrot, Kiaat/Teak tree (Pterocarpus angolensis) www.openafrica.org/route/Kavango-Open-Africa-Experience

Charlie says

We have had an interesting mix of folks visiting since the 17th September starting with the Biodiversity and Environmental working group under the Okavango Basin Management Committee, who funded the actual 2 day meeting while SAREP (Southern African Regional Environmental Programme) where we hosted Traditional Authority leaders, local school teachers and pupils, local community, conservancy members,  line Ministries and merged them with experts from Fisheries, Insects and Invertebrates as we thrashed out the indicator species and criteria to implement for monitoring the Cuito/Okavango floodplain as an environmental area of interest.  The group is led by Mark Paxton and we hosted a total of 22 participants, lots of food, water, drinks and stuff going on over that weekend, was productive and fun.

Then end of August through to mid-January is our sub-tropical birding season so we have had a range of birding groups come through including the heavy-weights like Tropical birding, but also the smaller more focused folks looking to add to their lifer list.  Mark does the speicialist guided woodland walks and looks for "hotties" like Souza's Shrike (his specialist bird), Sharp-tailed Starlings, Rufous-bellied Tits, Wood Pipit, Arnotts Chat and Racket-tailed Roller.  (I am not the birder so this is by no means a complete list).  Adriaan Stander our eco-training student does the boat-trips for birding, fishing and good old sundowners....has had a range of birds some of which are also exciting sightings, the African Skimmers are regular now, the Carmine Bee-eaters are nesting.  ( Ethan has gone out with him and 2 guests Emlyn and Elizabeth Horne, who are on their second visit to Shamvura Camp).  So I will ask Ethan to list the sightings from the river over the last few weeks!

Fishing has been exciting as well...Adriaan had the crazy Finish dudes, who were quite wild 70yr olds who stripped down naked, skinny dipped and then fished off the river sandbank in nothing but their birthday suites.  Gavin and Sally Marlton were here for a few days and he had some good fishing, Pink Bream, Nyembwe, Barbel and Tigers...will have to ask Adriaan to add to this list.


In between we intervened seemingly successfully in an attempted Sitatunga poaching incident and 2 of the Sitatunga swam over and sheltered on Shamvura Camp side within our fence lines...makes one wonder, do they just know its safe here?  Ministry of Environment got here 24hrs after being called and are doing an investigation.  The hippo family has grown and is now split into 2 groups with one of them also sheltering on our immediate floodplain.  Adriaan has to sneak the boat in and out of the channel right under their noses...they do seem to know our boat and do not bother us fortunately....

We also had "Plant Phile"(Thomas Danielle, Maria and Marius)  here who are doing research into indigenous plants with a view to creating sustainable income from marketing useful plants at a local level.  We also had Dawid and Cori here from The Nature Conservancies an organization similar to WWF which was very interesting.

On the home front Bokkie Spitbraai our castrated housegoat is STILL living with us and sleeps in the bedroom along with the dogs, Mark and I.  Adriaan and Ethan rescued another small lamb recently who they called Lucy but for once Mark and I were in total agreement and said NO RETURN TO THE COMMUNITY IMMEDIATELY.

That is it for now will ask the dudes to add their sightings soon!

Recent birding with Tropical Birding

Ethan Kistler writes:

The Tropical Birding group left Shamvura this morning on their way to Mahango Game Reserve. I tagged along while they birded the area and wrote a quick report on what we had - click the following link to read my blog post (Nomadic Birder blog)

Tropical Birding

Charlie Paxton writes:

Tropical Birding arrives today, Jerry Connolly group, Jerry was at Shamvura with Tropical Birding last year and is coming again next year, we love regulars!

Shamvura Camp - Bird List

Ethan Kistler writes:

For birders that are interested in the birds of Shamvura Camp, here is the complete list of species recorded in the area compiled by Mark Paxton. The list currently stands at 429 species.

Black-necked Grebe

Little Grebe (Dabchick)

Great (Eastern) White Pelican

Pink-backed Pelican

Reed Cormorant

African Darter

Grey Heron

Black-headed Heron

Goliath Heron

Purple Heron

Great (White) Egret

Little Egret

Yellow-billed Egret

Black Heron (Egret)

Slaty Egret

Cattle Egret

(Common) Squacco Heron

Green-backed Heron

Rufous-bellied Heron

Black-crowned Night-heron

White-backed Night-heron

Little Bittern

Dwarf Bittern

Hammerkop

White Stork

Abdin's Stork

Wooly-necked Stork

African Openbill (Openbilled Stork)

Saddle-billed Stork

Marabou Stork

Yellow-billed Stork

Booted eagle

African Hawk-eagle

Ayres  Hawk-eagle

Long-crested Eagle

Martial Eagle

Brown Snake Eagle

Black-chested (Black-breasted) Snake Eagle

Western Banded Snake Eagle

Bateleur

African Fish Eagle

Steppe Buzzard

Long-legged Buzzard

Lizard Buzzard

Ovambo Sparrowhawk (Rare Melanistic form)

Ovambo Sparrowhawk

Little Sparrowhawk

Black Sparrowhawk

Shikra (Little Banded Goshawk)

African Goshawk

Gabar Goshawk

Southern Pale Chanting Goswhawk

Dark Chanting Goshawk

Eurasian (European) Marsh Harrier

African Marsh-harrier

Montagu's Harrier

Pallid Harrier

African Harrier-hawk (Gymnogene)

Osprey

Peregrine Falcon

Lanner Falcon

Eurasian (European) Hobby

African Hobby

Sooty Falcon

Red necked Falcon

(Western) Red-footed Falcon

Caspian Plover

American Golden Plover

Grey Plover

Crowned Lapwing (Plover)

Blacksmith Lapwing (Plover)

African Wattled Lapwing (Plover)

Long-toed Lapwing (Plover)

Ruddy Turnstone

Terek Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper

Marsh Sandpiper

Common Greenshank

Curlew Sandpiper

Little Stint

Sanderling

Ruff

Great Snipe

African (Ethiopian) Snipe

Black-tailed Godwit

Eurasian Curlew

Pied Avocet

Black-winged Stilt

Spotted Thick-knee (Dikkop)

Water Thick-knee (Dikkop)

Temminck's Courser

Bronze-winged Courser

Collared (Redwinged) Pratincole

Black-winged Pratincole

Rock Pratincole

Grey-headed Gull

Whiskered Tern

White-winged Tern

African Skimmer

European Nightjar

Fiery-necked Nightjar

Rufous-cheeked Nightjar

Swamp (Natal) Nightjar

Square-tailed (Mozambique) Nightjar

Pennant-winged Nightjar

Common (European) Swift

Little Swift

African Palm-swift

Red-faced Mousebird

Pied Kingfisher

Gaint Kingfisher

Half-collared Kingfisher

Malachite Kingfisher

African Pygmy-kingfisher

Woodland Kingfisher

Brown-hooded Kingfisher

Grey-headed (Greyhooded) Kingfisher

Striped Kingfisher

European Bee-eater

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Southern Carmine Bee-eater

White-fronted Bee-eater

Little Bee-eater

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

European Roller

Lilac-breasted Roller

Racket-tailed Roller

Purple Roller

Broad-billed Roller

African Hoopoe

Green (Redbilled) Wood-hoopoe

Violet Wood-hoopoe

Common (Greater) Scimitarbill

African Grey Hornbill

Sand Martin

Brown-throated Martin

Banded Martin

Black Cuckooshrike

White-breasted Cuckooshrike

Fork-tailed Drongo

Eurasian (European) Golden Oriole

African Golden Oriole

Black-headed (Eastern) Oriole

Pied Crow

Ashy Tit

Southern Black Tit

Rufous-bellied Tit

Grey Penduline-tit

Arrow-marked Babbler

Black-faced Babbler

Hartlaub's Babbler (White-rumped)

African Red-eyed Bulbul

Dark-capped (Black-eyed) Bulbul

Terrestrial Brownbul (Bulbul)

(African) Yellow-bellied Greenbul (Bulbul)

Kurrichane Thrush

Groundscraper Thrush

Capped Wheatear

Familiar Chat

Arnott's (Arnot's) Chat

African (Common) Stonechat

White-browed Robin-chat (Heuglin's Robin)

Collared Palm Thrush

Thrush Nightingale

White-browed Scrub Robin (Robin)

Yellow-billed stork

Garden Warbler

Chestnut-vented Tit-babbler

Icterine Warbler

African Paradise Flycatcher

African Pied Wagtail

Cape Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail

African (Grassveld) Pipit

Plain-backed Pipit

Buffy Pipit

Tree Pipit

Rosy-throated (Pinkthroated) Longclaw

Lesser Grey Shrike

Red-backed Shrike

Souza's Shrike

Magpie (African Longtailed) Shrike

Swamp Boubou

Crimson-breasted Shrike

Black-backed Puffback

Brubru

Brown-crowned (Threestreaked) Tchagra

Orange-breasted Bush-shrike

White-crested (White) Helmet-shrike

Retz's (Redbilled) Helmet Shrike

Southern White-crowned Shrike

Wattled Starling

Violet-backed (Plumb coloured ) Starling

Burchell's Starling

Meve's (Longtailed) Starling

Cape Glossy Starling

Greater Blue-eared Starling

Miombo  (Southern Lesser) Blue-eared Starling

Sharp-tailed Starling

Red-billed Oxpecker

Copper (Coppery) Sunbird

Marico Sunbird

Purple-banded Sunbird

Shelley's sunbird

Orange-breasted Waxbill

Cut-throat Finch

Bronze Mannekin

Pin-tailed Whydah

Shaft-tailed Whydah

Long-tailed (Eastern) Paradise Whydah

Village Indigobird (Steelblue Widowfinch)

Yellow-fronted (Yelloweyed) Canary

Black-throated Canary

Yellow Canary

Golden-breasted Bunting

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

African Sacred Ibis

Glossy Ibis

African Spoonbill

White-faced Duck

Fulvous Duck

White-backed Duck

Egyptian Goose

Yellow-billed Duck

African Black Duck

Cape Teal

Hottentot Teal

Red-billed Teal

Southern Pochard

African Pygmy-goose

Comb (Knob-billed) Duck

Spur-winged Goose

Maccoa Duck

Hooded vulture

(African) White-backed Vulture

Lappet-faced Vulture

White-headed Vulture

Yellow-billed kite

Black kite

Black-shouldered Kite

African Cuckoo Hawk

Bat Hawk

European Honey-buzzard

Tawny Eagle

Steppe Eagle

Lesser Spotted Eagle

Wahlbergs Eagle

Amur (Eastern Red-footed) Falcon

Rock Kestrel

Greater Kestrel

Lesser Kestrel

Dickenson's Kestrel

Coqui Francolin

Crested Francolin

Red-billed Francolin

Swainson's Spurfowl (Francolin)

Common Quail

Helmeted Guineafowl

Small (Kurrichane) Buttonquail

Wattled Crane

African Rail

Corn Crake

African Crake

Black Crake

Spotted Crake

Baillon's Crake

Streaky-breasted Flufftail

African Purple Swamphen (Purple Gallinule)

Allen's (Lesser) Gallinule

Common Moorhen

Lesser Moorhen

Red knobbed Coot

Red-crested Korhaan

Black-bellied Bustard (Korhaan)

Northern Black Korhaan

African Jacana

Lesser Jacana

Greater Painted-snipe

Common Ringed Plover

White-fronted Plover

Kittlitz's Plover

Three-banded Plover

Burchells Sandgrouse

Rock Dove (Feral Pigeon)

Red-eyed Dove

African Mourning Dove

Cape Turtle-dove

Laughing Dove

Namaqua Dove

Emerald-spotted (Greenspotted) Wood-dove

African Green Pigeon

Grey-headed Parrot

Meyers Parrot

Grey Go-away Bird (Lourie)

Common (European) Cuckoo

African Cuckoo

Red-chested Cuckoo

Black Cuckoo (Rare rufous barred morph)

Black Cuckoo

Great Spotted Cuckoo

Levaillant's (Striped) Cuckoo

Jacobin Cuckoo

Thick-billed Cuckoo

Klaas's Cuckoo

Diderick (Diederick) Cuckoo

Coppery-tailed Coucal

Senegal Coucal

White-browed Coucal

Barn Owl

African Wood-owl

Marsh Owl

African Scops-owl

Southern White-faced Scops-owl

Pearl-spotted Owlet

African Barred Owlet

Spotted Eagle Owl

Spotted Eagle Owl (rare rufous morph)

Red-billed Hornbill

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

Bradfield's Hornbill

Black-collared Barbet

Acacia Pied Barbet

Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird (Tinker Barbet)

Crested Barbet

Greater Honeyguide

Lesser Honeyguide

Green-back Honeybird (Slender-billed HG)

Brown-backed Honeybird (Sharpbilled Honeyguide)

Bennets Woodpecker

Golden Tailed Woodpecker

Cardinal Woodpecker

Bearded Woodpecker

Rufous-naped Lark

Flapped Lark

Fawn-coloured Lark

Sabota Lark

Dusky Lark

Red-capped Lark

Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark (Finchlark)

Barn (European) Swallow

Angola Swallow

White-throated Swallow

Wire-tailed Swallow

Pearl-breasted Swallow

Red-breasted Swallow

Mosque Swallow

Greater Striped Swallow

Lesser Striped Swallow

Rock Martin

Common House-martin

Grey-rumped Swallow

River Warbler

Great Reed Warbler

Eurasian (European) Reed-warbler

African (Marsh) Reed-warbler

(European) Marsh-warbler

(European) Sedge-warbler

(Cape Reed) Lesser Swamp-warbler

Greater Swamp-warbler

(African Sedge) Little Rush-warbler

Willow Warbler

Yellow-breasted Apalis

Red-faced Crombec

Long-billed Crombec

Yellow-bellied Eremomela

Green-capped Eremomela

Grey-backed camaroptera(Bleating warbler)

African (Barred) Wren-warbler

Zitting (Fantailed) Cisticola

Desert Cisticola

Tinkling Cisticola

Rattling Cisticola

Luapula (Blackbacked) Cisticola

Chirping cisticola

Neddicky

Tawny-flanked Prinia

Black-chested Prinia

Spotted Flycatcher

Ashy (Bluegrey) Flycatcher

Collared Flycatcher

Grey Tit-flychatcher (fantailed Flycatcher)

Southern Black flycatcher

Marico flycatcher

Pale (Mousecoloured) Flycatcher

Chat Flycatcher

Chinspot Batis

White-bellied Sunbird

Scarlet-chested Sunbird

Amethyst (African Black) Sunbird

Collared Sunbird

African Yellow White-eye

Red-billed Buffalo-weaver

White-browed Sparrow-weaver

Southern Grey-headed Sparrow

(African) Yellow-throated Petronia (Sparrow)

Scaly-feathered Finch

Thick-billed Weaver

Spectacled Weaver

Village (Spotted-backed) Weaver

Southern Masked-weaver

Lesser Masked-weaver

Golden Weaver

Southern Brown-throated Weaver

Red-headed Weaver

Cuckoo Finch

Red-billed Quelea

Cardinal Quelea

Southern Red Bishop

Yellow-crowned (Golden) Bishop

Fan-tailed Widowbird (Redshouldered Widow)

White-winged Widowbird (Widow)

Orange-winged (Goldenbacked) Pytilia

Green-winged Pytilia (Melba Finch)

Jameson's Firefinch

Red-billed Firefinch

Brown Firefinch

Blue Waxbill

Violet-eared Waxbill

Common Waxbill

Black-faced (Blackcheeked) Waxbill

African Quailfinch

Wood Pipit