We flew from Johannesburg, South Africa to Windhoek, Namibia today, and when we got to our lodging at the Trans Kalahari Inn, there was still plenty of daylight, so we strolled around the grounds to see who else might be here.
Things were quiet at first, but eventually this character popped up to sing us a pretty little tune. If you’re thinking “bulbul“, you’re exactly right, and we’ve seen them plenty of times before. That red ring around its eye, however, makes it a black-fronted bulbul (Pycnonotus nigricans), aka red-eyed bulbul, which is only found here, in the southwestern corner of Africa. That pays for the trip right there, don’t you think?
As the sun got closer to the horizon, other birds started making noise, and the raucous “GWAAAAY” of this handsome devil makes him the onomatopoeically-named gray go-away-bird (Crinifer concolor). We saw a few in South Africa, but it was pretty rainy there during our stay, and the tufts on their heads weren’t quite as puffed up as this one.
We had a little time before we had to leave for the airport in Joburg this morning, so we strolled around the hotel grounds, as I do, and things got exciting when a flight of three African sacred ibises (Threskiornis aethiopicus) landed right on the hotel roof to preen. They’re a little spooky-looking, aren’t they?
Finally, here’s one more picture from Pilanesberg National Park. There’s a little lake in the middle, and someone spotted a turtle on a log pretty far out on the water. Thank goodness they didn’t have canoes for us to paddle out for a closer look, because THAT’S NOT A LOG! If you look closely, you can see that the left end of the “log” has the eyes and ears of a common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), the deadliest mammal in Africa. Oh, and the turtle is some type of terrapin, possibly a serrated hinged terrapin (Pelusios sinuatus).
Tomorrow, we drive north to Etosha National Park, which is famous for being just about the only source of water for wildlife in the area, so we should get to see some critters, if our luck holds.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 