We drove back to the Trans Kalahari Inn today from Omaruru, but before we got on the road this morning, Deb and I spent a couple of hours walking the dry Omaruru River bed, and we didn’t see much. Compared to the rest of this trip, it was a bit surprising, but I guess every outing can’t be a homerun.
Anyway, we’ve suspected that we’ve been catching glimpses of this bird for nearly the whole trip. It’s a red-billed spurfowl, and they are fast runners, despite their plump appearance. Yesterday near the Amieb Guesthouse, this individual relented and let us get a good look at it. Yup, it really is a red-billed spurfowl (Pternistis adspersus), and they don’t have a very big geographic distribution, but at least they seemed plentiful in the northwest corner of Namibia that we’ve seen.
Another fun sight at the Amieb Guesthouse was this black-faced impala (Aepyceros melampus ssp. petersi) and her calf. Deb picked up a fun pictorial bingo card of wildlife from the gift shop at Etosha National Park, and it took us until yesterday to check these off, but better late than never, right?
On the drive today, I started seeing large raptors standing atop the utility poles beside the road, and after the second one went by, I gave my passengers notice that I was going to stop for the third one, which I figured we would never see because I had just jinxed it. We must have stepped in something on our walk this morning because we hadn’t gone another 10 or 15 minutes before this beauty came into view and I hit the brakes. Happily, that didn’t spook the bird and I was able to get my first picture of a pale chanting-goshawk (Melierax canorus). Woo hoo!
After a short stop to check out downtown Windhoek, which felt like any small city, we arrived at the Trans Kalahari Inn in plenty of time for me to walk around and see if there might be anyone new since our last visit. We did catch a glimpse of this beauty, a violet-eared waxbill (Granatina granatina) last time, but I couldn’t get a picture good enough that I wouldn’t be embarrassed to show you, so thank goodness I had a second chance.
Finally, I may have caught a glimpse of this masterpiece last time, but it was just a black silhouette against the morning sky, so I can’t be sure. Anyway, I did get a good look this time, and this one turns out to be a Marico Sunbird (Cinnyris mariquensis). What a way to wrap up our visit to Namibia, eh?
Tomorrow, we drive back to the nearby airport, drop off the rental car, see how much we owe for the windshield and tire, and fly back to Joburg. Keep your fingers crossed.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 
