Birding - being close to nature
Birding is a great hobby, you are close to nature, have to be quiet and patient. But there is such a wide variety of birds to encounter, from very small up to the very big ones.
Bring your camera and binoculars and enjoy!
Bring your camera and binoculars and enjoy!
Birds are good indicators of a well preserved environment. Thus, the presence of a rich and diverse avifauna indicates that farm management practices are well performed to ensure the long-term conservation of a healthy biodiversity. Claratal has a wide variety of different habitats where a large number of bird species can be spotted, many of them endemic of Namibia.
Why birding?
If you’re curious about nature and want to learn more about what’s around you, birding is a great skill and a fun hobby. When you start to take note of the birds around you, you might find yourself more perceptive of other things. You might notice sounds you previously overlooked. You might start to notice small details in your surroundings, like individual trees, insects, fruits, and flowers. You might find yourself more in tune with the passing of the seasons. Birding can be a gateway into recognizing and appreciating a wider world that was there all along.
Here are four great reasons to get into birding today:
- Birding is very low-cost. After the initial investment on a pair of binoculars and an ID guide, the only costs are what you spend on travel and entrance fees.
- You can bird anywhere, anytime. It’s a hobby you can do in your back yard or take with you around the world.
- It’s very rewarding to see something new, to be able to name what you see, and to make discoveries. It’s also only as much work as you want it to be.
- Birding can also be a social activity (or not). Beyond being a fun family activity, birding clubs and park rangers offer programs where you can meet other people and look for birds together, pooling knowledge and providing more pairs of eyes and ears. Even informally, birders generally “flock together” and share notes. But if you’d rather keep to yourself, there’s plenty of space to do that, too.
Equipment
A set of binoculars are fine to start birding, you can add a tripod and a spotting scope and of course cameras with big lenses. A or several books for identifying the birds is also essential. Most important: a hat and your water bottle!
Birds seen on farm Claratal
So far Rubén has detected over 170 bird species on Farm Claratal, here you can see/download the list as Excel file, maybe you find a new one we can add?
Please contact us!
| English name | Scientific name |
|---|---|
| Acacia Pied Barbet | Tricholaema leucomelas |
| African Cuckoo | Cuculus gularis |
| African Fish Eagle | Haliaeetus vocifer |
| African Grey Hornbill | Lophoceros nasutus |
| African Hawk-Eagle | Aquila spilogaster |
| African Hoopoe | Upupa africana |
| African Palm Swift | Cypsiurus parvus |
| African Pipit | Anthus cinnamomeus |
| African Red-eyed Bulbul | Pycnonotus nigricans |
| African Sacred Ibis | Threskiornis aethiopicus |
| African Spoonbill | Platalea alba |
| Alpine Swift | Tachymarptis melba |
| Ant-eating Chat | Myrmecocichla formicivora |
| Ashy Tit | Melaniparus cinerascens |
| Avocet | Recurvirostra avosetta |
| Barn Owl | Tyto alba |
| Barn Swallow | Hirundo rustica |
| Barred Wren-Warbler | Calamonastes fasciolatus |
| Bearded Woodpecker | Chloropicus namaquus |
| Bee-eater | Merops apiaster |
| Black Cuckoo | Cuculus clamosus |
| Black-chested Prinia | Prinia flavicans |
| Black-chested Snake Eagle | Circaetus pectoralis |
| Black-faced Waxbill | Brunhilda erythronotos |
| Blacksmith Lapwing | Vanellus armatus |
| Black-throated Canary | Crithagra atrogularis |
| Black-winged Kite | Elanus caeruleus |
| Black-winged Stilt | Himantopus himantopus |
| Bokmakierie | Telophorus zeylonus |
| Bradfield's Swift | Apus bradfieldi |
| Bronze-winged Courser | Rhinoptilus chalcopterus |
| Brown-crowned Tchagra | Tchagra australis |
| Brubru | Nilaus afer |
| Buffy Pipit | Anthus vaalensis |
| Burchell's Starling | Lamprotornis australis |
| Burnt-necked Eremomela | Eremomela usticollis |
| Cape Bunting | Emberiza capensis |
| Cape Sparrow | Passer melanurus |
| Cape Starling | Lamprotornis nitens |
| Cape Teal | Anas capensis |
| Cape Wagtail | Motacilla capensis |
| Capped Wheatear | Oenanthe pileata |
| Cardinal Woodpecker | Dendropicos fuscescens |
| Chat Flycatcher | Melaenornis infuscatus |
| Chestnut Weaver | Ploceus rubiginosus |
| Chestnut-vented Warbler | Curruca subcoerulea |
| Common Buttonquail | Turnix sylvaticus |
| Common Ostrich | Struthio camelus |
| Common Scimitarbill | Rhinopomastus cyanomelas |
| Crimson-breasted Shrike | Laniarius atrococcineus |
| Crowned Lapwing | Vanellus coronatus |
| Desert Cisticola | Cisticola aridulus |
| Diederik Cuckoo | Chrysococcyx caprius |
| Double-banded Courser | Rhinoptilus africanus |
| Double-banded Sandgrouse | Pterocles bicinctus |
| Dusky Sunbird | Cinnyris fuscus |
| Dwarf Bittern | Ixobrychus sturmii |
| Eastern Clapper Lark | Mirafra fasciolata |
| Egyptian Goose | Alopochen aegyptiaca |
| Familiar Chat | Oenanthe familiaris |
| Fan-tailed Warbler | Cisticola juncidis |
| Fawn-colored Lark | Calendulauda africanoides |
| Fork-tailed Drongo | Dicrurus adsimilis |
| Gabar Goshawk | Micronisus gabar |
| Golden-tailed Woodpecker | Campethera abingoni |
| Great Sparrow | Passer motitensis |
| Great Spotted Cuckoo | Clamator glandarius |
| Great White Pelican | Pelecanus onocrotalus |
| Greater Kestrel | Falco rupicoloides |
| Greater Striped Swallow | Cecropis cucullata |
| Greenshank | Tringa nebularia |
| Green-winged Pytilia | Pytilia melba |
| Grey Go-away-bird | Crinifer concolor |
| Grey Heron | Ardea cinerea |
| Grey-backed Camaroptera | Camaroptera brevicaudata |
| Grey-backed Sparrow-Lark | Eremopterix verticalis |
| Groundscraper Thrush | Turdus litsitsirupa |
| Hamerkop | Scopus umbretta |
| Hartlaub's Spurfowl | Pternistis hartlaubi |
| Helmeted Guineafowl | Numida meleagris |
| Honey-buzzard | Pernis apivorus |
| House Sparrow | Passer domesticus |
| Jacobin Cuckoo | Clamator jacobinus |
| Kalahari Scrub Robin | Cercotrichas paena |
| Kittlitz's Plover | Charadrius pecuarius |
| Kori Bustard | Ardeotis kori |
| Lanner Falcon | Falco biarmicus |
| Lappet-faced Vulture | Torgos tracheliotos |
| Large Rock Martin | Ptyonoprogne fuligula |
| Lark-like Bunting | Emberiza impetuani |
| Laughing Dove | Spilopelia senegalensis |
| Lesser Grey Shrike | Lanius minor |
| Lesser Masked Weaver | Ploceus intermedius |
| Lilac-breasted Roller | Coracias caudatus |
| Little Grebe | Tachybaptus ruficollis |
| Little Swift | Apus affinis |
| Ludwig's Bustard | Neotis ludwigii |
| Maccoa Duck | Oxyura maccoa |
| Marabou Stork | Leptoptilos crumenifer |
| Marico Flycatcher | Melaenornis mariquensis |
| Marico Sunbird | Cinnyris mariquensis |
| Martial Eagle | Polemaetus bellicosus |
| Monteiro's Hornbill | Tockus monteiri |
| Mountain Wheatear | Myrmecocichla monticola |
| Namaqua Dove | Oena capensis |
| Namaqua Sandgrouse | Pterocles namaqua |
| Northern Black Korhaan | Afrotis afraoides |
| Orange River Francolin | Scleroptila gutturalis |
| Pale Chanting Goshawk | Melierax canorus |
| Pale-winged Starling | Onychognathus nabouroup |
| Pearl-breasted Swallow | Hirundo dimidiata |
| Pearl-spotted Owlet | Glaucidium perlatum |
| Pied Crow | Corvus albus |
| Pririt Batis | Batis pririt |
| Purple Roller | Coracias naevius |
| Quail | Coturnix coturnix |
| Rattling Cisticola | Cisticola chiniana |
| Red-backed Shrike | Lanius collurio |
| Red-billed Buffalo Weaver | Bubalornis niger |
| Red-billed Firefinch | Lagonosticta senegala |
| Red-billed Quelea | Quelea quelea |
| Red-billed Spurfowl | Pternistis adspersus |
| Red-billed Teal | Anas erythrorhyncha |
| Red-crested Korhaan | Lophotis ruficrista |
| Red-faced Mousebird | Urocolius indicus |
| Red-headed Finch | Amadina erythrocephala |
| Reed Cormorant | Microcarbo africanus |
| Ring-necked Dove | Streptopelia capicola |
| Rock Kestrel | Falco rupicolus |
| Rosy-faced Lovebird | Agapornis roseicollis |
| Rufous-cheeked Nightjar | Caprimulgus rufigena |
| Rufous-eared Warbler | Malcorus pectoralis |
| Sabota Lark | Calendulauda sabota |
| Saddle-billed Stork | Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis |
| Scaly-feathered Weaver | Sporopipes squamifrons |
| Secretarybird | Sagittarius serpentarius |
| Shaft-tailed Whydah | Vidua regia |
| Short-toed Rock Thrush | Monticola brevipes |
| Sociable Weaver | Philetairus socius |
| South African Shelduck | Tadorna cana |
| Southern Fiscal | Lanius collaris |
| Southern Grey-headed Sparrow | Passer diffusus |
| Southern Masked Weaver | Ploceus velatus |
| Southern Pied Babbler | Turdoides bicolor |
| Southern Pochard | Netta erythrophthalma |
| Southern White-faced Owl | Ptilopsis granti |
| Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill | Tockus leucomelas |
| Speckled Pigeon | Columba guinea |
| Spotted Eagle-Owl | Bubo africanus |
| Spotted Thick-knee | Burhinus capensis |
| Squacco Heron | Ardeola ralloides |
| Swallow-tailed Bee-eater | Merops hirundineus |
| Swift | Apus apus |
| Tawny Eagle | Aquila rapax |
| Temminck's Courser | Cursorius temminckii |
| Three-banded Plover | Charadrius tricollaris |
| Verreaux's Eagle | Aquila verreauxii |
| Verreaux's Eagle-Owl | Bubo lacteus |
| Violet Wood Hoopoe | Phoeniculus damarensis |
| Violet-eared Waxbill | Uraeginthus granatinus |
| Wattled Starling | Creatophora cinerea |
| White-backed Mousebird | Colius colius |
| White-backed Vulture | Gyps africanus |
| White-breasted Cormorant | Phalacrocorax lucidus |
| White-browed Sparrow-Weaver | Plocepasser mahali |
| White-fronted Plover | Charadrius marginatus |
| White-tailed Shrike | Lanioturdus torquatus |
| Wood Sandpiper | Tringa glareola |
| Yellow Canary | Crithagra flaviventris |
| Yellow-bellied Eremomela | Eremomela icteropygialis |
Birdringing - the scientific add-on to Birding
Birdringing
Birdringing consists in the capture, fitment of a unique alphanumeric metal ring and consequent release of wild birds. During this process other data is collected, such as bird species, age, sex, measurements, weight, body condition and breeding status.
The information obtained from birdringing is multiple at an individual and population level and contributes to the better understanding and therefore implementing conservation strategies for birds. If ringed birds are recaptured we can obtain data such as migratory routes, survival or territoriality. Estabilishing a birdringing station with constant effort allows to monitor the structure and health of the bird population enabling to know when different species are breeding, their breeding success, the sex and age structure and crucial data on their phenology. Bird are also important bioindicator species thus any changes in the habitat can be detected by noticing changes in bird populations thus the importance of long-term research such as regular population surveys and birdringing.
Claratal supports research initiatives and regular birdringing sessions take place on the farm. Feel free to contact us and being part of it!
The information obtained from birdringing is multiple at an individual and population level and contributes to the better understanding and therefore implementing conservation strategies for birds. If ringed birds are recaptured we can obtain data such as migratory routes, survival or territoriality. Estabilishing a birdringing station with constant effort allows to monitor the structure and health of the bird population enabling to know when different species are breeding, their breeding success, the sex and age structure and crucial data on their phenology. Bird are also important bioindicator species thus any changes in the habitat can be detected by noticing changes in bird populations thus the importance of long-term research such as regular population surveys and birdringing.
Claratal supports research initiatives and regular birdringing sessions take place on the farm. Feel free to contact us and being part of it!
Some impressions...
