raptors Archives

November 1, 2021

Birding with Pompie: Slowness

Namibia is a large country, size does indeed matter, so driving and being on the road will be part and parcel of travelling (and bird watching) in this vast and beautiful country. To get to the different hotspots for birding you need to do the travel thing (remember slowness), be it by car, boat or on foot, although I must confess Namibians are not known for the foot thing.

September 1, 2022

Birding with Pompie: Quelea quelea

Visiting Etosha National Park in early May this year we encountered what might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience: watching a flock, or rather flocks, of Red-billed Queleas at Goas waterhole one morning coming in for their daily drink. Apparently this usually happens twice a day, but my fellow waterhole visitors in the car got a bit fed up with the once-in-a-lifetime experience after a few hours and I had to leave the birds on their own for the rest of the day, to my utter dismay.

June 21, 2023

The land of sand and freedom: Birds of a feather

We feel tremendously privileged to know some nature specialists who are founts of knowledge. Luckily, they are also amazing human beings who share their wisdom and their knowledge. Birds of a feather flock together. As this story is about our birding experiences over the years, that seemed like an apt segue.

June 11, 2025

Halali – Birding with Pompie

Different people, such as birders, have different ideas about their favourite birding spot. Etosha is no different. Some prefer Namutoni and the surrounding areas, especially Fischer’s Pan where thousands of water birds congregate to enjoy the food the pan produces once it fills up during the rainy season. My favourite camp by far is Halali, probably because I prefer a place where there are lots of different birds in the camp and at the surrounding waterholes.