BIRDING WITH POMPIE Unfortunately, apart from the Black-faced Lovebirds, this is the end of my contribution to seeing any of the critically endangered species. The other three species that I still have to find (see wish list) are the Eurasian Bittern (Botauris stellaris), Tristan Albatross (Deomedia dabbenena) and the Greater Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristata). As far as the Tristan Albatross is concerned, my chance of ever seeing one would be that somebody invited me to Tristan da Cunha or Gough Island where well over 1700 pairs still occur (again outside Namibian waters). The Greater Crested Grebe were reported at Mile 4 salt works near Swakopmund and Walvis Bay sewage works, so if they are still around it seems that nobody gives a damn about their dilemma. I think I might have seen one way back in the eighties at the sewage works, but then again you can never count on my unreliable memory and identification skills. The Eurasian Bittern is apparently easier found by its booming call than by seeing it. There are about 100 left in the swamp areas along the Zambezi. Looking through the list and the places where I saw these endangered species, it is no surprise that they are indeed becoming extinct in Namibia. The sadness that remains is that all of this could have been prevented if it was not for human intervention. Hopefully this trend will not continue and the list of critically endangered birds does not become part of the extinct species list, or even worse, the list of birds increases. Looking at the efforts by our conservationists and government I still think (hope) that we can turn this trend around in time. TNN
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Special thanks for the information I got from Birds to Watch in Namibia by Simmons, Brown and Kemper
Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres)
TRAVEL NEWS NAMIBIA AUTUMN 2017
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