Dune Lark - Kuiseb Dunes & Walvis Lagoon Birding

The elusive Dune Lark is the only true endemic bird in Namibia - and we know where to find it!

We start the tour at the Kuiseb river where we will find Namibia's only true endemic, the arid-adapted Dune Lark. Other targets in this area include the coastal form of Tractrac Chat, Bokmakierie, Black-chested Prinia, Ashy Tit, Chestnut-vented Warbler, Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Cape Sparrow, Dusky Sunbird, Pale Chanting Goshawk, Rock Kestrel, Lanner Falcon and Black-chested Snake Eagle. From the Kuiseb we travel to the Walvis Bay Lagoon and salt pans (proclaimed as a RAMSAR site) where depending on the time of the year you may see thousands of wetland species (over 100,000 birds in summer and less than 50,000 in winter) such as Chestnut-banded and White-fronted Plovers, Curlew Sandpiper, Red Knot, Sanderlings, Little Stint, both Greater and Lesser Flamingos, Great White Pelican, various Gulls and Terns and with luck Terek Sandpiper, Great Sandplover, Red-necked Phalarope, Franklin's Gull and European Oystercatcher. However, the best time to see most of the abovementioned species is in our summer months from December to mid-April. On a full day excursion, we will spend a short time at the sewerage works near Walvis Bay where large numbers of Common Moorhen, Hottentot Teal, Red-knobbed Coot and other wetland species may be found. We then travel to the Salt Pans near Swakopmund to look for any specials that may be around at the time before searching the surrounding desert plains for Gray's Lark, Rufous-eared Warbler and Tractrac Chat. If time remains, we can spend some time around the vegetated Swakop Riverbed and may encounter Orange River White-eye, Red-faced and White-backed Mousebird, Fiscal Shrike, Common Waxbill and with luck Peregrine Falcon. The Key species for this trip are Dune Lark, Gray's Lark, Orange River White-eye, Damara Tern and Tractrac Chat. There have been 76 different species of birds, 14 mammals and many reptiles recorded on this tour.