Walvis Bay lagoon draws uncommon visitor

A RARE bird has been officially recorded at the Walvis Bay lagoon for the first time.

A Gullbilled Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) was identified in March by Professor Phil Hockey of the University of Cape Town. According to Keith Wearne of the Coastal Environmental Trust of Namibia (CETN), the bird has been spotted by several other people since.”It is an exciting rarity for Namibia,” said Wearne.According to the Sasol Birds of Southern Africa book, the Gullbilled Tern is mostly recorded in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and KwaZulu-Natal.Wearne said birders had been coming from far to view the bird.Other rare and special species observed so far this year at Walvis Bay include the Pectoral Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Black-tailed Godwit, Red-necked Phalarope, Wilson’s Phalarope, Eurasian Curlew, European Oystercatcher, Northern Giant Petrel, Great Shearwater and the European Storm Petrel.Wearne further reported that the palaearctic birds had all left for northern climes to breed.Many flamingos are away in Etosha and Botswana’s Makgadikgadi pans to mate and multiply.They should start returning from the beginning of June.Other birds that have flown inland to breed are the Pied Avocet, Black-necked Grebe and Chestnut-banded Plover.While birding in Namibia is practised on a relatively small scale it is massive in some countries.According to a US Fish and Wildlife Service report, in the United States 46 million birdwatchers spent US$32 billion in 2001, The report, ‘Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis’, is the first of its kind to analyse data from the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.”This is extremely interesting information as it gives an indication of how much is spent by birders and how important this recreation sport is,” said Wearne.He asked what the tourist industry and tourist organisations in Namibia were doing to encourage birders from the US, Europe and Asia to come to Namibia.He said endemic species to Namibia, such as the Dune Lark, Damara Tern and Chestnut-banded Plover should be of particular interest to keen birders.According to Keith Wearne of the Coastal Environmental Trust of Namibia (CETN), the bird has been spotted by several other people since.”It is an exciting rarity for Namibia,” said Wearne.According to the Sasol Birds of Southern Africa book, the Gullbilled Tern is mostly recorded in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and KwaZulu-Natal.Wearne said birders had been coming from far to view the bird.Other rare and special species observed so far this year at Walvis Bay include the Pectoral Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Terek Sandpiper, Red-necked Stint, Black-tailed Godwit, Red-necked Phalarope, Wilson’s Phalarope, Eurasian Curlew, European Oystercatcher, Northern Giant Petrel, Great Shearwater and the European Storm Petrel.Wearne further reported that the palaearctic birds had all left for northern climes to breed.Many flamingos are away in Etosha and Botswana’s Makgadikgadi pans to mate and multiply.They should start returning from the beginning of June.Other birds that have flown inland to breed are the Pied Avocet, Black-necked Grebe and Chestnut-banded Plover.While birding in Namibia is practised on a relatively small scale it is massive in some countries.According to a US Fish and Wildlife Service report, in the United States 46 million birdwatchers spent US$32 billion in 2001, The report, ‘Birding in the United States: A Demographic and Economic Analysis’, is the first of its kind to analyse data from the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.”This is extremely interesting information as it gives an indication of how much is spent by birders and how important this recreation sport is,” said Wearne.He asked what the tourist industry and tourist organisations in Namibia were doing to encourage birders from the US, Europe and Asia to come to Namibia.He said endemic species to Namibia, such as the Dune Lark, Damara Tern and Chestnut-banded Plover should be of particular interest to keen birders.