18 Apr 2019: The Old Man would have Smiled

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time Thomas A. Edison

So it was me and the Herero Chat, again, for the umpteenth time! A few years back I had tried to find the Herero Chat around Spitzkoppe, and every hill in the vicinity, but to no avail. Last year I visited Uis and Spitzkoppe again, but with no success. This Big Year I had already tried the Uis and Karibib areas, with the help of SABAP2 and the GPS coordinates from a few friends, and still no Herero Chat. This ghost of the Namib desert was really starting to spook with me.

Heading towards Tandala Ridge Campsite, north of Outjo, I decided to make a long detour and try the Uis area once again. SABAP2 shows a high density of Herero Chats on the Uis Mountain, near the Brandberg turnoff, and I knew to look for them in the sparsely wooded surroundings of the granite outcrops. In the heat of the day they tend to sit low in the shade, and when disturbed will fly to a nearby prominent perch before disappearing into the desert. Or so I’ve been told….

On the way to Uis I searched numerous inselbergs, following tracks I presume previous birders had made. The arid mountains remained empty of Herero Chats, but I was astounded at the amount of bird species I did manage to find in the simmering heat. About 20km from Uis I came across a lone granite outcrop with no tracks leading towards it, so I bundu-bashed my way through the sand and bushes towards the hill. When I could go no further, I walked the rest of the way, all the while doing some serious introspection about my sanity.

Up close this was quite an impressive outcrop, with massive granite boulders piled on top of one another. Finding some shade, I played the call, and out popped a distant whitish, chat-like bird. I was not certain what I was looking at, and as the bird kept on facing me, I could not determine the markings, or lack of markings, on the tail. In feverish haste I took a few photos, and then the bird disappeared into the desert. The review from the back screen of my camera was inconclusive, although positive, and I knew this ID had to wait for a more thorough analysis on my computer.

That evening, alone in the campsite, the surrounding bush resounded with a whoop of utmost glee! In the limited space of the camper the Mandela shuffle was danced at a rock-and-roll tempo, in the process bruising elbows and knees. Personally, I think the Old Man would have smiled…

Herero Chat, Uis