Text by and Pictures Peter Chadwick www.wildlife-expressions.co.za
Source: This article was taken from the June 2011 issue of Country Life
Endless fields of orange and yellow Namaqualand daisies, gazanias and pale blue or purple dainty flowers had brought us, like many other local and international tourists, to the Namaqualand National park in springtime.

Alas, the winter rains had been poor this year and flowers were few and far between, with only isolated patches occurring throughout the reserve. This, however, did not put my family and me off from exploring this extremely picturesque national treasure, which consists of dry lowlands and rolling hills covered in a huge diversity of plant and animal life.
We had decided to drive the Caracal Eco-trail, which winds through a huge variety of habitats, thus giving us the maximum potential to enjoy all that the park has to offer.
Driving into the park from the direction of Koingnaas, vast expanses of dry scrub and grassveld greeted us. on the fence posts sat Southern Pale Chanting Goshawks, the adults a well-preened grey in colour, while the juveniles looked scraggly in their mottled-brown plumage. Karoo Larks and Large-billed Larks were plentiful, scratching in the dirt for insects or calling from the tops of the low scrub.
In a patch of bush a small bird party consisted of Long-billed Crombecs, Chestnut-vented Tit-Babblers, Cape Penduline-tits and Grey Tits, and they kept our attention for several minutes as we watched how each used different feeding techniques to gather small insects. In the granite outcrops, African Pipits, Cape Buntings and Lark-like Buntings searched for food together with Karoo Scrub-robins and karoo Chats.
In the distance a family herd of red hartebeest comprising several females and yearling calves alongside a proud bull wandered across the open veld. The dry lands were filled with rodent burrows and these attracted Black-shouldered Kites, Rock Kestrels and Greater Kestrels that flew low patrols over the burrows, while the Southern Pale Chanting Goshawks took a different approach, walking between the burrows on long legs in the hope of surprising an unsuspecting rodent.

As we left the lowland areas and climbed into the hilly ground, vegetation became lusher and more diverse and this too brought a greater variety of birds and animal life. Bokmakieries called from the tops of bushes and Cape Long-billed Larks and Cape Clapper Larks displayed constantly. Flocks of Pied Starling, Wattled Starling, Yellow Canary and White-throated Canary flew backwards and forwards continually, and in one small clearing a family of four Spike-heeled Larks sat preening, making identification easier since we could see their short tails, distinctive long back claws and slightly long and decurved beaks.
Angulate tortoises fed at the bases of shrubs, pulling their heads back into their shells as we drove past, and at one point a family of about eight to ten suricats were sunning themselves on top of one of the rocky outcrops, but sadly ran off before we could get a really good view of them.
Driving through the Wildeperd pass, interesting succulents and shrubbery packed the rocky veld, attracting Grey-backed Cisticola, Namaqua Warbler, Ant-eating Chat, Mountain Wheatear, Karoo Prinia, Bar-throated Apalis and Dusky Sunbird.
Up in the skies Rock Martin, White-rumped, Little and Alpine Swifts and Barn Swallows flew in constant circles, scooping insects with open mouths until a racing Lanner Falcon had them all scattering in different directions. Further along the high ground, a Jackal Buzzard perched and watched herds of gemsbok, springbok and more red hartebeest feeding together while a nearby lone steenbok ram flicked its ears constantly to get rid of the pesky flies. In the narrow two-spoor track a group of 11 Namaqua Sandgrouse froze and tried to blend in with the road. At the last moment they burst into flight and flew into the distance uttering their distinctive ‘kelkywyn’ call.

Dropping down again into a river valley, thick stands of Acacia karoo had us pausing and reaching again for binoculars. Soon we were rewarded with Acacia Pied Barbet, White-backed Mousebird, Cape Bulbul and Karoo Eremomela moving through the heavily-spiked trees. Below, a common duiker fed on fallen seed pods that lay on the dry river sand.
The vegetation soon changed once again and we were in amongst a quiver tree forest on granite slopes where rock hyrax sunned themselves on the prominent points and mischievous chacma baboons scrambled and swung from the branches of the trees. Flocks of Black-headed Canaries were next on our growing bird list, the males being easily identified by their dark-black heads and chestnut-coloured backs.
A movement on the side of the road drew our attention to a pair of mating puff adders and we watched in fascination for the next half hour as the male tried to control the movement of the female by pressing down on her head with his. Then in a flurry the mating was over and both snakes shot off out of sight into the thicker vegetation with an amazing and unexpected burst of speed.
Having completed the Eco-trail, we turned and drove back to the Skilpad section of the reserve and stopped in at the small camp, comprising of four units that have extensive views over the entire reserve. In amongst the camp grounds, Greater Striped Swallow, Cape Spurfowl, Cape Wagtail, Helmeted Guineafowl, Cape Sparrow and Yellow Bishop were all relaxed to our presence. From the top of a high bush a Common Fiscal scolded us loudly as we walked by and a pair of Namaqua Doves, perched together on a branch, clearly showed the plumage differences between the sexes.

On the old agricultural lands of the Skilpad section, fields of half-closed orange flowers stood in dense patches and several male Southern Black Korhaans displayed proudly to one another, stopping to peck at and swallow flowers at intermittent intervals. The much larger Ludwig’s Bustard also patrolled through the lands, but ignored the antics of their smaller relatives, while flocks of Cape Glossy Starlings, Cape Weavers and Cape Sparrows also fed amongst the floral display. Nearby, a final treat was a scrub hare resting in the long grass, only giving away its presence by flicking its long ears.
Since our visit, the park has opened up further areas to the public, including a coastal section between the Groen and Spoeg rivers. I will definitely be back in the near future to explore these new sections of an especially diverse and fascinating park. Although I will have to wait for good rains to bring out the true floral splendour and colour!
Footnotes

Season and Weather: The climate is temperate with low winter rainfall, mild days and coastal winds. Evenings can be cold. Sunblock and warm clothing are both essential. The best time to view the flowers is during the months of July to September. Habitats the Namaqualand National park lies in the heart of the Succulent karoo and is home to 134 vegetation types, of which about 40% are endemic. Gradient changes from the coastline through to rolling hills.
Specials: Verreauxs’ Eagle, Black Harrier, Cape Eagle-owl, Namaqua Warbler, Cinnamon-breasted Warbler. Accommodation and Activities the park is still in its development phase with limited facilities at present, but these include the coastal 4×4 trail and the Caracal Eco-route. A picnic area with braai facilities is available and mountain bikes may be hired. Four self-catering cottages may be booked.
Getting There: The park lies 21km west of kamieskroon on the N7 north of Cape town.
Checklist
10 specials to try to spot amongst the daisies on BirdLife South Africa’s Namaqualand Birding route.
Usually solitary the Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler forages by hopping restlessly through the branches of bushes and small trees, calling often and gleaning insects.
- The Namaqualand Sandgrouse is well known for flying up to 60km or more to reach water. The adults soak water into their belly feathers, which is then carried to their chicks.
- The Karoo Lark inhabits karoo and coastal shrub-lands on the West Coast.
- Found in pairs or small family groups and calling often, the Southern Grey Tit is a common resident in the Namaqualand National park.
- The male Cape Spurfowl is distinguished from the female by the large fighting spurs on the back of its legs.
- During the spring of 2010 a large eruption of Black-headed Canaries inundated the West Coast, including the Namaqualand National park.
- The Cape Bulbul is endemic to the West Coast and fynbos regions of South Africa. It is easily distinguished by the white ring around its eye.
- Fairly common in the dry fynbos and the karoo, the Karoo Robin-Chat is a bold and inquisitive species that flicks its tail and calls loudly from a prominent perch when disturbed.
- The Karoo Prinia builds a neat oval-shaped nest with a side-top entrance that is woven with thin green grass blades and lined with plant down.
- The white back seen in flight easily distinguishes the White-backed Mousebird from the other two mousebird species. It feeds on fruit, flowers and seedlings.
More info on the quaint town of Springbok | More info on the Namaqualand area |