To find the newly described Barlow’s Lark, you will have to descend from the baking and mountainous Namaqualand interior to the breezy scrublands of the coastal plain. Take the N7 from Springbok north to Steinkopf, checking for Lanner Falcon, Jackal Buzzard and Black Crow perched on the telephone poles. Note that the Jackal Buzzards in this area show a high incidence of variable white mottling on the breast, often causing confusion with the closely related Augur Buzzard, which only occurs much further north, in Namibia. From Steinkopf, take the R382 down Anenous Pass, which links the mountains to the coastal plain and eventually brings you to Port Nolloth. Because Barlow’s and Karoo Larks are quite similar, it is worthwhile familiarizing yourself with the locally occurring subspecies of the latter. You will have this opportunity 5 km before reaching Port Nolloth, where Karoo Lark (reddish-brown upperparts; see box overleaf) occurs commonly in the roadside scrub. Also keep a look out for Brants’s Whistling Rat (Parotomys brantsii), which is quite common here as well as in sandy areas throughout Namaqualand. More frequently heard than seen, the rats draw attention to themselves by a soft, high-pitched whistle before disappearing down their extensive burrow systems.

Port Nolloth is a damp, salty town, often swathed in dense, rolling Atlantic fog. Most of the coastal strip of this region is frustratingly off-limits to birders (it supports rich alluvial diamond deposits). However, the most accessible site for Barlow’s Lark is conveniently near the edge of town. Take the road towards Alexander Bay, and about 1.6 km beyond the buildings and the town’s last tarred side-road, you will see on your left a fence demarcating the beginning of the mining area at 1 (the fence is perpendicular to the road). Search the low coastal dunes on the Port Nolloth side of the fence for Barlow’s Lark (cold brown upperparts; see box opposite), which is common here. However, note that this site is just on the edge of a zone of hybridization between Barlow’s and Karoo Larks; be careful to distinguish pure birds from the much scarcer hybrids (see box). Karoo Lark (cold brown upperparts, see box) occurs again at McDougall’s Bay, a few kilometres to the south of Port Nolloth (2). Other birds found in the scrubby strandveld vegetation in this area are Cape Long-billed Lark (see page on changing bird taxonomy), Southern Grey Tit, Cape Penduline Tit p.81), and Malachite and Lesser Double-collared Sunbirds. Bradfield’s Swift may be seen flying overhead anywhere in this area.

Port Nolloth can also be a good place to see Damara Tern, which breeds in low numbers from November to February on the large pan on the northern edge of town 3. Seabirds and waders along the Port Nolloth coast at 4 include Bank (see p.21) and Crowned Cormorants, African Black Oystercatcher (p.32*), White-fronted Plover and, in summer, Grey Plover, Turnstone and Sanderling.

As you head through the diamond area towards Alexander Bay, rainfall decreases and the vegetation becomes lower and sparser. Check the telephone poles for Black-breasted Snake Eagle, Jackal Buzzard, Pale Chanting Goshawk and Lanner Falcon. Tractrac Chat occurs on the roadside. The private mining town of Alexander Bay has started to encourage ecotourism in the area and provides access to the mouth of the Orange, South Africa’s largest river. Its estuary is an internationally-recognized RAMSAR wetland, offering good birding. The Northern Cape Nature Conservation Service is negotiating to include this rich area into a proposed transfrontier reserve. The more notable species here include Greater Flamingo, South African Shelduck, Cape Teal, Maccoa Duck, African Fish Eagle, Avocet, African Marsh Harrier, Caspian Tern, Damara Tern (uncommon), Fan-tailed Cisticola, Cape White-eye (see page on changing bird taxonomy), Red-billed Quelea and Black-throated Canary.

The surrounds of Alexander Bay are strikingly desolate, the monochrome landscape brightened only by the bizarre orange of the giant-lichen-cloaked hill adjacent to the turn-off to Alexander Bay. To find a pure population of Barlow’s Lark (that is, away from the hybrid zone), continue past the turn-off to town, along the main road, which becomes unsurfaced as it swings inland along the Orange River. Check the area between Beauvallon and Brandkaros (10—20 km beyond Alexander Bay), where Barlow’s Lark (sandy-peach upperpart colorations, see box) is present in the sparsely-bushed areas on the right hand side of the road. Retrace your route to return to Springbok.