SA Rare Bird News Report - 16 October 2017

[Trevor Hardaker]

 

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This is the Southern African Rare Bird News Report issued at 20h00 on Monday, 16 October 2017. Information has been gleaned from various websites, email groups as well as from individual observers who have passed on their sightings. This report cannot be taken as being totally comprehensive as it is based only on information made available at the time of writing. All bird sightings reported here are reported in good faith based on information as provided by the observers. Any inaccuracies are totally unintentional and the writer cannot be held liable for these. For those who may have only joined the group recently and are interested in finding out what has been seen in the past, previous reports can be viewed at http://groups.google.co.za/group/sa-rarebirdnews
Let's start again in Namibia where the Southern African rarity spotlight remained firmly centred on the YELLOW-LEGGED GULL which was still present along the Paaltjies Road in Walvis Bay throughout the weekend with the first twitchers from Gauteng and the Western and Eastern Cape arriving on the weekend to connect with the bird. It seems to have developed a vague pattern now and has a favoured sand bank that it roosts on and was even seen displaying to the local Kelp Gulls on the weekend, so it clearly is thinking about breeding and, hopefully, this might mean that it intends staying for a little while.
Yellow-legged Gull in Walvis Bay © Niall Perrins		Yellow-legged Gull in Walvis Bay © John Graham
Happy Yellow-legged Gull twitchers in Walvis Bay © Trevor Hardaker
Down in the Western Cape, it was a fairly quiet period with a LUDWIG'S BUSTARD seen at Piketberg and another one seen flying over the N7 at Moreesburg, both on Friday, while the GREY-HEADED BUSH SHRIKE was still around in Plettenberg Bay on Friday as well. Also of interest,  but rather unfortunate at the same time, a dead BAILLON’S CRAKE was found in the Somerset Mall parking lot on Saturday.   In the Eastern Cape, the male AFRICAN PYGMY GOOSE was still at Pan 6 at Swartkops in Port Elizabeth until at least Friday while the CRESTED BARBET remained on at Stellenhof Farm near Addo village yesterday.   In Gauteng, the popular BAR-TAILED GODWIT was still at Korsman Pan in Benoni earlier today while the SLATY EGRET was still on view at Walkhaven Dog Park in Muldersdrift until at least Friday. There was also some surprize on Saturday when a BAT HAWK was located at an undisclosed site in the general vicinity of Roodeplaat Dam, a rather unusual record for the area.
African Pygmy Goose at Swartkops © Wilma Meiring		Bat Hawk in Roodeplaat Dam vicinity © Dirk Human
Bar-tailed Godwit at Korsman Pan © Bennie van der Merwe		Bar-tailed Godwit at Korsman Pan © Neil Ebedes
In the North-west Province, a RUDDY TURNSTONE was found near the bus terminal at Borakalalo Nature Reserve on Saturday.   Up in Zimbabwe, there was some excitement yesterday when a GULL-BILLED TERN was discovered near Joyce Mine in Beatrice, a really nice record for the area (it was still there today as well).   And finally, in Mozambique, they did their best to divert the attention away from Namibia when a juvenile LESSER FRIGATEBIRD was seen in Maputo Bay yesterday. Let's see whether this bird hangs around and just how reliable it proves to be.
Gull-billed Tern near Joyce Mine © Tony Wood		Lesser Frigatebird in Maputo Bay © Gary Allport
Thank you to all observers who have contributed their records. Please continue to send through any reports of odd birds as well as continued updates on the presence of rarities already previously reported, no matter how mundane you think they may be. Even if you think someone else has probably sent in a report, rather send the report yourself as well. The only way to improve this service and to make it as useful as possible to everyone is if it can be as comprehensive as possible.   Kind regards Trevor -----------------------------------------------------------------------   TREVOR HARDAKER Cape Town, South Africa     Follow our local exploits in the field at: http://hardakerwildlife.wordpress.com/   See our photos and trip reports at: www.hardaker.co.za     ZEST for BIRDS Pelagics, rarity photos, listing clubs and more: www.zestforbirds.co.za     SA RARE BIRD NEWS Get the latest rarity news by joining at: http://groups.google.co.za/group/sa-rarebirdnews     SOUTHERN AFRICAN RARITIES Online database of all SA rarities www.rarities.co.za -------------------------------------------------------------