SA Rare Bird News Report - 07 March 2022
Trevor Hardaker
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S O U T H E R N A F R I C A N R A R E B I R D N E W S R E P O R T | |||||||||
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This is the Southern African Rare Bird News Report issued at 18h00 on Monday, 07 March 2022.
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.
None of the records included in this report have undergone any adjudication process with any of the subregion’s Rarities Committees, so inclusion in this report does not constitute any official confirmation of the particular record. Observers are still encouraged to make the necessary submissions accordingly.
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 |
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Starting in the Western Cape, Strandfontein Sewage Works still held on to a few local attractions with a group of FULVOUS WHISTLING DUCKS still on Pan P4 yesterday and a SAND MARTIN seen at Pan S4 yesterday as well. AFRICAN PALM SWIFTS also continued to be reported with 3 birds still in Bloubergstrand on Friday and a singleton seen at Dolphin Beach Pans on Saturday afternoon. Both BAIRD’S SANDPIPERS were still at Macassar Sewage Works on Friday, but presumably one of these birds was then found at Paardevlei yesterday morning and remained there throughout the day and was still present there this afternoon. Paardevlei also had a supporting cast of a single PECTORAL SANDPIPER yesterday throughout the day while a EURASIAN HOBBY was also reported there yesterday morning. The long-staying RED-NECKED PHALAROPE was still at Kliphoek Salt Pans in Velddrif on Friday.
Please also be aware that a Land Rover (I have been given the registration number of the vehicle too) was in Kliphoek Salt Pans yesterday and drove over one of the pipes and broke it which seems to be happening more and more regularly these days and the owners are now threatening to stop allowing birders access to the site because of this. If there is a pipe over any of the roads when you are there, please DO NOT drive over it. Rather turn around or reverse back from where you came. We don’t want to damage this already volatile relationship any further as the owners have now complained to me several times already that they then have to go out and buy new pipes and replace them.
Elsewhere, the AFRICAN PIED WAGTAIL was still at the Postcard Café in Jonkershoek yesterday, a BROWN SNAKE EAGLE was found along the R43, at the Breede River bridge between Worcester and Villiersdorp, yesterday and a number of EUROPEAN ROLLERS were reported as well with one still along the Paardenkloof road near Bot River on Saturday, 2 birds along the road between Bredasdorp and Struisbaai at -34.745, 20.028 on Friday, one on roadside wires 7km outside Heidelberg on the R322 towards Barrydale on Friday, another just outside Witsand at -34.39, 20.826 on Saturday and 2 birds still along the Uplands Road near Plettenberg Bay yesterday as well. Other records of interest included a GOLIATH HERON found along the Slang River between Witsand and Malgas at -34.351, 20.753 yesterday, the AFRICAN CRAKE still near Vleesbaai at -34.247, 21.873 this morning, a MARSH WARBLER reported outside Mossel Bay at -34.2, 22.053 on Saturday and a GREAT REED WARBLER found near Sedgefield at -34.006, 22.771 yesterday while Plettenberg Bay also held on to its offerings with the EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHER still on the Keurbooms River estuary on Saturday and as many as 4 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS still present at Bitou Vlei on Saturday as well. This latter record may well be the largest group of this species ever recorded together in the subregion! Heading inland, the GREY WAGTAIL was still at Rust en Vrede Waterfall near De Rust yesterday, 2 MARABOU STORKS were found just outside Beaufort West at -32.325, 22.641 yesterday, the popular GARDEN WARBLER was still just outside Murraysburg on Saturday while this same site also hosted a COMMON CUCKOO on Saturday too. | |||||||||
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Baird’s Sandpiper at Paardevlei © Mike Buckham | Baird’s Sandpiper at Paardevlei © Hernus Langeveodt | ||||||||
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Pectoral Sandpiper at Paardevlei © Hernus Langeveodt | European Roller along the Paardenkloof road © Hernus Langeveldt | ||||||||
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European Roller near Witsand © Elmarie Brits | Goliath Heron on the Slang River © Elmarie Brits | ||||||||
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African Crake near Vleesbaai © Edwin Polden | Pectoral Sandpiper at Bitou Vlei © Pieter Schoeman | ||||||||
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Pectoral Sandpipers at Bitou Vlei © Clyde Porter | |||||||||
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Eurasian Oystercatcher on the Keurbooms River © Pieter Schoeman | Common Cuckoo in Murraysburg © Karin Wilson | ||||||||
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Marabou Stork near Beaufort West © Stefan Theron | Marabou Storks near Beaufort West © Marné Janse van Veuren | ||||||||
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Up in the Northern Cape, 2 LILAC-BREASTED ROLLERS were found on a farm south of Sutherland on Friday and were still there today, a BROWN SNAKE EAGLE was reported 20km south of Britstown today, a MARABOU STORK was reported north of Grootkolk in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park at -24.859, 20.096 on Thursday and Tswalu Kalahari Reserve remained in the news with 2 KNOB-BILLED DUCKS seen there yesterday while the GREY-HEADED KINGFISHER was also still in place there yesterday. | |||||||||
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Knob-billed Ducks at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve © Bryan Maritz | Grey-headed Kingfisher at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve © Bryan Maritz | ||||||||
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In the Eastern Cape, there was some big excitement when a WOODLAND KINGFISHER was reported in Camdeboo National Park at -32.195, 24.497 on Saturday and was still there yesterday (it seems, based on other reports, that this bird may actually have been in the area for a week already). This may well represent the first record for the province of this species. Elsewhere, the popular DWARF BITTERN was still at the Red Bishop hide at Main Camp in Addo National Park yesterday. | |||||||||
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Dwarf Bittern at Addo National Park © Annatjie Reilly | Woodland Kingfisher in Camdeboo National Park © Alan Collett | ||||||||
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Moving up the coast into Kwazulu Natal, a LILAC-BREASTED ROLLER was found on a property in Currys Post this morning, the EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHER was back at the Umgeni River mouth in Durban on Friday, the RUFOUS-BELLIED HERON was still at Umbogavango Nature Reserve in Amanzimtoti on Saturday, a BLACK KITE was present at Manyoni Private Game Reserve on Saturday and a group of 4 AFRICAN PYGMY GEESE turned up on a private farm dam in Port Edward on Saturday. | |||||||||
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African Pygmy Goose in Port Edward © Stan Culley | African Pygmy Goose in Port Edward © Wally Tollemache | ||||||||
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Lilac-breasted Roller in Currys Post © Sue Auchincloss | |||||||||
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Gauteng chimed in with a WOOLLY-NECKED STORK seen at Roodeplaat Dam Nature Reserve at -25.651, 28.342 yesterday while a RED-FOOTED FALCON was also reported at Bronkhorstspruit Dam Nature Reserve yesterday.
Across in Mpumalanga, there was some big excitement when an AFRICAN HOBBY was found about 400m into the Kruger National Park from the Malelane gate yesterday morning while the park also delivered a GREEN SANDPIPER at Sweni bridge yesterday. | |||||||||
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Red-footed Falcon at Bronkhorstspruit Dam Nature Reserve © Adolf Joubert | African Hobby at Malelane © Hanko von Schlichting | ||||||||
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In the North-west Province, a SADDLE-BILLED STORK was reported over Crake Road at Zaagkuildrift this afternoon.
Into Limpopo where a SLATY EGRET was found at Vogelfontein at -24.616, 28.695 on Saturday and was still there yesterday while locals were also very excited when a RED PHALAROPE was found on Bavaria Fruit Estate near Hoedspruit at -24.406, 30.887 on Saturday and was still there yesterday (it seems to now have done a disappearing act and was not present there today). Although not confirmed, there is a possibility that this was the same individual that also spent a few days just south of Boons recently. An ALLEN’S GALLINULE was also found at the same site yesterday. | |||||||||
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Slaty Egret at Vogelfontein © Minkie Prinsloo | Red Phalarope in Hoedspruit © PG Oosthuizen | ||||||||
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Red Phalarope in Hoedspruit © Michael Mandy | Red Phalarope in Hoedspruit ©Matt Lailvaux | ||||||||
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Red Phalarope in Hoedspruit © Jody de Bruyn | |||||||||
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Red Phalarope in Hoedspruit © Jeremy Brown | Red Phalarope in Hoedspruit © Hannes Swanepoel | ||||||||
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Red Phalarope in Hoedspruit © Steve Benbow | Red Phalarope in Hoedspruit © Wesley Frohling | ||||||||
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Red Phalarope in Hoedspruit © Simon Price | |||||||||
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Red Phalarope in Hoedspruit © Lance Robinson | Allen’s Gallinule in Hoedspruit © Kaden Maasch | ||||||||
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And finally, in Mozambique, it was a red letter day on Friday in the country. Two NODDIES (species not able to be confirmed from the available photos unfortunately) and a group of in excess of 100 CRAB PLOVERS were present at The Sanctuary on the San Sebastian Peninsula near Vilanculous on that day while Lake Muangane turned up a GULL-BILLED TERN at -22.287, 35.451 and 2 BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPERS at -22.29, 35.46, the latter record being the first photographically documented and confirmed record of this species in the country. | |||||||||
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Ok, thanksGull-billed Tern at Lake Muangane © Garret Skead | Broad-billed Sandpipers at Lake Muangane © Garret Skead | ||||||||
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Noddy sp and Crab Plovers on the San Sebastian Peninsula © Maggie Lansdown | |||||||||
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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 | |||||||||
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TREVOR HARDAKER Cape Town, South Africa |
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