SA Rare Bird News Report - 23 August 2021
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, 23 August 2021.
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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Well, it certainly seems that a little switch has been flipped in the last week and, suddenly, there seem to be a number of interesting reports starting to come through.
Western Cape birders have had plenty to keep themselves entertained with in the last week. A pelagic trip out of Hout Bay yesterday produced a young WANDERING ALBATROSS, a NORTHERN ROYAL ALBATROSS, at least 3 SOUTHERN ROYAL ALBATROSSES and a SPECTACLED PETREL for everyone on board to enjoy while another trip out of Hout Bay on Friday also delivered a single SOUTHERN ROYAL ALBATROSS. The AFRICAN JACANA was still present around the last hide at Rondevlei Nature Reserve on Saturday, 3 AFRICAN PALM SWIFTS were seen at Dolphin Beach Pans on Saturday and a GOLIATH HERON was reported this afternoon between Acacia Park and the N1 at -33.887, 18.526.
The most exciting news in the province, however, came on Saturday at around lunch time when 2 PINK-BACKED PELICANS were found at Zandvlei. A little while later, they took to the skies and thermalled off in a northerly direction before being watched going down quite some distance away. A search then ensued and they were eventually relocated at Zeekoevlei (moving around quite a bit on the vlei, but often visible from the northern end) where they remained fairly reliable and were still there today. This is only the second record for the province with the only other confirmed record coming from Island Lake on the Garden Route back in January 1981, so it’s been a long wait of 40 years to unblock this provincial mega for many!
Up on the west coast, a GOLIATH HERON was seen along the Sout River near Hopefield on Saturday while, further east, the mega DWARF BITTERN was also still showing well and entertaining twitchers in Sandbaai in Hermanus today and another interesting record concerned 5 ROSEATE TERNS seen at the Old Harbour in Hermanus on Saturday. Over on the Garden Route, an AFRICAN CRAKE was found inland of Vleesbaai at -34.246, 21.873 yesterday and a SQUACCO HERON was seen again at the channel linking Rondevlei and Langvlei, near Wilderness, on Saturday. | |||||||||
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Southern Royal Albatross on pelagic trip © Cliff Dorse | Southern Royal Albatross on pelagic trip © Trevor Hardaker | ||||||||
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Southern Royal Albatross (top centre) on pelagic trip © Justin Nicolau | |||||||||
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Northern Royal Albatross on pelagic trip © Trevor Hardaker | Wandering Albatross on pelagic trip © Trevor Hardaker | ||||||||
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Spectacled Petrel on pelagic trip © Cliff Dorse | Spectacled Petrel on pelagic trip © Trevor Hardaker | ||||||||
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African Jacana at Rondevlei Nature Reserve © Charles Ellis | Pink-backed Pelican at Zandvlei © Dominic Rollinson | ||||||||
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Pink-backed Pelicans at Zeekoevlei © John Graham | Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Bryn de Kocks | ||||||||
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Pink-backed Pelican (on right) at Zeekoevlei © Garret Skead | Pink-backed Pelican (on right) at Zeekoevlei © Ian Rijsdijk | ||||||||
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Pink-backed Pelican (on right) at Zeekoevlei © Nick Fordyce | Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Michael McSweeney | ||||||||
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Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Lynette de Beer | Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Daryl de Beer | ||||||||
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Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © David Hall | Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © David Swanepoel | ||||||||
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Pink-backed Pelicans at Zeekoevlei © Alex Aitkenhead | |||||||||
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Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Robert Cooper | Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Christine Griffiths | ||||||||
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Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Kevin Shields | Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Regard van Dyk | ||||||||
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Pink-backed Pelican (on right) at Zeekoevlei © Michael Mason | Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Joel Radue | ||||||||
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Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Alice Moller | Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Stephen Mills | ||||||||
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Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Stanislav Novotny | Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Graham Pringle | ||||||||
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Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Otto Schmidt | Pink-backed Pelican at Zeekoevlei © Sandy Schmidt | ||||||||
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African Palm Swifts at Dolphin Beach Pans © Trevor Hardaker | |||||||||
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Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Jacques Giliomee | Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Ian Rijsdijk | ||||||||
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Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Pierre Hofmeyr | Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © David Swanepoel | ||||||||
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Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Cathy Kent | Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Tony Kent | ||||||||
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Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Garret Skead | Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Melanie Cornelius | ||||||||
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Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Alex Aitkenhead | Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Zunaid Barday | ||||||||
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Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Madeleine van der Merwe | Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © John Bowman | ||||||||
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Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Gerrit Wyma | Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Regard van Dyk | ||||||||
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Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Mike Buckham | Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Stephen Mills | ||||||||
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Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Frank Hallett | Dwarf Bittern at Sandbaai © Alice Moller | ||||||||
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African Crake inland of Vleesbaai © Elmarie Brits | |||||||||
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Up in the Northern Cape, it was all about out of range MARSH OWLS with one seen at Nossob waterhole again on Thursday evening and another present at Urikaruus waterhole every evening from last Sunday to Wednesday.
In the Eastern Cape, a SOOTY TERN was seen at Cape Recife on Friday, could not be relocated at all on the weekend, but was back there again this afternoon, while a single HOUSE CROW was also still at Cape Recife yesterday. | |||||||||
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Marsh Owl at Urikaruus © Carin Malan | Sooty Tern at Cape Recife © Ludwig Roell | ||||||||
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Moving up the coast into Kwazulu Natal, a male RED-HEADED WEAVER was seen again at Manyoni Private Game Reserve this morning while the reserve also produced a BENNETT’S WOODPECKER this morning and a PURPLE ROLLER on Saturday. Elsewhere, a BENNETT’S WOODPECKER was also reported in Mkuze Game Reserve at -27.666, 32.256 yesterday.
Across in the Free State, an AFRICAN PIED WAGTAIL was seen below the dam wall at the Botanical Gardens in Harrismith yesterday while a YELLOW-BELLIED GREENBUL was spotted in a garden in Vaal de Grace Nature Reserve in Parys on Saturday | |||||||||
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African Pied Wagtail at Harrismith Botanical Gardens © David Weaver | Yellow-bellied Greenbul in Parys © Resa van der Merwe | ||||||||
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Gauteng got in on the action with 3 juvenile YELLOW-BILLED OXPECKERS seen in Buffelsdrift Conservancy yesterday and a single WHITE-CRESTED HELMETSHRIKE found in a garden in Brooklyn, Pretoria on Friday while a group of 7 – 10 SWALLOW-TAILED BEE-EATERS were seen in the de Tweedepsuirt Conservancy on Friday and were still there yesterday. These birds actually moved between Gauteng and neighbouring Mpumalanga.
Mpumalanga held on to the 2 AFRICAN SKIMMERS which were still present at the Olifants River bridge in the Kruger National Park earlier today.
Up in Namibia, the KALAHARI SCRUB ROBIN was seen again in a garden in Kramersdorf, Swakopmund, yesterday.
And finally, in Mozambique, the popular MALAGASY POND HERON was still present at Dunes de Dovela on Saturday. | |||||||||
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Swallow-tailed Bee-eater at de Tweedespruit Conservancy © Johan van der Walt | Malagasy Pond Heron at Dunes de Dovela © Thomas Bruneau | ||||||||
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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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