SA Rare Bird News Report - 31 March 2025
Trevor Hardaker
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
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 |
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
This is the Southern African Rare Bird News Report issued at 18h00 on Monday, 31 March 2025.
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 https://groups.google.com/g/sa-rarebirdnews |
|
SARBN is proud to be associated with the following brands: |
|||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
PLEASE CONSIDER FOLLOWING ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY CLICKING ON THE LINKED ICONS BELOW: |
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Starting in the Western Cape, the most popular recent new bird was a cracking breeding-plumaged WESTERN YELLOW WAGTAIL which was found at Macassar Sewage Works at -34.076, 18.767 on Saturday afternoon and was still there today, while a CAPE VULTURE was also reported sitting on a KFC billboard along the N1 just before the Plattekloof turn-off heading in the direction of Paarl earlier today. Other lingerers included at least 3 SAND MARTINS still moving around between Pans P2 and P3 at Strandfontein Sewage Works this afternoon, the LESSER YELLOWLEGS still at Geelbek in the West Coast National Park yesterday, at least one RED-NECKED PHALAROPE still at Kliphoek Salt Pans in Velddrif on Saturday, 2 LONG-CRESTED EAGLES still near Klapmuts at -33.823, 18.880 on Friday and one seen there this morning and the BLACK TERN still at the Bot River Lagoon yesterday as well. Further east in the province, 2 WHITE-FRONTED BEE-EATERS were found at De Mond farm, adjacent to De Mond Nature Reserve, this morning and a COMMON CUCKOO was found on a private farm 3km south of George Airport yesterday. And, heading inland, the long-staying CRESTED BARBET was still on a private farm near Murraysburg at -31.786, 23.823 on Friday and the pair of TAWNY EAGLES were also still near Murraysburg at -31.698, 23.404 yesterday. |
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Western Yellow Wagtail at Macassar Sewage Works © Hernus Langeveldt |
Western Yellow Wagtail at Macassar Sewage Works © Michael Mason |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Western Yellow Wagtail at Macassar Sewage Works © Bryn de Kocks |
Western Yellow Wagtail at Macassar Sewage Works © Paul Verwey |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Western Yellow Wagtail at Macassar Sewage Works © Riel Tredoux |
Western Yellow Wagtail at Macassar Sewage Works © Sarel Snyman |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Western Yellow Wagtail at Macassar Sewage Works © Michael Wright |
Western Yellow Wagtail at Macassar Sewage Works © Lester van Groeningen |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Western Yellow Wagtail at Macassar Sewage Works © John Graham |
Western Yellow Wagtail at Macassar Sewage Works © David Hall |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Western Yellow Wagtail at Macassar Sewage Works © Jacque Smit |
Long-crested Eagle near Klapmuts © Gerald Wingate |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Red-necked Phalarope at Kliphoek Salt Pans © Cheryl Grobler |
Red-necked Phalarope at Kliphoek Salt Pans © Trevor Hardaker |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Black Tern at the Bot River Lagoon © Hanko von Schlichting |
White-fronted Bee-eaters at De Mond farm © Alistair Kilpin |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Common Cuckoo south of George Airport © Richard du Toit |
Crested Barbet near Murraysburg © John Graham |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
In the Northern Cape, there was some surprize when a young DWARF BITTERN was seen near Dalkeith waterhole in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park at -25.903, 20.163 on Saturday while the EUROPEAN NIGHTJAR was still at Khoisan Karoo Conservancy near Hanover yesterday.
In the Eastern Cape, a single TIBETAN (LESSER) SAND PLOVER was reported at the Kromme River estuary in St Francis Bay at -34.143, 24.832 yesterday. |
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Dwarf Bittern near Dalkeith waterhole © Evan Bands |
European Nightjar at Khoisan Karoo Conservancy © Kendra Bisbing |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Moving up the coast into Kwazulu Natal, a couple of AFRICAN CRAKES were reported with one at Mkuze Falls Game Reserve at -27.655, 31.689 on Saturday and another in Phinda Game Reserve at -27.840, 32.274 on Saturday as well, while the locally popular LESSER JACANA was also still at the Wattled Crane hide in the Karkloof Conservancy yesterday.
In the Free State, there was some surprize when a FRANKLIN’S GULL was found earlier today at the waste water works close to Toronto Pan, just a few kms west of Welkom, at -27.999, 26.690. This species is still extremely rare anywhere inland and this actually constitutes the first ever record for the province.
Mpumalanga held on to at least one AFRICAN SKIMMER which was on the river around Lower Sabie camp in the Kruger National Park on Saturday.
Into Limpopo where 3 AFRICAN SKIMMERS were reported this morning at Nhlanganini Dam close to Letaba in the Kruger National Park. |
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Lesser Jacana at the Wattled Crane hide © John van de Ruit |
Franklin’s Gull at Welkom waste water works © Andy Harrington |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Up in Namibia, the DWARF BITTERN was still at Springbokhaar Dam near Nomtsas on Saturday and a RED PHALAROPE was also still at Walvis Bay Salt Pans on Saturday as well.
And finally, in Mozambique, it was all happening again at The Sanctuary on the San Sebastian Peninsula near Vilanculous on Saturday when birding there on the day produced a good list of exciting birds including a young LESSER FRIGATEBIRD, at least 6 SAUNDERS’S TERNS, 2 EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHERS, an AFRICAN OYSTERCATCHER, 1 CRAB PLOVER and a RED KNOT. |
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Lesser Frigatebird at The Sanctuary © Alice Moller |
Lesser Frigatebird at The Sanctuary © Etienne Marais |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Saunders’s Tern at The Sanctuary © Alice Moller |
Saunders’s Tern at The Sanctuary © Ritz de la Bat |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
African Oystercatcher at The Sanctuary © Etienne Marais |
African Oystercatcher at The Sanctuary © Alice Moller |
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
Crab Plover at The Sanctuary © Etienne Marais |
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
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 |
|
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
