SA Rare Bird News Report - 03 March 2025
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, 03 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 |
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PLEASE CONSIDER FOLLOWING ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA BY CLICKING ON THE LINKED ICONS BELOW: |
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Starting in the Western Cape, Strandfontein Sewage Works held on to a few lingerers with the RED-NECKED PHALAROPE still on Pan P3 yesterday and as many as 12 SAND MARTINS being counted around Pan P1 over the weekend while, up on the west coast, the EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHER was still at Seeberg in the West Coast National Park yesterday afternoon. The locally popular EUROPEAN NIGHTJAR was back on its roosting perch in Helderberg Nature Reserve on Friday, but then went AWOL again throughout the weekend, much to the disappointment of many local twitchers, and re-appeared on its perch today while other birds still in place included the BLACK TERN still at Bot River Lagoon at -34.365, 19.100 yesterday and 2 GREATER SAND PLOVERS still at De Mond Nature Reserve this morning while the mega BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was also found again earlier today at De Mond Nature Reserve after a long period of no reports. Further east in the province, a EUROPEAN ROLLER was found between Riviersonderend and Stormsvlei at -34.137, 19.992 on Saturday, a GREAT REED WARBLER was seen near Botlierskop, outside Little Brak River, at -34.053, 22.130 on Friday, a male EURASIAN GOLDEN ORIOLE was present on a private farm near Malgate River close to George on Saturday and a EUROPEAN ROLLER was present along the Uplands Road near Plettenberg Bay this morning. |
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Sand Martin at Strandfontein Sewage Works © Garret Skead |
Sand Martin at Strandfontein Sewage Works © Debra Coull |
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Red-necked Phalarope at Strandfontein Sewage Works © Daryl de Beer |
Red-necked Phalarope at Strandfontein Sewage Works © Debra Coull |
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Red-necked Phalarope at Strandfontein Sewage Works © Garret Skead |
Eurasian Oystercatcher at Seeberg © Ewen Wilson |
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Eurasian Oystercatcher at Seeberg © Daryl de Beer |
Eurasian Oystercatcher at Seeberg © Otto Schmidt |
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Eurasian Oystercatcher at Seeberg © Ryan van Huyssteen |
Eurasian Oystercatcher at Seeberg © Carin Malan |
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European Nightjar at Helderberg Nature Reserve © Charles Britz |
European Nightjar at Helderberg Nature Reserve © Riel Tredoux |
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European Nightjar at Helderberg Nature Reserve © Melanie Cornelius |
European Nightjar at Helderberg Nature Reserve © Stephen Mills |
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European Nightjar at Helderberg Nature Reserve © Kevin Drummond-Hay |
European Nightjar at Helderberg Nature Reserve © Pieter Roux |
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European Nightjar at Helderberg Nature Reserve © Luke Goddard |
European Nightjar at Helderberg Nature Reserve © Lester van Groeningen |
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European Nightjar at Helderberg Nature Reserve © Marc Ashwell |
European Nightjar at Helderberg Nature Reserve © Robert Cooper |
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European Nightjar at Helderberg Nature Reserve © Luke Allen |
European Nightjar at Helderberg Nature Reserve © David Hall |
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European Nightjar at Helderberg Nature Reserve © Nick Fordyce |
Black Tern at Bot River Lagoon © Dylan Schröder |
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Buff-breasted Sandpiper at De Mond Nature Reserve © Dean Boshoff |
European Roller between Riviersonderend and Stormsvlei © Adrius Rabie |
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Eurasian Golden Oriole near Malgate River © Richard du Toit |
European Roller along the Uplands Road © Pieter Schoeman |
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Up in the Northern Cape, an out of range OLIVE-TREE WARBLER was reported at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve on Saturday.
In the Eastern Cape, a BROWN SNAKE EAGLE was seen along the entrance road to Tankatara at -33.704, 25.775 yesterday.
Moving up the coast into Kwazulu Natal, a WESTERN YELLOW WAGTAIL was found on Rosetta Farm along the Kamberg Road at -29.313, 29.949 this morning, a LESSER MOORHEN was found at a dam seen at the entrance to Khotso on the Drakensberg Gardens road this morning, an exhausted SOOTY TERN was brought into a rehab facility in Sodwana Bay on Saturday, a GREATER SAND PLOVER was present at the Tugela River mouth on Saturday, at least 2 AFRICAN SKIMMERS were still at the St Lucia estuary over the weekend, and a BRONZE-WINGED COURSER was seen at Ekubo Coastal Estate in Port Edward on Friday. |
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Brown Snake Eagle at Tankatara © Garret Skead |
Lesser Moorhen at Khotso © Pam Kleiman |
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Bronze-winged Courser at Ekubo Coastal Estate © Ian Andrew |
Greater Sand Plover at the Tugela River mouth © Ronnie Herr |
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Over in the Free State, the Reddersburg region provided a couple of birds of local interest on Saturday with a LILAC-BREASTED ROLLER seen at -29.805, 26.135 and a BROWN SNAKE EAGLE found at -29.806, 26.160 while there was also some local excitement when 3 EURASIAN CURLEWS were found on private property at South Bay near Deneysville on Saturday with at least 2 birds still there yesterday.
Mpumalanga held on to at least one AFRICAN SKIMMER which was still around the low level bridge just outside Lower Sabie in the Kruger National Park yesterday.
Across in the North-west Province, a GREATER PAINTED SNIPE was seen yesterday near Bray at -25.462, 23.695, an unusual record for the area. |
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Eurasian Curlew at South Bay © Sandy Neveling |
Eurasian Curlew at South Bay © Ivan Putter |
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Lilac-breasted Roller near Reddersburg © Johan van Niekerk |
Brown Snake Eagle near Reddersburg © Johan van Niekerk |
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Greater Painted Snipe near Bray © Francois de Villiers |
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Into Namibia where Southern Africa’s 11th LESSER YELLOWLEGS was found at Birds Paradise Bird Sanctuary in Walvis Bay at -22.966, 14.533 yesterday and was still present at the same spot earlier today. Our first record was from Harare in Zimbabwe in December 1979. This was followed by 2 consecutive records at the Berg River estuary in Velddrif, the first in August 1983 and the second in December 1999. The 4th record came from the Sappi wetlands at Stanger in December 2008, then there was one at Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana in April 2009, one at Woodbourne Pan in Knysna in November 2010, one at Rundu Sewage Works in Namibia in August 2011, one at Geelbek in the West Coast National Park in February 2018, then again at Geelbek in the West Coast National Park in November 2024 and, most recently, at Mkhombo Dam in January 2025.
Elsewhere, the ELEGANT TERN was seen again this afternoon close to Paradise surf spot in Swakopmund at -22.724, 14.53, the mega RED-THROATED PIPIT was still at Cape Cross on Friday and the THRUSH NIGHTINGALE was still at Monteiro Camp, 10 km south of Windhoek, earlier today.
And finally, in Zimbabwe, a LESSER CUCKOO was seen again at Aberfoyle in the Honde Valley yesterday while a WESTERN MARSH HARRIER was found at Komani Vlei on the road to Christon Bank around the microlight airfield on Saturday. |
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Lesser Yellowlegs at Birds Paradise Bird Sanctuary © Roger Hogg |
Lesser Yellowlegs at Birds Paradise Bird Sanctuary © Kobus Bekker |
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Lesser Yellowlegs at Birds Paradise Bird Sanctuary © Andrew Brown |
Elegant Tern in Swakopmund © Anton Jooste |
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Red-throated Pipit at Cape Cross © Trudie Crous |
Western Marsh Harrier at Komani vlei © Duwan Botha |
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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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