Recent Sightings

2017 Rare and Unusual Bird Sightings

In South African National Parks (apart from Kruger) The records listed in this document are courtesy of Trevor Hardaker’s SA Rare Bird Network (SARBN) at [email protected], submissions via the SANParks website, or direct contact between birders and SANParks staff. They reflect birds that are considered rare, vagrant or accidental in the parks, or that reflect highly unusual behaviour or special sightings. To learn of these sightings more currently follow Chris_SANParks on Twitter (www.twitter.com)

April 2017 Addo Elephant National Park A CAPE VULTURE was reported on the Ngulube Loop in Addo National Park on Good Friday the 14th of April, which is very unusual for this part of the Eastern Cape…

Agulhas National Park

BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER – UPDATEs: – still reported as present in the Park on 14th and 15th of April…

Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters on the Agulhas Plains © Vernon Slabbert BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER - several birds (present since January) still in place today in the usual spot on the Agulhas Plains on Saturday 8th of April… Birds that spend their non-breeding season in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and northern KZN (they breed in North Africa, the Middle East and India and usually migrate to tropical Africa, so are usually only found in the northeasterly parts of South Africa in our summer) usually depart late March to April, so it will be interesting to record when the Agulhas birds disappear…

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater on the Agulhas Plains © Sandy Sutherland

Garden Route National Park Wilderness Section The BLACK HERONS were still in place on the 5th of April in the channel between Rondevlei and Langvlei in Wilderness.

Nature’s Valley Section There was local consternation when a male BLACK-EARED SPARROW-LARK was located along the road down into Nature’s Valley on the 3rd of April, a very unusual record for the area, mainly because it is not the typical Karoo habitat this nomadic species is associated with.

Black-eared Sparrow -lark near Nature’s Valley © Phil Penlington

Mokala National Park A GREY-HEADED KINGFISHER was reported from Stofdam Bird Hide in Mokala National Park on the 8th of April, well out of range.

Grey-headed Kingfisher in Mokala National Park © Nicky Smith Also of interest, a male LONG-TAILED PARADISE WHYDAH was reported along the road to Stofdam Bird Hide as well.

A DUSKY LARK was still present in Mokala National Park on the 10th of April, while other good records for the park on the 10th included a TINKLING CISTICOLA and a LONG-TAILED PARADISE WHYDAH, both rather unusual for the area and usually associated with further north in Limpopo or North-West.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park A GREY-HEADED KINGFISHER was reported from Auchterlonie in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on 9th of April, well out of range for this species.

Grey-headed Kingfisher at Auchterlonie © Greg Hudson

Tankwa Karoo National Park NORTHERN SHOVELER – UPDATES: Still present at Oudebaaskraal Dam over the Easter weekend on the 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th of April…

Northern Shoveler at Oudebaskraal Dam © Tony Archer

The male NORTHERN SHOVELER was relocated again late on the afternoon of the 12th at Oudebaaskraal Dam in the Tankwa Karoo National Park after having done a bit of a disappearing act for a little while. It certainly bodes well for Easter weekend twitchers who are planning to head through there, so let’s hope that it continues to play ball.

Northern Shoveler at Oudebaskraal Dam © Richard Craw shaw

Just a few extra facts about this species… it winters in quite a large area of sub-Saharan Africa with perhaps the largest numbers reaching East Africa, particularly in Kenya, where thousands arrive during the non-breeding season. Literature that I have consulted suggests that these birds begin their northward journey again mostly from the end of February through to the middle of March with a few stragglers staying into the first week of April. The distance between some of the Rift Valley lakes in Kenya (where large numbers congregate) and the Tankwa Karoo National Park is probably in the order of around 5 000 km. Assuming this bird is averaging 80km/h in flight and flying an average of 8 hours a day (based on facts cited in literature, not my own thumb- sucks…), it is probably covering a distance of just over 600km every day. It’s obviously all circumstantial, but a bird that leaves Kenya around the middle of March and mistakenly heads south instead of north, a phenomenon known as “reverse migration”, would probably reach Oudebaaskraal Dam around 9 or 10 days later… at the end of March or beginning of April… enough said…

NORTHERN SHOVELER – the news does not seem particularly good at this point in time at midday on the 12th, but let’s hope that it changes for the better. There were birders at Oudebaaskraal Dam in the Tankwa Karoo National Park yesterday looking for the bird and there have also been several birders working the dam for the first half of today as well but, as yet, no- one has reported the bird and the last time that it was definitely seen was on Monday morning on the 10th before lunch time. Further updates as and when I receive them.

NORTHERN SHOVELER – reported on Saturday the 8th and Monday the 10th at the eastern end of the dam…

Northern Shoveler tw itchers at Oudebaskraal Dam © Pieter la Grange

NORTHERN SHOVELER – still present on the 6th and 7th boding well for twitchers who want to travel to the Park over the weekend…

NORTHERN SHOVELER – due to the lack of cellphone reception in the area, it takes a while to get the updates through but the good news is that the male bird is still present on the 5th of April at Oudebaaskraal Dam in the Tankwa Karoo National Park – reported by Kevin Drummond–Hay.

NORTHERN SHOVELER – the male bird is still present on the 4th of April at Oudebaaskraal Dam in the Tankwa Karoo National Park and was present again on the eastern end of the dam about 200m right of the fence that runs across the dam – reported by Robin Gray and John Glendenning.

NORTHERN SHOVELER - the male bird is still present today at Oudebaaskraal Dam in the Tankwa Karoo National Park on Monday 3rd April - reported by John and Greta Graham and Trevor Hardaker.

Northern Shoveler at Oudebaaskraal Dam © Trevor Hardaker Please see the following information about this sighting courtesy of Trevor Hardaker – Chairman of the Birdlife South Africa Rarities Committee Vagrant ducks are always going to be contentious in terms of whether they are genuine vagrants or escapees, but one has to assess each individual record independently. I am not going to tell you that it is definitely a genuine vagrant as I don’t have the ability to do that, but I will tell you that this record has a lot of very good credentials going for it, so I will leave the decision totally up to you to decide whether to twitch it or not. However, I have personally already been to do so and I would strongly encourage the rest of you to think about doing it as well…

 This species is a long distance migrant which winters every year in sub-Saharan Africa (compare with some other species like, for example, Common Shelduck, for which there is virtually no precedent for birds occurring south of the Sahara).  There are a number of previous records of this species in the sub-region, so there is precedent for vagrancy to Southern Africa, be it overshoots early in the austral summer or reverse migrants in autumn.  It is at a locality that is very remote and far from any urban areas. It is also an oasis in the middle of the Tankwa Karoo desert and has an astonishing amount of bird diversity and numbers on the dam.  The timing of this record is spot on for a reverse migrant of this species turning up here.  The bird is extremely skittish and we could not approach it to within any reasonable distance at all before it would fly.  It is a very strong flier and there appears to be no damage or wear at all to any of its feathers like one might expect in a captive bird.  Although we could only view it at a distance through a scope, we could not see any obvious signs of the bird being ringed.

Some further info on the locality… depending on where you leave from in Cape Town, it is about a 3,5 – 4 hour drive to get to the dam. The dam is rather large and a scope will be a huge advantage in helping to look for the bird, if not even a necessity if the bird is on the far side of the dam. It is best to try and get there as early as possible as the heat haze builds up rather quickly which can then make viewing distant subjects more difficult. The dam is best covered from the northern shoreline and, today, the bird was over on the eastern end of the dam near where the inlet channel enters the dam. We viewed it from -32.396, 19.931. Please also remember that, once you leave Ceres heading northwards, you have very little to no chance of finding supplies, whether it be fuel, food or drinks, along the way, so make sure that you are well prepared for this. There is also no cell phone reception from about 50km north of Ceres, so you will be out of contact for the last 1,5 hours of your trip before you reach the dam.

No April Fool’s joke and a potential MEGA twitch for Tankwa… a NORTHERN SHOVELER –a single male bird was discovered late on the afternoon of the 1st of April at Oubaaskraal Dam in the Tankwa Karoo National Park. Although one might need to consider the possibility of an escapee, this bird has turned up in the middle of nowhere, far from any urban areas and the timing of the record is also spot on for a reverse migrant, so these points certainly lend weight to this possibly being a genuine vagrant – reported by Vernon Head.

West Coast National Park Although not in the Park proper, a definite regional rarity to look out for in the park because of its presence in an estate adjacent to the Park… WHITE-FRONTED BEE-EATER – a single bird has been seen moving around this morning at the Langebaan Country Estate (Western Cape) on the west coast – reported by Faansie Peacock.

March 2017

Agulhas National Park At least 2 BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATERS were still present in the usual area along the Agulhas - Elim road on the 29th of March.

At least 4 BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATERS were still present in the same area on the Agulhas Plains on Wednesday the 22nd of March.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters on the Agulhas Plains © Pieter le Roux

At least 2 of the BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATERS were still present in the same area on the Agulhas Plains on the 20th.

The BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATERS were still hanging around in the Park on the 13th of March.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater in Agulhas National Park © Stanislav Novotny

At least 7 BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATERS remained on to entertain interested twitchers on the 8th of March.

BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER - at least 4 birds still present on the morning of the 5th of March in the same area of Agulhas National Park - reported by Dana Goldberg.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater in Agulhas National Park © Dana Goldberg

Augrabies Falls National Park EUROPEAN HONEY BUZZARD: One in the campsite at Augrabies National Park on the 15th of March.

Camdeboo National Park Some local excitement was created on the 5th of March when a BROWN SNAKE EAGLE was seen at Camdeboo National Park in Graaff-Reinet. It was still in the Park on the 11th of March.

Garden Route National Park Wilderness Section Both BLACK HERONS were still present in the channel between Rondevlei and Langlvlei in Wilderness on the 30th and again on the 31st of March.

Black Heron at Rondevlei © Mike Bridgeford

The GOLIATH HERON was still at Langvlei in Wilderness on Tuesday the 28th of March.

Two heron species, more common further north in South Africa, but regional rarities for the Western Cape include a GOLIATH HERON that was seen in the channel between Langvlei and Rondevlei in Wilderness on Thursday the 23rd of March (it was still at Langvlei on the 26th of March)

Goliath Heron at Langvlei in Wilderness Goliath Heron at Langvlei in Wilderness © Elmarie Brits © Rudi Minnie and up to 2 BLACK HERONS were still around at Rondevlei yesterday (these birds have been seen in the same channel as the Goliath Heron recently, but were present at the Rondevlei bird hide yesterday).

Black Heron at Rondevlei in Wilderness Black Herons at Rondevlei in Wilderness © Elmarie Brits © Rudi Minnie

Marakele National Park EUROPEAN HONEY BUZZARD: One at Marakele National Park (Limpopo) on Sunday 5th of March.

European Honey Buzzard in Marakele National Park © Billy Terreblanche

Mapungubwe National Park A CORN CRAKE was present in the parking area at Maloutswa hide in Mapungubwe National Park on Monday afternoon of the 6th of March.

Corn Crake in Mapungubw e National Park © Lizette de Coning

Table Mountain National Park ELEGANT TERN - the ringed bird that has been moving between tern roosts in the south- western Cape, has been seen and photographed at Buffels Bay near Cape Point on the morning of the 5th of March - reported by Howard Langley.

Elegant Tern at Buffels Bay © How ard Langley

EUROPEAN HONEY BUZZARD - One over Newlands Forest (Western Cape) on Saturday, 4th March.

EUROPEAN HONEY BUZZARD - One over Skeleton Gorge (Western Cape) also on Saturday, 4th March.

Tankwa Karoo National Park RED PHALAROPE - a bird was seen and photographed on the 8th of March at Oudebaaskraal Dam in the Tanqua Karoo – reported by Alessandro Aldera.

Red Phalarope at Oudebaaskraal Dam, Tankw a Karoo © Alessandro Aldera

West Coast National Park

At least one AUSTRALASIAN GANNET was still on Malgas Island in Saldanha Bay on Monday the 27th of March.

A single COMMON REDSHANK was reported from Geelbek Hide in the West Coast National Park on Wednesday the 22nd of March.

BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPER – a single bird has just been found at the Seeberg hide in the West Coast National Park on the 16th of March – reported by Matt Prophet.

February 2017 Agulhas National Park BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER – at least 7 birds still present in the Agulhas National Park at - 34.7496, 19.9784 on the 27th of February.

At least 7 BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATERS were still hanging around in Agulhas National Park on the 23rd of February (they tend to be in the gum trees opposite the Agulhas National Park sign on the gravel road to Elim)

The popular BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATERS in the Agulhas National Park remained in place on the 18th and 19th, with at least 9 birds present then (at least 8 birds still there on the 20th)

BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER – at least 3 birds still present on the morning of 17th February in Agulhas National Park (Western Cape) in the same area as before at -34.74937, 19.97789 – reported by Hendrick Smit

BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER – the group of 8 birds still present on the 12th in the same area in Agulhas National Park.

GOLIATH HERON – a single individual seen flying over on the 12th in the same area as the Bee- eaters in Agulhas National Park.

BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER - at least 8 birds still present this morning in the Agulhas National Park at 34.74937 S 19.97789 E - reported by Michael Mason.

BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER - 4 birds still present in Agulhas National Park until at least Sunday 5th of February.

BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER - at least one bird still present on the 4th in Agulhas National Park at 34 44 57 S 19 58 40 E - reported by Keir and Alouise Lynch.

BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER - all 8 birds still present on the morning of the 1st of February in Agulhas National Park at -34.750, 19.979 - reported by Frans-Hendrik Joubert.

Camdeboo National Park GREAT WHITE PELICAN – 2 birds located at the Graaff-Reinet (Nqweba) Dam on the afternoon of the 14th of February, a great record for the Karoo region.

Garden Route National Park – Wilderness Section A BLACK HERON was still present in the channel between Langvlei and Rondevlei in Wilderness on the 19th of February.

A GARDEN WARBLER was also located along the Half-collared Kingfisher Trail in Wilderness on the 19th of February.

BLACK HERON – the single bird still present at the Rondevlei hide in Wilderness until at least Saturday 4th February.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park Southern Africa's 18th ever WHITE-THROATED BEE-EATER seen on 28 February 2017 about 1km north of Houmoed waterhole along the road to Mata Mata in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. This species retains its status as the most untwitchable species in Southern Africa with not a single record ever having been twitchable for more than just a few hours at best.

Over in the Northern Cape, an immature MONTAGU’S HARRIER was seen at Kij Kij waterhole in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the morning of the 28th of February and, about 30 minutes after this bird had moved on, 2 PALLID HARRIERS arrived at the same waterhole as well!

An immature AFRICAN HAWK EAGLE was also seen at Butalama waterhole on the 27th of February.

DUSKY LARK – a single bird present just south of the Kalahari Tented Camp where the road crosses the Auob River on 26th.

BARRED WREN WARBLER – still present in Mata Mata camp in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park between the shop and river chalets on 26th.

A male GREATER PAINTED SNIPE was discovered at 13th borehole in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the 20th of February, looking a little out of place there.

A COMMON MYNA was still present at Molopo Lodge about 30km from Twee Rivieren on the 15th.

A pair of CAPE SHOVELERS were present at Dikbaardskolk in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the 16th of February.

A female PALLID HARRIER was seen at Morevet Pan on the 16th, while another was seen at Monroe waterhole on the 19th of February.

MONTAGU’S HARRIER – a female bird seen near Twee Rivieren in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the 12th.

AYRES’ HAWK EAGLE – a very bizarre report of an immature bird seen and photographed between Nossob and Polenstwa arounfd the 2nd of February!

Marakele National Park A TREE PIPIT was located along Lenong Drive in Marakele National Park at -24.463, 27.605 on the 19th of February.

Mokala National Park DUSKY LARK – a single bird seen and photographed on the 14th of February afternoon at Mokala National Park at 29 05 50.3 S 24 23 41.1 E – reported by Japie Claassen.

Mountain Zebra National Park A group of 7 TEMMINCK'S COURSERS being reported along the Rooiput loop in Mountain Zebra National Park on the 18th of February, an unusual record for the area.

West Coast National Park AUSTRALASIAN GANNET – at least 2 birds still present on the morning of 16th February on Malgas Island in Saldanha Bay.

January 2017

Agulhas National Park BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER – the group of 8 birds was seen on the 30th of January at Soutbosch in the Agulhas National Park – reported via Wim de Klerk.

BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER – at least 7 birds still present in the Agulhas National Park at - 34.7496, 19.9784.

Camdeboo National Park BLACK-WINGED PRATINCOLE – still present at the Graaff-Reinet (Nqweba) Dam on 26th.

BLACK-WINGED PRATINCOLE – a single bird seen and photographed on the 23rd of January morning at the Graaff-Reinet (Nqweba) Dam.

Garden Route National Park – Wilderness Section BLACK HERON - the bird that was reported previously from Rondevlei in Wilderness (Western Cape) was seen and photographed there again on Friday 20th January and was then present at the adjacent Langvlei on Saturday 21st (also photographed there to confirm the ID).

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park A female WESTERN MARSH HARRIER was seen from the Nossob camp hide in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on Sunday 15th January.

ALLEN’s GALLINULE reported from the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on 7th January. The location was S25 00’ 28.3” E20 19’ 42.0”.

Also from the Kgalagadi comes a report of a SPOTTED CRAKE photographed in a muddy stretch of water about 3,5 km from the turnoff to Rooiputs (if traveling north) – GPS co-ordinates approx.: S26.29548 E20.75610

West Coast National Park WHITE-BACKED VULTURE - a juvenile bird was seen and photographed circling over Geelbek in the West Coast National Park on the morning of the 28th of January, and then headed off north in the direction of Seeberg.

AUSTRALASIAN GANNET – at least one bird still present on Malgas Island until at least Tuesday 24th January.

CASPIAN PLOVER – an amazing 55 birds counted in a publically inaccessible part of the West Coast National Park on Saturday 21st January.