Recent Sightings Other National Parks The records listed in this document are courtesy of Trevor Hardaker’s SA Rare Bird News at [email protected] , submissions via the SANParks website, or direct contact between birders and SANParks staff.

December 2012

Karoo National Park Other interesting records in the province include a BROWN SNAKE-EAGLE photographed in the on Saturday (29 th ). This is a first record for the park and is a very rare species in the .

Brown Snake-Eagle at Karoo National Park © Japie Claassen 2 GARDEN WARBLERS were reported earlier today (13 th ) at the Doornhoek picnic site in the Karoo National Park.

The GARDEN WARBLERS that were reported from the Karoo National Park on Thursday (13 th ) were still present on Saturday (15 th ) at the Doornhoek Picnic site

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park In the Northern Cape the Kgalagadi continues to produce interesting records, possibly as a result of good rains in the area. In the last week of the year there has been a report of KAROO SCRUB-ROBIN, KAROO KORHAAN, AFRICAN CRAKE at Mata Mata (as reported before) and YELLOW-BILLED EGRET. All these species are uncommonly seen or unknown in the park, with the crake and egret being particularly noteworthy.

African Crake at Mata Mata, Kgalagadi © Tim Jones

In the Northern Cape a remarkable record coming from Mata Mata Camp in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on Saturday (22 nd ) is of an AFRICAN CRAKE photographed standing on the window sill of a chalet! There are no records for SABAP2 for this species anywhere near this area and it is a very interesting record for the province.

African Crake at Mata Mata, Kgalagadi © Glynis Bowie

Mapungubwe NP Of regional interest, in Limpopo Province the GREY CROWNED CRANE was still present at the Maloutswa Bird Hide in on the 24 th .

Grey-crowned Crane at Mapungubwe National Park © Rudolph Barnard

In Limpopo a report came through on Wednesday (19 th ) from Mapungubwe National Park, where a GREY CROWNED CRANE and 3 CASPIAN PLOVERS were seen at and near the Maloutswa Bird Hide.

Caspian Plover at Mapungubwe © Patrick Rollinson

Mokala NP Although the species is not a rarity, in the Northern Cape a yellow morph Crimson-breasted Shrike was seen at this afternoon with co-ordinates for the sighting given as -29.119168, 24.382909.

Yellow morph – Crimson-breasted Shrike in Mokala NP © Brian Culver

Table Mountain NP Another interesting record from the Western Cape is of two RED KNOTS at Olifantsbos on the Cape Peninsula on Sunday (23 rd ). This species has declined in recent years and is not being seen in the numbers that it once was in years gone by.

Red Knot at Olifantsbos, W Cape © Trygve Hvidsten

I've just received photos taken by Charlie Sharfetter earlier today (3 rd ) at Olifantsbos near Cape Point of a lovely TEMMINCK'S COURSER, a fantastic record for the Western Cape and especially the Cape Peninsula.

Temminck’s Courser at Olifantsbos © Charlie Sharfetter

West Coast NP On the same day (30 th ) two COMMON REDSHANKS were found at the Geelbek hide in the .

Common Redshank at West Coast national Park © Shaun Overmeyer

The COMMON REDSHANK at Geelbek in the West Coast National Park was still showing well on Tuesday (4 th ) morning whilst, on Malgas Island in Saldahna Bay, at least 2 AUSTRALIAN GANNETS were present on Tuesday (4 th ) and yesterday (5 th ).

November 2012 Addo Elephant NP A RED-NECKED PHALAROPE was located yesterday (25 th ) in the Kaba Valley adjacent to the Woody Cape section of Addo National Park.

Red-necked Phalarope in the Kaba Valley © Dylan Weyer

Augrabies Falls NP A surprising record on Friday (16 th ) was that of a GREY TIT-FLYCATCHER at Augrabies Falls National Park, seemingly well out of range in this area.

Grey Tit-flycatcher at Augrabies Falls © Japie Claassen

Camdeboo National Park Moving into the Eastern Cape, Nqweba Dam near Graaff-Reinet is where all the local regional excitement has been in the last few days with the dam delivering a BAILLON’S CRAKE yesterday whilst the long-staying AFRICAN JACANA was also still present there.

Baillon’s Crake at Nqweba Dam © Leonie Fouche

African Jacana at Nqweba Dam © Leonie Fouche

Karoo NP In the Western Cape, a JACOBIN CUCKOO was reported near the camp site in the Karoo National Park over the last week or so (+-12 th )

Jacobin Cuckoo in Karoo National Park © Johan de Klerk

West Coast National Park Starting in the Western Cape, at least 2 AUSTRALIAN GANNETS were still present on Malgas Island in Saldahna Bay yesterday (15 th ), whilst a third individual was located on the island this morning with the other 2 still present.

Australian Gannet (on left) on Malgas Island © Bruce Dyer

There seem to have been a little irruption of LARK-LIKE BUNTINGS into the south-west of the province with numbers of birds reported over the weekend (17 th and 18 th ) from several sites in the West Coast National Park as well as in farmlands around Philadelphia. A COMMON REDSHANK was, once again, showing well at Geelbek in the West Coast National Park yesterday (21 st ) whilst reports also continued to filter through confirming the eruption of LARK-LIKE BUNTINGS into the area as well.

Common Redshank at Geelbek © Basil Boer

Lark-like Bunting in the West Coast National Park © Frans-Hendrik Joubert

October 2012 Addo Elephant National Park

A record of interest from the Eastern Cape concerns a female BLACK-EARED SPARROWLARK that was present on Bird Island in Algoa Bay for at least 6 days at the beginning of the month. This bird is reasonably out of range here and would seem to be a good record for the province.

The Kaba Valley adjacent to the Woody Cape section of Addo National Park has produced some interesting regional birds over the last week (7 th to 13 th ) including GLOSSY IBIS, WHISKERED TERN, AFRICAN JACANA and SQUACCO HERON.

In the Eastern Cape, the WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER has, once again, returned to Bird Island in Algoa Bay. It has been coming here now for a number of seasons and, if access to the island was easier, would probably be the easiest place to add this otherwise rather tough species to one’s Southern African list.

Wedge-tailed Shearwater on Bird Island © Robin Teifel

Augrabies Falls NP A BAILLON’S CRAKE was discovered at the first causeway into the wilderness area in Augrabies National Park last week (1 st week), a rather odd record for that part of the world.

Baillon’s Crake at Augrabies Falls © Peter Chadwick

Agulhas NP – Greater Area the ABDIM’S STORK near Arniston is still proving a particularly popular attraction and was on view throughout the weekend, albeit a little erratically at its “favourite” field just outside of the town.

Abdim’s Stork near Arniston © Basil Boer

Garden Route NP – Greater Area The BLACK-COLLARED BARBET was once again reported from a garden in .

West Coast National Park 2 AUSTRALIAN GANNETS reported on Malgas Island in Saldahna Bay on Tuesday (23 rd )

Australian Gannet on Malgas Island © Bruce Dyer

Saturday, 20 October 2012 @ 09h25

Dominic Rollinson has just been in touch to let me know that he has located a DUNLIN in breeding plumage this morning at Geelbek in the West Coast National Park. The bird was seen from the boardwalk in the flooded grassy area on the left as you walk towards the hide and was slightly smaller than the surrounding Curlew Sandpipers, slightly darker on the upperparts and showed an obvious black belly patch.

The tide is starting to drop at the moment, so it is hoped that the bird will come out on to the mudflats in front of the hide to feed.

There are very few confirmed records of this species in Southern Africa, so I suspect that it is going to create a lot of interest amongst twitchers!

Good luck if you are planning on chasing it and keep us updated!

Kind regards Trevor

A number of people have been at Geelbek in the West Coast National Park today from about 11h00 onwards and, unfortunately, nobody has yet managed to relocate the DUNLIN that was reported there this morning. I suspect that there will be quite a few people looking there tomorrow morning in the flooded grass next to the boardwalk before the tides starts to drop as that is where it was first seen earlier today. Hopefully, it follows the same pattern that it did today.

A small consolation prize this afternoon from the Geelbek hide was a single COMMON REDSHANK as well. On to some bird news and the big excitement was the discovery of a DUNLIN on Saturday morning at Geelbek in the West Coast National Park. A number of people rushed out there immediately and, unfortunately, were able to relocate the bird then. There was an equally large, if not larger, group there yesterday and some people may have seen the bird, although it was always distant and never provided definitive views. The first confirmed record of this species in Southern Africa was a winter plumaged individual in the in November 1976. There was then a wait of some 22 years before the second one, a summer plumaged bird, was found in December 1998 at Geelbek in the West Coast National Park. This particular individual returned to the same site over 5 consecutive seasons and was still being reported late into 2003. In September 2008, another bird was reported also from Geelbek, but was only ever seen by the handful of people that originally located it and was never able to be relocated by others. A small consolation prize for some was that the COMMON REDSHANK also showed well at Geelbek on Saturday afternoon.

Common Redshank at Geelbek © Niall Perrins

Good luck if you are still planning on chasing these birds!

Kind regards Trevor

Mark Harrington has just been in touch to let me (Trevor) know that he and a couple of other birders have just located a Golden Plover sp at Seeberg in the West Coast National Park. The bird is apparently in moult, but is still showing some golden spangling on the mantle.

Although views are currently distant of the bird, they strongly suspect that it is a PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVER.

September 2012 – Greater Area While not in park per se the following exciting find was in from the surrounding area and should potentially be looked out for within the park… “The most exciting record of the last few days was the discovery yesterday of an ABDIM’S STORK feeding in fields near Arniston. The bird was present at the same site throughout the morning, but moved off later in the day and, despite searching the surrounding areas, has unfortunately not been relocated as yet. This is an exceptional record for the Western Cape and, based on the literature that I currently have available, I can only find one previous record for the province back in February 1985 near Caledon. If anyone knows of other records, I would certainly be interested in hearing about them. Most provincial listers are eagerly holding thumbs that this bird gets relocated and becomes twitchable as it’s going to be a long time before another opportunity on this species arises.” – Trevor Hardaker.

Abdim’s Stork near Arniston Abdim’s Stork near Arniston © Inger Lear © Christian Boix

The Abdim's Stork was relocated this afternoon (30 th ) along the road between Bredasdorp and Arniston, approximately 1.3km on the Arniston side of the turn-off to De Mond.

West Coast National Park The West Coast National Park continued to entertain visitors on the weekend (8 th and 9 th ) with the EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHER showing well at Seeberg throughout the weekend along with a COMMON REDSHANK on the pool to the left of the hide yesterday whilst the COMMON REDSHANK at Geelbek is also still present and was on view earlier today stil (10 th )l.

Elsewhere in the Western Cape, the West Coast National Park is still holding some good birds with the EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHER still present at Seeberg on Saturday (1 st ) and the COMMON REDSHANK showing at Geelbek yesterday (2 nd ).

August 2012 An AFRICAN JACANA was located along a flooded dirt track next to Nqweba Dam in the Camdeboo National Park on Sunday 5 th August.

African Jacana in the Camdeboo National Park © Leonie Fouche

In the Eastern Cape, there was some surprise yesterday morning (26 th ) when an AFRICAN RAIL was located at a wetland in Camdeboo National Park near Graaff-Reinet, seemingly well out of its known range.

African Rail in Camdeboo National Park © Leonie Fouche

West Coast National Park A COMMON REDSHANK was reported from the Geelbek hide in the West Coast National Park (19 th )

Tinus Lamprecht has just been in touch to let me know that there is a EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHER currently showing very well at the Seeberg hide in the West Coast National Park (9 th August)

Eurasian Oystercatcher at Seeberg © Tinus Lamprecht

July 2012 Addo Elephant National Park 12 th A SQUACCO HERON has once again been reported from the ephemeral pan in the Kaba Valley, adjacent to the Woody Cape section of Addo National Park.

Garden Route National Park () The MARABOU STORK was once again reported from Knysna this morning, this time in the graveyard adjacent to the industrial area.

Karoo National Park 7th /8 th July Further reports of a flock of AFRICAN FIREFINCH at the Bulskraal picnic site in the Karoo National Park were also received over the weekend, a bird that seems to be moving into the area in numbers now. In the Northern Cape, there was a little bit of disbelief a few days ago when a female NARINA TROGON was seen at Groenriver in the Namaqua National Park! Anyone who knows this area will know that this is about as far removed from normal trogon habitat and area as one can get… What a bizarre record!!

Narina Trogon in Namaqua National Park © Mariaan Schreuder

Table Mountain National Park 7th July A sea-watch from Cape Point on Saturday morning produced 2 LITTLE SHEARWATERS

June 2012

Garden Route National Park 16 th /17 th June - The TUFTED DUCK at Rondevlei in Wilderness was still present on the weekend

Tufted Duck at Rondevlei © Craig Brophy

15 th June: At Rondevlei in the Wilderness section of Garden Route National Park, the TUFTED DUCK that was reported from there a few weeks ago is also still present (and who knows if it is a genuine vagrant or not, but there has got to be a reasonable likelihood that it could be…)

Tufted Duck at Rondevlei © Alan Collett Karoo National Park 16 th June: A couple of AFRICAN FIREFINCHES seen in the Karoo National Park at the Bulkraal Picnic Site Area was a rather good record for the area

African Firefinch in Karoo National Park © Howard Langley West Coast National Park 15 th June: Graham Bull has just been in touch to let me know that there is a EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHER present in amongst African Black Oystercatchers on the beach at Oostewal just north of Seeberg in the West Coast National Park this morning. This is almost certainly the same individual that was regular at Seeberg earlier in the year and which was last reported from there on 9 February. I wonder where it disappeared to for the last 4 months...?

Eurasian Oystercatcher north of Seeberg © Graham Bull

6th June: A big surprise came in the form of an immature AFRICAN HOBBY that was photographed yesterday just north of Seeberg in the West Coast National Park. To the best knowledge of the SA Rare bird report editor Trevor Hardaker, this represents only the second ever record for the province (and not that many for the entire country either!) with the previous one being very close to this at Geelbek (also in West Coast NP) around 2 decades ago. At the moment, there has been no further news on this bird, but if it is relocated again, news of its presence will be posted as there would be a number of people keen on getting a look at this one…

African Hobby north of Seeberg © Graham Bull May 2012 Garden Route National Park (Area) In the Western Cape, a SQUACCO HERON was reported on a golf course in George earlier this week whilst, at the Garden Route Game Lodge, a juvenile PALM-NUT VULTURE put in an appearance on Sunday (20 th ).

Palm-nut Vulture (Immature) at Garden Route Game Lodge © Gareth Robbins

- A TUFTED DUCK was located amongst a group of Southern Pochards at the Rondevlei hide in the (Western Cape) yesterday. According to the observer, the bird appeared to be in a good state and looked genuinely wild. This is still a species that should be taken into serious consideration for the official SA list, although nobody has yet submitted it to the Rarities Committee yet. An individual has been returning to the Western Cape now for a number of seasons with Southern Pochards at this time of year and there is every chance that it is, in fact, a genuine vagrant, rather than an escapee. Many people have already made the effort to see it when it was at Strandfontein Sewage Works and at De Hoop Nature Reserve, so hopefully, there is a potential “armchair” tick there just waiting to happen...:)

- A BLACK-COLLARED BARBET was, once again, present in a garden in Wilderness Heights (Western Cape) yesterday as well. It is suspected that a pair is in the area and, combined with the recent records of this species in Plettenberg Bay, could imply that there is a movement to establish themselves on the Garden Route now.

Black-collared Barbet in Wilderness Heights © Paul Rixom

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (7 th ) In the Northern Cape, there seems to be a slight influx of EMERALD-SPOTTED WOOD DOVES into the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park at the moment with individuals reported from Nossob camp and Cubetjie Quap over the last couple of days.

April 2012

Garden Route National Park - Knysna On Monday (30 th ), a CAPE VULTURE entertained locals in Knysna as it moved around the town being reported from suburbia and the local cemetery throughout the day.

Cape Vulture in Knysna © Martha Woolard Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park A WHITE STORK was located at the water hole at Nossob in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on the weekend (28 th /29 th ).

In the Northern Cape, there have been a few interesting records from the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park which included a flock of some 20 WHITE-FACED WHISTLING DUCKS along the northern dune road about 13km from Dikbaardskolk whilst an AFRICAN QUAILFINCH was located at Kij Kij waterhole on the weekend (13 th /14 th ) as well.

African Quailfinch at Kij Kij waterhole © Roelof van der Breggen

An EMERALD-SPOTTED WOOD DOVE was reported from Rooibrak waterhole along the Aoub in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.

March 2012 Garden Route National Park (Area) Near Wilderness Section: were still a number of AMUR FALCONS around over the weekend in the area near Sedgefield

Amur Falcon near Karatara © Trevor Hardaker

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park Moving into the Northern Cape, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park produced some more interesting sightings last week (4 th to 10 th ) with a CINNAMON-BREASTED BUNTING at 14th borehole south of Mata Mata and a KAROO SCRUB ROBIN about 5km north of Twee Rivieren whilst, outside the park, a RED PHALAROPE was reported at Hakskeen Pan on Tuesday (6 th ).

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting at 14 th borehole Karoo Scrub Robin near Twee Rivieren © Japie Claassen © Japie Claassen

Moving into the Northern Cape, there has been a report of at least 2 male CHESTNUT WEAVERS south of the Union’s End picnic site in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park last week whilst a EURASIAN HOBBY was reported near the Dikbaardskolk picnic site as well. The weavers are particularly interesting, following the recent records from Nossob in the KTP and at Tswalu Kalahari Reserve and represent, to the best of my knowledge, only the 3rd ever record for .

February 2012 Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park In the Northern Cape, a HOODED VULTURE was reported from just south of Dikbaardskolk picnic site in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on Wednesday (15 th ) while, on the following day, another report (possibly the same individual?) was received from Marie se gat. This latter site also delivered a PURPLE HERON on Wednesday, both species well out of range in this area. a few PIED AVOCETS still present at Bitterpan in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park on Tuesday (7 th ) whilst several AMUR FALCONS and a MONTAGU’S HARRIER were also reported from the same general area.

West Coast NP The EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHER at Seeberg in the West Coast National Park was still on view on Sunday (5th) whilst, earlier today (9 th ), the park also delivered a GOLIATH HERON at Abrahamskraal Water Hole.

Eurasian Oystercatcher at Seeberg © Garret Skead January 2012 Addo Elephant NP 21 st In the Eastern Cape, a BRONZE-WINGED COURSER was located in the Kaba Valley adjacent to the Woody Cape section of Addo National Park on Saturday (21 st )

Bronze-winged Courser at Kaba Valley © Dylan Weyer

12th both BLACK-NECKED GREBE and SOUTHERN POCHARD were reported from Kaba Farm adjacent to the Woody Cape section of Addo National Park.

Also of interest, a WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER was found on Bird Island in Algoa Bay on Tuesday (10 th ). This latter record almost certainly refers to the same individual that has now returned to the island for several consecutive seasons.

Agulhas National Park http://www.ispot.org.za/node/151429

Macaroni Penguin, January 14th , Location: Southermost Tip Comments: 29 May 2012 - 8:43am — Caroline Voget Surely it is unusual to see them here? Do you think it is moulting? Have you shown the pic to the ADU crowd at UCT? I am sure they would be interested for their atlas. Email: [email protected] . See http://penguins.adu.org.za/

29 May 2012 - 9:30am — Boontjiepit Yes it was moulting, and apparently every two years or so one of these guys end up here somewhere on the coast. Did contact SANParks to deal with the issue as once I had spotted the guy (right next to the boardwalk) there was no way he was not going to be mobbed! Hung around till they turned up as the tourists were all to eager to crowd him so we could at least see to it that he was not too "harassed". Apparently once human contact has been made they must go to SANCOB as they are not allowed to return to their breeding colony for fear of disease...that is what I was told. 29 May 2012 - 11:40am — MegaTesla It is so sad that they are always removed before people that would die to see one on SA soil can get a chance to get there.

29 May 2012 - 11:48am — Boontjiepit Would probably be okay if people didn't get so over enthusiastic, then they could be left in peace but people all try and touch and pet the birds. With the real threat of diseases being returned to the breeding colony I can quite understand why they get removed when in very public areas such as this one. I know of at least one other case where the bird was left and he finished the moult and returned to the sea ... not bothered by humans as he was in a area not easily accessible to the public.

Garden Route NP 23 rd There have also been a number of reports of small groups of AMUR FALCONS from the Garden Route area near Sedgefield and Plettenberg Bay

Langvlei near Sedgefield proved to be a hotspot when a single Black-tailed Godwit , 3 Baillon’s Crakes with chicks and 7 Pectoral Sandpipers were seen on the 8 th January. Pieter la Grange has kindly provided his contact details for those wanting more information regarding these sightings: his number is 082 466 7330.

Marakele NP (vicinity) (26 th ) Limpopo Province really pulled out all the stops and produced a RED-TAILED TROPICBIRD at Rankin’s Pass which took shelter in a local policeman’s swimming pool! Unfortunately, this latter bird eventually died as well.

Red-tailed Tropicbird at Rankin’s Pass © Peter Oberem

West Coast NP

Australasian Gannet at Malgas Island (26 th ) © Bruce Dyer

The EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHER at Seeberg in the West Coast National Park was also still around on Tuesday and, yesterday, at least 2 AUSTRALASIAN GANNETS were also still lingering on Malgas Island in Saldahna Bay. (23 rd )

The EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHER was also still on view at Seeberg in the West Coast National Park yesterday.

Eurasian Oystercatcher at Seeberg © Christian Boix

The Eurasian Oystercatcher continues to be present at Seeberg