2012 Rare Bird Sightings Other Parks @Year
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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 Karoo National Park on Saturday (29 th ). This is a first record for the park and is a very rare species in the Western Cape. 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 Mapungubwe National Park 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 Mokala National Park 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 West Coast National Park. 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 Plettenberg Bay. 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 Kruger National Park 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.