SA RARE BIRD NEWS - 15 MARCH 2010

(This report is again almost exclusively focussed on the Western Cape).

The biggest attraction was clearly the HUDSONIAN GODWIT present at Seeberg in the West Coast National Park which showed throughout the weekend and was still entertaining visitors today. A number of twitchers from all over the country have already made the pilgrimage down to see this bird which represents only the 6^th ever record for Southern Africa. The first record was in March 1987 at the Swartkops River estuary in Port Elizabeth. This was followed in February 1989 by a bird at Bottlerey in the West Coast National Park, then a bird in February 1990 on the Berg River at Velddrif (which returned for a second season), then another bird at Geelbek in the West Coast National Park in December 1999 and, lastly, a bird on the Walvis Bay Lagoon in December 2000.

The Seeberg hide continued to produce the goods on the weekend and turned up a single BROAD-BILLED SANDPIPER yesterday while it also held the attraction of a LESSER SAND PLOVER on the weekend with no fewer than 2 individuals (and possibly 3) been reported from there yesterday.

The EURASIAN OYSTERCATCHER, first discovered at the mouth of the Bot River Lagoon on Thursday morning, continued to show well throughout the weekend. Although originally reported as a juvenile bird, more recent photos confirm that the bird is actually a winter (non-breeding) plumaged adult as opposed to a juvenile.

The male YELLOW WAGTAIL at Strandfontein Sewage Works also continued to show well on the weekend typically being seen on the track between Pans P1 and P2. This bird, a male in almost full summer (breeding) plumage, is a real stunner and appears to be of the race beema using the facial patterning, in particular the broad white mark below the eye, as one of the main features to assign it to race. Some taxonomic authorities split a number of the races of Yellow Wagtail into full species and this race then takes on the name of Sykes’ Wagtail.

The 4 BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATERS at Groenvlei near Sedgefield also remained on view for the entire weekend while other sightings of interest in the province included a BROWN SNAKE EAGLE reported from the Blaauwberg Hill Conservation Area last week and a EURASIAN HONEY BUZZARD noted at the Simonsberg Centre in Stellenbosch on Saturday.

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