Perhaps the best new record was that of southern Africa’s 33rd White-rumped Sandpiper, a fine breeding plumage individual that turned up at a rock pool at Kini Bay near Port Elizabeth. The bird showed extremely well for those who were lucky enough to be able to go and see it. It displayed no fear at all and at times came within a few metres of onlookers.
A more frustrating record was that of a Purple Gallinule that was spotted at Miller’s Point near Simon’s Town, outside Cape Town. In a weird set of circumstances, the observers, who were on their morning exercise walk during the 06h00 to 09h00 lockdown slot, saw the bird crossing the road from the sea side into some vegetation, where it went and hid. Subsequent attempts to find the bird failed and it almost certainly moved to more suitable habitat somewhere in the area – and it may well still be enjoying life on the Cape Peninsula, undetected. It is a species that used to be reported far more frequently, but we have had a dry spell of late, with the last record being about 15 years ago.
This story is from the September - October 2020 edition of African Birdlife.
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This story is from the September - October 2020 edition of African Birdlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
footloose IN FYNBOS
The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.
Living forwards
How photographing birds helps me face adversity
CAPE crusade
The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge
water & WINGS
WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
