Karen Country Club bird walk, 20 March 2015

 

There was an excellent turn-out of around a dozen keen birders for the Karen Club bird walk of Friday 20 March, and it was a pleasure to welcome back previous leader of the group Mike Davidson. We started as usual at the wetlands, and found that the immature Purple Heron from the previous month was still in residence. A Common Buzzard flew across the marshes, and the usual variety of species was seen in the acacias and other trees fringing the wetlands, including Willow Warbler, Lesser Honeyguide, Hartlaub’s Turaco, White-bellied Tit, and a selection of weavers – Grosbeak, Spectacled, Reichenow’s, Holub’s Golden and Village. And it was nice to see a Black-headed Heron and Hadada Ibis join each other in the top of an acacia.

 

The dams were very busy, with scores of Yellow-billed Duck in attendance, along with small numbers of Red-billed Teal, Egyptian Geese, Little Grebe and Reed Cormorant. Around the fringes we found Common Sandpiper and Three-banded Plover, and large numbers of Plain Martin were flitting across the surface. It was in fact encouraging to see the dams so well occupied. The pleasing and distinctive chuckle of a flock of superbly graceful Eurasian Bee-eaters added to the pleasant scene.

 

In this dry weather, a water-tap next to the seventh green was attracting some interesting visitors, including a Cabanis’s Greenbul sitting atop the tap, and Tropical Boubou, Purple Grenadier, and both African Pied and Yellow Wagtail nearby.

 

Other sightings on the walk included Common Fiscal, Amethyst, Collared and Variable Sunbirds, Golden-rumped Tinkerbird, Black-collared and Yellow-breasted Apalis, Hamerkop and Grey Crowned Crane. But what was that mewing pair of large, dark, long-tailed raptors just above the trees next to the fifth fairway? Sadly, our identification skills were not up to the task.

 

However, it had been a glorious walk, well rewarded with 58 species sighted.

John Dawson

 

Birds seen and heard on Karen Club bird walk, 20 March 2015

Egyptian Goose

Yellow-billed Duck

Red-billed Teal

Little Grebe

Sacred Ibis

Hadada Ibis

Black-headed Heron

Purple Heron

Hamerkop

Reed Cormorant

Black Kite

Common Buzzard

Black Crake

Grey Crowned Crane

Black-winged Stilt

Three-banded Plover

Common Sandpiper

Dusky Turtle Dove

Red-eyed Dove

Hartlaub’s Turaco

Speckled Mousebird

Eurasian Bee-eater

Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird

White-headed Barbet

Lesser Honeyguide

Tropical Boubou

Black-headed Oriole

Pied Crow

White-bellied Tit

Black Saw-wing

Plain Martin

Rock Martin

Singing Cisticola

Black-collared Apalis

Yellow-breasted Apalis

Grey-backed Camaroptera

Common Bulbul

Cabanis’s Greenbul

Willow Warbler

Olive Thrush

Cape Robin Chat

Ruppell’s Robin Chat

White-eyed Slaty Flycatcher

Collared Sunbird

Amethyst Sunbird

Bronze Sunbird

Variable Sunbird

Grosbeak Weaver

Baglafecht Weaver

Spectacled Weaver

Holub’s Golden Weaver

Village Weaver

Purple Grenadier

Bronze Mannikin

Yellow Wagtail

African Pied Wagtail

Streaky Seedeater

(58 species)