By André Marx

The club paid a visit to the Wakkerstroom district over the December weekend, staying at the BirdLife Centre. It proved to be a very successful visit with a bird list of over 180 species and an enjoyable stay at the BirdLife venue, which is ideal for large groups.

The area had also had a very dry spell over the previous two months and consequently the wetlands and pans were lower than they have been for a number of years. But there were many special sightings of sought after species, including the long-staying Long-Legged Buzzard, which a few people managed to see. A total of 15 raptor species was seen which may come as a surprise as one may not associate the area with birds of prey, but four harriers, Western Marsh, African Marsh, Pallid and Montagu's were present as was Verreaux's Eagle, many Amur Falcons, Lesser Kestrel, and Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk to name a few.

Wetlands of course are a feature of the area, and the many wetland species included herons, eleven different ducks, some waders, dozens of African Snipe, and two very special birds, Red-chested and White-winged Flufftail. The latter is a very rare and vulnerable species and is seldom seen, but some persistent watching from the bridge over the wetland on the northern outskirts of the town produced an exciting albeit brief view of a female bird as it flew between two patches of vegetation. The bird had been calling continuously for nearly two hours and eventually showed itself to the delight of those present. It also marked a major milestone for me, as according to my calculations it was the 800th species for my life list!

Grey Crowned Crane appeared to be more numerous than I can remember and at one pan nearly 30 birds were noted in one flock. In addition Blue Cranes were noted on a few occasions. Ranging over the grasslands is a must when you are in the area and the group found Blue, Black-bellied and Barrow's Korhaan, flocks of Southern Bald Ibis, Denham's Bustard, and Red-winged Francolin. Cisticolas were everywhere with Wing-snapping, Cloud and Pale-crowned Cisticola being seen (the latter at seemingly the edge of every wetland), and the superb Yellow-breasted Pipit was seen by most. There were Cuckoo Finches at a few localities, and hundreds of widowbirds and bishops, especially Long-tailed, Red-collared and Fan-tailed Widowbirds, although the splashes of colour the Southern Red, Yellow-crowned and Yellow Bishops provide was really something to see. There were a couple of lark-finding expeditions with David Nkosi, the BirdLife guide, resulting in outstanding observations of Rudd's and Botha's Lark, the two special larks for the area, although altogether six larks were seen including Eastern Clapper, Red-capped, Spike-heeled and Eastern Long-billed.

Not everyone spent much time in the forest patches that can be found but those that did noted Bush Blackcap, Olive Woodpecker, Olive Bush-Shrike, Sombre Greenbul and Lesser Double-collared Sunbird.

Other noteworthy birds found were White-necked Raven, African Rail, Grass Owl, Sentinel and Cape Rock-Thrush, Buff-streaked Chat and African Rock Pipit.

Despite having over fifty people combing the area for birds not one Ground Woodpecker was seen and neither was Black-winged Plover or Wattled Crane. The crane and plover are localised in occurrence, occurring mainly on private property, but it was a major surprise to miss the woodpecker. According to David it may have something to do with the fact that the birds breed at this time of the year and are spending a lot of time in their nesting burrows, remaining out of site.

The star bird of the weekend? I will go for White-winged Flufftail naturally, but since I was one of the few who was lucky enough to see it, it may be more appropriate to give a special mention to the Grey Crowned Crane, Yellow-breasted Pipit, or the two larks, Rudd's and Botha's, with the last-named probably just getting the vote because it was well seen by everyone who made the effort to try to find it.

Wakkerstroom is a great venue, with little traffic or people and many birds, and long may it remain so!