Birding in flooded wetlands

After a week of rain, our weekend birding was one of water and mud!  We set off on Friday afternoon for our local bird sanctuary near Springs (east of Johannesburg) – only to find that the water not only covered the wetland but also large parts of the road!  We have a large vehicle and were up to the top of the tyres on occasion.  This made our birding quite interesting as most of the birds seemed to regard the road as part of the wetland area and we rounded bends to find flocks of ducks, teals, herons, ibises and more camped in front of us.  Some reed-dwelling species were also in the middle of the road – quite an unusual occurrence.

African Rail

First-up were the inevitable Red-knobbed Coot, although not in such great numbers as usual, soon followed by Cape Shoveller, Black Heron and several Red Bishop.  We entered what is usually the wet grassland area of the reserve – and that is where things got interesting in more ways than one!  We viewed enormous flocks of Glossy Ibis (far more than we usually see there; some flocks were probably around 50 birds).  Squacco Heron and Black-headed Heron, including juveniles, were also in evidence.  Several Cape Longclaws were perched on reeds and grass, trying no doubt to avoid the water itself (they prefer wet grasslands, preferably not flooded ones!).  We waded along a path to a hide to find African Darter and Bank Cormorants, together with Lesser Striped Swallows – we have not often seen the latter at this sanctuary.  Flooded sections of the road further on revealed Red-billed Teal. Yellow-billed Duck and Blacksmith Plover.  Several Black Heron were forming umbrellas with their wings and catching insects in the water.  A Goliath Heron flew overhead.  We also saw Black Crake, rushing for the safety of the tall reeds as they inevitably do.  The highlight was the sighting of an African Rail – a lifer for me and a bird I’ve been wanting to see for a long time.  They are usually hidden behind tall reeds and almost impossible to find and see.  This one, while still favouring the tall grass along the flooded road, nevertheless ventured out and we got a lovely view of it swimming along. 

Lesser Moorhen

We went as far as we could until we reached a point where we could park, albeit in water up to our ankles.  We did not progress further as the water became very deep thereafter.  We retraced our steps and were delighted to find a Black-shouldered Kite perched on a powerline.  The picnic area was underwater, so we drove along beside the wetland – and found a Lesser Moorhen.  This is billed as a “locally common but eratic summer visitor” in the bird books, so was quite special to see as it does not occur regularly in the greater Johannesburg/Gauteng region.  We had never seen it before – another lifer for the list.  Beyond were African Purple Swamphen and Hottentot Teal.

On Saturday morning, we decided to head to a farm north of Johannesburg to see whether we could find the Yellow Wagtails – a rather special summer visitor.  This bird favours wet areas next to wetlands but is only seen in certain areas, this particular farm being one of them.  After the recent rains, there was plenty of mud.  We stopped at a dam to view Sacred Ibis, Black Heron, Red Bishop, Yellowbilled Duck and Red-knobbed Coot, together with Red-collared Widowbirds. 

Yellow Wagtail

A reserve honarary ranger then told us where to find the Yellow Wagtails – and off we went, wondering whether the bird would still be there…  We finally found the right cattle kraal (cow byre), which was inevitably rather muddy.  Blacksmith Plover were seen chasing Three-banded Plover and we found the usual grey Cape Wagtails in evidence.  Several Red-capped Larks drank from small puddles and ate insects.  Finally, we saw it – a lone Yellow Wagtail foraging among the watery hoofprints.  The bird was extremely yellow and could not be anything else.  Another lifer for the weekend! 

Eventually, the wagtail flew on and we drove further around the farm, finding a mixed group of Blacksmith and Wattled Plovers. Drier, short grass areas were home to many Crowned Plovers, who gave their distinctive calls.  We also found Southern Masked Weaver, Red-billed Quelea, Yellow Bishop, Longtailed Widowbird, Capped Wheatear (juvenile), Egyptian Goose, Lesser Striped Swallow, Diderick Cuckoo (male and female), Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Pin-tailed Wydah and numerous other birds.

Eventually, as yet another thunderstorm threatened, we decided that it was time to leave.  We had, however, had a remarkable birding weekend. 

Many of the birds listed above are regular wetland and Highveld grassland species and may be seen on our Birding Hotspots Tour.  Some may also be seen on our Bushveld Birding Tour.