St Lucia Birding Update: July '23

African cuckoo-hawk

It was another great birding month in St Lucia with plenty fantastic sightings.

The estuary mouth has curved Northwards and as a result a sand spit has developed on the ocean side of the channel. The tern roost (consisting of Greater crested, Little, Caspian and Common tern) can usually be found at the spit.Other birds regularly seen at the mouth include African black oystercatcher, Western Osprey, Cape cormorant, African fish-eagle, Eurasian whimbrel, White-fronted plover, Goliath heron, White-faced whistling duck, Sanderling, Common sandpiper and Kittlitz’s plover. Amazingly a Crab plover was present at the mouth earlier in the month but did not hang around for long (only a couple of days). At the estuary edges, we have continued to enjoy regular sightings of the beautiful Mangrove kingfisher during July, particularly in areas with high concentrations of crabs.
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The wetlands have also produced good birding with at least 3 Rufous-bellied heron regular in the wetlands on pan loop (Isimangaliso Wetlands Park)during the course of July and African pygmy-goose, White-backed duck and Lesser moorhen also still pleasantly common throughout the month. Other highlights included sightings of Rosy-throated longclaw and Lesser jacana. Collared pratincole returned in the latter stages of the month and their numbers continue to grow. They can be seen at wetland edges and are often even found perched in the road within the Isimangaliso Wetlands Park. The African crake at Main beach, St Lucia was seen erratically in the early stages of the month but has since proven rather elusive.


Raptor-viewing has been fantastic with regular sightings of Brown, Black-chested and Southern-banded snake-eagle, Martial eagle, African cuckoo-hawk, African harrier-hawk, African marsh harrier, African fish-eagle and Crowned eagle. The Crowned eagle have been seen calling regularly at their 2 nesting sights during the course of July. 


In the forest we have enjoyed great sightings of Green malkoha, Buff-spotted flufftail, Woodward’s batis, Rudd’s apalis, Olive bush-shrike, Blue-mantled crested flycatcher, Spotted ground-thrush, Livingstone’s turaco, Brown scrub-robin, Chorister robin-chat, Black-throated wattle-eye and a special sighting of African broadbill. 


Flowering Cape honeysuckle and Coral trees are attracting a nice variety of sunbirds including Collared, Purple-banded, Grey, Olive and Scarlet-chested.

Lastly, we enjoyed good sightings of Fiery-necked and Swamp nightjar during the course of July.

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