St Lucia Birding Update: September 24'

It was a very wet September with over 250mm rain falling and some icy cold weather too!

Birding has been fantastic in all the different habitats with some nice surprises.

Starting at the Lake St Lucia estuary mouth, the biggest find of the month was that of 5 Damara terns which spent 3 days at the tern roost before disappearing. 

5 Damara terns at the St Lucia estuary mouth

Other special sightings at the mouth during the course of the month included a sighting of Terek sandpiper and regular sightings of Bar-tailed godwit.

Bar-tailed godwit (Photo courtesy of Ivonne Coetzee)

Other regulars at the mouth included African oystercatcher, Common ringed plover, Curlew sandpiper, Sanderling, Common greenshank, Common sandpiper, Sanderling, Western osprey, Ruddy turnstone, Grey plover, Eurasian whimbrel, White-fronted plover, Greater crested tern, Caspian tern, Common tern and the odd Little tern.

Common ringed plover (Photo courtesy Ian Johnson)

We enjoyed good sightings of Mangrove kingfisher in the early stages of the month but it seems they have now left to return to their Summer breeding territories in the Eastern Cape. The long-staying Eurasian oystercatcher also appears to have left.

Mangrove kingfisher

The forest has been on fire this month, the Celtis leaf beetle larvae attracting plenty insectivores- such as African emerald cuckoo, Black cuckooshrike, Green malkoha, Brown-backed honeybird, Klaas' cuckoo- to the White stinkwood trees.  

Green malkoha

Blossoming Natal flatcrown and Forest Mahogony trees have been attracting a wide variety of Sunbirds including Purple-banded, Grey, Eastern olive and Collared sunbird.

Grey sunbird

Fruiting fig trees and Wild plum trees have been attracting Livingstone's turaco, White-eared barbet, Black-bellied starling, Yellow-bellied greenbul, Sombre greenbul, Trumpeter hornbill, Crowned hornbill and African green pigeon.

Livingstone's turaco

We have also enjoyed regular sightings of Buff-spotted flufftail, Bluemantled-crested flycatcher, Woodward's batis, Rudd's apalis, Olive bush-shrike, Grey waxbill, Red-backed mannikin and Green twinspot amongst others.  

Grey waxbill

With the large amounts of rainfall, the wetlands have filled up and previously dried up wetlands have re-filled meaning the wetlands birds have dispersed somewhat with more options available. Earlier in the month we enjoyed regular sightings of the Rufous-bellied heron and Allen's gallinule but after the rains the Rufous-bellied have become more erratic and the Allen's has moved elsewhere it seems. There are still plentiful African pygmy-goose and White-backed duck amongst others.

African pygmy-goose

In the grasslands, Collared pratincole are still abundant and in recently burnt patches there are plentiful Senegal lapwing. The Red-breasted swallows have returned and can be seen perched alongside roadside culverts or animal burrows which they use to nest.  

Collared pratincole on the Eastern shores, Isimangaliso

Nocturnal birding has been great with excellent sightings of Swamp nightjar and African wood-owl during the course of the month and erratic sightings of White-backed night-heron.

White-backed night-heron (Photo courtesy Ian Johnson)

Another interesting sighting during the course of the month included a Bush blackcap at Eden park campsite (reported by Ivonne Coetzee).