09 November 2021 - Bronkhorstpruit Dam
As it happened, the Baird's returned to it's 'usual' spot late in the afternoon on the 7th and reports confirmed it was still present yesterday on the 8th. Of course, I had to try again for this vagrant.
As it was a work day, I left home early and was the first car at the gate on 6am. By the time the gate opened, there were a good 8 - 10 cars behind me. It had also rained quite a bit the day before, so the roads down to the dam were a lot more challenging.
Together with Roelof Jonkers we headed directly to the location where it was reported late yesterday afternoon and there it was, feeding out in the open in gorgeous early morning light. It was continually on the move, but I managed to get some good images before moving on to allow others a front row seat.
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| SA's 17th Baird's Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii) |
There had been a report of Pectoral Sandpiper at the opposite end of the dam from the Baird's - so Roelof and I headed in that direction to see if we could relocate it. It literally was feeding on the last open bit of sand at the end of the dam, but against the rising sun which made photographs challenging
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| Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) |
A really successful morning, with 2 new additions to my SA list. There was no free time, so this time I headed back to the gate with a smile and back home in time for work at 8:30am
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