14 May 2022 - Kyalami Estates and Glen Austin Pan
As lamented by others, 14 May is not a great date in South Africa and many other countries. I believe the spring and autumn dates are chosen to satisfy the American birders. Nevertheless, we try and do our bit - despite the lack of migrants.
This was a low key day for me and I concentrated my efforts in the suburb where I live and then a short excursion to Glen Austin Pan. I managed a paltry 66 species, but it was for a good cause.
I didnt take any images from my Estate, but did take my camera to the Pan and photographed a few species whilst trying to maximise the species count. There were a few notable omissions that I have seen on almost every other visit. There were big numbers of Black-headed Heron at the Pan, where the water levels are still really high
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| Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala) |
I had a good count of Duck species, including Red-billed Teal
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| Red-billed Teal (Anas erythrorhyncha) |
Yellow-billed Duck and Southern Pochard were amongst those photographed
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| Yellow-billed Duck (Anas undulata) and Southern Pochard (Netta erythrophthalma) |
Red-knobbed Coot numbers seem to be increasing - they have had a bumper breeding season
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| Red-knobbed Coot (Fulica cristata) |
In the adjacent grasslands, I managed to find a pair of Northern Black Korhaan
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| Male Northern Black Korhaan (Afrotis afraoides) |
And flushed a few Spotted Thick-knee whilst searching for them
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| Spotted Thick-knee (Burhinus capensis) |
On the drive back home, had a good session with an obliging Crowned Lapwing and consider these some of my best images of this species
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| Crowned Lapwing (Vanellus coronatus) |
Now we wait for Spring and the next Global Big Day
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