Lingering migrants at Northern Farm

29 March 2024 - Northern Farm

I had a quick early morning visit to the Farm, arriving at the gate just as the sun was rising. This morning, I tried a different route to the usual one I take, as I wanted to check if there were any Owls out in the open grasslands. On the way to the main dam, I picked up a cracking Red-backed Shrike on the fence as the mist was slowly rising

Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)

On the exposed bank of the dam, a single Black-winged Stilt which is an uncommon record

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus)

I checked some marshy area in one of the cattle pens and flushed an African Snipe

African Snipe (Gallinago nigripennis)

Whilst a Levaillant's Cisticola serenaded from the top of it's perch

Levaillant's Cisticola (Cisticola tinniens)

Of course I checked the overhead wires for the soon to be departing Amur's and found a few - there numbers have certainly diminished

Male Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis)

Further along, a Lesser Grey Shrike

Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor)

and a juvenile Diederik Cuckoo also on the overhead lines

Diederik Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx caprius)

Down at the quarry, I was alerted by their call and then found a pair of White-fronted Bee-eater's that posed nicely for me

White-fronted Bee-eater (Merops bullockoides)

A few Black-throated Canary's were present along the road

Black-throated Canary (Crithagra atrogularis)

In the grasslands adjacent to the quarry, a small flock of Pied Starling's which are recent additions to the farm's checklist

Pied Starling (Lamprotornis bicolor)

I found the resident Long-crested Eagle who was struggling to get a feather off it's eye, much to my amusement

Long-crested Eagle (Lophaetus occipitalis)

At one of the other dams, there were a few Spur-winged Geese with one showing it's formidable carpal spur after a stretch

Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus gambensis)

It was great to catch-up with a few migrants, as it will not be long now before they will have all departed north.