Rare bird draws many fans

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - A rare bird has been spotted near Boggomsbaai.

It is a red-necked phalarope. According to Wikipedia, it is also known as the northern phalarope and hyperborean phalarope. It is a small migratory wader which spends its winters on tropical oceans. Its winter plumage has no red visible.

There is only red around the neck during breeding time.

Keen Mossel Bay birder Rudi Minnie said: "A youngster from Cape Town found the bird on a small pan outside Boggomsbaai, late in the afternoon on Wednesday, 23 March.

"The pan is between the Springerbaai and Boggomsbaai turnoffs, about 100 to 200 metres from the road."

Minnie noted it was a temporary pan. "The Vleesbaai and Boggomsbaai areas have many temporary pans after rains." He said he drove to the pan early the next morning. "I went to double check, so we could put the news out. I had to organise permission to enter the farmer's property and told the farmer more people would probably be coming in the next few weeks."

Minnie says there are a number of WhatsApp groups representing birders in the Mossel Bay, George, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay and Karoo areas. There is a larger, Garden Route group, on which news on sightings of rare birds, is placed.

Birders have placed a number of photographs of the phalarope online.

Minnie says the phalarope should attract a number of birders from as far as Swellendam, Beaufort West and Oudtshoorn.

"It's a very nice bird for our area. You can't see it from the road. It's a tiny bird and swims in circles on the pan."

Wikipedia notes that the phalarope is about 18cm long.

Mossel Bay birder Estelle Smalberger took photographs of the bird and shared them.