GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Graaff-Reinet birder Leonie Fouché made an exquisite find on Saturday 21 November, when she spotted and photographed the rare European nightjar in the Camdeboo National Park. This find, according to bird experts, is the stuff birding dreams are made of.
"European nightjar are extremely rare in the Karoo and indeed in the whole western part of South Africa," said Alan Collett, vice-chair of the Graaff-Reinet Bird Club. According to Collett, the latest find is only the third recorded for the entire Karoo. The other two finds were near Wilderness, and between Beaufort West and Graaff-Reinet, making the latest find the most western.
"This was a serendipitous and very unexpected discovery," recalled Fouché, who was actually in a remote part of the park, looking for common scimitarbill of the woodhoopoe-type species. She is currently updating the park's bird list and was scouting in order to verify the presence of certain species.
While driving along a bumpy track, Fouché inadvertently flushed a nightjar from where it was roosting next to the road. The bird landed in full view of her and she was able to photograph it.
"If she had not got a photo, it would have been almost impossible to convince anyone that she had in fact connected with a European nightjar," said Collett.
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