
Vermont Pan has a habit of every so often producing an interesting rarity. Today (Monday) it was a Little Ringed Plover. I was playing golf this afternoon when Sheelagh phoned me to say she’d seen an email from Trevor Hardaker (Rare Birds News) alerting birders to the presence of a Little Ringed Plover at Vermont Pan. She had already seen it and was going back with her camera. So as soon as I’d finished my game, I shot off home to collect Sheelagh, my camera, and binos – no time for the 19th hole!
Fortunately the bird was still there when we got to the Pan. On the South side in the rocks in the shallows, mixing with Three Banded Plovers-but quite distinctive, with a yellow eye ring and pinkish legs. A dozen or so birders in attendance, including Trevor and others from Cape Town.
What makes this rarity interesting is that it is only the third sighting in Southern Africa, and the first in the Western Cape! It is normally resident in North Africa, Europe, and Asia.
Often when we, in the Overstrand, hear of rarities, they are a long way off. But here we have one at Vermont Pan, right on our doorstep. No knowing how long it will stay, but certainly worth looking for. It was on the south side of the Pan, slightly west of that parking area.
Article and image by John Bowman