Summer, spring and autumn are the best times to search for rare waders, although there is also a peculiar early winter peak of ‘reverse migrants’ – birds wintering in central Africa which inadvertently migrate south to the Cape instead of north to Europe. Winter is also the best time for errant American Purple Gallinules (search reedbeds on the Peninsula and western seaboard) and Greater Sheathbills (most often seen on the Peninsula’s rocky coasts, notably the Atlantic seaboard). Rare waders have turned up all over the region, although the top two sites are undoubtedly Langebaan Lagoon in the West Coast National Park (especially the Geelbek mudflat and saltmarsh hides, p.47) and the Berg River estuary (especially the Riviera and De Plaat mudflats and Cerebos salt works, p.53). Other notable sites include Wadrif Saltpan (p.55) and, on the Cape Peninsula, the Strandfontein sewage works (p.26) and the rocky shores of the Cape of Good Hope Reserve, near Olifantsbos (p.24).

Please our Resources page for details of how to report any unusual sightings.