Helderfontein Residential Estate happy to add another rare bird to its tally

Lance Robinson from Helderfontein Residential Estate had to look closely after he spotted a rare bird during one of the estate’s birdwalks. The bird was waddling along the islands of the Juskei River, according to the environmental director of the estate, Dr Kolleen Naik.

“It is called the green sandpiper (tringa ochropus) which is a small wading bird that breeds in Northern Europe and across Russia below the Arctic Circle. In Autumn in the northern hemisphere, it migrates south to escape the icy cold to warmer regions.”

She said the fact that it is rare for the green sandpiper to reach South Africa as they usually stop in the tropics and spend summer there, is what makes it extraordinary.

“It is even rarer for them to fly as far south as Gauteng. Those that do reach South Africa tend to spend summer in the northern Limpopo Province. This Green Sandpiper has flown over 12,000 km down the entire length of Africa to settle in Fourways and most people have never seen this bird. Birdwatchers list the birds they have seen and to have a green sandpiper in a place that is accessible is for many a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a bird in the feather that they have before only seen in books or birding apps.”

Dr Naik told us the bird is here to eat, gain condition and weight, and some rest before flying back home in autumn, where it will find a mate and breed. She said it spends most of its time walking around in the shallow water and on the exposed mud feeding.

“It eats small aquatic invertebrates such as snails, worms, slugs, and even leeches.”

The bird is mostly found in northern Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and up into central and east Africa where it forages on the edges of lakes and wetlands, during summer, Dr Naik said.

“It is a long-range migrant that travels a very long distance to escape the cold of Eurasia and to gain enough condition to be able to successfully breed on its return home. It does not probe the mud for food but rather picks invertebrates from the water.

“When in South Africa it is in its non-breeding plumage and will moult and change to a more colourful plumage to attract a mate when it gets back home. Sandpipers tend to return to an area they like that they reach during their migration and will often come back to the same spot again. They remember the route that they have flown to get there. As they are not breeding and do not want to attract attention, they are silent while here.”

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