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	Roodeplaat NR and Seringveld - 27/28 May 2000
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By Etienne Marais

On Sunday 28 May, I led an outing of the Inkwazi Birdclub. Having not birded at Roodeplaat for a long time, I did a short recce of the Nature Reserve on the Eastern shores of Roodeplaat on Saturday.

The Saturday Recce produced 72 species within the Nature Reserve (in just over three hours) including Great Crested Grebe, Coqui Francolin, Blue-billed Firefinch(in the dense "forest" near the water's edge), Purple Heron, and Bar-throated Apalis. On Sunday the outing to Roodeplaat started slightly earlier and including the lunch hour, we recorded 74 species, including Ovambo Sparrowhawk, Striped Cuckoo, Sharp-billed Honeyguide (calling), Crimson-breasted Shrike, Little and White-rumped Swift, Jameson's Firefinch and Greenbacked Heron.

The Seringveld was surprisingly good on Sunday, with three woodpeckers recorded. Pete Irons joined us here and took half of the Birdclub crowd on a different route. For long stretches, both groups recorded nothing, but Tinkling Cisticola showed twice and a flock of Greencapped Eremomela buzzed around the group for about 15 minutes. The Pallid Flycatcher family, which was here on Saturday, did not show, but Pete's group saw Yellow-bellied Eremomela, and others Striped Kingfisher and Black Flycatcher.

Most of the specials here are resident, but birding requires patience, as the birds (especially the Tinkling) are far quieter at this time of year, and at times the area can seem absolutely dead.

The rainy summer has definitely had an impact on birding at this time, The Striped Cuckoo was no doubt a young bird, and is the second I have seen in a week. The atlas does indicated that May/June records are noted for wet years, when it's host, the Arrow-marked Babbler has an extended breeding season. Sharp Billed Honeyguide was calling, and in the Seringveld, a displaying Flappet Lark obviously hasn't looked a calendar lately.

On Sunday, a large flock of swifts suddenly appeared above Roodeplaat, including Palm, Little and a few White-rumped Swift. I also saw a lone African Black Swift at the Cullinan Big Hole on Sunday, where a menacing Lanner Falcon circled about, and White-fronted Bee-eaters are the most obvious bird here.

Overall the weekend yielded 121 species, which shows that good birding can be had at this time of year.