With February now behind us, the “casual” phase of the 2026 Birding Big Year has officially evaporated. The leaderboard has begun to split into three very distinct camps.
On one side, we have the fanatics, a handful of guys who have clearly traded sleep and social lives for GPS coordinates and the next tick. They are operating on a level of intensity that is both impressive and slightly concerning. On the other side is the “midfield,” where you’ll currently find me. We are the plodders. We aren’t making 50-species jumps in a weekend, like Kelsey, but we are ticking off the steadies, slowly chipping away at the list while the Lowveld gradually dries out.
My Leave Strategy
As you read this, however, I am attempting a tactical breakaway. I’ve traded the combretums for the proteas and am currently deep in the Fynbos of the Western Cape. It is a total system shock. Instead of looking for waterbirds in the heat haze, I’m chasing Cape Sugarbirds and Orange-breasted Sunbirds in the Atlantic breeze. The goal is to rake in the endemics and slowly edge towards the peloton, who are currently leading a heavy charge.
The Allen’s Gallinule
The sheer volume of water remaining in the system has produced what I believe is a historic moment for the Sabi Sands: our first record of an Allen’s Gallinule.
For the uninitiated, this isn’t just “another water bird.” It is a secretive, intra-African migrant that usually prefers the lily-covered pans of the far north or the lush wetlands of the Okavango. To have one appear here and to have documented it is a massive win. For many of the Londolozi team who managed to scramble down to see it, it was a “lifer” (the first time seeing the species in their lives). In a year so far defined by rain, this bird is the ultimate silver lining. We can only hope that as the pans stay full, more of these regional rarities decide to make a guest appearance.
A Double-Feature Rarity
The Gallinule wasn’t the only star of the show. While sitting waiting for the Gallinule to poke its head out of the reeds, a Common Moorhen, clearly feeling territorial and boisterous, flushed a bird out of the thick cover that only a handful of rangers have seen, a Corn Crake. It was a fleeting tick that left the midfield very jealous, but in the grand scheme of things, it was also just another tick.
Not from the sighting, but this was a Crake seen in 2021.
The Road Ahead
I’ll be back from the Cape soon, hopefully with a list long enough to have clawed my way towards the front-runners. But for now, the focus remains on the water. As long as the pans are full, the Sabi Sands is a lottery, and it seems the jackpot is currently paying out in rare crakes.
Stay tuned for a more detailed breakdown of these rare sightings in the coming weeks. And hopefully we tick off a few more migrants before they depart.
Good luck for your bird-list, Sean.
And apart from ticking off birds, enjoy your stay at the Cape.
Hi Sean, glad to hear you are out and about looking for the beautiful sugar birds in the Western Cape. Hope you see much more than the sugar birds so you can get your tally up.
Hello Sean, So fantastic that an Allen’s Gallinule has been seen at Sabi Sand! With water comes a lot of good – hope it stayed for a while…
Today I have written my answer in “What Bird Is This? 33” I hope you saw it? I love that challenge! One learns a lot!
I have a question, do you know if the Ottawa males offspring is still alive and witch lion is it?
Mangheni pride got a little cub 2020 that should definitely been an offspring from Ottawa male. It should be fantastic to know if the offspring is alive and still living at Londolozi 😃
It’s obvious the Birding challenge is in full swing and even more fascinating that it creates such intense competition amongst the participants. Hopefully your sojourn to the western cape rewards you with several more birds to add to your list but if not, at least you had a great break in a stunning part of South Africa.