I visited Khartoum Sewage Ponds today with Marwa and we were joined by a couple of friends, Basim and Jeanette. There were lots of terns about, which all appeared to be White-winged, plus quite a few waders, with large numbers of Black-winged Stilt, Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, and Spur-winged Lapwing and smaller numbers of Little Stint, Common Ringed Plover, Kittlitz's Plover, Temminck's Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, and Marsh Sandpiper. I had my highest ever count of Hottentot Teal, with 48, plus a few Northern Shovelers.
As has so often been the case at this site, the gallinules stole the show. We saw about 8 African Purple Swamphens, which is remarkable for a bird which is generally quite shy. For the last two and a half years we have been hoping to spot a young bird to confirm them as a breeding species, and finally we were in luck today with brief views of a bird in juvenile plumage. There were the usual big numbers of Common Moorhens, and as always there were quite a few young birds present, but for the first time we saw some pairs with very young chicks. I counted 28 Crested Coots, which, as in all previous visits, were in breeding plumage.
I am particularly pleased to get the last shot, as, according to the published literature, it could never be Sudan. Common Moorhen is not recorded as a breeder, Hottentot Teal is known from only a single record, and Crested Coot has no published records. I demonstrates how little the avifauna of this country has been studied.
Northern Shoveler, Khartoum Sewage Pools 12th September 2014
Crested Coot, Khartoum Sewage Pools 12th September 2014
Young Moorhen, Hottentot Teals and Crested Coot, Khartoum Sewage Pools 12th September 2014
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