As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Thursday 28 March 2019

Local lensman captures rare footage of palm nut vulture


There are only seven breeding pairs and 40 resident birds currently in South Africa.
March 18, 2019
An Impala Park resident can be proud of himself after he snapped rare photos of a palm nut vulture feeding on a raffia palm tree in the park on Wednesday, 6 March.
“There is a pair of vultures that frequent the park every morning and afternoon. The birds have been attracted to the raffia palm tree which was planted by a resident many years ago and have been feeding off the palm nuts,” said Chris Butler. “There is also a juvenile which follows the adults.”
The eagle-eyed lensman snapped the photos at about 5.30pm with a Canon SX60 camera. The sighting of the birds is a rare event, as according to Wikipedia, there are only seven breeding pairs and 40 resident birds currently in South Africa.
The palm nut vulture closely tracks oil or raffia palms, and therefore is most common in coastal forests and mangrove swamps below 1,500 metres, but can also be found in wet savannas.

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