16/04/2019
Back in
May 2015 a Golden Nightjar was hit by a car and killed along the
now-famous road between Dakhla and Aousserd, then
representing the first record of this species in Western Sahara. It showed
indications of being a breeding bird, thus the idea sparked that there may be a
remote and small population in Western Sahara. Whether the bird was a
regular or just a phenomenon induced by favorable weather or feeding conditions
was unknown at the time. The discovery of this truly stunning nightjar obviously
excited birders, for it suddenly seemed possible to connect with this
species while picking up other local goodies, such as Cricket
Warbler and African Dunn's
Lark.
Then, for
three years running from 2016-18, Golden Nightjar was found at Oued Jenna, a
wadi interspersed with some high-standing trees some 20 km north-west of
Aousserd. The species was both heard and seen here by a number of visiting
birders, making it a real possibility to connect with in Western Sahara.
However, the status of the species remained unclear: while there were
indications of breeding, it couldn't be proven as eggs or juveniles were never
observed. In the meantime, the first confirmed breeding record of Golden
Nightjar for the Western Palearctic came in April 2018, when a nest with a single egg was found in northern
Mauritania.
No comments:
Post a Comment