Tides, Targets & a Milestone Moment at West Coast National Park

Arriving at West Coast National Park

On our recent trip to Cape Town, a trip up to the West Coast National Park was a non-negotiable, not only to experience this beautiful park for the first time but also because of the great assemblage of rarities on offer in the area. We had a long target list for the day, and knew it would probably be one of our best birding days by far.On the way there, Jaime recommended a spot to stop and try for Cape Clapper Lark and Black Harrier.

From Left to right: Queuing to get in - Jaime catching up on some much needed rest - Memorial Board in honour of Mrs Harding

The larks were nowhere to be seen, but just as we were leaving we were treated to brief views of Black Harrier, our bird of the year 2026! We arrived at the gate just before opening time and got a nasty surprise when we saw the massive queue in front of us. With the tide coming in and time against us, we knew we'd have to adjust our plans slightly.Before I get ahead of myself and so you can understand the importance of the tide, our main target for the day was Wilson's Phalarope. This is a highly sought-after mega-rarity for Southern Africa and had been bizzarely misidentified as a Lesser Yellowlegs since at least the start of spring!

The bird had been seen often from the Geelbek hide when the tide is low, and when the tide is high the waders are pushed back and away from the hide. By the time we got there the tide was too high and so we decided to continue on to the Seeberg hide, where we managed to see the Eurasian Oystercatcher, a massive bogey bird for me.

From left to right: The setting around Seeberg Hide

Happy with that and with time to spare, we made the call to head out of the park and to the Kliphoek salt pans, where some more rarities awaited us.At Kliphoek, we had great views of our lifer Chestnut-banded Plover, and after receiving some help from fellow birders we managed to locate not 1 but 3 Red-necked Phalaropes, one of them even in breeding plumage! But we couldn't leave without finding the Caspian Plover that had been around. After about an hour of searching and sorting through young Grey Plovers and the likes, I managed to spot the Caspian Plover chilling on a sandbank. We were on a roll now. As a bonus and by an absolute flook, Jaime spotted a Large-billed Lark on our way out, another lifer.

From Left to Right: Scenes from Kliphoek Salt Pans

By this time I had come to realize that I may be able to reach my 600 birds milestone by the end of the day, and what were the chances of number 600 being the famed Wilson's Phalarope? For that to happen I'd have to get one more lifer and then the Phalarope, maybe a Eurasian Curlew I thought. Well believe it or not, that's exactly what ended up happening! With the outgoing tide we enjoyed great views of a vast array of waders, with a handful of Eurasian Curlews amongst the masses. After a couple of hours in the hide with many eager birders, I was beginning to doubt whether the Phalarope would show.

But soon after and thanks to the keen eyes of Conrad Strauss, the Phalarope was located and proceeded to offer extended views to everyone pleasant (albeit at a great distance). Nobody could have been happier than me in that moment, as it was my long awaited 600th bird.

From Left to Right: Birders eagerly awaiting anyone to call out - Celebratory Lifer moments - A poor quality image but proof shot non-the-less

This will definitely go down as a day for the books with great birds and great company. As a final bonus we even managed to tick off Southern Black Korhaan on the way home.

A very special moment indeed