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Niall's African Shoebill made me think of this again. What would you consider as the ultimate ticks on your list? Mine, as beginner remember, is Southern African - African Skimmer; Livingstone's Flycatcher and International - Bee Hummingbird; Palm Cockatoo; Atlantic Puffin.

Haven't thought about it much so only one ultimate for now - Harpy Eagle.

But I'm sure the wishlist will grow over the next few years.

Pel's Fishing Owl stands above all to me .

Dick Reucastell was amongst the first naturalists who published animal and bird sound recordings (on vinyl LP records) , and Hugh Rouse (of Springbok radio fame) did the introductory commentary in his rich evocative voice . His words paraphrased were "unearthly screech in the night, as of torment, of the seldom seen Pel's Fishing owl" and it was the call that alerted me to search and find .
Early , early morning at Pafuri twice and once along Shingwedzi river S50 almost at the Lebombo's .

Narina Trogon and Gorgeous Bush Shrike take second but not as thrilling .

Need a while to think about this one - but one sighting definitely stands out;
way back in the distant past when I still lived in Scotland & had just started birding, on a trip to Shetland - a snowy owl drifting like a ghost in the mist. I still get goose bumps remembering that!

I have to add to my first post that those are still on my wishlist. So far my Pel's Fishing Owl was my first Lifer. The second was on my European list - the Common Kingfisher which is very hard to spot in The Netherlands.

White-necked Picathartes in the rainforest of Ghana, no doubt.

Hmmm... It is easy to think of ultra rare sightings that might qualify as the "Ultimate Lifer". The Asiatic Dowitcher comes to mind. But if I think how easy it was to get that tick (was alerted and told where to look, drove there, looked for 5 minutes, found it and ticked it), then I can't really deem these rare ones as Ultimates.

So instead I would call my ultimate sightings the ones that were found through hard work and the sense of accomplishment when found, or being a special moment in nature. So my ultimate might not even be the most "special":

Peregrine Falcon: Soaring motionless in the wind at eye level approx 10 m from me as I sat on a cliff in the mountains above Kleinmond.
Tropical Boubou: Seen (and thought to be Southern!), but then heard, then called on CD and then seen again as they responded at the magical Crook's Corner.
Cape Rockjumper: Was a dipper for years, finally got it at Rooiels in the early morning on Christmas eve last year.
Livingstone's Turaco: Got it at Lake Nhlabane after "hunting" it through thorny bush in the heat of the day.
Barn Owl: A beautiful pair screeching away at sunset at Sondela NR.

Suddenly many others come to mind as the memories rush in!!! So will leave it at that.

Mine without a doubt are are African Skimmer and Pel's Fishing Owl (both in Botswana) and Narina Trogon (in the Makuleke Contract Park).

I would put my mine doen as one common, one fairly difficult and one special:

the commmon: Red-chested Cuckoo, It took me about 5 years to finally see one.
the fairly difficult: after dipping on Trogons for close on 10 years, this is one of my ultimate lifers (they always show up the day after i leave)
The special: Early 1990's working hard to get a Black-naped Tern on the KZN coast

Mine are not very exquisite, but memorable to me.

1. Allen's gallinule at Lake Panic, after I had thought it was an African swamphen (Purple gallinule)
2. Palmthrush (I don't have the correct info to hand right now) on Kunene River.
3. Redshank - at Swakop salt pans.
4. African skimmer - Okavango river panhandle
5. Carmine bee-eater - just because I love to see them.

My ultimates not YET seen are Pels, Shoebill, NT (if it really exists ), violet woodhoopoe to start with.... and still the blinking red chested cuckoo Joh!

For me it would have to be Ruspoli's Turaco, largely because of the rarity, the difficulty of finding them and the fact that it is a fantastic bird to see.



Now I want to find African Finfoot and Pel's Fishing Owl - dream on I hear you say.

Dont you mean Pels gone-fishing Owl

You guys made me think today. So a Lifer can really be any bird that has special meaning for you. I wouldn't have thought I could count my Red-chested Cuckoo as one. I'm proud of that one because I worked for it for years. My Pel's almost meant a wasted pair of shoes. It was raining and we were on foot, real bundu bashing. I had to wash them in a washing machine to get them reasonably clean. I certainly have more insight into what a lifer is.

Mine was during a private mokoro trip. Drinks and snacks were provided and one of the guides carried my photo bag. Your way of finding Pel's also sounds like good fun