Interesting discussion here…
As has already been said, all the local bird parks and zoos were checked and not one of them has ever kept a Pel’s Fishing Owl. That, of course, does not absolutely confirm that it has not escaped from somewhere, but where does one go from there? Maybe it is an escapee, but at this point, we will never know. Why does one just naturally assume that it is an escapee just because it is an owl and it is not known from the area? What about Verreaux’s Eagle Owl and Pearl-spotted Owlet that have turned up in the Western Cape as well in the last couple of years? Also escapees? What about the other non-migratory birds that have turned up in the Western Cape recently like Tawny Eagle, Bateleur, Lappet-faced Vulture, Lilac-breasted Roller, Woolly-necked and Marabou Storks, Green-backed Heron, Crowned Hornbill, etc.? All escapees…? I don’t think so… Birds move occasionally, even if they are not generally migratory species and there are some really bizarre records out there. What about Bush Blackcap turning up in St. Francis Bay in the Eastern Cape or Cape Sugarbird turning up in Bloemfontein in the Free State…? These things happen!
The Western Cape seems to have a natural attraction to vagrants, pulling in both regional vagrants from other parts of the country as well as rarities from other parts of the world. There is a solid history of incredible records to prove that and there is no arguing the point. As to the Pel’s, if one did a little homework, you would soon find out that there are also a number of vagrant records of this species along the coast in the Eastern Cape as well, so there is also precedent that these birds DO move down the coast from Zululand. As to the bird not being skittish, it is no more or less skittish than any other Pel’s I have seen. When I first found it in Newlands, I flushed it as well, so it certainly wasn’t totally comfortable around human presence. Having said that, I have also walked right up to Pel’s and stood directly below where they were perched in trees as they sat looking down at me (just like the bird in Constantia did) in Zululand, Pafuri and the Okavango, so I don’t think this behavior is anything out of the ordinary at all.
There are a lot more people out there birding these days and the fact that there are so many cameras around also helps. I was fortunate to be involved with both of the recent megas, the Little Crake and Black Skimmer and, although I didn’t personally find them, was the person who had to stick his neck out and make the identification of a bird that had never been recorded here before. If people learn to look at birds in detail, rather than just trying to tick them off on a list, I think we will probably end up with even more odd birds being found. A case in point was the recent Hudsonian Godwit at Vleesbaai – I was out of the country at the time when the bird was found. It was photographed and news was put out that it was a Black-tailed Godwit. Many people headed out there and ticked the bird as such without even looking at it properly. It had already been there for a couple of weeks when I got back and happened to see the photos. I immediately realized that it was actually a Hudsonian Godwit, rather than a Black-tailed, and put the news out as such and then a huge twitch ensued. I just wonder whether all those people who had already ticked it as a Black-tailed went back to relook at the bird or whether they just changed the tick on their lists…
Whatever the case, finding or twitching a rarity is really exciting stuff and we should all just enjoy it when the opportunity arises… and, of course, us Capies are hugely grateful that most of these opportunities arise close to home...
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