5 January 2019: My very first CMF

Today I had a mind-blowing, totally awesome CMF (see Birding Terms for Dummies). Who ever, but ever, sees 6 Streaky-breasted Flufftails in the span of an hour and a half, and then ticks them as his 800th species seen in Southern Africa?

Yesterday we heard two Streaky-breasted Flufftails at at Monavale Vlei in Harare; the very first to have been heard for the season. It rained hard during the evening and Tony speculated that the rain will bring in more flufftails.

So today, at 0530 Tony Wood and myself met up with Bob Warren Coddrington, accompanied by his two German Short-haired Pointers, These amazing dogs are trained to point out rails and flufftails, and work together as a team to find their targets. When a nearby flufftail is sniffed out, the dog points at it, which allows us time to come closer and find the birds.

Bob Warren-Coddrington & Tony Wood, Monavale Vlei

Within minutes they found some African Crakes in the swampy turf, and then a Corn Crake. The dogs are so well trained that they do not chase the birds after being flushed, but rather go on searching for the next target. Then the magical moment- a Flufftail was pointed and we were able to get so close to it we looked down at it as it tried to play hide and seek in the swamp grass. It then flushed and flew away, giving us ample time for a proper ID. What an awe-inspiring moment! I had just ticked one of the most difficult to find birds in Southern Africa as my 800th!!! The other two gentlemen were very amused at my antics. I danced a jig in the swamp mud, gave a few joyful whoops, and then did my Mandela shuffle – a personal tradition with every new lifer!

Still the magic did not end. In the next hour we found 5 more Streaky-breasted Flufftails while traversing the vlei from one end to the other. Another perfect day in Africa!