Black Skimmer - a first confirmed record for South Africa

Abstract

On 04 October 2012 at 14:30, I, Robin Wood (RW), sighted a Skimmer at Rietvlei Nature Reserve in Milnerton, Western Cape. I was out with my mother-in-law, Heather Wood (HW), for an afternoon's viewing of wetland birds - in overcast conditions with light drizzle - intent on finding a few new birds to tick off our list, when a bird with a bright red beak swooped down low across the top of the water, directly behind the pelicans we were training our binoculars on.