shady lady

Photographing the African Finfoot

- THINUS VAN STADEN

After posting images of an African Finfoot on Facebook on 1 May 2022 I received the most feedback I have ever had for a post about birds. In addition to the kind words of appreciation and references to the elusive nature of the bird, there were comments about being lucky and just at the right place at the right time. Indeed, seeing an African Finfoot does always involve a bit of luck; getting decent photographs, even more so. But luck only gets you so far. Understanding habitat and behaviour is far more rewarding than waiting to be lucky or being in the right place at the right time.

From the SABAP2 website it is clear that finfoot records are sparsely distributed, with most sightings being along the coast of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal and scattered reports in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng. The sightings suggest a very low reporting rate, either between 0.1 per cent and five per cent or incidental reports. With reporting rates that low, it might suggest that the African Finfoot is mostly overlooked by birders, both as a result of its elusive nature and our lack of understanding of its behaviour.

They are there, we just don't see them.

On the Bird Pro app Peter Ginn states that where suitable habitat occurs, the African Finfoot is not rare, merely secretive.

A bit of luck - and a lot of hard work

I was very lucky to find this bird initially, but there is more to these photographs than pure luck. This is the story behind my images...