Spur-winged Goose

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Spur-winged Goose at stays in or beside Cederberg Wilderness Area, Rocherpan Nature Reserve, De Hoop Nature Reserve, Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve, Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve and De Mond Nature Reserve and other reserves. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

The Spur-winged Goose is most recorded in Western Cape (46% of records), KwaZulu-Natal (29% of records), Gauteng (6% of records), based on 2,923 iNaturalist observations. 32 places to stay on Spekboom in Western Cape have recorded the Spur-winged Goose on site or nearby.

The Spur-winged Goose is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. Cederberg Wilderness Area: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct; Rocherpan Nature Reserve: Winter and spring for birds and flowers, Jun-Oct; De Hoop Nature Reserve: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct; Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

The spur-winged goose (Plectropterus gambensis) is a large bird in the family Anatidae, related to the geese and the shelducks, but distinct from both of these in a number of anatomical features, and therefore treated in its own subfamily, the Plectropterinae. It occurs in wetlands throughout sub-Saharan Africa.