African Snipe

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the African Snipe at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, De Hoop Nature Reserve, Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Kogelberg Nature Reserve. 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 African Snipe is most recorded in Gauteng (36% of records), Western Cape (28% of records), Mpumalanga (14% of records), based on 464 iNaturalist observations. 20 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the African Snipe on site or nearby.

The African Snipe 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. Kruger National Park: Apr-Sep; De Hoop Nature Reserve: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct; Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve: Autumn and spring, Mar-May, Sep-Nov; Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park: year-round, dry season May-Sep. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

The African snipe (Gallinago nigripennis) also known as the Ethiopian snipe, is a small stocky wader. It breeds in eastern and southern Africa in wet mountain moorland and swamps at altitudes of 1,700-4,000 m (5,600-13,100 ft). When not breeding it disperses widely, including into coastal lowlands.