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Where to see

Where to see the African Spoonbill in South Africa

Hosts have recorded the African Spoonbill at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, Goukamma Nature Reserve and Anysberg Nature Reserve.

Platalea alba

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African Spoonbill
Photo: (c) Christiaan Viljoen, some rights reserved (CC BY)

Planning a trip

When and where to find the African Spoonbill

Hosts have recorded the African Spoonbill at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, Goukamma Nature Reserve and Anysberg Nature Reserve.

Best hours of the day

  • The first hours after sunrise, and late afternoon. Birds call and feed most in the cool.
  • Midday. Quieter, especially in summer heat.

Where to base yourself

  • Western Cape

    Western Cape

    Goukamma · Anysberg · Rocherpan

    Self-driveMalaria-free
    Stays in Western Cape
    Western Cape
  • Limpopo

    Limpopo

    Kruger

    Self-drive
    Stays in Limpopo
    Limpopo
  • Eastern Cape

    Eastern Cape

    Kwandwe

    Guided drivesMalaria-free
    Stays in Eastern Cape
    Eastern Cape
  • KwaZulu-Natal

    KwaZulu-Natal

    Hluhluwe-Imfolozi · iSimangaliso Wetland

    Stays in KwaZulu-Natal
    KwaZulu-Natal

Ways to look

Drive yourself

Your own vehicle and pace, on the park's roads.

Where hosts record it

KrugerGoukammaAnysbergRocherpanDe Hoop

Guided drives from a lodge

A guide who knows where to look, with off-road and night drives in the private reserves.

Where hosts record it

Kwandwe

Species

Platalea alba

Records

2,583

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

A record means a host has seen the African Spoonbill on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.

Which parks and reserves are best for the African Spoonbill in South Africa?

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the African Spoonbill at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, Goukamma Nature Reserve, Anysberg Nature Reserve, Kwandwe Private Game Reserve, Rocherpan Nature Reserve and De Hoop 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.

Where can you see the African Spoonbill in South Africa?

The African Spoonbill is most recorded in Western Cape (45% of records), KwaZulu-Natal (17% of records), Mpumalanga (12% of records), based on 2,583 iNaturalist observations. 74 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the African Spoonbill on site or nearby.

When is the best time to see the African Spoonbill?

The African Spoonbill 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; Goukamma Nature Reserve: year-round, warm Oct-Apr; Anysberg Nature Reserve: Autumn and spring, Mar-May, Sep-Nov; Kwandwe Private Game Reserve: year-round, best Mar-May, Sep-Nov. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

What is the African Spoonbill?

The African spoonbill (Platalea alba) is a long-legged wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The species is widespread across Africa and Madagascar, including Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Stays that give back

Where to stay for a chance to see the African Spoonbill

Every stay on the African Spoonbill page lists the species its host has recorded on or near the property. A record is a sighting, never a promise.

See where to stay