Skip to main content

Where to see

Where to see the Dwarf Bittern in South Africa

Hosts have recorded the Dwarf Bittern at stays in or beside Kruger National Park and iSimangaliso Wetland Park.

Ixobrychus sturmii

See where to stay
Dwarf Bittern
Photo: (c) Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová

Planning a trip

When and where to find the Dwarf Bittern

Hosts have recorded the Dwarf Bittern at stays in or beside Kruger National Park and iSimangaliso Wetland Park.

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

  • Limpopo

    Limpopo

    Kruger

    Self-drive
    Stays in Limpopo
    Limpopo
  • KwaZulu-Natal

    KwaZulu-Natal

    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

Kruger

Species

Ixobrychus sturmii

Records

147

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

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

Which parks and reserves are best for the Dwarf Bittern in South Africa?

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Dwarf Bittern at stays in or beside Kruger National Park and iSimangaliso Wetland Park. 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 Dwarf Bittern in South Africa?

The Dwarf Bittern is most recorded in Limpopo (51% of records), Mpumalanga (24% of records), KwaZulu-Natal (13% of records), based on 147 iNaturalist observations. 9 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Dwarf Bittern on site or nearby.

When is the best time to see the Dwarf Bittern?

Sightings of the Dwarf Bittern peak from Dec to Apr, based on 147 iNaturalist records. You may still see it outside those months, sightings are just less frequent.

What is the Dwarf Bittern?

The dwarf bittern is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae that is widely distributed across Sub-Saharan Africa avoiding only the very arid regions. This species was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus.

Stays that give back

Where to stay for a chance to see the Dwarf Bittern

Every stay on the Dwarf Bittern 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