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Where to see

Where to see the Little Bee-eater in South Africa

Hosts have recorded the Little Bee-eater at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, Sabi Sand Game Reserve and Timbavati Private Nature Reserve.

Merops pusillus

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Little Bee-eater
Photo: (c) Gary Leavens, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Gary Leavens

Planning a trip

When and where to find the Little Bee-eater

Hosts have recorded the Little Bee-eater at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, Sabi Sand Game Reserve and Timbavati Private 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

  • Limpopo

    Limpopo

    Kruger · Timbavati · Marakele

    Self-driveGuided drives
    Stays in Limpopo
    Limpopo
  • Mpumalanga

    Mpumalanga

    Sabi Sand

    Guided drives
    Stays in Mpumalanga
    Mpumalanga
  • 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

KrugerMarakele

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

Sabi SandTimbavati

Species

Merops pusillus

Records

1,569

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

A record means a host has seen the Little Bee-eater on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.

Which parks and reserves are best for the Little Bee-eater in South Africa?

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Little Bee-eater at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Madikwe Game 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 Little Bee-eater in South Africa?

The Little Bee-eater is most recorded in KwaZulu-Natal (49% of records), Limpopo (24% of records), Mpumalanga (19% of records), based on 1,569 iNaturalist observations. 28 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Little Bee-eater on site or nearby.

When is the best time to see the Little Bee-eater?

The Little Bee-eater 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; Sabi Sand Game Reserve: year-round, dry season May-Sep optimal; Timbavati Private Nature Reserve: May-Sep, dry season; Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park: year-round, dry season May-Sep. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

What is the Little Bee-eater?

The little bee-eater (Merops pusillus) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is resident in much of Sub-Saharan Africa. It should not be confused with the little green bee-eater, Merops orientalis. Migration is limited to seasonal movements depending on rainfall patterns.

Stays that give back

Where to stay for a chance to see the Little Bee-eater

Every stay on the Little Bee-eater page lists the species its host has recorded on or near the property. A record is a sighting, never a promise.

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