Where to see the Pied Avocet in South Africa

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Pied Avocet at stays in or beside Goukamma Nature Reserve, Rocherpan Nature Reserve, Kruger National Park, De Hoop Nature Reserve, iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Table Mountain National Park 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 Pied Avocet is most recorded in Western Cape (74% of records), Gauteng (11% of records), KwaZulu-Natal (6% of records), based on 1,314 iNaturalist observations. 33 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Pied Avocet on site or nearby.

The Pied Avocet 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. Goukamma Nature Reserve: year-round, warm Oct-Apr; Rocherpan Nature Reserve: Winter and spring for birds and flowers, Jun-Oct; Kruger National Park: Apr-Sep; De Hoop Nature Reserve: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

The pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) is a large black and white wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. They breed in temperate Europe and western and Central Asia. It is a migratory species and most winter in Africa or southern Asia. Some remain to winter in the mildest parts of their range, for example in southern Spain and southern England.