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Where to see

Where to see the Southern Carmine Bee-eater in South Africa

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

Merops nubicoides

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Southern Carmine Bee-eater
Photo: (c) Reiner Jakubowski, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

Planning a trip

When and where to find the Southern Carmine Bee-eater

Hosts have recorded the Southern Carmine 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

    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 nubicoides

Records

566

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

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

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

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

The Southern Carmine Bee-eater is most recorded in Mpumalanga (52% of records), Limpopo (46% of records), based on 566 iNaturalist observations. 37 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Southern Carmine Bee-eater on site or nearby.

When is the best time to see the Southern Carmine Bee-eater?

Sightings of the Southern Carmine Bee-eater peak from Dec to Apr, based on 566 iNaturalist records. You may still see it outside those months, sightings are just less frequent.

What is the Southern Carmine Bee-eater?

The southern carmine bee-eater (Merops nubicoides) (formerly carmine bee-eater) occurs across sub-equatorial Africa, ranging from KwaZulu-Natal and Namibia to Gabon, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya.

Stays that give back

Where to stay for a chance to see the Southern Carmine Bee-eater

Every stay on the Southern Carmine 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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