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Where to see

Where to see the Willow Warbler in South Africa

Hosts have recorded the Willow Warbler at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Swartberg Nature Reserve.

Phylloscopus trochilus

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Willow Warbler
Photo: (c) Frank Sengpiel, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Frank Sengpiel

Planning a trip

When and where to find the Willow Warbler

Hosts have recorded the Willow Warbler at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Swartberg 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

    Self-drive
    Stays in Limpopo
    Limpopo
  • KwaZulu-Natal

    KwaZulu-Natal

    iSimangaliso Wetland

    Stays in KwaZulu-Natal
    KwaZulu-Natal
  • Western Cape

    Western Cape

    Swartberg

    Self-driveMalaria-free
    Stays in Western Cape
    Western Cape

Ways to look

Drive yourself

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

Where hosts record it

KrugerSwartberg

Species

Phylloscopus trochilus

Records

292

iNaturalist observations

Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.

Questions travellers ask

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

Which parks and reserves are best for the Willow Warbler in South Africa?

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Willow Warbler at stays in or beside Kruger National Park, iSimangaliso Wetland Park and Swartberg Nature Reserve. 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 Willow Warbler in South Africa?

The Willow Warbler is most recorded in Limpopo (24% of records), KwaZulu-Natal (18% of records), Gauteng (15% of records), based on 292 iNaturalist observations. 15 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Willow Warbler on site or nearby.

When is the best time to see the Willow Warbler?

The Willow Warbler 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; iSimangaliso Wetland Park: year-round, dry season May-Sep; Swartberg Nature Reserve: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

What is the Willow Warbler?

The willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strongly migratory, with almost all of the population wintering in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Stays that give back

Where to stay for a chance to see the Willow Warbler

Every stay on the Willow Warbler 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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