This massive, world famous park is the size of a small country! The park is home to more than 500 species of birds, more than half of all the birds found in Southern Africa. It is the best area in the country to see big birds like vultures, eagles, storks, Kori Bustard, Ground Hornbill and Secretarybird. You should also think about going on a night drive – it’s great for owls, nightjars and coursers, plus lots of interesting mammals. When driving around you have to stay in your car, but in the camps you can explore on foot. There are often great birds in quiet corners of the camps. Birds like weavers, starlings and hornbills become super-tame and will steal food right off your plate! The camps are also good to explore at night for owls. Of course you’ll see lots amazing animals too! Kruger is so big and there are so many camps that it’s difficult to recommend a specific place. There are just birds everywhere! For all the other sites I only listen 10 specials, but I divided Kruger into three parts, each with their own set of key species.

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Magoebas is a big natural forest between Polokwane and Tzaneen. There are loads of cool places to stay, as well as hiking trails if you want to explore on foot. Or take the famous Woodbush Drive down through the forest. Beware that it can be slippery after rain (and it rains a lot here!). There are also Bat Hawks that nest nearby, so keep an eye open! You can hire an expert local guide to show you around and help you find all the forest specials. Debengeni Falls is an awesome spot to have a picnic alongside Mountain Wagtails. If you drive through Polokwane, you could pop in at Polokwane Game Reserve to try for the rare Short-clawed Lark.

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This Bushveld reserve near Modimolle is a very famous birding spot. The main attraction is the big floodplain of the Nyl River. After good rains the river spills out into the grass and creates a huge wetland that is alive with birds. The best area for wetland bird is called Vogelfontein. You need to get a key/gate code at reception; then you drive out of the reserve and along its eastern boundary to reach Vogelfontein. There are several excellent hides too. The best time for waterbirds is January-February. But even if the floodplain is completely dry, you can still see awesome woodland birds in the the rest of the reserve.

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Surprisingly, more than half of SA’s birds occur in the small and busy Gauteng province! A few years ago I wrote a book with my friend Etienne Marais about 101 birding places in and around Gauteng. There are loads of little spots to check out such as suburban nature reserves, bird sanctuaries, botanical gardens and parks. But in Pretoria I would suggest you visit Roodeplaat Dam for bushveld and waterbirds, Rietvlei Dam Nature Reserve for grassland species and Moreleta Kloof for a nice mix of stuff. The best spots around Johannesburg are probably Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens (nesting Verreaux’s Eagles!), Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve and Marievale Bird Sanctuary.

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All birders love Wakkerstroom! There is even a BirdLife South Africa centre where you can stay, and local guides that can help you find the more tricky grassland specials. The town is surrounded by cold, high-lying grasslands, with small forest patches in the valleys. The big wetland on the edge of this little town is worth exploring too – it is one of the very few places where White-winged Flufftails occur and is alive with birds, especially in summer. There is a big colony of South African Cliff Swallows under the bridge on the northern edge of town.

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This park’s name means “miracle”. It really is a magical area and is made up of many different reserves. Mkuze Game Reserve is great for sand forest specials such as Neergaard’s Sunbird, African Broadbill and Pink-throated Twinspot. Lake St Lucia is fantastic for waterbirds such as Pink-backed Pelican and the reedbeds are full of Southern Brown-throated Weavers. Forest areas, such as along the iGwalagwala trail in St Lucia town, are pumping with specials birds. There are lots of areas to explore, including Cape Vidal, Ozabeni, Lake Sibaya, Sodwana and Kosi Bay.

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In the town of Eshowe you can explore the beautiful Dlinza Forest from a boardwalk that winds through the canopy and ends in a high lookout tower. There are many awesome forest birds to find. Walk slowly and scan carefully, and make sure you know the calls of your targets. If you really want to go on a mission you can also visit the nearby Ngoye Forest – the only place to see Green Barbet in our region. It’s a bit of a mission and there aren’t really facilities. Or just chill out in Mtunzini town and enjoy the coastal forest. Keep an eye open for the local Palm-nut Vultures!

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Durbs is fantastic! The city lies right on the ocean, is surrounded by forests and wetlands, and is close enough to the Drakensberg and Zululand for a weekend away. There are lots of little reserves in and around the city to explore, such as Kenneth Stainbank and Pigeon Valley. The birding is also awesome southwards towards Amanzimtoti and northwards towards Umhlanga.

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This massive mountain range runs along the Escarpment of South Africa, and reaches to more than 3,000 m in height. The highest parts are in Lesotho – so don’t forget your passport. A great way to get up high is take Sani Pass, but you will need a 4×4.  Once you’re up into Lesotho the landscape looks very different – almost more like the Karoo. This is where you can search for specials like Drakensberg Rockjumper, Mountain Pipit (in summer) and Drakensberg Siskin. It can be extremely cold and the mountains are often covered in snow in winter. There are loads of cool spots to check out, but perhaps the best area to start is in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. You can also book a visit to the Lammergeier Hide at Giants Castle and see Bearded Vultures up close. 

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There are lots of spots to visit in and around the city. Cape Recife Lighthouse is an awesome place to check out, and you will see good seabirds here too. Lots of rare vagrants have been discovered at Cape Recife over the years – you never know what you might find! Keep an eye open for Roseate Tern here too. The estuary of the Krom River in St Francis Bay isn’t too far away and is a good spot for estuary birds like Greater Sand Plover and Damara Tern. There are various other river mouths that offer good birding. Keep an eye open for Horus Swifts breeding in banks. Or head up to Addo Elephant Park for great birding. Spend some time exploring the camp and get out of the car wherever you’re allowed.

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A beautiful part of SA that stretches from about Mossel Bay in the west to Jeffreys Bay in the east. There are plenty of holiday tourists here, but in quieter areas you’ll find lots of special birds. Open areas west and south of Mossel Bay are good for Cape Clapper Lark and Agulhas Long-billed Lark, and you can try seawatching from the cave at Mossel Bay point. Forest hiking trails in George, Knysna, Wilderness (try the Woodville Big Tree walk) or Nature’s Valley should add a few ticks to your list. And don’t forget about the waterbirds of the Knysna Lagoon and the lakes around Wilderness. 

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This large reserve outside Beaufort West is a fun place to explore, especially if you’re into fossils and prehistoric animals. You must do the short trail in the camp which shows some of the actual fossils that were found here! The Karoo landscapes are vast and empty, with impressive mountains towering above the flat plains. Drive around slowly and stop to scan often – try Lammetjiesleegte drive for the various specials. You’ll also find lots of Karoo specials by simply walking around in the camp, and many of them have become very tame. One of my favourite birding spots!

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Cape Town is surrounded by Table Mountain and the Peninsula on one side, and the Cape Fold Mountains on the other. You can hike to your heart’s content through the beautiful fynbos. Within the city itself, you can see a good range of forest and fynbos birds at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, and Knysna Warbler occurs in some of the greenbelts in the city. Fynbos birds can be found anywhere in the mountains – try Kogelberg Nature Reserve for example. Cape Point is a spectacular place, and is famous for its good seawatching from the lighthouse. If you’re very lucky you may spot a Fynbos Buttonquail here. While you’re in town you might as well go and see the introduced Chaffinch. If you’re up for it, why not join a pelagic trip heading out from Simon’s Town or Hout Bay? Unbeatable, close-up views of albatrosses, petrels and skuas, with an expert guide to help identify them. And don’t forget to say hello to the African Penguins at Boulders Beach!

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This is where I live. It’s windy and open but the birding is incredible. Probably the best time to visit is when the wildflowers are in bloom in August and September. At that time you can also visit the Postberg section of West Coast National Park which is normally closed. In the park itself you’ll bump into all the strandveld specials, and the Langebaan Lagoon is the best place in SA to see waders. You have to get your timing right though: Geelbek’s hides are best midway between high- and low-tide. Seeberg Hide is best at high tide. Verreaux’s Eagles nest in the quarry in Langebaan town. You can also head up to Velddrif to visit the Berg River and the salt pans.

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This is more just a region than a specific place, and you can bump into the specials along any of the dirt roads in the area. There are very few people in this dry, hot region so you can explore far and wide over the dry plains. But be ready for long, hot and dusty days. Try around the towns of Pofadder and Brandvlei, or head to Springbok to visit Goegap Nature Reserve. This is LBJ country, so do your homework before your visit. It’s always a good plan to wait at a water source for seed-eaters and larks that come to drink when it is hot.

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Augrabies means “place of great noise”. Here the Orange River (which forms the border with Namibia) falls about 60 m over a spectacular waterfall. You can see a picture on the Pale-winged Starling page of the book. If you visit the National Park you can see the waterfall a boardwalk over the boulders. Keep an eye open for the colourful flat lizards that live here too. Peregrines, Rock Kestrels, Black Storks, Rock Martins and African Black Swifts speed up and down the impressive gorge. You’ll find lots of dry west specials by walking around between the chalets and camp sites. My favourite is the female Pririt Batis with her yellowish belly. The plains and rocky slopes away from the river are very beautiful. Stop at some of the huge Sociable Weaver nests if you’re travelling in this area. And check for Pygmy Falcons too!

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The beautiful red sands of the Kalahari are magical. And one of the best places to explore this biome is in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The park is that weird little triangle that stick up on the map of South Africa. The park also extends the border into Botswana. This is a large and wild area, so there are still plenty of raptors around, including big eagles such as Martial, Tawny and Bateleur. You’ll also see vultures, snake eagles, goshawks, falcons and kestrels. At night, the camps are excellent for tracking down owls. Larks, coursers and sandgrouse are often seen on the plains. There are lots of interesting mammals to look for as well: it is one of the best areas to bump into Pangolin, Bat-eared Fox, African Wild Cat, Cape Fox and Honey Badger.

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These two cities lie almost right in the middle of SA, so you can head anywhere from here! But there are loads of great birds to be found in these central parts. Especially since this area is where the Karoo scrublands, Kalahari thornveld and Highveld grasslands meet – have a look at the biomes map on page 9 of the book. A very productive mix of habitats! Many of the birds that live in this area are endemic and found nowhere else in the world.

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