With more than 300 bird species on its list, Sabi Sands is a great birding destination. Guides tend to be very knowledgeable about birds and everything else. The combination of walking and driving safaris in the private reserves is also very suitable to birding. The emphasis in Sabi Sands is, however, on mammals and the Big Five. It would be advisable to book private game drives if you are a birder. Migratory birds are present from November to April.
Birding Specials Treats for Avid Birders
- African black duck
- African crake
- African emerald cuckoo
- African finfoot
- African hawk-eagle
- Black-crowned night heron
- Coqui francolin
- Croaking cisticola
- Dwarf bittern
- Eastern black-headed oriole
- Gabar goshawk
- Grey cuckoo-shrike
- Half-collared kingfisher
- Mosque swallow
- Purple heron
- Senegal lapwing
- Shelley’s francolin
- Shikra
- Thick-billed cuckoo
- Verreaux’s eagle owl
- White-backed night heron
Best Time for Bird Watching
Bird watching is good year-round in Sabi Sands, although at its best from November to April when the migratory birds from the northern hemisphere are present. Wildlife viewing, in general, is best when the climate is dry – during the months of June through September.