Mankwe Wildlife Reserve is situated 5km’s from Pilanesberg National Park, on the boundary between the dry western and moist eastern areas of the country.

Mankwe offers bird enthusiasts an opportunity to view birds from both regions. Over 300 species have been identified on the reserve and this number is being added to regularly by a resident ornithologist.

Rivers, dams and other water points attract a wide diversity of birds but the grassland, woodlands and rocky areas should not be neglected as they are home to a multitude of species including Temmincks coarser, 3 species of korhaan, grass owls, bee- eaters and 3 pairs of secretary birds.

Nocturnal species such as Spotted Eagle Owls, Scops Owls, Mozambique and European Nightjars can be observed by spotlight on night drives.

Mankwe has recently developed a Vulture Restaurant, which is part of a research project established by a masters student in collaboration with The University of Pretoria. The restaurant is situated at Impala Dam. A 15 seater hide enables visitors to watch the interactions between the feeding vultures (Cape, white-backed and lappet-faced) as well as Jackals, and to observe the constant activity of the water birds on the dam (e.g.  black-winged stilts and several sandpiper, duck, kingfisher and heron species.)

Here’s a taste of what you can expect to see:

The grasslands support Sabota Lark, Rufous-naped Lark, Little Bee-eater and White-fronted Bee-eater, Lilac-breasted Roller, Purple Roller, Common Ostrich, Secretarybird, Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk and Magpie Shrike. Kori Bustard, Northern Black Korhaan and Red-crested Korhaan are common.

The woodland thickets have Southern Pied Babbler, Red-billed Hornbill, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, African Grey Hornbill, Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove, Marico Flycatcher, Golden-breasted Bunting, Violet-eared Waxbill and Blue Waxbill. Many west-east species pairs occur at Mankwe, e.g. Red-faced Mousebird and Speckled Mousebird, Ashy Tit and Southern Black Tit, Southern Pied Babbler and Arrow-marked Babbler, African Red-eyed Bulbul and Dark-capped Bulbul, Kalahari Scrub-Robin and White-browed Scrub-Robin, and Shaft-tailed Whydah and Pin-tailed Whydah.

Displaying hornbills.


















European Bee-Eater.