We often talk about the benefits of each season here at Londolozi, and while the heat of summer can be more difficult to handle, the benefits that come alongside it far outweigh the negatives. For me, the intense green hues, the abundance of water, and with it young being born all around the reserve are huge positives; however, my highlight of summer is the returning migratory birds.
A Carmine Bee-eater hawks from a perch on Fluffies Clearing. Summer is a wonderful time to be in the bush if you are a birder, as the migrants add a whole new dimension of colour and interest to an already fascinating environment.
Each year, we rangers keep a list (read: a huge competition for who can claim the first sighting) of the migratory birds and the date they return. The honour of claiming the first sighting leads to both ranger and tracker having binoculars at the ready, and each game drive is spent carefully listening for the distinct calls of many elusive species.
During the end of 2024 and as we enter into 2025, we were still anxiously awaiting the return of one of the most striking and down-right beautiful migratory species: The Southern Carmine Bee-eater. But what is the cause of the delay?
Three-part migration:
The Southern Carmine Bee-eater is an intra-African migrant, (meaning that it migrates within Africa), has a striking pinkish-red plumage and also happens to be Africa’s largest bee-eater.
The birds over-winter in the Equatorial savannahs of central Africa, fattening themselves up for their journey southward.
Whilst the silvery-grey plumage of the Ring-necked Dove blends in with the overcast, gloomy sky, the rosy-red colour of the Southern Carmine Bee-eaters certainly doesn’t. Now that the warmer weather and rain are starting to subside, these insectivorous birds will soon be migrating northwards to follow warmer weather and food.
Without fail every year, as soon as August comes around the bee-eaters are on the move. Driven southward to their breeding grounds all along the Zambezi River, they arrive in their thousands, blurring the heavens with their fluttering wings and brilliant hues. For days, a seemingly endless swarm of birds arrives, fluttering down onto the sands, drilling their nests into the river banks, clamouring in the reed beds and staging dramatic courtship battles over the water.
Here two Carmine Bee-Eaters illustrate the changing phases of plumage-from juvenile at the back, to sub-adult in the foreground
For three months the river banks of the Zambezi River bristle with the whirring of thousands of wings and brilliant flashes of colour as they dart in and out of these nests. In the early morning, they emerge to forage for bees, returning to bash their victims against a perch to remove the stings, before feeding them to their young.
Continuing South
All too soon the spectacle is over and once again the flocks are on the move. December sees them disperse to their summer homes further south (here at Londolozi), their newly-fledged young in tow. Here they remain, scattered throughout South Africa until February, before beginning their long journey back to the equator.
These birds have a rather interesting migratory pattern in that they do it in three stages. They over-winter in the equatorial parts of Africa, migrate slightly south to breed in large flocks along the Zambezi River and in the Caprivi Strip of Namibia from August to November and then disperse further south into South Africa in December before returning back to the equator in March.
Carmine Bee-eaters choose this time of year for their annual pilgrimage for breeding, often returning to the same riverbanks every year. The diverse landscapes provide a haven for these travellers, with the riverbanks and savannahs offering an abundant supply of insects, the primary diet of these bee-eaters. Bees, wasps, dragonflies, and other insects that inhabit the ecosystem of these regions are a vital source of nourishment for these birds during their stay.
A flock of Southern Carmine Bee-eaters feeds on insects that the White Storks are flushing as they walk. This is a good example of commensalism: symbiosis where one species benefits from the presence of the other (the bee-eaters) while the other (the storks) neither suffers nor benefits.
However, Carmine Bee-eaters are known to time their breeding season with the emergence of certain bee species. They rely on these bees as a primary food source for themselves and their chicks, hence their breeding synchronization with the bee populations. With the delayed rain (or lack thereof) and increased heat we have experienced this season, perhaps the delay in bee activity is the reason for the delayed return of these beautiful birds.
Heading out from Varty Camp one afternoon, we stopped at our camp dam to take a closer look at the lush pink colouration of a Southern Carmine Bee-eater when, out of nowhere, a European Bee-eater decided to photobomb the shot. Two beautiful summer migrants add to the vibrant colours of the summer bushveld!
Whether the reason is increased heat, humidity, lack of bee activity, or perhaps there is a delay further north of us, we do not know. What I can say is that we are crossing our fingers, keeping our binoculars at the ready, and excitedly waiting for the skies to be filled with thousands of birds, glimmering like crimson-coloured jewels in the sunlight.
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on Missing Migrant – The Carmine Bee-eater