I find owls fascinating and love having the opportunity to see them (or hear them) at home or while away. I was fortunate to see several different species of owl during my trip to South Africa and Botswana, including one very, very rare owl that was likely my once in a lifetime viewing opportunity.
While I saw many Verreaux’s eagle owls on this trip, the sightings were either at night or early evening leaving me with less than inspiring images to share. But including them, we had 5 different owl species on the trip, which I think is fantastic.
An African barred owlet seen on a game drive in Botswana from Leroo La Tau camp. Botswana, April, 2024.I found it very interesting that the spots on the back of the barred owlet’s head look like eyes. Botswana April, 2024.This is a pearl spotted owlet, unfortunately seen in the early evening and deep in a tree, making it difficult to point out the subtle differences between this and the barred owlet. The marking on the head is spots rather than stripes, but beyond that they are very similar in size and appearance. The pearl spotted owlet apparently lacks the false eyes on the back of the head, but I didn’t get a look at that personally. Botswana, April, 2024.A barred owlet that was discovered in a tree right off the path between cabins at Leroo La Tau camp. This little owl was very patient and allowed our entire group the chance to have a good look and some close up photos. Botswana April 2024.Barn owls look the same the world over. This pair of chicks were roosting in the rafters above one of the entry points into Moremi Game Reserve. Botswana, April, 2024.The very rare to see Pel’s fishing owl was a first for everyone in our group, and if memory serves, our guide, with over 25 years experience, had only one previous sighting. We were very fortunate to be staying next door to a camp that had a resident pair with a chick, nesting right above the deck, and they were gracious enough to allow our group to come over and see these rare and beautiful birds.
This is the mother owl; she was perched in a high tree perhaps 50 feet or so away from where the chick was. Botswana, April, 2024.
The Pel’s fishing owl chick perched in the fork of a tree. Going from memory the chick was around 12″ in height. Botswana, April, 2024.
I’m in a pretty similar situation to last week, where I have reached the end of the weekend without getting any editing done, so I have chosen a single image to share today. I selected this lion image because the colours are similar to the changing season I am seeing outside my door. Fall is arriving quickly, with bright green leaves being replaced with yellows and browns, with the occasional pop of red and orange.
We found a pride of lions in the late afternoon, just as they were beginning to get active. This young male was one of several young males that were just beginning to have their manes grow in. There was some nice interaction amongst the pride members, but those photos will have to wait for another day. This particular image was taken through some foliage, but that’s part of what I like about the image, because it reflects what many animal sightings are like; just brief glimpses through the vegetation.
On the plus side, I managed to get an editing session completed this weekend. On the minus side, it’s nearly bedtime when I finished. I’m sure as the decent weather fades, it will be easier to schedule in computer time.
Elephants are always an easy choice for me for editing and posts, because I’m fascinated by them and enjoy watching them so much; I always come back with loads of photos to choose from. This selection is all bull elephants, seen throughout my last trip in South Africa and Botswana.
An elephant mid dust bath. Timbavati, South Africa. April, 2024.An elephant passing next to one of the road markers in Savute, Botswana. April, 2024.An elephant feeding in the Okavango Delta wetlands at sunset. Botswana, April, 2024.
We all knew who had right of way on this road, and it sure wasn’t our convoy of vehicles. Botswana, April, 2024.
A lone bull quenching his thirst at the waterhole outside of Leroo La Tau Lodge in Botswana. April, 2024.
I hadn’t planned to take most of the summer off from editing photos and posting, but suddenly it is September and I haven’t done anything with my images since July. To be fair, there was golf to play, a yard to take care of and generally, a summer that is far too short and the desire to enjoy it as much as possible.
I chose a few images of my favourite cat, the leopard, to work on today. These are the first I have edited since getting a new computer and new monitor set up, as well as an updated version of Lightroom to use (my previous computer was so old, Lightroom hadn’t been able to update in close to a year, if not longer). It certainly is different working on a 2024 model compared to my old machine. It seems like there is still so much to do with program settings and the like, but I am happy to at least have had the chance to get back to my images.
A young leopard posing on a termite mound in the late afternoon. Timbavati, South Africa. April, 2024.A big yawn to get on the move. Timbavati, South Africa. April, 2024.This mother and son leopard were on their final time together, as soon after we viewed these animals, it would be time for the cub to make his own way in the world. It is so special getting to see such solitary animals interacting; we were treated to some lovely behaviour in this sighting, including a lot of grooming. Timbavati, South Africa. April, 2024.
I read the weekly newsletter of a photographer that I follow this morning, and one of the topics mentioned was about being overwhelmed with the process of editing photos. One of the comments he made really has me thinking, and may change the way I approach my catalogue in the future. The author mentioned that he doesn’t bother with a rating system anymore; it’s either yes or no. Do I want to work with the image, share it, etc, or not. Having only just finished my 2-star rating pass of my image catalogue from my trip, and finding it on the one hand enjoyable viewing images and reliving some of the moments, but on the other, incredibly time consuming, employing a new strategy might be necessary.
I’m hesitant because I worry I’ll miss something if I am ruthlessly flagging things yes or no. But flagging an image doesn’t mean I can’t look through them again later and see if my feelings have changed or not. It’s not like anything is getting deleted (well, except all the accidental shutter clicks of my pant leg, there’s no need for those).
In the spirit of looking for images I absolutely wanted to work with and share, here are a few giraffe images from my past trip. The instantly recognizable shape of the giraffe lends itself beautifully to a silhouette, and how nice of all these animals for cooperating.
Giraffes at sundown. Savute Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
A giraffe at sunrise. Timbavati Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024
Moving the vehicle allowed us to capture some of the friends of the lone giraffe above. Timbavati Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024
When you are on safari and see lots of antelope, giraffe, zebra and the like, many guides will say it’s been a good day for general game. I enjoy all the wonderful animals on safari, so decided to use that as a selection process for a few photos to share today.
A waterbuck and her calf, seen in the Timbavati, South Africa. April, 2024.A group of zebra, part of a much larger herd, enjoying a drink in Savute, Botswana. April, 2024.We came across this waterbuck at the perfect time for a nice reflection shot of him having a drink. Timbavati, South Africa. April, 2024.A very watchful kudu at sunset. Timbavati, South Africa. April, 2024.Giraffes at sunrise. Timbavati, South Africa. April, 2024.
This past trip was quite exceptional for the number of lion sightings that we had. And not just seeing lions doing what they do best, sleeping in the shade, but interesting interactions between the pride: playing, feeding, mating and a pride on the move towards the sounds of a nearby herd of buffalo.
A female greeting a young male lion as the pride got on the move after beating the heat of the day in the shade. Klaserie Sands Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.A male lion on the move in the early morning in Chobe Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.Our amazing guide, Miss B, found this lioness and her cubs behind a washroom facility at a picnic site. There were groups of people enjoying their morning coffee break not far away from this spot. It was an amazing sighting, but also a great reminder to always pay attention in the bush, and only go on foot to areas that have been inspected by the guides and deemed safe. Chobe Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.This lion cub could be in need of a dentist after chewing and playing with a metal directional sign that was pulled from a road marker. Savute Game Reserve, Botswana.April, 2024.A pair of lions in between bouts of mating. Savute Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.A young lion with a full belly at sunrise. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.A pair of lions each feeding on a warthog head. These two were both very keen on keeping the prize, and remained locked in place like this the entire time we were at the sighting. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.A group of lions on the move, followed by one of the other vehicles from our group. This was an amazing afternoon and evening in the bush, and its one where the photos don’t do justice to how wonderful the sightings were and how much fun it was. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.This is the same group of lions as the image above, gathering prior to crossing to the other side of the channel, in towards a large herd of buffalo. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
On our last morning at Chobe Game Lodge, our group had the option to either have a short, early morning boat cruise, or sleep in (we didn’t have time for a full game drive because of our flight time to go to our next camp). I’m an early bird by nature, and try my best to never miss an activity when on safari, so the choice was easy for me. The people that slept in certainly missed out on a beautiful morning on the water.
It’s been a while since I have posted any images; between preparing for a trip, the time spent away and then the return to normal life, the blog fell by the wayside for a bit. I’m slowly working on cataloging and rating images from my time away; and while I have a long way to go before that is complete, I don’t want to wait to share images until all that background work is done.
Today I decided to pick one image from each location I stayed at. It seemed like as good a starting place as any.
Leopard mother and son, sharing an affectionate moment. The cub is on the left, and at basically the same size as his mom, his days enjoying her company and her providing for him are numbered. Timbavati, South Africa. April, 2024.This was a first for me; watching a hyena stash its impala kill in a small waterhole. Klaserie Sands, South Africa. April, 2024.This trip was the trip of lions, with many sightings over the different areas I stayed in. This lioness was seen in Chobe National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.The other standout for sheer volume of animals were zebra, seen in vast numbers in Savute. Our trip timed it just right to encounter some of the zebra migration. Savute, Botswana. April, 2024.
A once in a lifetime sighting in Moremi Game Reserve. An endangered Pel’s fishing owl. We were fortunate enough to see the mother and offspring that were nesting at the camp next door to where we were staying. Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.
Elephants racing for the water on a hot afternoon. The areas where I traveled were experiencing significant drought, and it will likely be very, very hard on many animals come September and October, before the start of the next rainy season. For now, there was still decent amounts of water and vegetation to be found, and the animals we saw were still in good condition. Makgadikgadi Pan National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.
We traversed through Zambezi National Park on our way to Tsowa Safari Island, and during the drive, we stopped to watch a family of Verreaux’s eagle owls. The guides spotted them on route to pick us up, and knew it would be a thrill for a group of people on a birding trip.
The sighting was lovely, and I managed to get photos of each of the individuals, which I was happy about. With the owls high in the trees, and our vehicles on a single track with no space to the left or right, getting into a different position for photos really wasn’t an option. Everyone in the group managed to get a good view, and then we were off to the boat launch to get to the island lodge.
I shared images of these owls previously, you can find that post here if interested.
I love the eyes half closed look, showing off the bright pink eyelids.One of the parents looking in the direction of the juvenile.The juvenile eagle owl.
