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.
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.
It’s been a long time since I’ve taken any volume of photos (May 2019 to be exact) and I’d forgotten how time consuming it is to go through images and rate them to determine which deserve editing. With other obligations for my time, I’ve only gotten through about 2/3rds of my images from my recent trip, on a first pass only. But, at least I am making progress. I reached the image I’m sharing today and decided to stop and edit it. I absolutely love owls, and it’s magical whenever there is an opportunity to see one. I was lucky enough to have one land outside my office window earlier this week, but as I was working I didn’t get any images. Maybe that is why this one stood out for me today.
On my recent tour, we were transferring from Hwange National Park to Tsowa Island in Zambezi National Park, and came upon a family of 3 Verreaux’s eagle owls. While they were quite high in the trees, there were still opportunities for good viewing and photos. I think I captured a few images with a least two of the family together, but I’m running out of day, so a single owl will have to do for today.
While I still haven’t gotten back into any type of routine with editing and posting, it feels good to be spending some time on this again.
I had forgotten I’d had this sighting of the barred owl; I’d taken a few quick images as it napped in the tree branches, and then forgot to download the images to my computer. If it weren’t for the raven sighting yesterday, they may have sat on there for quite some time.
Thankfully all the snow seen in this image is now gone, but sadly, it seems like sightings of the owl may be as well. But who knows, I could also get lucky with some springtime owl sightings.
This barred owl seems to be having good success in the yard with either mice or shrews that are running around under the snow. It was also eyeing up the flock of pine siskins that have been around, but I haven’t seen it have any success in catching one of those – at least not while I have been watching.
I’ve been really fortunate to have a barred owl hanging around the yard for the past week. It’s been spending a significant amount of time around, and most of the time perched in one of the trees that is easily visible from the window in my office.
I managed to get a few images to share; even if it is around over the next few days, it is doubtful I’d be getting anything more than a shot through the window, with the temperatures plummeting here for the next week. I think my camera and I will be spending as much time indoors as possible!
Spotlights can add a strange colour cast to images, and rather than tinkering for ages with colour correction, I moved this to black and white to see how it would look, and loved the result.
Wishing everyone a fantastic week!
A southern white-faced owl spotted while on the way back to camp while staying at Chitwa Chitwa in the Sabi Sands.
I spotted a barred owl hanging out in the backyard a couple of days ago while I was having lunch. It spent a bit of time trying to hunt, and the rest trying to nap. It was -28C, so I took the photos through my window, as it was just too cold for me to get out to take a couple of pictures. Besides, Murphy’s Law would have kicked in, and by the time I got bundled up enough to head outside and take a few images, the owl would have flown away.
Thankfully things have warmed up a little bit here; still cold, but at least not bitterly cold. I hope your week ahead is looking up too 🙂
