If you’re in Southern Africa in the autumn (April/May) you’ll be there during the impala rut. And believe me, you’ll find yourself uttering the same phrase I did repeatedly “What on earth was that noise?”
I still don’t understand how a creature like this, can make a sound like that. To hear it for yourself, check out sound number two on this website.
Both in Botswana and South Africa, we heard a lot of noise and commotion, and saw a few different groups of bachelors going crazy, running and jumping and locking horns.
That’s the face that goes along with the noise. So attractive!Is this what the ladies do when they hear that sound and see that face??? I was in the right place at the right time to watch a herd of impala bounce through the bushes. This is a composite of 5 different photos.A clash of horns.Racing around, making noise, fighting about who is the manlier man.
Unfortunately, the guys kind of lose their minds during this time, and throw their normal caution and vigilance to the wind. The result…
They end up as a snack for a hungry pride of lions (or leopards, cheetah, wild dog, hyaena). This was actually a very interesting sighting in itself, you can see more about it here.
One of my dream wildlife sightings / photo opportunity was to see a leopard in a tree. I’m sure I mentioned it before, but it happened in what I felt was an unlikely place, the Okavango Delta.
I was looking through photos with my Mom yesterday and came across these after not having seen them for awhile, and I thought they would be great to edit in black and white. I still have a lot more shots to get through
If these are the type of photos you’d like to own, you can find them here:
Years ago, I lived for a year and a half in the UK, and spent a lot of time on my weekends touring properties listed under the National Trust. If I had been asked to come up with photos to describe my impression of ornate at that time, I would have drawn on references such as rococo furniture, tapestries, paintings with gilded frames, the fencing surrounding Buckingham Palace and the gardens of Hampton Court. All are still valid today, and I could go back in my archives and find dozens of examples… but my brain seems to work differently now.
Now, when I think of ornate, I think of birds. The beautiful detail of feathers when seen up close. The dizzying array of patterns, colours and textures. The mating performances. Even the patterns of their flight.
When you look at the birds below quickly, they seem to be dusty creatures in tones of beige, brown and grey. So take a closer look at a few ornately decorated birds I found in Botswana and South Africa.
A pair of namaqua sandgrouse. Who says you can’t pair stripes and polka dots together? Kalahari Desert, April 2015 1/1600sec, f5.6, ISO 400An orange river francolin, also in the Kalahari Desert. This one had been digging in the dirt. At least the coating of mud on his front feathers doesn’t obscure the wide variety of patterns and colours on display. April 2015 1/1000sec, f8.0, ISO 400A swainson’s spurfowl (I believe our ranger referred to it is a slit-neck francolin as well, or something like that). I was lucky that bird stayed still for such a long time, as usually these scurry off into the bushes site quickly. This one posed perfectly so we can see not only the intricate feathers, but the texture on his legs and around his eyes. Seen in the Okavango Delta April 2015 1/800sec, f11, ISO640A crested francolin at the roadside in the TImbavati. May, 2015 1/640sec, f5.6, ISO 200
After seeing this challenge, I decided to go through the photos I took of fish eagles throughout my last trip to Southern Africa. I saw them from a lot of different vantage points, including from above, which is a unique way to watch birds.
I hope you enjoy!
Looking into the river, looking for the next meal. 1/1000sec, f10, ISO 400This juvenile fish eagle was perched in a tree across from my room. The branches in the background are distracting, but I couldn’t ask him to move, and I didn’t want to spend ages photoshopping them out. 1/32sec, f5.6, ISO100The tilt of the head shows off the hooked book. 1/320sec, f5.6, ISO 100An attempt at dinner as the light fades. This time, he was unsuccessful. 1/800sec, f5.6, ISO 6400A view from behind.1/800sec, f7.1, ISO 800Watching a fish eagle fly from above, during a helicopter tour of the Okavango Delta. 1/1000sec, f9.0, ISO 900Capturing a fly by. 1/250 sec, f5.6, ISO 160A pair of fish eagles perch along the river. 1/200sec, f7.1, ISO 200Flying off into the sunset. 1/800sec, f5.6, ISO 2200
The first thing I thought of when I saw this weeks photo challenge was seeing all of the big five in a single game drive.
It was our first game drive leaving from Chitwa Chitwa, and the first of the big five we came across were the elephants. We ended up in fairly dense bush amongst a large herd, and I know some of the other people in the vehicle were a little nervous of the proximity! At some points, we were completely surrounded by them (I was thrilled!!!)
A little too close for comfort for some of the people in our vehicle. 1/1000sec, f7.1, ISO 1000, at 98mm.
The second we came across was the leopard. She was only steps away after we started moving away from the elephants. We followed her through the trees as well, and spent some time with her as she rested atop a termite mound.
A gorgeous leopard rests atop a termite mound. 1/400sec, f8.0, ISO 5600
We stopped for a sundowner drink and spotted a group of 3 rhino in a mud wallow off in the distance. The light was fading, and the viewing was certainly better without the camera.
A crash of rhino enjoy an early evening mud wallow. 1/100sec, f4.8, ISO 6400
Just as we were getting back into the vehicle after our drinks and snacks, Surprise our ranger pointed out a couple buffalo crossing the road off in the distance. The photo is awful, I knew it would be when I snapped it, but I thought I should take it as evidence of seeing 4 of the big 5 in a single drive.
Two buffalo cross the road, long after my camera was able to take a photo without a flash or spotlight!
As we were heading back to camp for dinner, we followed the tracks of some lions, and came upon them resting quite close to the camp. And with that, it was the big 5 all within the space of 3.5 hours! An absolutely amazing time.
A gorgeous lion rest in the early evening darkness. A female was close by as well. 1/160sec, f6.3, ISO 6400
Of course, most people know by now that I am thrilled to view anything when on a game drive, from the smallest bird to the tallest giraffe and everything in between. Here are a few other interesting sights from that drive.
A chameleon that our tracker spotted while we headed back to camp. I have no idea how they can see them in the pitch black from a moving vehicle, but it seemed to be a skill most of the trackers had! I don’t think the chameleon was too thrilled with being pointed at, he has a rather sour look on his face.A yellow billed hornbill perched at sunset (or as my Dad calls them, a flying banana).A pair of white backed vulture perched in the fading light. 1/200sec, f5.6, ISO 1100
Everyone should have figured out by now – I absolutely love photographing African animals!
For the which way challenge this week, a selection of animals blocking the way.
A group of male nyala block the winding way forward. Phinda Private Game Reserve, May 2015. 1/160sec, f8.0, ISO 4500A mom and three young cheetah cubs block the road (as does a zebra, farther off in the distance). Phinda Private Game, May 2015 1/250sec, f7.1, ISO 1000A crash of rhino at a bend in the road. Phinda Private Game Reserve, May 2015 1/320sec, f5.6, ISO 640
During my last trip to South Africa, I was lucky enough to watch lions at night not just once, but on four separate occasions. I have wanted to post these photos for a while; originally I held off as I printed two of them as a gift, and didn’t want to run risk that they would be seen on screen before the prints showed up in person (they looked AMAZING, if I do say so myself). I’ve finally had the chance to work through all the photos I had hoped to edit. A few of them are also on my Smugmug site, links are provided for anyone interested.
I hope you enjoy, and have a wonderful evening.
A lioness passes incredibly close to the front of the landrover. Londolozi Game Reserve, May 2015Giving us a glimpse of her powerful teeth and jaws. Phinda Game Reserve, April 2015What big teeth he has! Chitwa Chitwa, May 2015Such a beautiful cat. Phinda Game Reserve, April 2015This lioness was obviously bored of all the attention she was getting. Phinda Game Reserve, April, 2015Keeping a watchful eye out. Chitwa Chitwa, May 2015.
A lioness tries to catch 40 winks, but the male lion nearby definitely had other things on his mind! (More on that in another post!) Chitwa Chitwa, May 2015Keeping his eyes on his prize… the lovely female featured in other photos. Chitwa Chitwa, May 2015.
Partway through our game drive on our last morning at Chitwa Chitwa, I spotted a fairly large bird in some trees a short distance from the vehicle, and our guide Surprise quickly realized that it was a hawk that had been successful hunting. We headed closer but the hawk was definitely not too comfortable with our presence and headed for a new tree as soon as we got too close. After that happened twice, we moved on to allow him (or her) to enjoy breakfast in peace.
It was such a cool sighting and I am very grateful I was able to capture it.
Have a great evening!
An African harrier hawk flies with a green spotted wood snake in its mouth. 1/1000 sec, f8.0, ISO 320Coming in to landHe seemed to be settling in to have breakfast, but soon changed his mind and was off again. 1/1000sec, f8.0, ISO 280We moved the vehicle and for a few moments, had a closer vantage point.Off again 1/1000sec, f5.6, ISO 140The poor snake had tied itself into a knot while being clutched by the hawk.One last view before he was off.
Londolozi is well known for having amazing leopard sightings, and I certainly had one during my stay, but you’ll have to stay tuned to a future post to hear all about it and see the photos, as that encounter definitely deserves to be a post on its own (as does the Pangolin sighting!!!)
We had an absolutely fabulous time during our two night stay, and a lot of laughs with our ranger Dave and tracker Judas. I’d be back there tomorrow if I could (I think in fact I asked Phil the camp manager more than once if I could hide myself away somewhere just so I could stay longer).
The following are just a few of the moments that made me smile during my time there; I took over 1500 photos during my stay, so you can be certain you’ll see many more in the coming days and weeks.
This very blog was started after my first trip to Londolozi in 2013. In case you missed those first posts, you can find some of them here (or use the search function at the bottom of my home page to find them all!)
A small group of wildebeest gather around a tree, on a perfect autumn afternoon. 1/1000sec, f10, ISO360A saddle billed stork on one of the sandy bars in the river. 1/1000 sec, f9, ISO 560This photo brings me close to tears; I think it shows what I love best about being out in the bush, just bearing witness to the day to day lives of animals. I absolutely love elephants, and capturing this tender moment when the youngster had a chance to suckle was one of the benefits of parking ourselves in the river and hanging out with this small family. 1/1000sec, f8, ISO 360We parked in the river to watch this small family group drinking and crossing the river. What came next??? 1/1000sec, f8.0, ISO 400We got well and truly stuck! Our position in the river gave us brilliant viewing and photographic opportunities, but unfortunately left the land rover with tires at least half buried in the sand. Dave was so worried that we would be upset at waiting for rescue and being late for breakfast, but we all had an absolute blast; just another part of the safari adventure! 1/1250sec, f16, ISO900The tractor arrived to remove our stuck vehicle from the river; I’m not sure if Dave has lived that one down yet. 1/1250sec, f10, ISO500The result of having to call for rescue, Dave ended up with the dreaded pink ammo pouch. I think it may be good luck though, as we had some amazing sightings after he took possession of it!Even after getting dragged out of the river, Dave still stopped in the sand along the river so I could photograph this beautiful white fronted bee-eater. 1/1250 sec, f10, ISO 1000The morning sky was like a painting, and I was happy just to sit and watch that; stumbling across this herd of elephants made it all the better. 1/640sec, f5, ISO 3600My first attempt at photographing lightning; I set up my camera on the tree camp deck under a patio umbrella, and let the camera do it’s thing on a timer function while I enjoyed wine and dinner. We were out on drive and returned just before the rain started, but watched the most intense part of the lightning from the vehicle on the way back to camp. I’m pleased with the results for my first attempt; it was basically focusing and aiming at nothing and hoping for the best! 25sec, f11, ISO 800A slightly different editing technique, but from the same storm as the other lightning photo (one of only a few periods of rain I had on holiday). 25 sec, f11, ISO800I asked both my Dave’s to find me owls, and they both succeeded The light was not in my favour for photographing this southern white faced owl, but I really like this black and white conversion. 1/1250sec, f6.3, ISO 900A couple of iconic African shapes – elephants and cheetah. 1/250sec, f7.1, ISO 3600
I recently had a request for some more wild dog photos, so I spent some time this evening going through the photos I took back in April 2013 when I was lucky enough to see them in Botswana. I had dismissed many of the photos when I originally took them, as the light was rather difficult, but what a difference a year makes. I have more skills in editing now, and am able to correct things that I wasn’t able to just a short time ago. I didn’t have time to go through all the photos I flagged this evening, so if you are a betting person, you can put money on the fact that you’ll see more of this group later in the week
Torn ears and a face full of flies. 1/400sec, f5.3, ISO1600A group of wild dogs rests in the shade, away from the mid afternoon heat, at Chobe Game Reserve in Botswana. 1/500sec, f5.3, ISO1600I have no idea what they might have saw, heard, or smelled, but it certainly captivated the attention of the group. 1/640sec, f4.8, ISO800A wild dog heads away from the pack. 1/1000sec, f4.5, ISO800
I was in the right place at the right time to watch a herd of impala bounce through the bushes. This is a composite of 5 different photos.
