South Africa – Page 46 – Jennifer Sawicky Photography

February 27, 2015

Kalahari the cheetah

Here are the last few cheetah photos that I had flagged for editing from my October / November 2014 project with Wildlife ACT. It took a few days for our first sighting of Kalahari the cheetah, but I was very lucky to get to spend a fair bit of time in his presence, and learn a bit about his personality.

I’m not sure what will be up next, but I still have quite a few photos from that trip that I would like to share. Have a great day everyone!

On the move - look at those huge feet! — On the move – look at those huge feet!

I included this photo only to show how difficult it can be to spot a cat, even with very little ground cover. He looked up briefly, watching us watch him, but as soon as he put his head down, you could have walked past and missed him laying there. I'm pretty sure we drove back and forth a few times before finally catching sight of him. — I included this photo only to show how difficult it can be to spot a cat, even with very little ground cover. He looked up briefly, watching us watch him, but as soon as he put his head down, you could have walked past and missed him laying there. I’m pretty sure we drove back and forth a few times before finally catching sight of him.

This was taken around the same time as the black and white conversion I posted earlier in the week, but from a different vantage point. After watching him from below for some time, we drove up to the road at the top of the dam wall. To get home we had no choice but to drive past him fairly close; we went slowly and quietly, and it gave us some lovely views :) — This was taken around the same time as the black and white conversion I posted earlier in the week, but from a different vantage point. After watching him from below for some time, we drove up to the road at the top of the dam wall. To get home we had no choice but to drive past him fairly close; we went slowly and quietly, and it gave us some lovely views 🙂

February 26, 2015

A wander through the acacia

One day we caught up to Kalahari early on our morning tracking drive, but he soon disappeared into the trees heading down towards the river. 1/320sec, f8.-, ISO 800 — One day we caught up to Kalahari early on our morning tracking drive, but he soon disappeared into the trees heading down towards the river.
1/320sec, f8.-, ISO 800

February 25, 2015

Surveying his domain

Pausing at the top of the dam wall to survey his domain. We were parked about 20 to 30 feet below him, giving us interesting angles to shoot with. 1/320 sec, f7.1, ISO 220 — Pausing at the top of the dam wall to survey his domain. We were parked about 20 to 30 feet below him, giving us interesting angles to shoot with.
1/320 sec, f7.1, ISO 220

February 24, 2015

Occupational Hazards

There are sugar cane fields surrounding portions of Zimanga Private Game Reserve, and on some of our tracking outings, we would follow the cane field fence lines to get where we were going. After tracking the cheetah for some time, we finally spotted him, but I am sure the worker cutting cane (probably less than 10 metres away) didn’t have a clue he was there.

February 23, 2015

Backwards Glance

February 13, 2015

Warthogs

Given the sheer quantity of warthogs I saw while at Zimanga Game Reserve, I’m surprised it has taken me this long to post any photos of them. They were everywhere I looked, from dawn till dusk. In our yard, wandering down the road (and seeming to take great joy in holding up the vehicle progress) and I am pretty certain there was at least one (probably more) hanging around every time we stopped the vehicle to do our tracking.

They could be described as having a face only a mother could love, but honestly I found something kind of endearing about them. And if nothing else, I really, really needed to work on a blog post of a land dweller, or I’d have to change the tagline of my site to “Images of birds and more birds”.

Have a great evening!

A young warthog I caught snooping around the garden while I was outside photographing the birds. 1/500 sec, f7.1, ISO 100 — A young warthog I caught snooping around the garden while I was outside photographing the birds.
1/500 sec, f7.1, ISO 100

The second before "Oh no, they see me!" 1/640 sec, f9.0, ISO 400 — The second before “Oh no, they see me!”
1/640 sec, f9.0, ISO 400

Catching a nap in the mid afternoon heat, in the garden of the Wildlife ACT volunteer house. 1/500 sec, f5.6, ISO 250 — Catching a nap in the mid afternoon heat, in the garden of the Wildlife ACT volunteer house.
1/500 sec, f5.6, ISO 250

Big tusks on this one! 1/500 sec, f5.6, ISO 1100 — Big tusks on this one!
1/500 sec, f5.6, ISO 1100

A large female warthog popped by the Mkombe bird hide for a drink. 1/1250 sec, f8.0, ISO 1600 — A large female warthog popped by the Mkombe bird hide for a drink.
1/1250 sec, f8.0, ISO 1600

February 12, 2015

Sunbirds

I’m both happy and irritated with myself at the moment. Happy that I discovered a few additional sunbird photos that had not been properly tagged, and annoyed with myself for not going through the proper workflow to begin with.

That off my chest, here are a few additional sunbirds I saw during my last trip to South Africa. Enjoy!

My best attempt at an identification - I believe this is a female amethyst sunbird. 1/800 Sec, f5.6, ISO 800 — My best attempt at an identification – I believe this is a female amethyst sunbird.
1/800 Sec, f5.6, ISO 800

A male purple-banded sunbird perched in a distance tree. 1/640 sec, f5.6, ISO 400 — A male purple-banded sunbird perched in a distance tree.
1/640 sec, f5.6, ISO 400

A female scarlet-chested sunbird feeding on aloe. 1/640 sec, f5.6, ISO 400 — A female scarlet-chested sunbird feeding on aloe.
1/640 sec, f5.6, ISO 400

A huge stretch to reach the perfect aloe blossom. 1/640 sec, f5.6, ISO 400 — A huge stretch to reach the perfect aloe blossom.
1/640 sec, f5.6, ISO 400

A female scarlet-chested sunbird in flight. 1/640 sec, f5.6, ISO 400 — A female scarlet-chested sunbird in flight.
1/640 sec, f5.6, ISO 400

February 11, 2015

Lilac-breasted roller

While organizing photos, I came across a few lilac-breasted roller shots that frankly, I forgot I had. They are from my trip this past October / November to Zimanga. While there, I didn’t have a lot of success capturing the roller, as most of the time we were driving when I noticed it, and it was gone by the time we stopped, if we were able to stop at all. If there is a more beautiful bird though, I’ve not seen it yet. When the sunlight strikes its feather, the colours are just amazing.

Enjoy the photos and have a lovely day.

A cheeky glance over the shoulder. 1/500 sec, f5.6, ISO 100 — A cheeky glance over the shoulder.
1/500 sec, f5.6, ISO 100

If the light would have been on my side, this obviously would have been much better. I included it as I really like the composition. 1/400 sec, f5.6, ISO 100 — If the light would have been on my side, this obviously would have been much better. I included it as I really like the composition.
1/400 sec, f5.6, ISO 100

Perched in the thorn tree, I snapped this just moments before the roller took off. 1/1000 sec, f5.6, ISO 400 — Perched in the thorn tree, I snapped this just moments before the roller took off.
1/1000 sec, f5.6, ISO 400

Up and away. Not the sharpest in flight shot, but a lovely display of the colourful feathers nonetheless. 1/1250 sec, f5.6, ISO 400 — Up and away. Not the sharpest in flight shot, but a lovely display of the colourful feathers nonetheless.
1/1250 sec, f5.6, ISO 400

You can see some of my roller shots from my first trip to South Africa here: Lilac Breasted Roller, The lilac breasted roller.

February 10, 2015

Bee-eaters

I saw several bee-eater species on my first trip to Africa, which have been featured on several previous blog posts: Carmine bee-eaters, Bee-eaters, Birds in flight

This past trip, I added the little bee-eater to my list of birds, and saw the white fronted and european bee-eater again. I’ve only ever seen the european bee-eater from far distances, so I am hoping some day I will have some nice close up shots to work with.