It is the green season in Mashatu. All the avian summer visitors from Europe and Russia are there. There is water everywhere, the flora is a verdant green and there is an abundance of insects and caterpillars.

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

This White-fronted Bee-eater looked to be trying to dust bath but it was doing so on fine stones so maybe it was just enjoying a pebble massage, and an alternative form of dust bath.

It was fun to watch. This little bundle of colour was thoroughly enjoying itself, as it continued for a good couple of minutes, quite oblivious of us.

Normally you see the resident Namaqua Doves pecking at the ground searching for seeds. The adult male has a yellow and red beak and a black face, throat and breast. The adult female lacks the black face and has a red-based grey bill. This little dove is the size of a budgerigar.

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson
We saw Lesser Spotted Eagles on one of the afternoons, and there were a number of them. The head and wing coverts are pale brown and contrast with the generally dark plumage. In contrast to the brown plumage, the eyes, feet and the skin at the base of the beak are yellow. These eagles migrate south from eastern Europe in our summer mainly for the abundance of insects, especially flying ants. This eagle has stove-piped feathered legs and is smaller than a Tawny Eagle which is smaller than a Steppe Eagle. Our guide, Maifala, said there were plenty of Steppe eagles around but we did not see them. These eagles seem to be highly mobile moving to where the insects are most abundant.

These Lesser Spotted Eagle will not let you get too close but it is wonderful to see these migrants. It is an amazing to think of how far these wanderers have flown to get to our part of the world.

There is water everywhere at this time of the year. Even slight depressions are full of water. Needless to say the frogs have been busy and there are many tadpoles in these temporary pools. The insects and tadpoles attract beachcombers like this Wood Sandpiper which was lightning fast to catch this tadpole. I have never seen a Wood Sandpiper catch anything more than small insects and midges on the surface of the water’s edge.

Anyone who has spent any time in thornveld bush will immediately recognise the call of a Crimson Breasted Shrike. You usually hear them before you see them. This character was not waiting around to show off its majestic crimson plumage. The crimson breast plumage is a vibrant scarlet-crimson colour which I doubt an artist would be able to replicate with oil paints.

“Colours are the smiles of nature.”

~Leigh Hunt

When you hear the sound of a bath-time rubber-duck being squeezed in the bush you know to look for a sandgrouse. This pair of Namaqua Sandgrouse were foraging through the yellow Devil-thorn flowers looking for seeds.

 

Both male and female have cryptic colouring on their backs because they feed on the ground. The male has a more definitive blonde chest with a white-trimmed chestnut coloured waistcoat marking.

Early one morning we found this Swainson’s Spurfowl declaring his territory to the world from his vantage point. This character’s spurs were disguised in the foliage but the length and sharpness of the leg spur gives an indication of the age of the male.

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson
A panorama  looking down through a saddle onto the treeline along the Majale river from one of the adjacent ridges.

A male Kori Bustard with his neck puffed out. This was obviously the season for love, judging from how the male were parading around. We never got to see a full display but it was clear which was the male and which was the female.

“Raise your words, not your voice. It is the rain that grows flowers, not thunder.”

~Rumi

The next image is of  a Long-tailed or Meves Starling. They are ubiquitous in Mashatu. When the sun catches them they radiate these gorgeous  shades of blue and aquamarine.

These Long-tailed Starlings are also very talkative. When in the croton groves they, together with the tree squirrels, act as good alarms systems making it very difficult for predators and snakes  to move around unnoticed.

First thing in the morning, we saw many White-backed Vultures  which were either standing on the ground or perched in trees or bushes. Most birds of prey wait until around 9h00 for the thermals and dust devils to form before taking off  catching their sky lift.

Despite all the scenes of these vultures squabbling over carcasses they always seem to look relatively clean. With all the water around no doubt there was frequent bathing.

Mashatu must be one of the cuckoo meccas. I have never seen and heard so many different types of cuckoo as I do in Mashatu. We saw the Greater Spotted Cuckoo,  heard the Red-chested and Klaas’s Cuckoo and saw the Diedericks Cuckoo,  the Striped and this Jacobin Cuckoo. The Striped and Jacobin look quite similar until you see them from the front. The Jacobin has a pure white front unlike the Striped or Levaillant’s Cuckoo which has black stripes on its white front.

Sabota Larks are ubiquitous residents in Mashatu.

We had been watching a coalition of three male Cheetahs and were moving off when Maifala pointed to this lone Pearl-spotted Owlet. These guides have the most remarkable eyesight and are finely tuned into the bush. It was late afternoon and its seemed relaxed perhaps having just woken up. The white/pale eye brows are a distinctive feature, as is the small size. Next to the Scoops Owlet this must be one of the most distinctive owl calls at night.The song of the male is a series of clearly fluted whistles, rising gradually in volume and in pitch – “feu-feu-feu-fue-feu” and after a short pause, there may be several explosive notes with a downwards inflection – “peeooh peeooh”.

Juvenile Temmnick’s Courser. We often see Temmnick’s Coursers in Mashatu. This diurnal courser eats mainly insects and seeds and seems to prefer drier areas. This species can be found all over Africa from Chad to South Africa. We also got to see the largest courser, the  Bronze-winged Courser, which is nocturnal, but I was on the wrong size of the vehicle to get a decent image – perhaps next time!!

“The earth laughs in flowers.”

~Ralph Waldo Emerson
This young Temmnick’s Courser did not like all the attention and decided to look for a quieter spot.

The Woodland’s Kingfishers had also flown in for the summer and the abundance of insects. They are inter-African migrants. The males call constantly through the breeding season. The call is very distinctive and unmistakable in the summer bushveld. Their call begins with one sharp, loud, high note, followed by a repetition of trills in descending pitch which eventually fade away.

I was very “chuffed” to see a small flock of Southern Pied Babblers. The only other place I have seen them in southern Africa is the Pilansberg Game Reserve in South Africa.

We often see and hear Arrow-marked Babblers but it is treat to see Southern Pied Babblers. These babblers are co-operative breeders and are highly territorial.

Another summer migrant from higher up in Africa is the Carmine Bee-eater. They can be found in groups scattered across the park. They too were enjoying the abundance of flying insects.

A resident Red-backed Shrike.

A male Diederick’s Cuckoo. Its name is onomatopoeic as it has a persistent and loud “deed-deed-deed-deed-er-ick” call.

“In nature, light creates the colour. In the picture, colour creates the light.”

~Hans Hofmann

Adult males are glossy green above with copper-sheened areas on the back and whitish underparts. They have a broken white eye-stripe, a short green malar stripe and a red eye-ring.

These cuckoos are often found feeding on insects and caterpillars on the ground. There seem to be plenty of caterpillars from the Mopani trees and bushes.

An African Hoopoe on one of the dirt roads in the park. This bird also has a onomatopeaic name. It is named after its call which is a loud “oop!” in sets of three.

Their heads have a distinctive crest with long chestnut coloured feathers which have black tips. The crest lies backwards when the bird is resting, however, if alarmed or excited, the crest opens up and displays a beautiful circular shape. This male was taking a dust bath in the late afternoon.

This character would peek at the soil and then put his head down and squirm in the dust with his wings extended to fully cover himself with dust. He did this repeatedly for about 10 minutes. Dusting or sand bathing, is part of a bird’s preening and plumage maintenance which keeps feathers in top condition. The dust that is worked into the bird’s feathers will absorb excess oil to help keep the feathers from becoming greasy or matted. The oil-soaked dust is then shed easily to keep the plumage clean and flexible for more aerodynamic flight and efficient insulation.

“If your ever want your soul to dance in the clouds, you will at some point have to juggle lightning and taste the thunder.”

~Christopher Poindexter

This White Stork is a European migrant which has also flown down for the summer to enjoy the abundance of insects. They do not breed down in sub-equatorial Africa. These storks are on Jackal and Martial Eagles’ prey lists.

A Crested Francolin foraging for seeds fruit and insects. This francolin has a broad white eye-stripe which contrasts with the dark head, and it has a white throat. When it runs it cocks its tail, like a bantam chicken. Male crested francolins can be distinguished from females and juveniles by their brighter plumage colours and up-curved spurs on their legs. You will only see the crest which is extended when alarmed and gives this francolin a mohawk look.

A ubiquitous Yellow-billed Hornbill. These hornbills were having a field day with all the grasshoppers and ants to feed on. We also saw the Red-billed, Grey and Southern Ground Hornbills in the park.

I have been waiting to get a half reasonable image of a Plum-coloured, now called a violet-backed Starling.  This species is dimorphic and only the male has this irridescent purple-plum colouring which sparkles in the sunshine.

“Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways”.

~Oscar Wilde

This was the first trip to Mashatu where we saw these birds almost everyday. They were difficult to photograph as they would not allow us to get close to them. The male’s upper parts, including the chin, throat and wings are iridescent purple. The underparts are pure white. The coloration varies from dark to rosy depending on the light. The bill and legs of the male are black, the eyes have a yellow outer ring around a brown centre. The female lacks any of the iridescent plumage

A resident Lesser Grey Shrike, a cousin to the Red backed Shrike. Both are insect eaters and can often be seen  on top of the bushes scanning the area for food. They are perch hunters.

A Barn Swallow which has come down from the Northern Hemisphere for summer. This swallow has steel blue upper parts and a rufous forehead, chin and throat, which are separated from the off-white underparts by a broad dark blue breast band. The outer tail feathers are elongated, giving the distinctive deeply forked “swallow tail”. These agile fliers hunt insects on the wing. They were abundant in the park.

A Dusky Lark foraging in among the flowers for insects. This is a large, slender, thrush-like lark with striking facial pattern, very dark upper­parts and boldly streaked breast and primary and secondary coverts.

I hope I have given you a sense of the wonderful bird life which can be seen in Mashatu. Summer time has the added benefit of all the summer migrants but the birding and bird photograph is excellent at any time of the year.

“To find the meaning of life, enjoy the journey, the beauty of the nature, the glint of a dew drop, the warmth of the morning sun, the songs of the wind, and smiles of flowers. These are all there to make your journey worthwhile and make your life meaningful.”
~ Debasish Mridha

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

2017 started brimming with expectation. My first trip into the bush was with friends to Mashatu in south-eastern Botswana, for four days. It is mid-summer in this part of the world. We had a rough start to the summer season as we were in the midst of a desperate drought. The El Nina system seems to have given way to the wet La Nina which started in late November.  One of the most incredible transformations take place after a serious drought. The earth looks desiccated and it is difficult to imagine that  good rains could transform the landscape. What we don’t realize is that nature is patiently waiting in the dust in the form of seeds. With decent rain these seeds start to sprout and mother nature transforms a lunar landscape into a scene of abundance.

‘“A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect.”
― Jonathan Lockwood Huie

We knew before we went to Mashatu that the Limpopo river would be high and perhaps in flood after all the good rains in the South African catchment areas which feed into the Limpopo river system, with a lag. As anyone in this part of the world knows the rivers can come down in spate, which can last a few hours, and quickly subside. This time the Limpopo river was very high and the Ponte at the Ponte Drift border post had been damaged by the high flood waters, so we decided to travel by vehicle the long way around through the Platjan border post, which is to the west, and adds about two and a half hours to the trip, mainly because of the dirt roads.

“There were two ways to be happy: improve your reality, or lower your expectations”
― Jodi Picoult

On our way from Platjan, once in Mashatu Nature Reserve, we decided to have a quick look at Soloman’s Wall. The road which crosses the Motloutse river at Solomon’s Wall is a  short cut from Platjan, when you can cross. On the way to Soloman’s Wall we drove past Rhodes’ Baobab which is this remaining portion of a large Baobab tree rooted onto of a large sandstone ridge, called Mmagwa. The next image shows how verdant the bush looked. I have never seen it looking so green and lush.

On the opposite side of the road is Mapungubwe (meaning ‘hill of the jackal’) a sacred hill which was part of the Mapungubwe dynasty system. Today only the Paramount Chief is allowed on the hill. Legend has it that unaccompanied people who climb this hill will not return alive. As you can see you are starting to get a sense of the fields of gold.

About another kilometre down the dirt road we reached Solomon’s Wall – which is cut by the Moutloutse river. This is a seasonal river which comes down in flood occasionally in summer. This is what the “short cut” from Platjan looked like. We were please we chose the long way around.

Backlighting on the Purple Pod Terminalia. With the verdant green background the  the backlighting illuminated the pods presenting attractive splashes of colour. The silver cluster-leaf (Terminalia sericea) usually occurs only on sand. The purple-pod terminalia is often found on clay or calcareous soils on hill sides .

“Wise words are like seeds. The more you scatter them, the more they will grow into infinite gardens of knowledge.”
― Suzy Kassem

I have titled this post Fields of Gold because Mashatu was carpeted in these yellow Devil Thorn flowers which were interspersed with tiny red flowers. The whole reserve looked dazzling,  making it look like the garden of Eden.

I have never seen lionesses in a carpet of yellow flowers. Two lionesses had six cubs between them were making their way from the river to look for some cover to rest from the growing morning heat.

“Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life.”

~Wayne Dyer

I often wonder what the animals must feel when they see the complete transformation of their surrounds between winter and summer, after the rains. Of course the herbivores benefit from the abundance of food and respond by producing a plethora of young.

The lionesses spotted some giraffe a couple of hundred metres ahead and slowly started making their way toward them. The cubs knew to remain behind and be still and quiet. Normally their tawny coats would provide wonderful camouflage, but not that day.

I guess even lion cubs get hay fever.

I had to pinch myself to remind myself that this scene was real. 

“Animals are not only beholders of great beauty,
but they are also beholders of ancient wisdom.”
― Molly Friedenfeld

The giraffe that the lionesses were interested in had a different perspective on the scene. They saw the lions who were probably given away by the cubs. The giraffe stood transfixed looking at the lions and even moved closer to them to make sure that they had a good visual on all the lions at all times.

These cubs were about seven to eight months old and were eating meat but were still very much cubs and had much still to learn. Mashatu has plenty of hyaenas and leopard which will kill lion cubs given half a chance.

Not only were there fields of gold but almost all the animals had young. It was a time of plenty. There were many Impala in the reserve. Of course they became skittish once they got the scent of the lions. The Impala would jump over the dirt road  in the dash through the fields of gold.

“Ignorance is not bliss. It is the kiss of death.”
― Suzy Kassem,

The bird life was also abundant, reinforced by all the migrants from higher up Africa and as far as the Steppes of Russia.  We found many pairs of Namaqua Sandgrouse which are year-round residents. This was a male and female. The male has the yellow eye ring and white and brown band across his chest. Their backs are cryptically coloured for camouflage when they are feeding on seed on the ground.

We found the resident Cheetah male coalition. This group comprises three male Cheetahs. They have been in Mashatu for many years and are getting old now. This can be seen by how worn down their canines are.

The baboons seemed to love the yellow flowers picking hand fulls of them and eating them. At times they would not even pick the flowers just bend down and bite them off their stems.

We saw a large group of Banded Mongooses every day when we were on the game drives. All the animals looked to be wandering comfortably through the yellow flowers. The yellow devil thorn (Tribulus terrestris) bloom is followed a week later by a fruit which falls apart into  five nutlets or burs. These nutlets are hard and bear two to four sharp spines – hence the devil name. As you can imagine after the rains and the flowers, the ground will be littered with the devil thorns.

“Talent is always conscious of its own abundance and does not object to sharing.”

~Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Summer is also a time when all the migrants  come down to southern Africa – no “Brexit” issues here. Mashatu is know for its plethora of cuckoos in summer time probably because of its abundance insect life and numerous worms and caterpillars attracted by the mopany bushes and lush vegetation. This Diederick’s Cuckoo is particularly partial to caterpillars.

This yellow-billed hornbill is also an insect eater and it was having a field day amongst the yellow devil-thorn flowers.

We saw many elephant on this trip to Mashatu. They had plenty to eat and  plenty of water to cool down in the reserve  – which can be extremely hot at this time of the year.

There was an abundance of wildlife in Mashatu but the rains had really brought out the dazzling carpet of yellow flowers. The flora looked verdant and pregnant with life.

“All in all, it was a never to be forgotten summer — one of those summers which come seldom into any life, but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going — one of those summers which, in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doing, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world.”
—L.M. Montgomery

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

Wishing you a Happy New Year filled with exploration, wonder, amazement, inspiration, mystery and enchantment.

May you experience the abundance from, and greater appreciation for, this fascinating world around you.

May your friendships grow and may you receive just reward for your labours.

In this post I have created a gallery of some of my favourite images from what was a terrific 2016. My photographic intention is to continuously improve the technical quality of my photography and to be better able to show the beauty of this amazing world around us.

“The beauty of the trees,
the softness of the air,
the fragrance of the grass,
speaks to me.
The summit of the mountain,
the thunder of the sky,
speaks to me.
The faintness of the stars,
the trail of the sun,
the strength of fire,
and the life that never goes away,
they speak to me.
And my heart soars.”
~ Chief Dan George 

The dominant male lion in Mashatu

Young independent leopard sprawled on the bough of a fig tree at last light in Mashatu.

Male lion mating in the long Serengeti grass.

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
~ Anais Nin

A one-eyed lioness drinking with her two cubs at mid-morning in the Serengeti. Her eye was damaged by a kick from a zebra.

Adult lions up a balanite to get away from biting flies and get some peace from the cubs in the Serengeti.

Pale morph Tawny Eagle trying to land in between two “hoods” in the Serengeti.

“We eat light, drink it in through our skins. With a little more exposure to light, you feel part of things physically. I like feeling the power of light and space physically because then you can order it materially. Seeing is a very sensuous act–there’s a sweet deliciousness to feeling yourself see something.”
~ James Turrell

Dawn on the Serengeti.

A tower of giraffes just before sunrise on the Serengeti.

A flying impala ram in front of an impressed group of giraffe on the Serengeti.

Striped morph Tawny coming in to land and feast on the left overs of a zebra kill on the Serengeti.

A Lilac-breasted Roller dive bombing a Black Chested Snake-Eagle in the Serengeti.

“Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory.”
~ Betty Smith

An afternoon rain storm in the distance while we were watching lions in the Serengeti.

One of two young leopards in a grove of acacias in the middle of a large open plain in the Serengeti.

A Yellow-necked Spurfowl preening itself while perched on the bough of a tree in the Serengeti.

You don’t often see leopards running. Two young leopards were cavorting and chasing each other in the long grass just next to a grove of acacias in the Serengeti.

A male White bellied Sunbird in Aloe Farm just outside Johannesburg in late autumn.

Two zebra stallions fighting in the Grumeti area of the Serengeti. The fight turned quite savage but neither male was injured.

“One cannot but be in awe when one contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day. Never lose a holy curiosity.”
~ Albert Einstein

African Jacana flying between water lily pads on the Chobe river.

Two young elephants mocking fighting in the Chobe river.

A bull elephant with intentions on an island in the Chobe river.

Lilac-breasted roller in its full glory in the morning light on the Chobe river.

A pair of Pygmy geese about to fly away on the Chobe river.

“Life just seems so full of connections. Most of the time we don’t even pay attention to the depth of life. We only see flat surfaces.”

~ Colin Neenan

Sunset on the Chobe river.

Unusual fishing technique of the Black Egret on the bank of the Chobe river.

Dawn on the Chobe river looking at the iconic three Jackalberry trees.

Two elephant bulls tussling in Amboslei in Kenya.

A baby Olive baboon in Amboseli in Kenya.

“If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.”
~ William Blake

The beautiful female Painted Snipe in a marsh in Amboslei.

A wildebeest disturbs a huge flock of lesser Flamingoes in Amboseli.

The sun peering through thick morning cloud in Amboseli.

One of the big bulls in Amboseli.

A Serval cat hunting in one of the marshes in Amboslei at last light.

This lioness locks onto a few zebra in the distance in Amboseli.

A running Golden Starling in Tsavo West National Park in south east Kenya.

“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”
~ Carl Jung

A young leopard having just eaten a Dik Dik it had caught in the long grass in Tsavo West.

A lesser Kudu in Tsavo West – a first for me.

Another young leopard strolls along the road in front of us in Tsavo West.

Two bundles of fun with claws in Mashatu.

“Humanity has passed through a long history of one-sidedness and of a social condition that has always contained the potential of destruction, despite its creative achievements in technology. The great project of our time must be to open the other eye: to see all-sidedly and wholly, to heal and transcend the cleavage between humanity and nature that came with early wisdom.”
~ Murray Bookchin

The dominant male lion in Mashatu walking headlong into a cool morning wind.

Dappled beauty, camouflaged to perfection in Mashatu.

The same leopard up a tree moulded into the shape of the bough of a tree in Mashatu.

Two young male giraffe sparring in Mashatu.

“That’s the whole problem with science. You’ve got a bunch of empiricists trying to describe things of unimaginable wonder.”
~ Bill Watterson

A pack of wild dogs in Mana Pools had come down to the Zambezi river to drink in the afternoon.

Dawn in the Trichilia area of Mana Pools.

Two elephants quietly browsing in one of Mana’s forests.

Three up and three down. We caught the attention of three of the zebra in Mana Pools.

Hippos tussling in Long Pool in Mana Pools in last light.

A Mana Pools sunset.

I hope you enjoyed this small gallery of images from my photographic trips in Africa in 2016. I cannot wait to get out into the bush in 2017 to take better images and experience the beauty and abundance of the African bush.

“The secret of beginning a life of deep awareness and sensitivity lies in our willingness to pay attention. Our growth as conscious, awake human beings is marked not so much by grand gestures and visible renunciations as by extending loving attention to the minutest particulars of our lives. Every relationship, every thought, every gesture is blessed with meaning through the wholehearted attention we bring to it. In the complexities of our minds and lives we easily forget the power of attention, yet without attention we live only on the surface of existence. It is just simple attention that allows us truly to listen to the song of a bird, to see deeply the glory of an autumn leaf, to touch the heart of another and be touched. We need to be fully present in order to love a single thing wholeheartedly. We need to be fully awake in this moment if we are to receive and respond to the learning inherent in it.”
~Christina Feldman

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike