The river in front of the Grumeti Tented camp is in fact an oxbow lake which was, a long time ago, cut off from the Grumeti river. In the rainy season, it fills with water which attracts the hippos.

“Wild animals, like wild places, are invaluable to us precisely because they are not us. They are uncompromisingly different. The paths they follow, the impulses that guide them, are of other orders. Seeing them, you are made briefly aware of a world at work around and beside our own, a world operating in patterns and purposes that you do not share. These are creatures, you realise that live by voices inaudible to you.”
― Robert Macfarlane

So many posts about the Serengeti focus on the predators. The Serengeti is an incredible ecosystem supporting a huge variety of animal and plant life. The rivers in the Serengeti teem with life and they attract an enormous amount of wildlife from the plains.

There are several pods of hippos up and down the ox-bow lake. Being late January, the short rains were supposed to have stopped. We still got quite a bit of rain especially at night which filled the ox-bow lake making it ideal for the hippo families.

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

One morning, we watched two young hippos sparring. Although it looked quite savage, they were just play fighting. These “river horses” are enormously strong and, helped by the buoyancy of the water, can lift each other right out of the water.

Hippos have massive mouths relative to their eyes, nose and ears. Hippos can open their mouths to a wide 150 degrees or 4 feet wide which show their large tusk-like canines and razor-sharp incisors, capable of creating serious damage to a small boat or three metre crocodile. A hippo is a herbivore so its wide mouth is primarily for threat displays.

Although hippos spend most of the day in water they cannot swim or float so in deep water they bounce off the river bed. In shallow water, they move around by walking or running on the river bed.

“I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

A hippo’s skin is usually greyish-brown on top and pinkish on the underside. It is hairless, apart from a few bristles around its mouth and tail-end. The hippo has no sweat glands in the skin but it compensates with special glands that produce a red fluid. This fluid protects their skin from the sun and from infections. Hippos rely on cool water and mud to prevent over-heating and dehydration.

Although these two adolescents were playing, we were very happy to be high up on the bank in a vehicle. Hippos are notoriously territorial and aggressive and can move much quicker than you would think given their bulk.

We had driven alongside a treeline and had stopped to watch a pair of mating lions when this large pachyderm happened to walk by. He stopped in his tracks as he saw us. He was walking in the direction of the lions as he must have smelt them.

This middle aged bull looked to be slow and cumbersome, but do not be fooled. He expressed his irritation at us hanging around by shaking his head and his ears made a loud slapping sound on the side of his body and dust flew everywhere. We decided he was right and left him in peace to go and talk to the lions.

“True solitude is found in the wild places, where one is without human obligation. One’s inner voices become audible… In consequence, one responds more clearly to other lives.” ~ Wendell Berry

Later that day as we travelled towards Musira hill we came across this herd of elephants making their way towards the river. It was interesting that they were walking in a close herd formation. This was probably because they could smell lions all around.

This herd wandered through the clusters of trees and bushes moving either side of a cluster. We assumed they were just clearing the area to make sure their were no lions around which they did not know about.

Every time the herd came through into a clearing in the bushes they stopped, with the matriarch at the centre. They paused, watched, listened and smelt. Once satisfied they knew what was going on, they moved on.

“Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.” ~ Rachel Carson

The following day we decided to drive around Kirawira plains. These plains are between the Grumeti river and the Singita conservation area. This is a vast open area where large herds of herbivore congregate.

We found three large herds of buffalo on this particular day. It was difficult to tell how large each herd was, but we estimated them to be between 250 and 300 animals. What is fascinating is that these animals are in this area all year long. This is because the weather in the western corridor is unique in the Serengeti given the strong influence from Lake Victoria. The western corridor is altogether wetter all year round compared to the rest of the Serengeti which ensures plenty of game all year round. This means there are plenty of predators because of the abundance of food.

A small group of buffalo cows watched us intently. They were away from the main herd so were especially wary.

“We cannot navigate and place ourselves only with maps that make the landscape dream-proof, impervious to the imagination. Such maps – and the road-map is first among them – encourage the elimination of wonder from our relationship with the world. And once wonder has been chased from our thinking about the land, then we are lost.”
~ Robert Macfarlane

As the morning brightened up, and on our way back to camp for breakfast, we came across this herd of giraffe. They were in the middle of a large plain with no obvious opportunity for them to feed.

During their slow walk across the plain they stopped to drink at pools of rainwater in the plain and probably just to look around and assess what was in the area. Giraffe seem to prefer to move in family herds but do not touch each other much. There is the ritual necking, and mothers nuzzle their young but the only other time they touch is when males slug it out using their heads as battering rams to establish dominance.

Humans cannot hear most of the communication between giraffe because they communicate infrasonically, with moans and grunts too low for humans to hear. Mother giraffe sometimes use whistles to warn or call their young. Giraffe also communicate with their bodies and eyes. In the wild, a group of giraffe will congregate and stare at predators to warn others to stay away. It is also clear that being so tall giraffe can pick up messages from a long way away just from posture.

Of the four largest mammals in the Serengeti, the hippos were the noisiest. At the camp which is sited adjacent to an ox box lake which long ago detached from the Grumeti river, the hippos were grunting all day and all night. The first night or two all the hippo grunts keep you awake but after a while they become a natural and reassuring sound. At night, the hippo grunts are intermingled with Scops owls “prrupping”, baboons screeching, leopards coughing, hyaenas whooping and lions roaring. This symphony in the dark gives you a wonderful sense of wildness.

“The earth is such a voluminous, sparse, wild place that has its own rhythm that human beings try to control and strategise our way around, but the truth is, if you’re out someplace like the ocean on a capsized boat, it doesn’t matter if you have academic degrees, or if you’re a martial-arts ninja. Nature is a bigger force than you.” ~ Rachael Taylor

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

Have fun, Mike

We go to the Serengeti seeking experiences of predators but in reality you will see much more. The vast plains of the Serengeti demarcated with rivers and belts of trees provide a fertile hunting ground for another much less threatening group of predators, birds in all their forms from raptors to seed-eaters whose colour vary from cryptic to exotic.

“There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before.” ~ Robert Lynd

The Serengeti is a wonderful place for birders and bird photographers alike to wander around. In this post I show you just a smattering of the enormous variety of avian species you can see in the Serengeti.

“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence. One has to sit still like a mystic and wait. One soon learns that fussing, instead of achieving things, merely prevents things from happening.”~ Robert Staughton Lynd

In the open grasslands while searching for lions you are likely to see insect eaters such as coursers. We found this double-banded courser close to a pride of “flat cats” around mid-morning. This character was very busy search for insects in the grass.

A male White-bellied korhaaan. It was early in the morning and there was a lot of dew on the grass which is why this male looked so wet.

This White bellied korhaan’s mate was some distance away which is why he was calling to her. He was also searching for nibbles while he was making his way towards her.

“It is much better to learn the elements of geology, of botany, or ornithology and astronomy by word of mouth from a companion than dully from a book.”~— Ralph Waldo Emerson

A pair of adult Egyptian geese standing on the edge of the Nyasirori dam with their five remaining goslings. Usually a female Egyptian goose will lay a clutch size of 10 to 12 eggs but the predation of the young is high that only a few of the youngsters make it to adulthood.

Another Egyptian goose family following Mum in choppy water in the Nyasirori dam. They remained in the centre of the dam as several hyaenas were wading in the dam, drinking and generally staying out of the way of three brutish young male lions.

This was a adult Egyptian goose coming into land at the Musira dam where other family members had assembled.

“I never for a day gave up listening to the songs of our birds, or watching their peculiar habits, or delineating them in the best way I could.”~John James Audubon

Travelling around the Serengeti you will come across all sorts of unexpected sighting some are dramatic lions sightings and some are equally dramatic avian sightings. We watched these two Grey-backed fiscal shrikes feeding their family. The youngster perched on a branch of a tree while the parents flew repeatedly into the grass to collect insects which they flew back to feed their ravenous youngsters.

“Photography is the story I fail to put into words.” ~ Destin Sparks

This was a typical scene when the parent arrived back with a morsel and the two youngsters displayed to get the food from the parent.

Being January it was still cuckoo time and we were fortunate enough to see a Great spotted cuckoo. This looked to be a adult with its grey face and crest. The juvenile has a black face and crest but similar body colouring.

The Great spotted cuckoo is the largest of the crested cuckoos.

An ubiquitous lilac-breasted roller see down near the Grumeti river.

“Only photograph what you love.” ~ Tim Walker

It was wet and early in the morning as you can see from this damp Twany eagle drying out and waiting for some heat to develop thermals so it could get airborne.

For some unknown reason the Kori Bustards in the Serengeti allow you to get much closer than I have found in the Southern African environment. They stride around the grasslands with that watchful eye.

A quad of White-faced whistling ducks standing glaring at the Crowned cranes from the edge of the Musira dam.

A male Silverbird in full breeding plumage. This is from the flycatcher family and found from Sudan to Tanzania.

This Usambiro barbet had come down to a termite mound to feed on the termites emerging from their underground metropolis. This barbet is not to be confused with d’Arnaud’s barbet which looks very similar but has a black forehead and throat.

“The eye should learn to listen before it looks.” ~ Robert Frank

This pair of Usambiro barbets were confidently dueting from a dead tree branch. They have such as characteristic sound in the Serengeti bush.

A female White-bellied korhaan making her way across the gravel road in front of us.

Having crossed the road this female white bellied korhaan gave us a display flapping her wings and jumping off the ground much like you see sandgrouse doing.

An adult Black-shouldered kite stretching its wing. They usually do this just before they fly off. That ruby red eye is characteristic of this species of kite. He was intently watching a small anthill which was housing a family of Dwarf mongooses.

“The two most engaging powers of a photograph are to make new things familiar and familiar things new.”~ William Thackeray

A pair of White- faced whistling ducks paddling across the Musira dam.

A Black headed heron scratching itself after having just walked through the long grass. These are effective predators which stalk through the long grass away from (but nearby) dams and rivers. They feed on everything from frogs to small birds, rats, terrapins and even small hares.

A black-headed heron looking down on the world from a safe place. The black-headed heron usually feeds away from the banks of rivers and dams and are seldom seen feeding near the grey heron.

A Southern Ground hornbill female offering food to her youngster, These are also formidable predators which stride through the grasslands foraging from everything from scorpions to lizards and snakes and even the occasional small tortoise.

This juvenile Southern ground hornbill has still to attain its distinctive red facial skin colouring of the adult.

Another formidable grassland predator is the Secretary bird. This is also a “strider” through the long grass. It will stomp and stomp on any potential prey and will feed on anything from snakes to baby birds.

This character had stopped to drink from a puddle of rain water on the side of the gravel road.

“For me, the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity.” ~ Henri Cartier-Bresson

While we were parked alongside the Musira dam we watched numerous male Vitelline masked weavers building their nests from strands of grass which they intricately wove together to form a shell.

What made this weaver nest building exercise so amazing was they were doing it in among super sized thorns which were like sabres to them. They deftly flew in among these thorns never seeming to impale themselves on them. I was really impressed with their accurate flying skills in what looked to be a potential deadly zone.

I was surprised to see so few Southern red bishops in the western corridor of the Serengeti. This male was in full breeding colours dashing around a bush in the open grasslands trying to attract the odd passing female.

“Photography is the art of frozen time… the ability to store emotion and feelings within a frame.” ~ Unknown

A family of White-headed buffalo weavers displaying and being very vocal. We could not decipher what the displaying was about but they would regularly stand higher on the branch and flap their wings and call. Once they opened their wings you could see their distinctive orange rump and shoulder feathers.

The orange rump of the White-headed buffalo weaver was very distinctive. They also make rough untidy nests like their cousins the Red-billed buffalo weaver.

A Northern white-crowned shrike having just taken off from its perch. It is not often a bird will take off and fly towards you. East Africa has an incredible variety of shrikes.

Birding in East Africa is very special even for spoilt birders like us in southern Africa. In this part of the world there are a greater variety of of forest and savanna avians such as shrikes, starlings, sunbirds, barbets, hornbills, turacos and even go-away birds where as southern Africa has a wider variety of coastal birds.

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” ~ Ansel Adams

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

Have fun, Mike

This post shows some images taken during our second day in the Western Corridor of the Serengeti. We were based at the wonderful &Beyond Grumeti Tented Camp and were part of the CNP Safari’s photographic group led by Lou Coetzer and Wasiri, our &Beyond guide.

We were in the Serengeti because we expected the “short rains” to be over but were in for a surprise. The Western Corridor is a spur of the Serengeti which stretches out to the left beyond Seronera past the Musabi plains towards lake Victoria.

“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.” ~ Eleonora Duse

This is a unique part of the Serengeti because there is a high concentration of game in this area all year round. Lake Victoria has a unique influence on the weather and rainfall in this corridor. This means it is wetter and there is grass all year round so there are plains game in this area all year round. Plains game such as wildebeest, zebra, eland, Topi and Grants and Thompson’s gazelle. There is obviously not the concentration that you would see during the migration but more than enough to create wonderful photographic opportunities.

“In nature, light creates the colour. In the picture, colour creates the light.” ~ Hans Hofmann

The next image was taken before the sun was up. This pride of lionesses and adolescents were making their way along the side of the main road which runs down towards the Nyasirori ranger post.

On our way east, we drove down to Nysasirori dam. There we found three of the five young males which were part of a coalition of eight males. These young males were big strapping brutes and they had attitude.

We found them on the dam wall. They had just finished feeding on a kill judging from the blood stains on there faces and necks.

They were also in the process of tangling with a large clan of hyaenas which wanted to knuckle in on the remains of the kill. No one got injured in the tangle from what we could see but the males were whipped up with testosterone.

It was very clear that the young males were ready to carry on the fight. You can see from the sheer bulk of these youngsters that they were big brutes which would be come fearsome males in adulthood.

“Look and think before opening the shutter. The heart and mind are the true lens of the camera” ~ Yousuf Karsh

After the lion-hyaena interaction broke up we moved away and drove back towards the Kitunge hills and the plains in front of them. There we found a mating pair of lions and several lionesses which were part of the pride. One lioness had two cubs. We sat and watched them for about an hour but they became flat cats and as the light deteriorated it became more overcast so we left the pride in peace and returned to camp for a late breakfast.

That afternoon it was still overcast when we returned to the plains below the Kitunge hills and found this lioness calling to her missing cub. She was calling with that low frequency “ooomph”. She was looking toward the section of trees a couple of hundred metres away. Something must have happened since we had seen them in the morning which could have separated her from one of her cubs. It could have been buffalo bulls which had been in that area. One aspect about wildlife that becomes quickly apparent is that if the animal incurs and injury that animal must heal itself. There are no doctors. Wild animals’ ability to cope with their injuries and heal quickly is something that the medical world has not paid enough attention to.

“A photographer must possess and retain the receptive faculties of a child who watches the world for the first time.” ~ Bill Brandt

This lionesses decided to start walking toward the tree line from the middle of the plain. She had her one remaining cub with her. The remaining cub was trying to get her attention and play with her but she was focussed on finding her other cub.

She walked to within one hundred metres of the treeline and could not see or smell or hear her cub so she turned around and walked all the way back to the rest of the pride which was lying in the middle the open plain.

“Of what use are lens and light to those who lack in mind and sight?” ~Anonymous

We watched this lioness desperately looking for her missing cub for quite awhile. There was thick cloud cover and storm clouds started to form. Amongst the banks of storm clouds, breaks in the formations allowed shafts of sunlight to shine through onto the plains.

We continued to sit with this lioness as the storm clouds built and the sky turned an ominous dark blue with a heavy bank of cloud developing over the range of hills in the distance.

This is a time in the bush when the light dances and the atmosphere starts to prickle with excitement.

We drove closer to the lion pride once the lioness joined the pride with her remaining cub. The lions seemed completely unperturbed by the brewing storm. It was as if they had already accepted they were going to get drenched.

“Nature is so powerful, so strong. Capturing its essence is not easy – your work becomes a dance with light and the weather. It takes you to a place within yourself.” ~ Annie Leibovitz

One of the unexpected developments was that the remaining sun shone through the building banks of storm clouds creating a beautiful rainbow beyond the treeline. In among the far trees was a herd of Topis.

It is impossible to describe the colour of the light and the feeling of being bathed in it. The lions became illuminated in the grass. As a photographer you can usually only dream of seeing this type of light.

As the storm brewed and the rain clouds gathered the scene darkened and the light became even more dramatic – and a second rainbow formed. This was one of the most magical light shows I have ever seen mother nature put on.

We started the day with overcast blue light and finished the day with the most incredible golden light show. This was again a reminder that you can never predict what mother nature has in store for you. What ever you do, you have to be out there to be able to see and experience this type of magic.

“Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.” ~ Saint Augustine

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

Have fun, Mike