Category Archives: Kenya

Masai Mara – eclectic second day-part one

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The Masai Mara is one of the most incredible wildlife reserves that I have ever had the good fortune to visit. The abundance and diversity of wildlife together with the vastness of the plains take you into another sensory world which is spellbinding.

“As one who has often felt this need, and who has found refreshment in wild places, I attest to the recreational value of wilderness.” ~ George Aiken

We were based at Wild Eye’s Enkishui camp which is located about a kilometre up river from the Purungat bridge and ranger’s office in the Mara Triangle section of the Greater Masai Mara. This camp is at the southern end of the Mara Triangle. With the camp being located in the reserve we were able to be out of camp and into the reserve by 6h00. Enkishui is the Masai term for “life”.

“Wilderness is not defined by the absence of certain activities, but rather by the presence of certain unique and invaluable characteristics.” ~ Nick Rahall

There are many elephants in the Mara Triangle which tend to remain in family and breeding herds because of the high density of predators. With so much food available for the predators there is a low likelihood of the elephants being attacked. Nevertheless, the elephant mothers remain very protective of their young.

A large, life-ravaged female Spotted hyaena, possibly the matriarch. She had two companions both of which appeared to defer to her. Hyaenas span out during the day and lie in thick tuffs of red oat grass and wait for an opportunity to hunt or steal food.

We had been wandering down Claire road and turned off to follow a well used track when we found a single lioness lying in the grass wet with dew. As you can see there are few trees out on the open plains so the lions have to sleep in the grass out in the elements. 

“To plunder, to slaughter, to steal, these things they misname empire; and where they make a wilderness they call it peace.” ~ Tacitus

The flies are a constant source of irritation for the lions. They seem to gravitate around the lion’s face and neck possibly because of the moisture and minute traces of blood from kills they have recently fed on.

“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The lioness we saw was keeping a low profile while two nomads were passing some distance off.

The two young males must have been recently kicked out of their pride by their father. The lion lying down seemed to be slightly older than the other male judging by the relative development of their manes.

The two nomads headed straight for the thick vegetation and rocks on an inselberg. There they had a vantage point to see potential threats and potential food.

“We look up for inspiration, down for desperation, right and left for information.” ~ Anonymous

The vastness of the plains in the south west of the Mara Triangle give your soul room to breathe. This was a view looking north west onto the Oloololo or Siria escarpment in the far distance. This part of the triangle did not have a lot of game when we were passing through, but at times there are vast herds of wildebeest and zebra that pass through.

Further down towards the Tanzanian border and the Serengeti, the plains are dotted with Balanites also called desert dates. These trees dotted across the vast plains give the Mara its name which means “spotted” in the Masai language.

We spent some time down along a drainage line close to the border where a female leopard had been spotted but we never got to see her well enough to take any photographs. Others in the Wild Eye group, in different vehicles, managed to get some wonderful images of the leopardess climbing up one of the trees along the drainage line.

On our way back to the Mara river we passed four sub-adults and an adult Masai giraffe walking along but just below a ridge on their way down to the river.

Eventually we decided to head back to the Mara river where there is always action. Being the “short rains” season, the sky was pregnant with moisture. It created some wonderful colour for our backgrounds. This female Masai giraffe had come down to the river. She had her gaze fixed on something on the other side of the river. Giraffe are known to cross the Mara river but not alone and not on this occasion.

The Mara river snakes through the Masai Mara National Reserve on its way into the Serengeti and eventually to Lake Victoria. It was flowing strongly from recent rains up on the the escarpment. The banks of the Mara river were steep and created a real challenge for the wildlife before they even tried to cross the fast flowing river. This was the scene looking north up river.

This was the view of the river looking south down the river. We had stopped close to “Figtree crossing”. The fig tree had fallen over some time ago but this is a section of the river where the wildlife frequently cross, so it has retained the name.

The vastness of this place is quite intoxicating. The river draws everything toward it. Grazers need to cross it and predators are drawn to the grazers wishing to cross it and we humans are drawn to the unfolding drama and spectacle of the scene and wildlife interaction.

“Fate whispers to the warrior “You cannot withstand the storm” and the warrior whispers back I am the storm.” ~ Unknown

In the quiet times, you have a chance to be still and witness the enormity of this place and become aware of its natural rhythm. It is driven by the seasons and weather. It drives a multitude of animals to follow an annual migration from the Masai Mara to Ndutu below the Ngorogoro crater in Tanzania, braving crocodile infected rivers and prides and clans of predators waiting for them either side of these dramatic crossing points. The overwhelming majority of them complete the journey to produce the next cycle of migrants.

“Nothing but breathing the air of Africa, and actually walking through it, can communicate the indescribable sensations.” ~William Burchell

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Masai Mara – male lion crossing the Mara river

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This was one of the more unusual sightings in the Masai Mara during my trip with Wild Eye in October last year. October is usually the tail end of the major herbivore migration. Despite the timing I was fortunate enough to see several dramatic Mara river crossings.

“Being brave isn’t the absence of fear. Being brave is having that fear but finding a way through it.”~ Bear Grylls

The crossing described in this post was the most unusual of them all. It was around 6h00 and we were out early as we had seen the wildebeest massing on the east side of the Mara river the evening before. It is unusual for wildebeest or zebra to cross the river at night. The crossing looks terrifying enough in the daylight without trying it at night.

“Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” ~ Maya Angelou.

The terror is instilled by the fast moving current and the huge Nile crocodiles which lie in wait for their prey to cross. This particular morning the wildebeest and zebra had been progressively moving down Lookout hill toward the Mara river. The river was flowing fast and was a rich muddy colour.

“Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.” ~Winston Churchill

By this time, Scar, the iconic leader of his four member coalition with Morani, Sikio and Hunter, had died. We caught sight of a large male on the other side of the river at around 6h00. The sun was still behind Lookout hill. I am not sure which of the “musketeers” he was, possibly Silko. He was walking along the east bank of the Mara river when he caught sight of two lionesses lying in the wet grass about 100 metres away from the river on the west side of the Mara river.

He immediately decided to cross the river to meet up with them. He walked along the bank until he found a gully to climb down to the edge of the river. That would have been the only way to get down to the edge of the Mara river because the banks were so steep and deep.

The bank on the east side of the Mara river, in fact on both sides, is steep and must be around 20 to 30 metres deep.

Having successfully descended the steep side of the Mara river, he walked a short distance at the foot of the steep bank until he found a suitable crossing point.

“The river has great wisdom and whispers its secrets to the hearts of men.” ~Mark Twain

The snarling face showed he was quite well aware of the danger that lurked in that fast flowing muddy water. Despite the danger, with little hesitation, he stepped into the water.

The wake in the water created by him entering water showed how fast the water was flowing.

He was clearly a powerful swimmer but the fast flowing current forced him to swim diagonally down from his point of entry.

“Rivers flow not past, but through us; tingling, vibrating, exciting every cell and fiber in our bodies, making them sing and glide.“ ~John Muir

It is hard to imagine the amount of adrenaline that must be have been coursing through his veins as he swam across the river knowing only too well the danger that lurked below the surface of the water. He had the advantage of being solitary and silent.

He eventually found purchase on the river bed on the east side of the river. Even that meant he was not out of danger. In that depth of water a large croc could easily have attacked him.

As he walked out of the river on the west side he looked around constantly assessing whether there were crocs advancing towards him.

“A river is water is its loveliest form, rivers have life and sound and movement and infinity of variation, rivers are veins of the earth through which the lifeblood returns to the heart.” ~Roderick Haig-Brown

Having climbed up to the top of the western bank he stopped to assess whether there were any other males around.

You can see from his wide eyes that he was wary.

“Have the courage to take your own thoughts seriously, for they will shape you.” ~Albert Einstein

He eventually walked up to the two females who seemed to know him but did not seem over joyed to see him.

“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived.” ~ Helen Keller

His flehmen grimace signalled that he was assessing the condition of the females and whether either was in oestrus.

The flehmen grimace is where the lion opens his mouth to draw in the air over the Jacobson’s organ in the roof of his mouth. Jacobson’s organ, also called vomeronasal organ, is an organ of chemoreception that is part of the olfactory system of amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. It is a patch of sensory cells within the main nasal chamber that detects heavy moisture-borne odour particles. The Jacobson’s organ enable’s him to perceive certain scents and pheromones. The vomeronasal (VNO) organ is named for its closeness to the vomer and nasal bones, and is particularly well developed in animals such as cats and horses. The vomer is one of the unpaired facial bones of the skull. VNO is found at the base of the nasal cavity.

This male continued to perform his flehmen grimace for a few minutes with little interest from the females.

“Odours have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odour cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally. There is no remedy for it.” ~ Patrick Süskind

Having decided the swim was all for nothing, he eventually lay down a few metres from the females and tried to get rid of the flies on his face.

It was unique sighting to see a male lion crossing the Mara river on his own.

“We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.” ~ Albert Einstein

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Masai Mara – this is lion country

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I was fortunate enough to spend a magical six days in the Masai Mara in western Kenya in mid-October 2021. This trip which was planned for October 2020 but Covid restrictions forced its postponement. I spent six days in the Masai Mara with Wild Eye and stayed at their bush camp along the Mara river which is located about a kilometre up river from the Purungat bridge.

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of the living.” ~ Miriam Beard

Our group of about ten photographers were hosted by guides Andrew Danckwerts, Mike Appalsamy and Wild Eye CEO Jono Buffy. Much fun, good photography and earnest discussions around the camp fire next to the Mara river were had by all.

“One of the great things about travel is that you find out how many good, kind people there are.” ~ Edith Wharton

I really like that time of the year because of the reduced crowds. Also, the weather was building up for the short rains from October to December. This meant the sky was filled with cumulus and cumulonimbus cloud formations making dramatic backgrounds.

“If I have ever seen magic, it has been in Africa.” ~ John Hemmingway

Mid-October was the low season because of the rains in the Mara but there was still plenty of migrating herbivores and of course the ever present lions, hyaenas, leopards and cheetahs. Both the Masai Mara and the Serengeti are wonderful areas for lions.

The lions shown in this post were seen in the first two days in the Mara Triangle. In future posts I will show many more lion images and we were privileged to even see a large male lion cross the Mara river – a crossing of a very different sort.

This young male had killed a wildebeest next to the main road a few kilometres up from the ranger’s station at Purungat bridge. He was resting when we arrived. He had probably been feeding in the early part of the pre-dawn morning. His face was covered in flies as was the carcass.

After a short while he got up and went back to feed on the carcass. He was feeding alone on the wildebeest carcass which he probably had pulled down the night before as there were no other lions around. Often lions use the storm water gully on the side of the road to ambush their prey. This tactic seemed effective as we saw a few kills next to the road.

We found this male lion around 8h30 and stayed with him for about an hour with no other vehicles around. He was watching the vultures which had already caught early thermals in the warm, slightly overcast morning.

After a full meal of wildebeest he got up and stretched and walked a short distance away from the carcass to lie down. There were no trees under which to find shade, so he just lay in the grass in the open.

When a lion relaxes it does it properly and sometimes can be seen lying on its back with legs open – probably spreading the load on such a full belly.

The following day we were travelling north west along the main road a few kilometres from the Serena airstrip when we came across a coalition of three male lions, two of which were lying in the road. The two largest and oldest males were lying in the road. This coalition looked battle hardened. The male lying down in the next image looked to be the oldest and coalition leader. He was a huge battle-worn warrior.

The high number of lions in the Mara Triangle dictate that there are frequent territorial clashes and numerous nomads looking for a home of their own. The younger of the two males lying in the road got up and proceeded to walk down the road towards us. He looked to be around five or six years old – a fully mature male lion.

“The lion is an emblem of a dream of absolute power – and, as a wild animal, he belongs to a world outside the realm of society and culture.” ~ Charles H Hinnat

The oldest male in the coalition continued to lie own the road for a while. He was huge with enormously powerful looking shoulders and a dark mane.

When he looked up you could see his aged face which was surprisingly unscarred. He was covered with irritating and ubiquitous flies. His canines were still in reasonably good condition so we guessed he must have been around seven years old.

“You know you are truly alive when you’re living among lions.” ~ Karen Blixen

He had a full belly and looked to be in good condition. His front paws were huge.

The younger of the two males which had been lying in the road continued to walk towards us as he was on his way to a pool of rainwater which had collected next to the section road behind us. There were many zebra drinking from this pool which no doubt was an added attraction although he was he was going to drink, not hunt.

The third male in the coalition of three had found a rock to cuddle. He was out for the count and I just had to take a picture of him spread out next to the rock with one paw against it.

We travelled around the Mara Triangle and having the camp positioned close to the Purungat bridge in south of the Greater Masai Mara we were able to traverse both the Mara Triangle and the Masai Mara National Reserve, the two largest of the eight conservancies which make up the Greater Masai Mara.

Lions are obviously a huge attraction in the Mara but after the main migration had passed in August and September there were still a surprising large number of wildebeest and zebra both sides of the Mara river and especially on the north side which still had to cross on their way down into the Serengeti and Ndutu to calve in following February. With all the game around we had numerous wonderful sightings of lions which I will share in the next few posts.

“Africa changes you forever, like nowhere on earth. Once you have been there, you will never be the same. But how do you begin to describe its magic to someone who has never felt it? How can you explain the fascination of this vast, dusty continent, whose oldest roads are elephant paths? Could it be because Africa is the place of all our beginnings, the cradle of mankind, where our species first stood upright on the savannahs of long ago?” ~ Brian Jackman

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Nakuru’s forest dwellers

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The Nakuru area lies within the inner graben of the central Kenya rift valley. Lake Nakuru’s graben lies between LionHill Volcano and the Mau Escarpment, the west wall of the Rift Valley, the base of which lies within the south-west corner of the area. Lake Nakuru is a shallow pan which never fills to a depth of more than a few feet but the level does fluctuate. Nakuru is characterised by its graben, the shallow alkaline lake which attracts many flamingoes and a huge fever tree forest.

“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” – John Muir

The Rhino Sanctuary in Lake Nakuru National Park was the first Rhino sanctuary in Kenya and is currently home to the largest number of black rhinos in the country. Currently the rhino sanctuary in Lake Nakuru National Park boasts 150 rhinos with 80% being white rhinos and 20% being black rhinos. The rhino sanctuary was established in 1984 when the first two rhinos were introduced to the lake Nakuru National Park. This national park was chosen as the first Rhino sanctuary as it was already a bird sanctuary and it had the needed land for the rhinos. The lake area provides the water the rhinos need every day and the vegetation in the park is also suitable for both the white and black rhinos.

The Fever trees in this forest are huge. The fever tree is the only tree species on earth whose bark performs the photosynthesis process instead of its leaves. Fever trees grow incredibly fast – they can reach a height of over 25m and grow in height approximately 1.5m annually. The Rift Valley forms the eastern distribution limit of the Defassa Waterbuck, which occur in grassland and open forest and scrub.

A DeFassa waterbuck female and her calf foraging in thick grass in the forest understory. The species is a grazer and always found where there is water nearby. It is classified by IUCN as Near Threatened, with a total population of about 95 000.

According to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, the latest taxonomy study reveals that there are four distinct species; the Masai, Northern, Reticulated and Southern Giraffe. The Rothschild’s Giraffe is one subspecies of the Northern Giraffe. All four giraffe species and their subspecies live in geographically distinct areas throughout Africa.

The Rothschild’s Giraffe is the tallest of the four distinct species and five subspecies. It has a distinct colouring and coat patterning. Each giraffe has a different pattern just like humans have distinct fingerprints. This species of giraffe is paler, and has orange-brown patches which are less jagged in shape. This giraffe has no markings on its lower legs and under belly, which are predominately creamy white. The Rothschild’s Giraffe stands in stark contrast to the dark greens and yellows of the fever tree forest. The next image gives a sense of how tall the trees are in the fever tree forest south of Lake Nakuru. Today, fewer than 3 000 Rothschild’s giraffes are left in Africa, with about 800 in Kenya.

“I feel a great regard for trees; they represent age and beauty and the miracles of life and growth.” – Louise Dickinson Rich

The Rothschild’s Giraffe is the only giraffe species to be born with five ossicones. Two of these are the larger and more obvious ones at the top of the head, which are common to all giraffes. The third ossicone can often be seen in the center of the giraffe’s forehead, and the other two are behind each ear. This species of giraffe is also taller than many other populations, measuring up to 5.88 metres or 19.3 feet tall. Males are larger than females and feed on different parts of the trees. Rothschild’s Giraffe feed on leaves, flowers, seedpods, and fruits in areas where the savanna floor is salty or full of minerals.

There are small open patches in the forest which provide room for grazers such as this male impala.

“We wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” ~Hilaire Belloc

Fever tree forests vary in density throughout the southern section of the park with some areas which are less dense allowing the sunlight to reach the ground. Fever trees are indigenous to southern and eastern Africa. Their preferred habitat is warm and humid conditions with access to plenty of water.

I absolutely love the feeling of driving slowly through the forest. It is cool and quiet but for bird calls. It is dense, and there is a bluish hue among the trees in the early morning and these areas are just bursting with life.

“Consider a tree for a moment. As beautiful as trees are to look at, we don’t see what goes on underground – as they grow roots. Trees must develop deep roots in order to grow strong and produce their beauty. But we don’t see the roots. We just see and enjoy the beauty. In much the same way, what goes on inside of us is like the roots of a tree.” – Joyce Meyer

The Eastern Black and White Colobus monkey is the most arboreal of all African monkeys. The only other place I have seen them has been along the Grumeti river in the western corridor of the Serengeti. They have beautiful black fur which contrasts with the long white mantle, whiskers, bushy tail, and beard around their black face. These monkeys are territorial and live in groups of as many as fifteen individuals.

“The wandering photographer sees the same show that everyone else sees. He, however, stops to watch it.” ~ Edouard Boubat

The name “Colobus” is derived from the Greek word for “mutilated,” because unlike other monkeys, Colobus monkeys do not have thumbs. There are two types of Colobus monkeys, the Angolan and the Eastern Black and White species. These Colobus monkeys are herbivores, eating leaves, fruit, flowers lichen and bark and have a ruminant-like digestive system.

Our sighting of this elusive very shy leopardess was down purely to good guiding from Mike Laubscher. We were driving on the road along the LionHill side of the lake. Mike heard Vervet monkeys’ alarm calling and they were persistent suggesting that the threat was still close to them. We found another side road closer to the Vervet monkeys and that gave us an opportunity to see which way the Vervets were looking. Mike scoured the fever trees with his binoculars in the direction the Vervets were looking and after about a quarter of an hour he spotted this leopardess lying on the large yellow bough of a huge fever tree. The leopardess was lying in deep shade so was very difficult to see her initially.

Leopards are notoriously secretive in this forest environment and given the colour of their coats against the fever tree branches it can be extremely difficult to see one. Once we had a fix on her she continued lying on the bough for another few minutes before deciding to descend the tree to get out of view from all concerned.

We found a pair of Bushbuck foraging in the thick verdant understory. They were very shy and as soon as they saw us on the road, which cut through the forest, they bolted for deeper cover. The Bushbuck’s diet consists mainly of leaves, herbs, twigs and flowers of different plant types and as a browser it seldom consumes grass. The Bushbuck is the only non-territorial and solitary African antelope.

Fever tree haves a very shallow root system so you will see many fallen tree trunks in the forest. This is an alluring feature for photographers because there is always the possibility of a raptor or a leopard or lion on the fallen tree trunk.

“If you go off into a far, far forest and get very quiet, you’ll come to understand that you’re connected with everything.” ~ Alan Watts

We got out of the vehicle and had a cup of coffee near this large fallen Fever tree trunk. It was absolutely beautiful. The understory is not easy to walk through and there are plenty of stinging nettles, which we soon discovered.

I was fortunate enough to spend ten days travelling around the Amboseli and Lake Nakuru National Parks with Mike Laubscher, a guide from Wild Eye. A big thank you to Mike for a fun and productive trip showing us around two fascinating and very different national parks in Kenya. A big thank you also to guide Jimmy who drove us around Amboseli and who has the most incredible eyesight and ability to predict the animal’s movement which enabled us to get into good photographic positions. Also to Sammy for driving us up to Lake Nakuru from Nairobi and back which was quite an exercise in its own right and for showing us around Lake Nakuru National Park and giving us some memorable sightings of rare mammals and birds. The guides from Wild Eye made a wonderful team without which we not have seen and experienced nearly as much as we did – thank you!

“I know not how I may seem to others, but to myself I am but a small child wandering upon the vast shores of knowledge, every now and then finding a small bright pebble to content myself with” ~ Plato

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Nakuru- lions and buffalo

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Lake Nakuru National Park is full of surprises for a first time visitor.

“Wandering the rift takes you through ancient times, travelling into unfamilar places which open your sense to timelessness and wonder.” ~ Mike Haworth

We saw lion and a leopard in Lake Nakuru National Park. We never saw hyaena or even heard them. The forest environment seems to be ideal for servals, civets and genets, but being nocturnal and having to be back in camp by 18h00 we never got to see any of these species.

“There’s a sunrise and a sunset every day, and they’re absolute free. Don’t miss any of them.” ~ Jo Walton

There is an abundance of grazers varying from buffalo, Rothchild’s giraffe to Debussa waterbuck, eland and zebra. There are also the smaller antelope such as bushbuck and impala but we never saw any duiker. The next image is of two old buffalo bulls, we call them “dagga boys” because they are often covered in mud and their bosses are caked with mud after a good wallow in a mud pool. These two old boys were lying down under the shade of a tree in the late morning.

We found a lioness with her three cubs near a buffalo kill on our first morning on the southbound section of the ring road south of the lake. The next day we found two male lions in the south west section of the park. They were traversing an open grassland to find shade under a small tree, much like the buffaloes.

“Wherever you go becomes part of you somehow.” ~ Anita Desai

When one lion is walking up to another one, either it is moving in to greet the other lion or there will be a fight. On this occasion, the first male lion lying in the shade of a small tree was greeted with head rubbing by the approaching male. Many of the cats were collared in the park- a sign of the times. There is much research underway and it certainly makes it easier to find them in this well forested park.

After the initial greeting the second male lay down in the shade next to his coalition partner. The male on the left of the image looked to be older than the male on the right judging from the darkness of his mane. Interestingly, both males were not “flat cats” but remained alert and sitting up while we were watching them in mid-morning. Something must have had their attention which we had not seen, heard or smelt.

The first male to lie down in the shade looked to be around five years old judging from the length and colour of his mane and the condition of his teeth. He had flies all over him which did not seem to bother him much – and they were probably the stinging type!

You can see from the condition of his ears that he must have been in some tangles but his teeth were in good condition.

” Life is etched in that face. A male lion’s journey is etched with scars and torn ears. His eyes remain steady, his heart strong. He has earned his place”~ Mike Haworth

We travelled along the same road the next day only to find this scene. A male and female lion together, probably in their mating phase, then, buffalo emerged from the gloom of the forest and began chasing them into the grassland. The lions seemed to prefer to operate along the edge of the forest during the day, probably because of the abundance of shade.

This buffalo bull was not going to tolerate the mating pair anywhere near his herd and continued to push them away from the herd which was just inside the edge of the forest.

“Choose you battles wisely. After all, life is not measured by how many times you stood up to fight. Life is too short to spend it on warring. Fight only the most, most important ones and let the rest go.” ~ C. Joybell

There are many buffalo in Lake Nakuru National Park. They seem to enjoy the forest and the wet conditions around the lake.

The next image is of two adult but young buffalo bulls mock fighting. They were just pushing each other around with their bosses, nothing serious. When their bosses connected it made quite a cracking sound.

“The main difference between play and playfulness is that play is an activity while playfulness is an attitude.” ~ Miguel Sicart

On our last day in the park, it was early morning and we were travelling along the southern ring road when we came upon this lioness walking along the road. As she wandered along the road she would sometimes stop and listen and at other times detour to the embankment next to the road to investigate a sound or a smell. After about five minutes of following her she heard buffalo on the Lion Hill ridge. Immediately she crossed the road and started to work her way up the ridge to get into a better position to assess the meal potential. As time passed the herd moved down the ridge and in doing so began to split up. This calf was separated from its mother, an opportunity which was not missed by the lioness. For some inexplicable reason she did not immediately attack the calf despite getting within approximately 20 metres of it.

The calf stopped, seeming to sense that the lioness was close by. We held our breath thinking we were about to witness an ambush. A few seconds passed the the calf moved on down the ridge and to our surprise the lioness just sat and watched the calf walk away.

The lioness did not attack the buffalo calf. We did not expect her to abandon the hunt but we did not also see what she saw and could not possible judge whether the odds were in her favour. The calf lived to see another day and we were left with a little magic.

Nakuru was not a place I expected to see such interactions with buffalo and lion. I am reminded every time I go into the bush to leave my perceived ideas back in camp. Our limited ideas about the dynamics in the bush only serve to remind us of how much we still have to learn and understand.

“Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand.” ~ Neil Armstrong

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Nakuru -Feathers in the forest

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Lake Nakuru is a most unusual place in Africa. Eclectic in every way. Its character starts with a town directly on the outskirts of the national park. Then paradoxically, it is sanctuary to several endangered mammal species. It is located in one of the most unusual geological structures in Africa and its forest is home to giants.

“Most things seem to whisper in a forest. It is as if there are beings watching and listening. It is moody and alive. Giants stand as sentinels and guardians of the sanctity of the wildlife at their feet and in their arms. “ ~ Mike Haworth

The forest is moody, misty and has a blue hue in the early morning affected by the moisture during the long rains. The forest is home to wonderful array of birdlife.

“In wilderness is the preservation of the world.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

I was surprised to see a few pairs of Southern Ground Hornbills in the fever tree forest. This pair were initially calling quietly to each other, not the booming pre-dawn calls you hear across the African bushveld,  but gentle dulcet tones. After a period of gentle calling they mated, not on the ground but high up in a large fever tree. Each time the female called the male’s neck feathers rose as you can see in the next image.

Eventually after mating and continuing to call quietly to each other for quite a while they relaxed and started preening.

We saw many Long Crested Eagles. They are perch hunters and feed mainly on rodents. We never saw a Long Crested Eagle flying in the forest but it would have been easily recognisable with the white windows near its, wing tips which are diagnostic. When flying you will often see the tail spread which also reveals the white barring on the tail.

In April, we saw numerous Augur Buzzards in the forest. The next image is of a dark morph Augur Buzzard. An adult Augur Buzzard has dark back feathers which vary from black to dark brown with flecks of white and a white belly and it has characteristic rustic coloured tail feathers. Like all buzzards its legs are not feathered below the elbow and are yellow.

Lake Nakuru is known for its Lesser Flamingoes. Although we saw many Lesser Flamingoes we did not see the vast numbers which everyone talks about. Flamingoes are itinerant and will move to the best feed waters wherever they are. What we did find was flotillas of Pink-backed Pelicans. These birds are pack hunters.

Being pack hunters these pelicans swam in a formation in the shape of buffalo horns. The flotilla swam towards the shore corralling the fish into the shallower waters and then began feasting. It comes very apparent when you sit and watch for a while that is there vast natural intelligence at work there.

There is no apparent communication, from a human perspective, but they all swim in unison, they work as one and all feed well.

Pink-backed Pelicans pack hunting. It is intriguing that as soon as a group of these pelicans form a pack, Pelicans from afar fly in to join the group. Intriguing that the Pelican’s behaved somewhat like vultures. They watch each other and as soon a group find a fish bait ball, Pelicans from all over Lake Nakuru fly in to join the feeding frenzy.

Away from the lake shore there were open patches in the fever tree forest which allowed the sun to caress the forest floor.

“Trees give peace to the souls of men.”~ Nora Waln

Amongst all the greens and browns was this startling Red Blood Lily. We were watching lion cubs playing around the base of a large fever tree, and inevitably your eye wanders around the scene just assimilating context when this red colour caught my eye. Mother nature does like to flirt with colour.

We found several Long Crested Eagles in the fever tree forest. This is a large, chunky, dark brown to blackish eagle with a towering, floppy crest. It is often found in woodlands, plantations, and open forest. This eagle perches for long periods, and obviously in a forest has little opportunity to soar which it only does at the fringes of the forest.

A view down the road through the fever tree forest. Oh, that early morning blue hue, giant fever trees with the escarpment looming in the background. This was the second loop road south of the lake.

“Deep in the forest I stroll…. to hear the wisdom of my soul.” ~ Angie Weiland-Crosby

Close to the edge of the lake in amongst the brush and fallen branches was this White-Browed Coucal. We heard it calling and only then saw it. The adult’s underparts and back are streaked, and it has a distinctive white eyebrow. This coucal has rufous wings and a long, broad tail. It has a barred rump and upper tail coverts, differentiating it from other coucals. It sings a deep descending bubbling series, “bu-bu-bu bu bu bu bu”, whilst changing pitch.

Back at LionHill Lodge, the staff had built a bird feeder which they filled with fruit and crumbs at midday every day. The birds learnt when lunch was served and arrived from all around. It got quite busy with weavers, starlings mousebirds, babblers, shrikes and waxbills all coming into feast. The next image is of a Lesser Masked Weaver with its characteristic beige eye and golden forehead which almost reaches its beak.

Kenya is fortunate to have a vast selection of starlings. This was an adult Superb Starling which was very happy to partake in the feast. Size counts when you are feasting and this was one of the larger avians at the feast.

A smaller one was this Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu. To us from southern Africa, this looked like a blue waxbill with a red cheek.

A Greater Blue-eared Starling. There are ten species of glossy starlings in east Africa but the Greater Blue-eared is the most ubiquitous. Many birds species tend to be region specific.

Not sure whether this male Coqui Francolin was hen pecked or has been in a serious territorial fight. The male Coqui Francolin has a rufous coloured head and an entirely white and black barred back and underparts while the belly is usually white to buff coloured. It is a beautifully coloured bird when it has not been in a tangle.

This was a fledged young Tawny Eagle. It had its wings open because a Vervet Monkey was threatening it from an adjacent branch. If that was not enough, an adult Augur Buzzard decided that this youngster was in its turf and attacked it. Interestingly, the Augur Buzzard was smaller than the Tawny Eagle.

Not a great photo as my focal length was too long for the scene, but an interesting interaction nevertheless. I was focused on the Vervet monkey when this Augur Buzzard came out of the gloom of the forest. Judging from the loss of one of its talons, this Augur Buzzard must have been a fighter.

Once out of the dappled shade and moody light of the forest, we drove to the lake shore. The lake is rising, so many of the shoreline fever trees had their feet in water. Interestingly, they did not seem to be the worse for the flooding. The flamingoes took full advantage of all the algae blooms in amongst the roots.

Again, the vista was very unusual. Huge fever trees standing in water while flamingoes filter fed around their feet.

“Forests are living historians. They have felt, smelt and seen all the comings and goings, some for centuries. They record their history. They offer great peace, solace and shelter. They reach for the sun and dance and sing in the wind.” ~ Mike Haworth

I hope this post has given you an idea of what avian species you might see in and around the fever tree forest of Lake Nakuru. It is by no means comprehensive, rather just a sample of what we were privileged to see in a few days.

“Once upon a time, forests were repositories for magic in the human race.”~ John Burnside

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Lake Nakuru – up the eastern rift

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The second leg of our Kenyan photographic safari with Wild Eye in April this year was to Lake Nakuru National Park which is 156 kilometres north of Nairobi. The trip takes between three or four hours depending on the traffic.

The Great Rift Valley is an immense geological feature in East Africa, formed over the past 35 million years. This giant split in the landscape was the result of two tectonic plates separating. Africa’s Great Rift Valley is one of the world’s most distinctive geo-morphological features, cutting through the continent from the Red Sea to southern Mozambique along two parallel fault lines. The rifts vary in width from 30-100 km, and are between several hundred to several thousand metres deep at some points. The rift has two sections in East Africa, a western rift through Uganda and an eastern rift through Kenya.

“Telling a story is like reaching into a granary full of wheat and drawing out a handful. There is always more to tell than can be told.” ~ Wendell Berry

The next image is taken from the main road looking west onto Lake Naivasha across the eastern limb of the Rift Valley. Lake Naivasha is a fresh water lake so is used for fishing and agriculture.

Kenya’s eastern Rift Valley has a string of eight lakes, from Lake Baringo in northern Kenya to Lake Magadi in southern Kenya. Some lakes are recognised as Wetlands of International Importance, and all are Important Bird Areas, with several being within UNESCO-listed World Heritage Sites. The Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley includes three alkaline lakes which are overlooked by dramatic escarpments, volcanic features and associated geothermal features such as geysers, fumeroles and hot springs. Major differences in the lakes occur in their dissolved salts, varying from freshwater to hypersaline. The Eastern Rift Valley, south of its largest freshwater, Lake Turkana, features a string of smaller and shallower alkaline lakes. The three lakes are Nakuru, Bogoria and Elementeita. These alkaline lakes provide unique feeding habitats for East Africa’s famous Lesser Flamingos.

The alkaline lake waters support the prolific growth of green algae (Spirulina platensis), the main food of the itinerant Rift Valley population of Lesser Flamingos. The alkaline Rift Valley lakes are among the world’s most productive ecosystems and, although these harsh environments are relatively species-poor, they feed extraordinary numbers of birds. The most famous is Lake Nakuru, known worldwide for its huge flamingo populations and an enormous variety of other birds, which come to feed there. This lake is characterised by substantial water level fluctuations, along with highly variable ion concentrations.

“Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.” ~ Wendell Berry

We spent five days exploring the wildlife in the Lake Nakuru National Park. Lake Nakuru is part of the Naivasha–Elmentaita–Nakuru basin, a region where the Eastern Rift reaches its highest elevation. The lake lies in a graben between the Lion Hill Volcano and the Mau Escarpment, the west wall of the Rift Valley.

The beautiful Lake Nakuru National Park is surrounded by wooded and bushy grassland. Nakuru means “Dust” or “Dusty Place” in the Maasai language. Lake Nakuru National Park was created in 1961 around Lake Nakuru, next to the town of Nakuru.

The Rift Valley is subject to ongoing plate tectonics and crustal movement which affects the lakes. The lake levels, have been rising recently due to above-average rainfall. With rainfall in the Rift Valley Basin being on a rising trend, hydrologists expect higher lake levels in the future.

The effects on lake ecologies are a concern as flooding increases lake turbidity and dilutes the saline waters of alkaline lakes. The water cycles of Rift Valley lakes are changing as water is taken out for use and because the catchments and land surrounding the lakes are being degraded. Forests are being converted into agricultural land, there is increasing urbanisation and people are encroaching onto riparian and wetland zones. These catchment changes reduce rainfall recharging of underground aquifers, and cause more sediment-such as soil-to run off into rivers. This sediment reaches and accumulates in lakes and reservoirs. This can clog natural underground freshwater outlets, in which can cause lake salinity and levels to rise. The deposited sediments also build the lake beds and lift lake water levels.

In May 2020, Lake Naivasha reached its highest level since 1932. Lakes Nakuru, Bogoria, and Baringo have also risen to their highest levels in decades, inundating roads and building infrastructure.

“But before the understanding comes the wonder. Comes the delight. And that is the first aim of being a bad birdwatcher: the calm delight of the utterly normal, and the rare and sudden delight of the utterly unexpected. The only real skill involved in this perfect birdwatching moment was the willingness to look. It was not skill that gave me the sight; it was habit. I have developed the habit of looking: when I see a bird I always look, wherever I am.” ~ Simon Barnes

The Lesser Flamingos constantly commute between the soda lakes in East Africa in search of food. Their preferred food, the cyanobacterium Arthrospira fusiformis, usually establishes dense populations in saline-alkaline habitats. The abundance of algae in the lake attracts vast numbers of flamingos to gather and feed around the shore. The number of flamingos on the lake varies as water and food conditions change. A very good vantage point from where to view this phenomenon is from the so-called Baboon Cliff.

In 2010, the park already had several Eastern Black rhinoceros, being the largest concentrations in the country, as well as a number of Southern White rhinos. Both the Kenyan subspecies of waterbuck are commonly found in the area too, as are warthogs, baboons and other large mammals.

The area was gazetted as Lake Nakuru National Park in 1968. During 1977 some Rothschild Giraffes were translocated from western Kenya to the park and was followed in 1984 with the establishment of the park as a first government managed rhino sanctuary. Two years later, in 1986, the chain link fence around the park was replaced by an electric fence and in the following year the whole park was declared a rhino sanctuary.

“As long as I live, I’ll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I’ll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I’ll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can”. ~ John Muir

The lake is world-famous as the location of one of the greatest bird spectacles on earth – millions of fuchsia pink flamingos feed on the abundant algae which thrives in the warm waters on the shores of Lake Nakuru. Despite the lukewarm and alkaline waters, a small fish, Tilapia Grahami has also flourished in the lake after being introduced in the early 1960s.

“The wonder of this region is that after rain storms some lakes turn fuchsia pink, and at times in other lakes, the flamingoes paint the shores fuchsia pink.” ~ Mike Haworth

The lake is very saline so is surrounded by a grassland of highly adaptable alkaline grasses. These grasses do not seem to worry the rhino or buffalo populations.

Wherever there are buffalo there are usually lions. We found a female near a buffalo kill with her three cubs who were happily playing in the wet grass among the fever trees next to a marsh.

“The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us. Thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing. The trees wave and the flowers bloom in our bodies as well as our souls….” ~ John Muir

Lake Nakuru National Park stretches over 188 square kilometres. Lake Nakuru itself is protected under the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. The park was enlarged partly in an effort to provide a sanctuary for the rhino, including the critically endangered Black rhino. An area of 188 km (116 miles) around the lake is fenced off as a sanctuary for the protection of giraffes as well as both Black and White rhino.

“Everybody needs beauty…places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike.” ~ John Muir

The fact that the town of Nakuru is right on the border north and eastern to the park is disconcerting but once in the park you lose all sense that there is a town on its borders. The fact that the wildlife is thrives in this park and there is a growing human population on the park’s border is testament to the park’s conservation and security efforts.

We visited the park during the ‘long rains’ in Kenya so we never got a sense that it was a dry dusty place. There were thunderstorms each afternoon and the flat area around the lake made it quite marshy and wetland oriented. One of the key features of this park is its vast fever tree forests, the character of which I will show in the next few posts.

Lake Nakuru was quite different to Amboseli. There is a significant difference in elevation, and the wildlife is mostly different as are the birds and the vegetation.

There is an incredible variety of wild places to visit in Africa. Kenya offers a wildlife photographer an unlimited palette of colours, shapes and moods with which to play.

“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapour is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.” ~ John Muir

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Amazing Amboseli

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I dedicate this post to my lifelong friend Mike Condy who sadly passed away a few days ago from complications with Covid. He loved and cherished his time in the bush. I will carry many vivid memories of him as I continue to wander through the African bush and will, with gusto, share his bush stories around the camp fire. Onto your next adventure! Travel well shamwari!!

This is the last post from my Amboseli trip with photographic safari specialists, Wild-Eye. From here we moved to Lake Nakuru further up the rift valley in Kenya. Amboseli has wonderful photographic backdrops in the form of Mount Kilimanjaro and the verdant green marshes and vast open grasslands which are home to a large variety of mammal and birdlife.

“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.” ~ Rachel Carson

This post shows a gallery of images which give a sense of the vastness and variety of wildlife in the national park. It hopefully also shows the dramatic skies which are created in the “long-rains” period from late March to early June each year.

“One way to open your eyes is to ask yourself, “What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?” ~ Rachel Carson

Excellent well drained gravel roads through the marsh areas.

The shallow marsh waters attract vast numbers of Greater and Lesser flamingoes.

Moody afternoon skies heavily laden with rain in the background with a breeding herd of elephants foraging on the grasslands in the foreground, accompanied by many cattle egrets enjoying all the insects disturbed by the elephants.

Despite the “long rains” phase, we were fortunate to get periods of cloudless vistas onto Mount Kili.

“Nature has introduced great variety into the landscape, but man has displayed a passion for simplifying it. Thus he undoes the built-in checks and balances by which nature holds the species within bounds.”~ Rachel Carson

Waders like Pied avocets were abundant at the marsh water edges.

Dedicated and patient mothers looking after their ravenous cubs.

Crowned in gold, beautiful grey crowned cranes descending from dark rain-laden skies to forage in the grasslands.

Titans walk these plains. One of the many larger tuskers which can be seen moving from breeding herd to breeding herd. This giant was in full musth.

“Giant beasts have ruled Africa for coast to coast for over 50 million years as they migrate to water for their families They are masters of the universe, architects of their world. Joyful young play securely as they are one of the most caring families in nature. They have haunting rituals, great wisdom, care and compassion. Their story is about far more than statistics and ivory.”~ Dereck Joubert-Soul of the Elephant

Wonderful moody, evocative light in the early atmospheric morning just before a thunderstorm.

A Thompson’s gazelle fawn haloed in the late afternoon fading light.

A Greater flamingo strolling through golden waters in the last light of the day.

“The eye is always caught by light, but shadows have more to say.” ~Gregory Maguire

This Yellow-throated spurfowl joined the dawn chorus.

A male Painted snipe, one of the more exotic waders gracing the marsh waters’ edge.

“Nature is the dream and I am her wanderer.” ~ Angie Weiland-Crosby

A family of Dwarf mongooses had taken up residence in this anthill, warming themselves in the early morning. Both alert and inquisitive.

A massive vista looking west past Observation Hill toward a relatively cloud free Mount Kili.

Once the lion pride had moved on to a new hunting ground, a coalition of two male cheetahs began scouting the area for their next meal.

Obliging clouds and elephants create an iconic scene with Mount Kili in the background.

“But perhaps the most important lesson I learned is that there are no walls between humans and the elephants except those we put up ourselves, and that until we allow not only elephants, but all living creatures their place in the sun, we can never be whole ourselves.” ~ Lawrence Anthony

A flock of Glossy ibis flying toward their feeding ground alongside one of the marshes. The soft substrate suited their beak shape perfectly.

A juvenile Martial eagle scouring the grasslands from a dead Tortillis tree. Judging from his already large frame he will grow into a very large raptor

A sense of scale.

Rain-darkened late sunset skies paint mauves and golds on marsh waters.

“Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin. We can illuminate our paths or darken our way. It is a matter of choice.” ~Maya Angelou

Africa’s largest mountain demands your attention.

A playful pair of carefree male elephant calves chasing and pushing each around under the watchful eye of their large mothers.

A massive big tusker following a breeding herd, there was a very large female too.

A lone hyaena scout resting in a puddle on the side of the gravel road.

Another big tusker making his way towards a breeding herd.

“Seven tonne giants in full sail. Their movements are a meditation. Their eyes shine with a deep intelligence.” ~ Dereck Joubert ~ from the Soul of the Elephant

A view across a shallow marsh lake toward Mount Kili.

“May your choices reflect your hopes not your fears.” ~ Nelson Mandela

Colourful afternoon skies over the grasslands with clouds building for the late afternoon downpour.

One of nature’s ballerinas dancing on golden waters.

“Wandering through nature opens up possibilities that free your imagination and ignite your senses.” ~ Mike Haworth

Dark heavily rain-laden skies create visual drama in what was a sublime, balmy and calm view across one of the many marsh lakes.

After a productive, colourful and fascinating five days in Amboseli we transferred to Lake Nakuru for the next leg of our Kenyan adventure.

“Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make, makes you.” ~John C. Maxwell

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Lions in Amboseli’s marshes

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Amboseli is place of diversity and contrast. If you are a landscape photographer there is a vast palette for you to work with. If you are a birder you will “betwitched”. If you enjoy wildlife, the elephants will command your attention. And, at the crepuscular time of the day you have a good chance of seeing cats – from lions to cheetah and servals.

“We go out to find our subjects before the sun rises because we want to catch them in the gorgeous light, and that’s really only allowed for a very short moment, and then, of course, it’s a hot stinking day for the rest of it. Then the time with the most exquisite sunlight is at sunset.” ~ Beverly Joubert

We stayed at Serena Lodge in Amboseli with our hosts, Wild Eye Destinations and Photography. The lodge has an electric fence around its perimeter. As we gathered at 6h00 for a cup of coffee and a rusk on our third morning, we heard the lions roaring close to the lodge and by the sound of it close to the lodge’s perimeter fence. Just as dawn was breaking we found two lion families.

Two lionesses had chosen to keep their cubs inside the electric fence surrounding the camp. How clever was that. They must have known that the electric fence offered protection. They had also worked out that the electric fence had been broken and was not live so the cubs could move in and out of the fence without getting electrocuted.

As these lionesses had worked out that the electric fence had been turned off, the male lions never walked through the electric fence. Another example of the intelligence of wildlife, something we humans are still coming to terms with and fathom.

“Two very large lionesses walked much closer to me than I expected. They rippled with power and predatory presence. Massive shoulders moved under tawny skin ready to grab hold of a passing zebra or buffalo. One lioness looked at me and stopped, her eyes burning with alertness. ~ Dereck Joubert

It was obvious that these females were tired. The cubs were really demanding. The lionesses showed their irritation at the cubs continuing to try to suckle. The continual fighting for a nipple and those razor sharp small teeth must have hurt. The lionesses never snapped. They just rolled over or got up and moved to another position.

Lionesses have a demanding and vital role in the pride. They have to hunt. Capitulate to the males at the kill and have to support and suckle their cubs and their sister’s cubs. They do snarl at the cubs to signal their displeasure at the continued pressure from the cubs to suckle. It is difficult not to empathise how sore it must be to have cubs with sharp albeit small teeth tugging on their raw nipples. For all the ferocity bound up in a lioness it is a wonder they are so gentle and accommodating with their cubs. The cubs when not trying to suckle were very playful.

The two males in the pride had quite different manes. The one less dominant one had a large brownish mane and the other more dominant male had a Mohican style mane like those seen in Tsavo.

The males have little to do with the cubs. At best they seem to tolerate them. The males generally remained some distance from the females and all the cubs.

“A world without the distant roar of lions at dawn as the mists start to lift is too terrible to contemplate.” ~ Dereck Joubert

The grass thickets and palm thickets provide good cover for the lions. Just outside the lodge’s electric fence was an open area with low grass which provide an ideal place for the cubs to play. Despite all their demands, the cubs were very affectionate towards the lionesses.

The cubs seemed to be particularly demanding. I am not sure why. Difficult to tell. We only saw them first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening. It did rain heavily in the early afternoon and occasionally at night. They seemed to be constantly hungry. Yet there was plenty of game around so I am sure the lionesses hunted regularly.

The weather is variable in the long rains. Some days we had good light and others we had diffused overcast light. Other times it was raining. No matter the weather, the males seemed to keep their distance from the family. At one point one of the males showed a little aggression towards one of the cubs and a lioness reacted very aggressively towards the male – enough said!

Statistics on the disappearance of iconic wildlife – “we are losing one rhino every 8.5 hours, five elephants every hour, and five lions a day to poaching, conflict, hunting, and human encroachment.” ~ Dereck Joubert

The males watched the family through the light rain with moderate interest from about 100 metres away. The males remained with the pride for two days before moving off to patrol their territory and we never saw them again.

The wonderful aspect about sightseeing on safari is that you are constantly surprised about what you see. And if you watch quietly for a while the complex interactions will become apparent and the structure of the family will slowly be revealed to you.

“The deep roar of a lion at dawn stirs a primal shiver in us. The dense cool dawn air is a perfect carrier. No matter how far away, your instincts are awakened and an the wildlife holds its breath.” ~ Mike Haworth

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

Amboseli – birding paradise – -part3

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This is the third post on birds seen in my recent trip to Amboseli with WildEye. We did not specifically go out to photograph birds but there is a wide variety and the swamp areas in Amboseli are ideal for wetland loving avians.

“Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is.” ~ Unknown

A yellow throated spurfowl declaring his presence early in the morning on a rock next to the side of the road. He was so intent on his calling that he ignored us completely. Francolin and spurfowl were previously all called francolin. Although the birds all look similar scientists have discovered that they are not even that closely related. As a generalisation, a francolin is smaller and has yellow legs. It also flushes when disturbed and has a musical call. By comparison, a spurfowl is larger and has orange, red or black legs. It sits tight or runs when disturbed (rather than flushing) and roosts in trees at night. It also has a harsh call.

A pair of White-backed pelican flying in to join the rest of the flock. They look bulky and heavy but are graceful fliers. Wings of pelicans flap efficiently when flying close to the surface of water. As it nears the water surface, the water partially blocks the trailing vortices of air off the wings and decreases the amount of downwash generated by the wing. This reduction in downwash results in more lift and less drag when flying.

A small flock of white-backed pelicans flew in to patrol a small open waterway in the swamp in front of us. They paddle in formation indicating they were hunting but the hunt never became serious.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

In typical male weaver fashion, this Taveta Golden weaver was performing under his nest to attract females. In the time we watched he was not successful with the female weaver, but he certainty caught our attention. I think this is a Taveta golden weaver because of the range-chestnut colouration on his upper chest and top of his crown.

“Observation is the greatest source of wisdom”.~ Unknown

It must have been a wet night because this an immature martial eagle has his wings slightly open to dry them. This was already a big raptor but his partially open wings make him look every larger.

Water thick knee eating on his knees. The Water thick knee does not have the spotted colouration across its back and wings which is seen in the Spotted thick knee but has a grey panel on its wing feathers with a dark brown streak above and below it. This Water thick knee is usually also found close to water.

A White Browed coucal is also drying itself in the early morning sun. This character found a prominent position from which to call to its partner. This coucal has the characteristic red eye of the coucal but also has a noticeable white eye brow. Its white and brown streaking extending from its head down to its dark brown back is also a diagnostic feature.

A closer look at the head of a Greater flamingo. The unusually shaped beak is characteristic of this species. The Greater flamingo is much larger than its lesser cousin. It is also much whiter than the very pinker Lesser flamingo. The Greater flamingo has a pinkish bill with a black tip and it has bright pink legs. When it comes to the colour of their eyes, the Greater flamingo’s eyes are yellow, whilst the Lesser flamingo has red eyes.

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” ~ Benjamin Franklin

Flamingoes feed with their heads down and their beaks fully immersed in the water filter feeding. A flamingo’s beautiful colour comes from the algae, diatoms, and small crustaceans that they eat, which are rich in the carotene pigment. You can see from the wetness of the head and top part of the neck that this flamingo has been feeding with its head completely under the water. Flamingoes obviously hold their breath while feeding under water.

Red billed teal. We saw many of them at the edge of the swamp. This duck is not migratory, but will fly great distances to find suitable waters. We also found Hottentot teal in the swamps. They are smaller than the Red-billed species and have a blue bill. A teal is a dabbling duck, meaning it feeds on the lake bed by upending itself with its tail in the air. I am always impressed by how immaculately teal present themselves.

A male Painted snipe fully exposed in the sunshine. His colouring is exquisite but his larger female is even more beautiful. The sides of the female’s head, neck and throat are a rich chestnut brown, and she has a distinct black band across her breast; the male is paler and greyer.

“How important is a constant intercourse with nature and the contemplation of natural phenomena to the preservation of moral and intellectual health! The discipline of the schools or of business can never impart such serenity to the mind.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

A Marabou stork presents a strong contrast to the Painted snipe. The head and neck of these birds is mainly bald so that their feathers don’t get covered in blood when they are foraging and eating. Marabou storks have big, rounded air-sacs, one hanging from their throat and one on their upper back which help them to cool down.

A Kori bustard with unusual dark malar facial markings. This Kori bustard appeared to be looking at me from one eye. As surprising as it may be, birds can look straight ahead and to the side at the same time.  They have both monocular and binocular vision. This gives the bird an advantage of a large field of vision which helps detect predators.

A first for me, an Eastern Chanting goshawk. The name goshawk comes from the old English for “goose-hawk”. A piece of dead tree trunk was the only prominent perch in the area. Although at low vantage point this goshawk was on the look out for prey. You can see dark and eastern chanting goshawks in Kenya. The Chanting goshawk is so called because of its piping calls during breeding season. The Eastern Chanting goshawk has a yellow cere and yellow beak with a black tip, and orange legs. This large, long-winged, strongly patterned raptor is usually found in open country and forages on the ground, chiefly for lizards, but will also take small mammals, birds and large insects.

Hunting in the swamp below Observation Hill this Goliath heron had been standing dead still in the shallow swamp waters until it ruffled its feathers. Male and female Goliath herons have similar colouring but are dimorphic only regarding size with the male being larger. Birds ruffle their feathers when they are cold to trap more air in their feathers to give more insulation. They also ruffle their feathers after preening to realign the feathers.

This Yellow-throated spurfowl was declaring to the world that it had survived the night and that this was still its patch.

“I love nature partly because she is not man, but a retreat from him. None of his institutions control or pervade her. There a different kind of right prevails. In her midst I can be glad with an entire gladness. If this world were all man, I could not stretch myself, I should lose all hope. He is constraint, she is freedom to me. He makes me wish for another world. She makes me content with this.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

I hope the last three posts have given a smattering of the avian potential in Amboseli. This is truly a wonderful scenic park in which to see birds. The variety is vast and so are the quantities of birds especially the wetland species.

” The world is full of magical things waiting for our wits to grow sharper”. ~ Eden Phillports

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike