We spent three mornings at Reedbuck Pan in the Maluleke Concession in the Pafuri section in the north of the Kruger Park. Each morning provided unexpected opportunities for different types of wildlife photographs from great bird interactions to wonderful saturated colours across the pan to dazzling reflections on the pan’s water surface.

“The vibration of being who you are and doing what you love is magnetic. You will align everything you need in your life with that energy.” ~ Maryam Hasnaa

As is normally the case on South African game drives, the morning drive has an early start preferably heading out at first light after a cup of hot coffee and a rusk. On the east side of the Pafuri Tented Camp is a rocky ridge with a few baobab trees. They make a wonderful silhouette with the saturated pre-dawn sky in the background.

It takes about an hour to drive east from the camp to the Reeduck Pan. By the time we arrived the sun had risen but the low angle of light cast long reflections of the fever trees across the mirror-like water surface of the pan. Early in the morning the quality of the light is superb. The direction of the light was just right, the colour of the light saturated with the sparkle from the early morning golden colours and light was soft with no specular harshness.

The pan by its nature is shallow and the banks relatively flat which gives plenty of room for waders to wander along the waterline. It also gives us ample opportunity to see crocodiles trying to sneak up on us while we are distracted taking photographs.

The intriguing aspect about this pan is that there is so much birdlife it is hard to focus on one thing. On the bend in the bank closest to where we stopped for coffee there was a Goliath heron, Grey heron, Yellow-billed stork and Three-banded plover all close to each other and quite relaxed.

“You didn’t come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave on the ocean.” ~ Alan Watts

As I showed in two previous posts, a pair of African fish eagles were aggressively territorial taking on a lone Goliath heron and solitary Great white pelican. The attacks were just intimidation and no one got injured.

I found it quite amazing that the Fish eagle would take on a large bird like a Great white pelican especially with its long beak and extended reach. The Fish eagles harassed herons, storks and pelicans alike.

“Do you have the patience to wait until the mud settles and the water is clear?” ~ Lao Tzu

A quiet moment for the lone Goliath heron the far side of the pan. This heron wisely decided to hunt close to fallen tree trunks which he could duck to avert a Fish eagle attack. Whilst I am sure the crocs do try to catch the herons, on this occasion a small croc was content to warm up in the morning sun on the fallen tree trunk.

There were plenty of Nile crocodiles in the pan and at times we got see a few basking in the morning sun on the far side of the pan. This was a good reminder to be alert and not get to close to the water’s edge.

Surprisingly, we saw a medium size croc try to bite into a terrapin but with little luck. Eventually, the croc dropped the terrapin into the water after trying numerous times to bite and try and crack its shell. The terrapin seemed none the worse for wear after its abuse.

We were joined one morning, while we were enjoying a cup of coffee and a muffin, by this juvenile Kittlitz’s plover which was hunting for insects at the water’s edge.

The adult Kittlitz’s plover in breeding colours has a more distinctive plumage with a peach coloured breast black band across its forehead down behind its eyes onto its nape.

We saw numerous Three-banded plovers dashing along the water’s edge hunting for small insects. Its two black bands across its breast are diagnostic as are its red eye rings and red beak with a black tip. It was a little more difficult to get good reflections of these small plovers.

A Blacksmith lapwing was also very busy looking for food. This species will feed on a wide variety of small aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, including insects (beetles, ants, larvae), worms, molluscs, and crustaceans.

“Water is the mirror of nature.” ~ Francis of Assisi

The main reason for this post was to show familiar waders in unfamiliar light and colour created by the light reflected off the fever trees.

Although the reflections do create an element of distraction, the colours and in the patterns in the water were fascinating. This Grey heron stood motionless in the shallow water of the pan for quite a while. It must have seen a fish and waited for it to swim within striking range.

The crocs showed no appetite for the herons in the pan. At this point the croc was in very shallow water so could not submerge for a stealthy attack. The only time I have seen crocodiles try to catch water birds was in the Salamat river in Zakouma National Park in Chad.

There was plenty of food in the pan for everyone which is why there were colonies of breeding herons and storks in the fever trees in the pan. The pink tinge in the Yellow-billed stork’s secondaries indicated that it was in full breeding plumage.

“No one can see their reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.” ~ Taoist Proverb

A small flock of African spoonbills flew in to scour the pan for food. They frantically swept their unusual spoonbills through the water trying to catch edibles such as small fish, crustaceans (like shrimp), mollusks, aquatic insects, larvae, and frogs.

“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” ~ Khalil Gibran

The inside of the spoon-shaped bill is packed with nerve endings and vibration-sensitive receptors, often referred to as papillae. Instead of relying on sight, spoonbills locate prey by touch. They sweep their partially opened bills from side to side through shallow water and mud to detect movement. When a Spoonbill feels a creature—such as a small fish, crustacean, or insect—touch its bill, the beak snaps shut in milliseconds. This extreme sensitivity allows them to feed effectively in murky, dark, or deep, muddy water where visibility is low.

One of the pair of African fish eagles that seemed to delight in harassing waders in the shallows of the pan. The Fish eagle’s tactics did not deter the waders, the latter just moved to another area of the pan.

Another example of a familiar wader in unfamiliar light. A Little egret foraging in the shallows of the pan bathed in a kaleidoscope of soft reflected colours.

A silhouette of a Little egret foraging in the golden morning light reflected on the water’s surface.

Same subject with a different angle and different light.

The colours reflected on the water’s surface of the pan changed the familiar into a magical wonderland of colour.

“Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher.” ~ William Wordsworth

This post was designed to show similar wader birds in unusual early morning reflected light. Such is the magical time based quality of photography. The quality of light, the low angle and reflections are ever changing. The stillness of the water enhanced the quality of the reflections and the vivid colours of the fever trees in the background illuminated the reflections.

“We carry inside us the wonders we seek outside us.” ~ Rumi

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

Have fun, Mike

Helen and I stayed at Pafuri tented camp last May. Thankfully not during the recent devastating floods in Kruger, and in the Pafuri area. The Pafuri section is the biodiverse northernmost part of Kruger National Park. It is well known for famous for its diverse landscapes (fever tree forests, riverine habitats), exceptional birdwatching (Pel’s Fishing Owl and Racket-tailed rollers), and the confluence of the Limpopo & Luvuvhu rivers at Crook’s Corner, where three countries (South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique) meet.

“I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.” ~ J. B. Priestley

We enjoyed morning and afternoon game drives. One morning game drive took us to Reedbuck pan in the Maluleke Concession. This is a stunningly beautiful pan situated at the edge of a large fever tree forest. The pan is usually filled by a combination of rainwater runoff and back flow from the Luvuvhu river which meets the Limpopo river at Crook’s corner. When the level of the Limpopo river rises the higher water levels cause a back flow up the Luvuvhu river. The back flow, at times, extends and floods the fever tree forest and surrounding area including the pans.

The pans are a magnet for bird life especially water birds such as storks, herons, egrets, lapwings, plovers and ducks and a pair of African fish eagles.

On the first morning we arrived at the pan it was around 7h00 and was bathed in golden morning light from the east which resulted in vivid reflections in the still water of the pan. There was a lot of activity with heronries in the trees and egrets, herons and storks flying back and forth with food for chicks and building material for new nests. Amongst all the aerial activity, we found a solitary Goliath heron stealthily walking in the shallow water of the pan.

We had seen a pair of fish eagles in the fever trees but they quietly perched high up in the tree watching the goings on. All of sudden from behind us one fish eagle swooped down close to the water aiming directly at the Goliath heron.

African Fish Eagles are known to frequently steal food from Goliath Herons in behaviour known as kleptoparasitism. Fish Eagles are opportunistic predators that often wait for the much larger Goliath Heron to catch a large fish (such as catfish or lungfish), then swoop down to harass the heron into dropping or regurgitating its meal.

While Goliath herons are the world’s largest, standing up to 5 feet tall, they are often forced to surrender a percentage of their catch to faster, aggressive raptors.

In this instance, the Goliath heron did not have a fish in its beak so this attack was not kleptoparasitism but rather a territorial imperative where the Fish eagles did not want competition for their main food source, being the fish in the pan.

“Nature is full for us of seeing inconsistencies and glad surprises” Margaret Barker

Not done with its intimidation tactics, the Fish eagle did a low level swoop to try again. Although these eagles are persistent, they do not always succeed. Goliath herons are known to fight back, and in some instances, have successfully defended their catch. The Goliath heron has a serious weapon in the form of its large sharp beak which its uses as an effective spear. The Goliath heron did not fight back but moved closer to a group of partly submerged branches from a fallen tree.

The Goliath heron ducked its head and body into the water between the fallen branches. That way the Fish eagle could not get its talons close enough to do any damage.

Studies indicate that Goliath herons lose roughly 11% of their fish catches to these “fish-pirates”. We visited this pan every day for the next two days because of all the bird activity. The Fish eagle pair did not succeed in chasing the Goliath heron away from the pan. Needless to say, the Goliath heron chose its fishing spots more carefully where it had more protection than the open water.

The pan turned out to be action packed. The Fish eagle pair flew around the pan intimidating the Yellow-billed storks and Grey and Black-headed herons as they were flying to and from their nests to the area surrounding the pan. At times it looked like the Fish eagles were having great fun.

“Animals are part of every landscape, part of the symphony of interactions that create an ecosystem, but too much of our science is siloed into looking at all these living things in isolation from each other.” ~ Kristin Ohlsen

The last morning we visited Reedbuck pan we saw a Great White pelican on the far side of the pan. We did not see it fly into the pan which can usually provide spectacular shots as they land by skiing across the water on their large webbed feet to land on the water and so sufficiently to land on their bellies and tuck their wings in. We were surprised to see a lone Great White pelican as they are often seen in small flocks as they are co-operative feeders. Great White pelicans are highly social, cooperative feeders which frequently fish in groups, using coordinated, team-based strategies to maximize their prey catch, particularly in shallow waters. 

The Fish eagle pair took turns to intimidate this Great White pelican. The size difference was noticeable but the Fish eagle’s lesser size was amply made up for by its aggression.

A Great White pelican is a large water bird, standing  up to 180cm and it has a wingspan of 226cm to 360cm and can weigh up to 15kgs, making it one of the world’s largest flying birds. It is also clearly distinguished by its long beak with a large, pale gular pouch. Males are generally larger and heavier than females, with a beak up to 47 cm long. 

“Nature’s imagination far exceeds humanity’s.” ~ Richard Feynman

The Fish eagle’s attacked from above swooping down on the hapless pelican which made itself look bigger by opening its wings and its large beak.

Fish eagles are known to attack Great White pelicans for the purposes of kleptoparasitism not predation. The pelican usually catches larger fish which makes the attack more cost effective for the Fish eagle.

The Fish eagle aimed to grab the pelican’s beak with one of its talons and managed to briefly hold onto the end of the pelican’s beak.

It was interesting so see how much the pelican’s beak bent under the weight of the fish eagle’s attack. No damage appeared to have been done during the attack.

Like the Goliath heron, the Great White pelican remained at the pan. The Fish eagle’s intimidation tactics did not work.

There were plenty of crocodiles in the pan and with all the waterbirds attracted to the pan we assumed there must have been good fishing for all the reptiles and birds involved. The fever trees provided some wonderful perches from which to look for fish and stage attacks on unwary pelicans and herons, especially those with fish in their beaks.

The Pafuri area in Kruger National Park was significantly affected by the January 2026 flooding, leading to the closure of the Pafuri Gate, road closures due to submerged bridges and overflowing rivers (especially the Luvuvhu), and precautionary evacuations of camps like Pafuri Camp. Reports suggest areas further south experienced even greater damage, with the floods inundating floodplains and cutting off access. 

“We inhabit a water planet, and unless we protect, manage, and restore that resource, the future will be a very different place from the one we imagine today.” ~ Alexandra Cousteau

Reedbuck pan was highly productive from a birding and bird photography point of view. The recent devastating rains and flooding in the Limpopo and Pafuri area have destroyed many of the roads but once the water levels subside I have no doubt the birding and photograph around this pan will be even better than before.

“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring — these are some of the rewards of the simple life.” ~ John Burroughs

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

Have fun, Mike

On several occasions, long-standing friends, Bill and Judy Pierce, invited Helen and I for a weekend at their syndicated bush cottage in Eagle’s Rock estate. This is a private wildlife estate located about 15 kilometres north of Witbank in Mpumalanga, a province in South Africa.

“Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.” ~ Athenaeus

The Eagle’s Rock wildlife estate is located in the flat farming area outside Witbank which is rapidly developing into an opencast coal mining area. This wildlife estate was unique because its eastern and northern border was the Olifant’s river which flows northwards from the Witbank dam to the Loskop dam and onto join the Letaba river in Kruger National Park.

The Olifants river has cut a steep canyon through the red sandstone in the area, an impressive feature which you would not know existed by just looking at the flat farming and mining surrounds. Eagle’s Rock estate has a unique geological character which determines the diverse flora, fauna and birdlife found on it. The red sandstone in the canyon is highly weathered and has developed steep cliffs in sections along the river.

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

The steep cliffs on sections of the canyon used to be home to White-backed vultures and are now home to baboons, dassies, Black eagles, and Peregrine and Lanner falcons.

One of my favourite things to do here was to get up early when everyone was still asleep, after an evening of fun and laughter, and drive around the estate as the sun was rising to watch all the diurnal wildlife getting started. It is not only the wildlife that is entrancing but the insects and flora too. First thing in the morning, this Common Dotted Border was sipping moisture from the wet soil.

One of the sand roads on the estate follows a valley on the northern side of the estate which has abundant flora and fauna. There are two dams on the river course, and I have often seen kudu and klipspringers on my wanderings. There are Cocqui francolin and Natal spurfowl and many species of seed eating birds in this river course.

Around the dams we have seen Marsh owls, several species of duck and of course in the evenings the frog orchestra warms up for its nightly symphony.

”A river doesn’t just carry water, it carries life.” ~ Amit Kalantri

This Eupatorium was just one of the many flowers blooming along the sand track adjacent to the stream trickling down the valley.

You need to be wide awake when photographing Black eagles from the sandstone cliff edge. It is very exciting when these huge eagles fly past. Being caught up in all the excitement it would be very easy to take a step in the wrong direction and free fall about 300 metres to the bottom of the gorge. Even with that risk it was still a wonderful opportunity to photograph Black eagles in their natural habitat.

“Rivers are places that renew our spirit, connect us with our past, and link us directly with the flow and rhythm of the natural world.” ~ Ted Turner

While waiting for the Black eagles to appear there are always the Speckled pigeons which inhabit the cliffs. These pigeons together with numerous Little swifts are constantly flying past . On occasion, I have seen Fish eagles and even a Martial eagle fly along the river course. I have spent many happy hours musing over the beauty and majesty of this place and what a privilege it is to have your own private Black eagle viewing spot.

You need to remain alert as the Black eagles appear quickly from behind the ridge. They make no sound so you only have a visual cue. They can either come from high after riding a thermal or from down in the valley using the updraft to lift them up.

The pair of Black eagles usually fly together and use the updraft from the canyon to fly along the canyon. This gives a photographer many wonderful opportunities to get relatively close shots of these magnificent eagles gliding past.

From the eagle look-out point looking east up the Olifants river you can see the Presidentsrus resort which is mostly hidden by the cliff at the bend in the river. The Black eagles often sit on the red sandstone rocks. From this vantage point you get an almost 360 degree view of their hunting area. This vantage point also gives them close access to the nest which is about three hundred metres along the valley.

Once the sun has risen and it has warmed up enough for thermals to start developing, I usually drive to an eastern section of the estate where there is a resident pair of Black eagles which have produced offspring almost every year. There is a three hundred metre walk through the rocks to get to the edge of the sandstone canyon. From the main vantage point, you can see up and down the canyon. From this point you can also see the nest that the Black eagles use to raise a chick each year.

The male Black eagle is smaller than the female. The adult Black or Verreaux’s eagle is mostly jet-black in colour. The eye ring and cere are yellow, and the beak is horn grey with a black tip. When these magnificent eagles are flying and when seen from above the white on the back, rump and upper-tail coverts and part of the scapulars form a distinctive V-shaped patch.

There are plenty of dassies on the sandstone rocks which are a favourite part of the Black eagle’s diet. Dassies make up around 90% of this eagle’s diet.

It is a real thrill to watch these huge Black eagle’s fly past. During the breeding season which is in late winter the eagles are very busy preparing and repairing their huge stick nest structure sitting precariously on a cliff ledge.

These Black eagles are inquisitive and often fly above “our” lookout point just to check up on what we are doing as the lookout point is about 50 metres above and 50 metres away from the nest.

The weather in the late afternoons in summer can be quite colourful and dramatic. This was the view from the cottage patio looking north onto the gorge as a storm was building.

“There is something massively energising about the gathering storm. The gathering builds expectations of wild skies, where flashes of forked lightning were followed by booming thunder claps. The sky darkens, there is wind in your face and you can smell the rain coming.” ~ Mike Haworth

The last weekend we spent will Bill and Judy at Eagle’s Rock estate, a thunderstorm developed and with the lightning came the thunder. The view from the patio gave us the sunset to the west and the thunderstorm to the east which was both beautiful and dramatic.

As the storm moved west and the sun set the sky darkened and we got to see nature’s light show with sundowner in hand. It is very humbling to watch mother nature display like this.

“The thunder speaks, but the lightning strikes.” ~ Zulu proverb

The last time we visited Eagle’s Rock estate was in the March of 2020 just before the lockdown for the Covid-19. Bill and Judy’s syndicate has subsequently sold their bush cottage at Eagle’s Rock estate. We spent many happy weekends as guests of Bill and Judy over the years. There was always something to see during the days with long walks around the estate and at times down to the valley floor which took some navigating.

“Old friends are like wine — they grow much sweeter and more valuable as they get older. And they are irreplaceable.” ~ Ron Hale-Evans

Natural wild places and time spent with long standing friends is the perfect tonic and a great way to share ideas and have much fun and laughter together. Thank you Bill and Judy for many wonderful times spent with you at Eagle’s Rock.

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

Have fun Mike.

A pair of Little sparrowhawks are resident in our suburb and they visit our garden each day. The regular visits are probably because we put out food for the birds which helps their hunting success rate.

“Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise.” ~ Alice Walker

The Little sparrowhawk is a small and secretive raptor, just a bit larger than a laughing dove. It is the second smallest raptor in southern Africa after the Pygmy falcon. A male Little sparrowhawk typically weighs around 68 to 70 grams, and his mate can can be almost double his weight at between 100 and 105 grams.

The colour of the plumage of a Little sparrowhawk and African goshawk are similar with a grey head and upper parts. Its neck is white and its chest and belly are white with a slight rufous tinge and grey barring. It has yellow legs and a yellow cere and eye ring but its eyes vary in colour from yellow to orange. Males are blue-grey above with fine orange barring beneath, females are grey-brown and white. Young birds are browner with coarsely barred chests.

One of the most striking aspects of sparrowhawk morphology is the difference in size that exists between males and females. It is not uncommon for male raptors to be smaller than their mate, but the size difference between male and female sparrowhawk is usually large. It is speculated that this size difference ensures both birds can hunt different prey, and not come into conflict over limited prey, especially in winter. The larger female is also more able to protect her nest and young from predators.

“To be prepared against surprise is to be trained. To be prepared for surprise is to be educated.” ~ James P Carse

Although they look similar, there is marked difference in size between an African goshawk and the Little sparrowhawk. The African goshawk has a wingspan around 70cm and body length which varies between 36cm to 47cm whereas the Little sparrowhawk has a wingspan around 39cm and body length averaging 26cm.

Another marked difference is in the tail feather colouring. The African goshawk has clear dark grey and white banding whereas the Little sparrowhawk has very light banding on the underpart of the rectrices but two clear white spots on the upperparts of the tail feathers.

This small raptor is often seen alone and it usually hides in the middle of trees for cover. It is a diurnal hunter and we mainly see it in the hours around dawn and dusk. We hear the Little sparrowhawks often but only see them clearly in late August and September once the trees have lost most of their leaves. When the greenery returns to the trees these little raptors are more often heard than seen. According to Ulrich Oberprieler’s Raptor Guide of Southern Africa, the female calls a rapid high pitched “kick-kik-kik-kik” while the male’s call is a mellower “kew-kew-kew-kew”.

The Little sparrowhawk is a bird hunter, waiting in cover. When an opportunity presents itself, it attacks using a short dash which often results in flight capture. This raptor seems to catch many birds the same size as itself. It normally consumes its prey on a branch in a tree. It will go for chicks of many species if it can find them. The Little sparrowhawk preys mainly on small birds weighing between 15 and 60 grams which include seedeaters such as mannikin, waxbills, weavers and frugivores such as bulbuls and thrushes. We have seen the male Little sparrowhawk go for a Green woodhoopoe but they never seem to go for Indian mynas.

These sparrowhawks have keen eyesight and are excellent at targeting unsuspecting prey. As a perch hunter and using their sharp eyesight and acute hearing, they scan their surroundings for potential prey even when light is relatively low. When this diminutive raptor decides to attack it is phenomenally quick and agile diving through the branches of the trees at remarkable speed.

“Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.” ~ Anonymous

With the female being so much larger than the male and having a steadier flight pattern, she is able to hunt in more open spaces for larger prey. Males tend to hunt more in woodland and riverine areas seeking small sparrow-sized birds.

Little sparrowhawks prefer to nest in trees in forests and woodlands. Sparrowhawks build their own nests. The nest is often built low in a tree, in a fork near an opening with easy access. Sparrowhawks build simple platform nests from twigs which are not lined with soft material. We have watched a pair mating in mid-August though most breeding in Southern Africa takes place between September and February. Until the chicks are old enough to be left alone, the male sparrowhawk does all the hunting, feeding both the young and the female. Then both parents hunt for the juveniles, and they continue to do so for a month or so after the young sparrowhawks have left the nest.

Life starts rapidly in the Little sparrowhawk world. The incubation usually takes about 32 days and only one chick survives from a clutch of two to three eggs. The nestling is fed by its mother and becomes independent after about a month.

Little sparrowhawks are small birds of prey with short, broad wings. Most bird wing shapes can be grouped into four types, which include elliptical wings, high speed wings, high aspect ratio wings and slotted high-lift wings. Elliptical wings are found on bats and most small forest and scrub-dwelling birds. This wing shape allows a high degree of control and manoeuvrability in confined spaces. Elliptical wings are highly slotted between the primary feathers which helps to prevent stalling during sharp turns, low-speed flight, and frequent landing and takeoff.

Sparrowhawks and goshawks are Accipiters and as such are specialised hunters. The Accipiter shape is very distinctive, with short and broad wings with a strongly rounded wing-tip – ideal for rapid manoeuvring in confined spaces. This is the ultimate ambush predator of small birds, relying on surprise and the speed of pursuit.  The shape of the wing is important in determining the flight capabilities of a bird. Different shapes correspond to different trade-offs between advantages such as speed, low energy use, and manoeuvrability.

Two important parameters are the aspect ratio and wing loading. Aspect ratio is the ratio of wingspan to the mean of its chord (or the square of the wingspan divided by wing area). A high aspect ratio signifies long narrow wings which are useful for endurance flight because they generate more lift. Wing loading is the ratio of weight to wing area and determines the capacity for sustained lift and soaring.

“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.” ~ Stephen McCranie

Wings with a low aspect ratio facilitate rapid takeoff and swift twisting flight, but not for sustained high speed. When not hunting, the flight lacks the aerial mastery of the falcons and appears a little weak with characteristic ‘flap, flap, glide’ pattern. The relatively high wing loading is due to the relatively small wing area to its weight but the weight assists in the mid-air attack.

Many Accipiters hunt and chase songbirds, which are very good at flying fast for short bursts and ducking and dodging through branches. Little sparrowhawks are slender with short, broad, rounded wings and a long tail which helps them manoeuver in flight. The shorter wings make it easier to tuck in and avoid hitting branches, and the roundness still gives them lots of power on the down stroke. They have long legs and long, sharp talons which they use to kill their prey, and a sharp, hooked bill to cut and tear into its prey. The long narrow tail acts like a rudder and steers the bird in and around most obstacles, but it can also be fanned out to act like a third wing.

Sparrowhawks are the sprinters of the raptor family. They are capable of dramatic and fast bursts of speed of up to 50kph, but cannot sustain this speed in a chase. This means ‘spars’ must rely on stealth, speed and surprise to succeed, startling their prey before it has any time to react.

Even when we cannot hear the Little sparrowhawks calling, we often know where they are because of the alarm calls of small birds in the trees in the garden such as Black-capped bulbuls.

It is interesting that these sparrowhawks hunt an area in a similar way to lions. They will hunt in the area daily for a short while and then move away for a period. This prevents over hunting the area and does not give the garden birds enough time to get to know the sparrowhawks pattern of hunting and helps keep the element of surprise.

Whether it is first thing in the morning when we are watching these little “spars” with a cup of hot coffee in hand or dusk with a sundowner it is exciting when these “dashing hunters” come into the garden. The avian dynamics change dramatically and their presence adds dimensions of excitement and wonder spiced with a dose of anticipation.

“Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do.” ~ Bruce Lee

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

Have fun, Mike

I am fortunate enough to have worked from home for the past 14 years. My office has a set of french doors which open onto the garden. We live along the Outspan bird sanctuary which has a stream flowing through it. This sanctuary has many trees so looks like a forest. The Outspan stream flows past our home and on down to the Jukskei spruit. Many birds wander up and down the stream foraging.

We are fortunate enough to have many birds resident in the area, probably because the is so much food around. It helps that we provide seed, fruit and suet which attract a variety of our avian friends daily.

“Tame birds sing of freedom. Wild birds fly.” ~ John Lennon

Over the years, and especially after the dry period around 2015, many bushveld birds moved into the urban areas to find food. They found a bounty and never returned to the bushveld. Johannesburg has many parks and is a well treed city which also provides a haven for our avian friends.

In recent years, we have regularly seen and heard a pair of Grey-headed bushshrikes. They have a distinctive long piping call which changes to a clicking sound when they are alarmed. Their clicking sounds just like the clicking of an electric fence. The clicking is normally due to the presence of a pair of Little sparrowhawks which are resident in the well treed Outspan bird sanctuary.

An adult Rose-ringed parakeet with its vivid green plumage and a black and rose ring around its neck. It has a bright red beak and a red-orange eye ring. This is one of the world’s worst invasive parrot species. Rose-ringed parakeets were first introduced to South Africa in the 1900s as part of the pet trade according to an report by the Mail & Guardian.

In the last six months we have had regular visits from as many as five Rose-ringed parakeets at one time. These parakeets have a call which is a harsh shriek but their beautiful vivid green plumage makes them very acceptable. These parakeets come into the garden for the suet but they are relatively skittish.

Juvenile Rosy-cheeked lovebirds. We have had as many as 15 arrive at one time. They compete with the doves and weavers for the seed we put out. These lovebirds are endemic in Namibia and the population in Johannesburg must have grown from pets that managed to escape.

The adult Rosy-cheeked lovebird has the rosy cheeks but the fledged juvenile can vary in colour from a vivid green with a light pink flush across it face and throat to a blue beige colour. The adult’s rump plumage is a powder blue and the colour of the underside of the rectrices is a barred vivid orange, black and green colour combination.

“In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence.” ~ Robert Lynd.

Although these lovebirds are monogomous and at times have a very confiding manner, they can be very aggressive towards each other when it comes to dominating the available seed. They certainly dominate the weavers and sparrows on the seed tray.

A male Southern masked weaver in his full breeding plumage. The female is a similar size but lacks the colourful yellow plumage and black face and neck mask. These weavers are seed eaters but also enjoy the suet. This male was perched in a budding prunus looking down at the activity around the feeding tray.

An adult Grey lourie or Go-away bird. It’s latter name is onomatopoeic. It has light grey plumage and when excited raises its grey crest in the same way as other turacos. These lourie’s come into the garden for the fruit we put out. In late winter they gorge themselves on syringa berries and in early spring also eat the new buds on the oak tree in our garden.

An juvenile Speckled mousebird with its partly grown rectrices. These unique birds fly in as a group of six or more birds. They come in for the fruit and the berries on the puzzle bushes and bottlebrush trees. Like swifts, mousebirds are pamprodactylous meaning their two outer toes are reversible, so all four toes can be directed forward at will. Being able to rotate all four toes to face forward enables them to feed upside down, hold food with their feet, and perch with their legs positioned at strange angles.

The Speckled mousebird’s feet are large, and their legs widely spaced. Mousebirds do not perch like most other species and tend to rest their abdomens on their perch. They could be considered “living fossils” being survivors of a lineage that was massively more diverse in the late Paleogene and Miocene ages. These birds are unrelated to anything else alive today.

An adult Cape glossy starling with its iridescent blue plumage and bright yellow eye. These starlings are frequent visitors to our feeding table to enjoy the fruit and suet. These birds are very talkative which makes great accompaniment when gardening. Of the seven species of glossy starlings, only the Long-tailed and Burchell’s starling have a black and not a bright yellow eye.

“Birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.” ~ Douglas Coupland

A few months ago a pair of Red-winged starlings were regular visitors to our fruit and suet offerings. These starlings are frugivores and insectivores so enjoy the fruit and the suet in particular. The brick-red colour is only on the primary wing feathers.

The female Red-winged starling is the same size as the male and has the same clearly evident brick-red primary wing feathers. The female has a grey head with darker streaks and her blue glossy plumage is somewhat duller than that of the male. This species of starling has a variety of call which are more like whistles with the most frequent sounding like an extended “spreeooo”.

Two adult Green woodhoopoes with their iridescent green neck and back plumage, and bright red beaks. The fledged juvenile has purply-blue neck and back plumage and a black beak. The juvenile’s distinctive white and blue barring has still to fully develop on its rectrices.

An adult male Grey hornbill feeding suet to his female. The female has a creamy coloured maxilla (upper mandible) with a dark red tip to both mandibles. These hornbills have a distinctive piping call which has a sad tone to it.

The adult male Grey hornbill has its diagnostic dark black beak with a noticeable but small casque on his upper mandible. A pair of Grey hornbills are resident in the area and occasionally come to visit to feed on the suet balls we put out for the birds.

We have a pair of Southern boubous in our area and they can be heard during the day dueting to each other. These shrikes have a distinctive black upper parts, a buff-beige under parts and a clear white wing bar. They have a wide variety of calls in their repertoire. The boubou prefers to forage in the undergrowth and only occasionally presents itself out in the open. They are not fruit or seed eaters and are very selective on the suet.

A pair of Cape Robin-chats are resident on our property. These are shy but inquisitive birds with an orange throat and rump, grey upper and under parts and a striking white supercilium, which separates the blackish lores and ear coverts from the dark grey crown.

This species of Robin-chat is always the first to start singing in the morning at the first hint of light. When on alert it flicks its tail up. The masked weavers chase the robin-chats when they get too close to the weaver’s nest.

“Some birds are not meant to be caged, that’s all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild.” ~ Stephen King

A fiesty małe Southern masked weaver guarding his seed against all birds smaller than himself. The Southern masked weaver has a red eye and its crown is yellow to just above the beak. The Lesser masked weaver has a yellow eye and the yellow plumage on its crown only extends half way across its head and the black mask extends from its neck across it cheeks and include the front part of its crown.

An adult male Cape sparrow. It has the white and black markings on its face and neck and rusty brown upper wing coverts. This male did not have the usual black crown so its grey nape and crown suggested it still had to develop its full adult colouring.

The female Cape sparrow has the same colouring as the male except it has a grey head, neck and nape and no distinctive black markings on her face and neck. The female has a clear white supercilium.

A pair of Crested barbets are resident in our area and they can often be heard trilling. They are very fond of the fruit we leave out for them. They tend to dominate the fruit and are only pushed off by the Grey Louries. The smaller Black-collared barbet defers to its larger black, red yellow and white plumed cousin.

“Birds chirping around you is a beautiful realisation that life is incredibly good. Let this sound be a gentle break in your routine.” ~ Hiral Nagda

The Crested barbet is also fondly referred to as the “marmalade bird”.

A family of Black-collared barbets regularly come to visit the fruit tray. These barbets can be quite aggressive to some birds that are bigger than themselves. They have a very strong beak which is probably the deterrent. This species of barbet is smaller than the Crested barbet and is pushed off the fruit by the latter.

The intensity of red face mask seems to vary according to age. I have never seen a Black-collared barbet with a yellow face mask, a yellow morph. This barbet has dark red eyes. Black-collared barbets have a distinctively different call to the Crested barbet and can be seen bobbing and quivering their wings while duetting.

A female adult Thick-billed weaver is also an occasional visitor. I have not seen the male in the garden but I know they nest in the reeds in a small dam about a kilometre down the stream. These weavers prefer the grass seed and also do not compete on the feeding tray.

We normally see the Southern boubou hopping around in the undergrowth in the garden. They tend to be more secretive than the other birds with the exception of the Cape Robin-chats. Among the vast repertoire of the Southern boubou, it has a piping call like a Grey-headed shrike but its call does not extend as long as that of the Grey-headed bushshrike.

A Green woodhoopoe holding precariously onto a thin branch. We have a family of six which come through the garden twice a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. They seem to travel up and down the Outspan stream foraging for grubs and insects under the bark of the many trees growing along the stream. They are particularly fond of the suet balls and can easily access them with their long beaks. Interestingly, the Indian Mynars will not tangle with these woodhoopoes because of their long beak.

A male Red-headed finch. This is an occasional visitor. A few of these finches come into the garden at times when the grass seed is abundant. They cannot compete on the feeding table with the weavers and doves.

A Ground dove – I think! I do not know what species of dove this is. I have only ever seen a similar looking dove in Mauritius. This character stayed for a few days and we have never see it again. It was bigger than a Laughing dove but was shunned all all the doves.

An adult Laughing dove. With the seed we put out on the feeding table, we attract 20 plus Laughing doves and a few Cape Turtle and Red-eyed doves. The Laughing doves have a soft call that sounds like ‘coo-coo-cuk-coo-coo’. These doves have exquisite soft pink, cinnamon, brown and bluish grey colouring on their wing and back feathers. As demure as these doves appear they can be quite aggressive with each other using their wings to hit their opponents when feeding.

The Red-eyed dove looks like a large turtle dove but has a red eye. We usually only see one or two of these doves around at any one time.

We have several Karoo thrushes in the garden. They enjoy the fruit and the suet. We often see them foraging on the lawn for insects and worms. The Karoo thrush is easily mistaken for an Olive thrush but the latter has a dark brown maxilla whereas the Karoo thrush has a yellow maxilla and mandible.

A Tawny flanked prinia is a regular visitor but prefers to forage for insects in giant strelitzia, clivias and and other shrubs.

We had Black sparrowhawk in the garden a year ago when a pair were nesting in the poplars along the Outspan stream. We even had an African Harrier-hawk visit a couple of times a few years ago, but we do have daily visits from a pair of Little sparrowhawks. They use the cover of the large trees in the garden to launch their blisteringly fast aerial attacks.

These images illustrate the variety of birds which we are fortunate enough to have come into our garden. Feeding the birds is certainly helps attract them.

There are many more species of birds which we see in the garden varying from Cape white-eyes to bronze mannikins. We often hear a woodpecker in the olive tree next to the house but I have not seen it clearly. We have several Hadedas which aerate our lawn and flower beds for us. Although the Hadeda is an attractive ibis, it is very noisy. Tongue-in-cheek we refer to the Hadeda as a “sabre toothed pigeon”.

“Every bird, every tree, every flower reminds me what a blessing and privilege it is just to be alive.” ~ Marty Rubin

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

Have fun, Mike

The Samara private game reserve is doing remarkable conservation work saving several species and protecting the fragile Karoo environment within its fenceline. One of the many success stories have been the thriving cheetah families in Samara. Chilli, the daughter of Sibella, has recently reared eight cubs to adolescence. Five cubs were her own and three she has “allo-mothered” which were her daughter Inara’s cubs. The circumstances around this unusual “allo-mothering” situation was covered in a previous post.

“The beauty of Africa is not man made, it is natures gift to humanity.” ~ Paul Oxton

This “allo-mothering” situation offers researchers a wonderful opportunity to better understand cheetah’s sociality which may offer new opportunities for rearing orphaned cheetah cubs and add another “string to the bow” of cheetah conservation.

“Conservation efforts today are planting seeds for a future with more balance between growth and diversity. It is buying us time to learn about the wisdom and intricacies which mother nature has to offer. Quietness, acceptance and focus are necessary for us to see beyond just looking. “~ Mike Haworth

Cheetah.org shows that cub mortality is higher where proximity to large predators is greater in protected areas like national parks and wildlife reserves than in non-protected areas. In such areas, the cheetah cub mortality can be as high as 90%. Samara is unusual in that its success with cheetah cubs has been considerably higher as lions were only introduced in 2019 but spend most of their time on the Cambdeboo plateau and so far have not ventured much down onto the plains at the foot of the escarpment.

This adolescent was smelling a scent signpost. Cheetahs have semi-retractable claws which they extend to increase traction when running at speed. Cheetahs sharpen their claws on a tree or fallen log like other cats.

Play among cheetah adolescents is vital. It hones their skills in stalking, chasing, boxing, wrestling, tripping, pouncing – all the tactics they need for hunting as an adult. Cheetahs do not have fully retractable claws like lions and leopards so need to be able to catch and force its prey to the ground by tripping it or forcing to lose its balance at speed and quickly get a grip of the neck to suffociate it.

While cheetahs are not good climbers, as they do not have the large curved claws and the build of a leopard, they do climb trees to get a better lookout to search for prey. They also scent mark on trees. This signpost is normally worth a detailed inspection to understand who has been there previously, their gender and their condition.

“It is not from ourselves that we learn to be better than we are.” ~ Wendell Berry

Early morning sun in this youngster’s face. According to Cheetah.org, cheetahs with their high-set eyes are able to gaze over a wide area, with a 210-degree field of view whereas people can see objects within only 140 degrees. In addition to the position of their eyes, adaptations in the distribution of cells in their retina help them scan the horizon with better acuity. Unlike those nocturnal hunters, cheetahs see better during the day than at night. This is because cheetahs have more cone photoreceptor cells and fewer rod photoreceptor cells in their retina compared with other cats. Black tear markings under the eyes are thought to protect against the sun’s glare and to help focus better on prey.

“I scan the horizon, searching near and far. Looking across the familiar for a sign. I know the bounty is out there. Patience be my virtue, and acuity and speed my ally.” ~ Mike Haworth

Two cheetahs backlit in the morning sun. Reducing the focal length enabled me to show more of the environment in which the cheetahs were hunting. The cheetahs operated at the foot of the escarpment and on the plains at the start of the Great Karoo.

This sub-adult was making its way through the thornveld. I have shown this image to illustrate the cheetahs’ ability to make their way through thick thorn brush. There must be many long acacia thorns on the ground which they seem to be able to negotiate with little trouble.

Each morning we got up to be out with cheetahs before sunrise. We often found them in an elevated section which gave them a good vista from which to scan for potential prey.

“Real freedom lies in wildness, not in civilization.” ~Charles Lindbergh

Looking out from an elevated position. Cheetahs have very good eyesight. Early in the morning they invariably would position themselves looking west so they did not have too look directly into the low aspect early morning sun. The height of the sun can usually be seen by the shadow cast in the cheetah’s eyes.

“Cherish sunsets, wild creatures and wild places. Have a love affair with the wonder and beauty of the earth!” ~ Stewart Udall

When we say we walked with cheetahs, in reality we mostly followed them. We had been following the cheetah family for a few hours one morning when they moved down toward one of the dry river beds. In a flash, Chilli was dashing through the thornveld. We heard kudu barking and realised she was off after one. When we eventually got down to the riverbed she had killed an adult female kudu. Interestingly, she managed to catch and kill it in the riverbed which was littered with rocks.

“We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us. We can never have enough of nature. “~ Henry David Thoreau

The agility and sure footedness of Chilli was exceptional and being able to take down such big prey in the riverbed highlighted just what a skilled hunter this cheetah mother has become.

The sub-adults practiced their killing technique on this already dead female kudu. The family fed on the kudu for around an hour almost finishing it before Chilli dragged the diminished carcass into the shade. The cheetah family were able to feed in peace but were always looking around alert for any sign of danger.

“We are complicated creatures, and ultimately, the balance comes from this understanding. Be water. Flowing, flexible and soft. Subtly powerful and open. Wild and serene. Able to accept all changes, yet still led by the pull of steady tides. It is enough.” ~ Victoria Erickson

It was becoming clear that the adolescents were becoming sexually active and would soon need to be separated. Mounting each other could be an act of dominance or could be the growing sexual development of these young males. It was clear that it was the males who were trying to mount each other.

One of the reasons why we visited Samara in May was that we expected the sub-adults to be split up because of their growing sexual maturity and it was a unique opportunity to see a family of eight sub-adults cheetahs with their mother.

At around 18 months of age, the mother and her adolescents will separate. Often the male and female siblings need more time to refine their hunting skills so to stay together after the separation from their mother. Once the female begins estrous cycling the dominant male in the area will drive off the female’s brothers. In Samara’s case, the brothers will be sent off to other reserves which are trying to build up their cheetah populations.

Samara’s objective is to regenerate South Africa’s semi-arid Great Karoo region through rewilding and responsible tourism. This private reserve is a member of “The Long Run”, which is an organisation of nature-based tourism businesses committed to driving sustainability. The Long Run organisation conserves over 23-million acres of biodiversity and is in the process improving the lives of 750,000 people living in those areas. The organisation seeks to support, connect and inspire nature-based businesses to excel in following the highest standards of sustainability encompassing Conservation, Community, Culture and Commerce (4Cs). Samara strives to achieve a balance of these ‘4Cs’. Judging from its cheetah conservation efforts it is doing a sterling job.

“It seems everything in nature that has beauty, also has a price.
Let the value of our planet’s wildlife be to nature and nature alone.”~ Paul Oxton

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

Have fun, Mike

Our trip with WildEye to Sabi Sabi provided ample opportunity to photograph predators. Sabi Sands is known for its density of predators. That said lions are usually flat cats, hyaena are scattered waiting for the call to arms and leopards do not want to be seen.

“The beauty of Africa is not man made, it is nature’s gift to humanity.”
~ Paul Oxton

A few of my own perceptions about leopards were dispelled on our trip. The first was that leopards spend most of their time in trees. They don’t! They spend a lot more time on terra firma than I imagined. Obviously they hunt mostly on the ground and there are the iconic images of them using their powerful forelegs to haul an impala, steenbok, duiker or warthog up into the fork of a tree to be able to feed away from the stealing intentions of hyaenas or lions.

“In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.”~Patti Smith

Leopards walk great distances maintaining their territories. They are either marking the boundaries after a major rain storm or they are hunting or following a potential mate.

Leopards are perfectly camouflaged for their independent, stealthy way of life. When they are walking through the bush they stop often to either smell or listen. There are many giveaway signs in the bush.

One of the aspects of the trip I really enjoyed was the way the guide managed to regularly find leopards by a process of deduction, piecing all the signs in the bush together. Leopards are difficult to see. Without intelligent tracking if you see a leopard it is just happenchance. Often our guide would stop the vehicle and turn the engine off and just listen. Impala have an alarm snort, and many birds have alarm calls. The Crested francolin has a distinctive alarm call so too do starlings. Vervet monkeys, baboons and squirrels all have alarm calls. By listening to the calls in the bush you can piece together what the nature’s media is telling you. On several occasions our guide picked up where a predator was walking by listening to the bird and animal calls. It is an integral part of tracking.

Our guides also knew the territories of the various male and female leopards. In addition they could see in the sand road whether the leopard was male or female and which way it was moving and how old the track was. The reserve is demarcated into blocks by virtue of its sand road network. If the tracks entered a block and exited the block then direction of the leopard’s movement was clear. It the tracks did not exit the block then the conclusion was that the leopard was in the block. Then it became a process of deduction.

The intriguing aspect of this huge male leopard, called “white dam” after the place he was first seen as a cub, is that he was well aware of us and at times would try to hide and blend into the grass and other times just ignored us. He exuded confidence.

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

On our third afternoon, the weather was overcast and cold. Our tracker and guide managed to pickup on the tracks of a female leopard they called “Nstumi” which is tsonga word for angel. She was a beautiful female leopard.

“Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.” ~Stephen Hawking

We followed her that afternoon for about two hours. It is only when you spend some time watching these incredible predators walking through the bush do you realise how alert and alive they are to every sight, sound and smell around them. Some signs were intriguing and others a warning.

Ntsumi walked for extended periods through the bush then would find an elevated rocky area or anthill and stop and survey all around her. She stopped to listen and sense what was around her. We humans could learn a thing or too from this angel.

Ntsumi was inquisitive. Exploring everything in her path. It is seldom that animals walk in a straight line, it does not seem to be the way of nature.

Ntsumi could see us on the vehicle. The large 600mm lenses intrigued her. Perhaps it looked like a very large eye.

It was overcast so no sunset and was getting dark while we were watching her lounging on top of the anthill. All of a sudden she got up and walked down off the anthill. At the time it was not apparent why the sudden change. It was only about fifteen minutes later we realised a group of four lions, two males and two females had moved into the area. I don’t know whether she has seen them, heard them or smelt them but we were oblivious until we saw them. The lions could clearly smell her and investigated the anthill she had been lying on and where she had walked. We never saw Ntsumi again that evening.

One of the astounding aspects about “white dam” was the size of his territory and how he moved around it. We found him on our last game drive down in the southern most part of his territory. We found this huge male leopard lying on top of a large anthill in the early morning sun. He lay on top of the anthill for about half an hour just taking in all the sights and sounds and the sun for the first time in five days. He exuded confidence.

After a while he was on the move again. This leopard walked in gullies and in riverbeds. He was out of sight for all but those who were looking for and following him.

It was clear he knew his territory intimately.

One of the things photography is teaching me is to go beyond looking. I am learning there are many deeper levels beyond looking. The first is learning to see. Seeing is a much more intellectual process which requires looking beyond the immediacy of the subject and watching to see patterns which give insight into understanding its behaviour. Seeing is also about context and it often gives clue about upcoming behaviour. This is about understanding what you are looking at and how to anticipate. Then comes the wonder when you realise the incredible innate intelligence these animals have and their awareness and understanding about their environment. Beyond wonder comes gratitude. You realise what a privilege it is to be able to spend time to get a partial insight into the incredible lives of these animals and marvel at their intelligence and adaptation.

“We carry within us, the wonders we seek around us.” ~ Sir Thomas Browne

Photograph is teaching me to see and in so doing opening up a world of wonder which in a time of contemplation creates huge waves of gratitude.

“I believe that curiosity, wonder, and passion are defining qualities of imaginative minds and great teachers; that restlessness and discontent are vital things; that intense experience and suffering instruct us in ways that less intense emotions can never do.” ~ Kay Redfield Jamison

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

Have fun,

Mike

We were in Sabi Sands reserve in South Africa in late August 2020, let out of lockdown. It felt just like the end of a long term at boarding school. At last we were again able to travel to our beloved bush places. The bush experience washes away all those urban tensions and allows you to be present in the moment. It is a place where all your senses feel alive.

I was part of a group of avid photographers who spent five days in Sabi Sands hosted by Wild Eye. The weather was heavily overcast and drizzling. for most of the time. It was cold, and once on the game vehicle and moving we got properly wet and the cold turned to freezing. The weather did not matter, we were in the African bush with our cameras to photograph the scenes and the wildlife, and we were determined to work with the light we had.

“Africa is known for her heat, dust and wild things, and she is unpredictable. This journey was damp and cold but speckled with many wild things. The rain brings life to a winter-dried bushveld but territorial boundaries are washed away and new imperatives must be asserted.” ~ Mike Haworth

Sabi Sands has a high density of predators. There are daytime predators like cheetahs and wild dog, and nocturnal predators like lions, hyaenas and leopards. We did not get to see civets and genets at night mainly because the weather was challenging for much of the time. We did get a glimpse of a white-tailed mongoose but it was too far to photograph at night.

The guides on the vehicles were in radio contact with each other communicating the locations of sightings and fresh tracks to each other. The combination of radio contact and tracks meant that we had a high chance of finding those elusive cats.

“The voice of beauty speaks softly; it creeps only into the most fully awakened souls” ~ Nietzsche

On our third day our guide, Greg, got a radio call that a cheetah had been seen next to the Sabi Sabi airfield. In the cold and drizzle, we drove to the airfield to see what we could find. We found a lone sub-adult male cheetah. A family of cheetahs had been seen in this part of the reserve for the previous few days. The family comprised four sub-adult males and their mother.

While we were parked next to the airfield watching this lone male cheetah, a little spell of serendipity presented itself out of the cold overcast early morning. Out of the bush behind us came a pack of wild dogs. They wandered along the edge of the runway for a short while and eventually got sight of the young male cheetah. Numbers count in the bush and so does size. The dogs started trotting toward the cat. This looked like it would turn into an interesting test of speed versus numbers.

All of a sudden, behind the cheetah we were watching, another cheetah dashed off to the left. In an instant, the cheetah we were focused on followed. Within seconds we heard the cry of a duiker as one of the cheetahs caught it. I am not sure how the duiker gave itself away because they are usually nocturnal and it was caught around 8h00 in the morning.

As soon as cry of the duiker was heard, the pack of wild dogs gave chase. Within seconds we were after the dogs and the cats through the bush in the game vehicle. If you need a little loosening up after being in an urban environment for too long, try being shaken up on a game vehicle driving off-road through the bush after wild dogs and cheetahs.

After following the chase for about five minutes, we caught up with the cheetahs and wild dogs. The cheetahs had killed an adult grey duiker.

“Being out on a game vehicle is bewitching. You are out in the open under big skies, the wind in your face. Your imagination is flooding with expectation. Your senses are overflowing with kaleidoscope of scents, sounds and colours.” – Mike Haworth

The grey duiker prefers woodland with plenty of undergrowth and thickets, preferably near water. This vegetation provides food and shelter. This duiker is solitary, except during the mating season. It likes to forage in early mornings and late afternoons until after dark and may linger longer on cool cloudy days, which is probably why it was still out and about when the cheetahs saw it. Much like a steenbok, this small antelope will wait until the last moment before running away. On its way it puts its head down and uses its characteristic jumping and swerving tactics. When not caught by cheetahs, the grey duiker lies down in dense shelter, underneath shrubs or in tall grass during the hottest part of the day to rest.

When we stopped the vehicle, we found the cheetah family, a adult mother and four sub-adult males around the carcass and the wild dogs surrounding them. I was amazed at how quickly the cheetahs had tucked into their meal. With the chattering wild dogs surrounding them it was easy to see why.

Wild dogs have an irregular, mottled coat, with patches of tan, black, brown, white, and yellow fur. Each animal has its own unique coat pattern, and all have lean physiques and big, rounded ears.

The African wild dog is the most endangered large carnivore species in South Africa and the second most endangered in Africa after the Ethiopian wolf. 

The wild dog is the only local canid to have developed a pack system. The pack is led by a monogamous pair and they are usually the only ones to breed. We did not see any youngsters and the dogs were moving around so much I did not notice the alpha female and whether she was still suckling.

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

When we found the cheetahs the wild dogs were all around them making their excited high pitched chattering sounds. Wild dogs seldom bark like a typical dog but often make an excited twittering or chattering sounds. Wild dogs have more kinds of yelp/squeals, whines, moans, growls, and barks in their repertoire than have been reported for other canids.

The wild dogs had scared one of the sub-adult males up a fallen tree trunk. The rest of his siblings were tucking into their breakfast. It is interesting is see the different characters in the same wildlife family group.

The dogs were patient despite being greater in number. Eight dogs and four cheetahs on the ground (with attitude) and the balance was set.

The sub-adult cheetahs held their ground but were nervy and kept looking up to see where the wild dogs were.

Eventually, one of the cheetahs, after having fed well, went over to his brother to give him support. The dogs were jumping up and down wanting the two to come down onto the ground.

Eventually the “treed” cheetah came down the tree with support from his siblings.

“Why is it you can never hope to describe the emotion Africa creates? You are lifted. Out of whatever pit, unbound from whatever tie, released from whatever fear. You are lifted and you see it all from above.” ~ Francesca Marciano

The fourth sub-adult male cheetah climbed down from his “dog box”, but he never got to feed. Shortly afterwards, the other young male feeding on the remains abandoned the carcass leaving the left overs to the wild dogs. In an instant, like vultures, they were all over the carcass. Within seconds the dogs had ripped apart what was left of the carcass and each member pulled away to munch on its own piece of the remains.

The cheetahs also backed away having fed well. A duiker would not sustain the cheetah family for more than a day, and one son was still hungry. One of the wild dogs ran around the back of the anthill to check that the cheetahs had actually backed away.

The cheetah family regrouped a few hundred metres from the kill site. The family sat together and began to lick the blood off each other’s fur.

It was a peaceful scene with a mother and son cleaning the blood off each other after the kill.

This was another example of how adaptable these predators are in the bush. I would never have thought cheetahs would have hunted in their relatively thick bush but they appeared to be quite adept to their surroundings.

“Forget your voice, sing!
Forget your feet, dance!
Forget your life, live!
Forget yourself and be!” 
~ Kamand Kojouri

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

Have fun,

Mike

I have recently returned from an unusual trip into the bush. It was unusual for several reasons:

“When you are on the game vehicle at first light, there is a cool breeze in your face and a sense of freshness in the bush. The latent temperature change releases the fragrances of the bush veld. The last whoops of homebound hyaenas and jackals can be heard and male francolin are urgently reasserting their territory. There is a sense of expectation mixed with a deep sense of peace.” – Mike Haworth

It was my first opportunity to get into the bush since South Africa’s lockdown in late March 2020. It was absolutely fantastic to be back in an environment which I find so interesting, full of life and devoid of all the human noise. The wildlife did not miss us one little bit during the “lockdown”!

During the five days we spent in the bush, four and a half days were deeply overcast with drizzle and it was cold – not what we expected at the start of spring in southern Africa.

Our trip was hosted by Wildeye and led by Andrew Beck. This photographic safari company prides itself on teaching its guests to see the world differently. The challenge was set. The light was difficult, the weather rainy and and the temperature cold. The lodge was superb but getting on the open game vehicle in that weather was an altogether different challenge. Once the vehicle was moving, the drizzle turned into driving rain and the cold got freezing, to say nothing of the visibility.

We consider ourselves die hard wildlife photographers, so bad weather was not going to stop us getting out into the bush with our cameras. The big question was whether we would be able to get any photography going with such low light and wet drizzly conditions. I wear glasses which added to the visual challenge.

Several wildlife photographic principles came into play. The first and crucial rule is that you have to get out there to find the opportunities to photograph interesting wildlife scenes, behaviours and interactions. You can not dream about them sitting in front of the fire in the pub at the lodge.

The second rule which was properly reinforced on this trip was – “don’t fight the light, work with it”. In this regard, I have to thank Andrew Beck from Wildeye for living this principle. Are you going to take award winning images in these conditions, possibly but very unlikely? Are you going to get the most photographically from your trip? Absolutely! You will learn about light, its directionality and its colour, and you will work your exposure triangle.

I rate myself a keen wildlife photographer, but on a few occasions when we went out in the afternoon it was overcast, drizzling and cold, I had severe doubts. After an hour or two, wet and cold, I figured the drive in the open game vehicle into the bush was a fool’s errand. Andrew must have done this many times before, so judged the probability of getting something interesting was better than even, and he was right.

What we did not take into account is a couple of factors which were in our favour. Firstly, our full frame sensor cameras can handle high ISOs and low light. Secondly, we could go off road to get into as good a position as possible. Thirdly, the vehicle had hand held spotlights which was our light source in dark conditions.

Lastly, mother nature has an unpredictable way of opening up her universe for those prepared to venture into her world on her terms. She will reveal some of her intimate secrets for those prepared to be patient, and who seek to understand and are prepared to look and listen. Nothing happens in a linear way in the bush, it is too complex, too multi-factored and too dynamic. One afternoon we had been driving in the cold and rain for about two hours seeing very little and the low low was fading, when all of sudden the tracker found fresh pug marks in the sand road. The tracks revealed a large leopard had recently moved across the road. By listening to the sounds of the bush we found a lone male leopard in the dark.

It is an amazing feeling to sit quietly in the dark watching this large male leopard. He was alert, sensing all the scents and sounds on the breeze. As humans, we can only marvel at their sensory awareness – there is so much news in the wind!

The rain stopped. This was a new male leopard in the southern area of Sabi Sabi section. He knew he was in some else’s territory but was hungry and was following a small herd of impala. We watched and followed him for a while and them left him to hunt on his own terms.

The next evening it was still raining and cold. It was dark and we were off road following another large male leopard called “White Dam”. One of the several aspects which amazed me about this incident was while we were banging and crashing with the vehicle trying to follow him off road through the bush but he managed to either hear or see a Grey duiker in the dark and rain. In an instant he dashed off to his right and caught it. How he knew the duiker was 10 to 20 metres off to his right in the dark and rain with us behind him I will never know. The spot light shows the conditions.

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” ~ Plato

For some inexplicable reason this male dragged the grey duiker probably three to four hundred metres from where he caught it. None of us knew why he decided to drag his kill so far when there were plenty of decent sized trees close by. It may have been because he sensed other leopards in the area or the cry of the duiker probably alerted hyaenas and he wanted to get his kill as far from that area as possible.

This male leopard ended up hauling his catch up a Marula tree only to find he could not secure it properly to feed.

After a few attempts to secure his prey in the Marula tree he decided to bring the duiker back down to the ground to feed.

He managed to feed in peace and we left him in the dark to enjoy his hard earned dinner. Just the skill and strength of hauling his prey up a wet Marula tree trunk was an incredible feat, in my estimation.

“Life isn’t just about darkness or light, rather it’s about finding light within the darkness.” ~ Landon Parham

One of my favourite aspects about Sabi Sands reserve is that almost all of the roads are sand. This means there is minimal dust and the road offers a much smoother ride. More importantly, the sand is like the bush newspaper revealing all the activity of the wildlife in that area.

Sabi Sands has latticed network of sand roads which create the boundaries for blocks of virgin bush. The tracks on the sand roads create a map of what has passed, when, and which direction. This is a great help when tracking well camouflaged predators in thick bush. The trackers also listen carefully for squirrel, monkey or bird alarm calls which signal that a predator is in the vicinity. Our guide Greg Henman and tracker Nhlanhla, worked as a team and were an excellent tracking unit. Greg would often stop the vehicle, turn off the engine and just listen. On a few occasions this tactic yielded results which we would probably have never known unless we had just stopped and listened. After living in the city where your senses are overwhelmed by sensory overload, you need a guide who is tuned into the ways of the bush to interpret its the sounds and signs.

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” ~ William Shakespeare

Another aspect which made the trip more enjoyable was that everyone at the Bush Lodge in Sabi Sabi were so pleased to see guests filling up the lodge, with the sound of animated chatter over meals and laughter flowing out of the pub, a place in the evening where long tales are told with great flare and exaggeration.

I have a few more posts to share on this trip to highlight the unique photographic conditions where we saw some unusual interactions between predators.

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour, and some style.” ~ Maya Angelou

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

Have fun,

Mike

I really enjoy going to new places to photograph wildlife but there is something revealing about going back to the same place over and over. Helen and I do this when we go to Marievale bird sanctuary. This is a wetland with a wonderful diversity of birdlife about 45 minutes drive south of Johannesburg in South Africa.

“I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful — an endless prospect of magic and wonder.” ~Ansel Adams

What makes it so interesting is that there are marked seasonal changes in the bird sightings, breeding colours and behaviours. The changing water levels in the wetland dictate that you can see quite different selections of birds at different times of the year, according to the water levels.

On this occasion we visting Marievale in mid-October, which is early spring in South Africa. The maturing male long-tailed widow birds were just starting to grow their long tail feathers but many of them were still plumed in their brown winter colours.

“The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.” ~ Joseph Campbell

The more mature male long-tailed widow birds had already grown their long luxurious black tail feathers and there body plumage had mostly moulted from the winter browns to their breeding black.

The male long-tailed widow birds wasted no time impressing the females and chasing off rivals from their patch of grassland.

This long-tailed widowbird had all but shed its winter colours and was declaring his territory from a old dead stem of statis.

When displaying the long-tailed widowbird has a slow exaggerated flight. It is designed to show the female widowbirds his male prowness, his long tail feathers and flashy epaulets.

The water levels in the reed and marsh areas were still low in early spring which allowed the smaller waders to get to work on the muddy banks along the shallow waters. This little stint was busy foraging for small invertebrates in the mud. It is a very small wader which breeds in Arctic Europe and Asia, so is a long-distance migrant, flying south to Africa and south Asia in non-breeding times. 

The numbers of this species depend on the population of lemmings. In poor lemming years, predatory species such as skuas and snowy owls take Arctic-breeding waders instead.

“Nature has its own rhythms and laws and it is always very patient with everything that it accomplishes. Growth requires time, patience and peace, and nature knows this best. As we admire the works of nature, we can learn how to enter the same natural flow.” ~Spirit Button

The water was still shallow enough in the deeper sections for this glossy ibis to forage. These long decurved billed waders prefer wetlands, marshes, muddy lake-shores and flooded grasslands.

This glossy ibis had moulted into its summer breeding colour which, in good light, are gorgeous. The glossy ibis is a tactile forager, probing the riverbed with its long, decurved bill. Its long bill is adapted to the removal of long prey (e.g. worms) from mudflats. The decurved bill is inserted into crab burrows in marshes and mudflats and into gaps under rocks next to the water’s edge. Curved bills penetrate further than straight ones into both types of cavity. Curved bills are also capable of greater rotation at maximum penetration. These ibises will eat insects, snails, crabs, frogs, and small fish.

“The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration.” ~ Claude Monet

The flora at the water’s edge was starting to come out in bloom offering a greater variety of insects upon which to feed. Although we only saw individuals, glossy ibises nest in colonies, often nesting together in mixed heronries with other species.

Summer visitors such as the ruff had also arrived all the way from Russia. This migratory bird did not have its breeding colours which it takes on back in Russia. Ruffs from Siberia tend to migrate down to southern Africa and India. The maximum distances known to be traversed in a single flight is 4000kms.

“Intuitions are like migratory birds, they come without a map without a reason.” ~ Amit Ray

The ruff is a long-necked, pot-bellied bird. This species shows marked sexual dimorphism; the male is much larger than the female (the reeve), and has breeding plumage which includes brightly coloured head tufts, bare orange facial skin, extensive black on the breast, and the large collar of ornamental feathers that inspired this bird’s English name. The female and the non-breeding male have grey-brown upperparts and mainly white underparts.

A Levailliant’s cisticola. These are small insectivorous birds closely related to warblers. The genus contains about 50 species, of which only two are not found in Africa. These are non-migratory birds and they prefer open grasslands, preferably along side wetlands.

A hottentot teal foraging. This is a dabbling duck which means it upends itself to feed underwater on the riverbed. The colourful teal speculums are difficult to see when the bird’s wings are folded, but these irridescent speculums can be very obvious in flight. The speculum is a patch, often distinctly coloured, on the secondary wing feathers, or remiges, of some birds, often seen on ducks

A pair of yellow billed ducks. There is no sexual dimorphism in these ducks. They are dabbling ducks and have a typical colourful iridescent green speculum on their secondary wing feathers which are only visible in flight. The male’s call is described as a teal-like whistle while the female’s call is more of a mallard-like quack.

“Many people look but few see. Looking might render the physical appearance but seeing will tie in linkages and expose complexities hidden to the glance.”~ Mike Haworth

A common moorhen foraging amongst the red algae. This is known as the waterhen, or swamp chicken, and as the common gallinule is a bird species in the rail family (Rallidae). The frontal sheild above the upper mandible is thought to play several roles including protection when forgaing, mate identification, sexual selection, and territorial defense.

The water level was shallow enough for Avocets to wade and forage in.

Once the water level deepens the Avocets disappear to other more suitable shallower feeding waters. Apart from its pied markings and blue legs, this wader’s is especially unique because of its upwardly curved bill. It feeds on mostly insects, worms, crustaceans, mollusks, fish and amphibians. Avocets sweep their curved beak from side to side underwater as they slowly walk through shallow water. This stirs up aquatic insects, crustaceans, small fish and seeds which they feed on.

“Stop in your haste. That glance is not enough. Give it a little time and you will begin to see previously unnoticed patterns and behaviours. New context and connections will become apparent. Now you are learning to see.” ~ Mike Haworth

A very busy Sacred ibis foraging for frogs, crabs and other crustaceans

We watched this Sacred ibis grab a large crab but the image was spoilt by a pair of grey-headed gulls lurking beside it in case it dropped its meal,

“Don’t just look at the bird. Look at its surroundings, look at its behaviours, look at its colours, look at the shape of its body, bill, feet and eyes. Each element will offer an insight. You will marvel at the complexity and you will begin to see.” ~ Mike Haworth

A nursery of Greater flamingo juveniles. The wind was blowing from right to left and all the youngsters were resting on one leg with their head resting on their backs. A closer look reveals that they were all awake and watching what was going on behind them. Flamingos stand on one leg because it’s physiologically easier for them to do so. The way their legs work means they can rest all of their weight on one side without having to use their muscles to maintain balance. Flamingo joints have a “locked” resting position that secures them in place — as long as they’re standing on one leg. https://curiosity.com/topics/the-real-reason-flamingos-stand-on-one-leg-curiosity/

Adult Greater flamingos feeding in the shallow spring waters at Marievale. Greater flamingos tend to feed in deeper water than the smaller lesser flamingos.

The Greater flamingo has a distinctive pinkish/white colur with red wing coverts and black primary and secondary wing feathers. The greater flamingo is a filter feeder. It uses its long legs to stir up the substrate after which it sweeps its bill from side to side to filter out its food. These flamingos usually feed with their head fully immersed in the water. They can remain, head under water, for up to 20 seconds. Flamingos pump their tongues up and down, 5 – 6 times per second, pushing the water out of their beak to generate the filtration process.

The flamingo’s pink colouration comes from its diet of shrimp and other pink crustaceans.

“Learning to see – accustoming the eye to calm, to patience, to letting-things-come-to-it; learnings to defer judgement, to encircle and encompass the question on all sides.” ~ Fredrich Nietzsche

What makes birds so fascinating is their incredible diversity, colour and behaviours. They are much more active than mammals. I can only marvel at the incredible variety of shapes, beaks and colours.

To make birds even more intriguing they are living dinosaurs. Birds evolved from a group of meat-eating dinosaurs called theropods. Over the 66 million years since the extintion of dinosaurs, birds have evolved in many ways, enabling them to survive in diverse habitats. Today there are at least 11,000 bird species.

A humble bird photography practice session can turn into a profound natural history lesson.

“Life is the blossoming of flowers in the spring, the ripening of fruit in the fall, the rhythm of the earth and of nature. Life is the cry of cicadas signalling the end of summer, migratory birds winging south in a transparent autumn sky, fish frolicking in a stream. Life is the joy beautiful music installs in us, the thrilling sight of a mountain peak reddened by the rising sun, the myriad combinations and permutations of visible and invisible phenomena.” ~ Daisaku Ikeda

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

Have fun, Mike