We had a superb trip to Mashatu Game Reserve in early October and were privileged to have had wonderful sightings of predators  and Elephants (for another post). One of the many aspects about Mashatu I love is that the birding is excellent no matter what time of the year you go. October is too early for the migrants so no Cuckoos, or Carmine Bee-eaters, no Wahlbergs Eagles or Steppe Buzzards. The residents though are always superb, with variety and colour.  Mashutu is very dry after winter but  when you looked around at what there was to eat, the game looked to be in surprisingly good condition this year. The predators were having a good time and it was interesting to see how the raptors were adapting to this.

John Berry

The Kori Bustard is a resident, meaning it lives in the area all year long and does not migrate. This is a large robust bird, which feeds on pretty much what the Secretary bird eats, such as mice, small birds, insects, frogs and what ever it can find. These birds have massive wingspans and are one of the largest flying birds in Southern Africa. You are likely to see them in pairs but sometimes you might find a family group of up to six patrolling the open areas.

The Bee-eaters never fail to impress, We saw numerous White-fronted and Little Bee-eaters. The White-fronted were not flocking in breeding colonies but were scattered along the river. There is obviously enough insects for them to eat but  not enough for the larger Carmines, which migrate north in the winter looking for more food. All the Bee-eaters are extravagantly coloured. The aspect that amazes me most about the colouring of these birds is that most of us would never think of combining the colours you see in their plumage, but yet mother nature pulls off her palette combinations magnificently.

Often in the bush you will hear the bird before you see it. The Hoopoes have an onomatopoeic name, meaning their name sounds like their call, which is instantly recognisable in the bush. We disturbed this character who was  foraging on the ground and it flew up into some spiderweb draped branches. This is another example of stunning, but unimaginable colour combinations.

Around the camps there are wonderful opportunities to see a huge variety of birds, partly because they can find water there, to say nothing of a little extra food. The Tropical Bou Bou’s was an infrequent visitor but could often be heard all around with their vast medley of calls.

White Crowned Helmeted Shrikes were frequent visitors coming through the camp in flocks of six to eight around early afternoon each day. They chatted away to each other feeding as they went but unfortunately their visits  were brief.

The rich oboe sounding call of the Black-Headed Oriole was also heard each day. Striking colours  finished off with a blood-red eye and pinkish beak. The colour combo works with the black head and vivid yellow body. Unfortunately this character appeared to have a broken foot which had healed. Nature never appears to be sorry for itself, it just gets on and adapts.

We saw Cardinal, Golden-tailed and a pair of  Bennett’s Woodpeckers. When they are tapping on a branch or tree trunk, I am never sure whether they are communicating to each other through a form of morse code, looking for food or starting a  hole for a future nest. The left hand image is of  a female Bennett’s Woodpecker, which posed just long enough to get a shot. The strut-like tail feathers are clear and are used to brace the bird when they are clinging to vertical and overhanging branches, enabling them to peck more effectively. The right hand image is of a rather scruffy looking male Golden-tailed Woodpecker who had come down for a drink in the heat of the day.

Many of the birds seen flying through in the dry bush or hopping around foraging on the ground create splashes of colour like sparkling jewels. This Grey Headed Bush-Shrike was a regular visitor and was usually heard before it was seen. It has this long haunting whistle. The Afrikaans name is ‘Spookvoe’l or ‘ghost bird’ because of its long loud and haunting ‘oooooooop’ like whistle. Its call is unmistakable in the bush and always stirs excitement because you know that you will be richly rewarded when you eventually see it. This bird is stunningly beautiful. It is a large Shrike with a distinctive small hook at the tip of its beak. As you can see from the next three images, this bird presents a blaze of colour in the grey-brown dry bush.

“In order to see birds it is necessary to become part of the silence.”

Robert Lynd

Insectivores abound in Mashatu. The next image is of an Ashy Flycatcher, which is similar to a Dusky but has a white eye-ring and all black beak. It is an ash-like blue-grey colour. This little chap must have taken a break from hawking insects from its perch to come down for an afternoon drink.

The next two images are of two different Tawny Eagles sitting patiently waiting in a large dead tree in the blazing heat. Below them was a Lioness and her cub feeding on an Eland they must have killed the evening before. The Jackal were also hanging around out of harms way. These Tawnys watched the activity on the ground intently but appeared content to wait for the mistress at the dinner table to leave before coming down to feed. There was still plenty of meat on the carcass by the time the Lions had finished gorging themselves. We left before the Tawnys had come down to scavenge.

We saw many Laughing Doves, and they all looked to be on good condition, so obviously there is enough seed in the sand and soil just waiting for a little rain to carpet Mashatu in green with yellow flowers. It is such a common bird but we seldom take the time to look at its subtle, soft pinks, browns and greys. It has beautiful colouring in a gentle way. Doves suck up the water when they drink and do not have to throw their head back to swallow like a Pigeon The other notable distinction is that doves walk on the ground because they are terrestrial seed-eaters while pigeons usually hop on the ground as they are aboreal fruit-eaters, more often than not.

You will see many Grey Louries, also called Grey Go-Away Birds in Mashatu. They also have an onomatopeic name. Like all Louries they look much better than they sound. These birds are highly sociable clustering in groups. They seem to run up, down and through the branches of trees and are highly dexterous. All Turacos are endemic to Africa. The Grey Go-Away Bird is the only one that likes the dry thornveld, all the others prefer dense trees or forests

We had been watching a small family of Elephants which had come down to a dry river bed and were digging for water. After watching their successful endeavours for about half an hour, we were just about to move off when the game ranger spotted this Giant Eagle Owl resting in the tree above us. They can be really difficult to see because they perch in dense shade, close to the tree trunk which adds to the camouflage. As you can see from the first of the two images, these are very big birds. I have only ever seen them singly. The day was overcast and there was a lot of wind which made the photography tricky, especially with long lenses. It did not rain but hopefully the disturbed weather was heralding the onset of the rainy season.

I could hear the Black Collared Barbets singing their duo but only saw this Crested Barbet. It is always a treat as they have lavishly coloured plumage. You are likely to hear them before you see them with their sustained, , ‘trrrr’ sounding trilling  call. This Barbet seems to be equally at home in suburbia as it is in the deep bush.

The Starling family is a particularly striking group. I have been fortunate enough to see the beautifully coloured Superb Starlings in the Masai Mara and Plum-coloured Starlings in Kruger Park. You will see many Long-tailed (or Meves) Starlings in Mashatu. They are very talkative and seem to mimic many birds. In the afternoon sun their feathers are an iridescent blue. We also saw flocks of Wattled Starlings but not the large flocks you will see in summer when they seem to capitalise on the insects disturbed by herds of Elephant wandering through the grass and bushes.

I start to wobble in my identification of LBJs (little brown jobs) such this next pair. I think they are Neddicky’s, a type of Cisticola with a brown crown and light greyish-brown belly and darker grey-brown back. These two were having a wonderful bath in the intense afternoon heat. It was 37 degrees centigrade in the shade that afternoon.

These midget beauties are eye-catching. They are Blue Waxbills and can often be seen in small flocks with canaries eating grass seeds on the ground in front of you. It is not often you see blue colouring in animals or birds in the wild.

There were a sprinkling of Red-billed Buffalo-Weavers to be seen in the thornveld along the rivers. The males are black and the females a grey-brown colour. These  large Weavers make probably the most untidy nest of all the Weavers and build their nests in large communal structure. Whenever I see large these communal nests, I am always on the look out for raiding cobras.

I must have thousands of Lillac-brested Roller images, but every time a see one in the bush, I cannot help myself. They are just exquisitely beautiful birds and look even more spectacular when they fly. It is easy to see why Zulu King Mzilikazi had its feathers in his headdress. In Zimbabwe, in our youth, we used to call this bird the Mzilikazi’s Roller. The Rollers were doing their rolling flying displays. They are incredibly agile fliers and their high-speed rolls are breath-taking.

I hope this handful of avian images give you a sense of the variety and colour these birds add to the bush in Mashatu, especially when it was so dry. When we reluctantly left, the clouds were building so hopefully the rain is not far away.  The rain transforms Mashatu from an extremely dry-looking bushveld into a verdant green paradise carpeted in yellow flowers – it is spectacular.

Even in its dry condition in spring, the Apple Leaf trees were in covered in their subtle mauve flowers, which they dropped to make an attractive carpet at their feet.

I  don’t ask for the meaning of the song of a bird or the rising of the sun on a  misty morning. There they are, and they are beautiful.
Pete  Hamill

Seek to understand nature, marvel at its interconnectedness and then let it be.

Have fun

Mike

My brother Jerry invited Helen and I to spend a couple of days with him in Mashatu in early October. On the Friday afternoon, the first day of our sojourn, we went out for a game drive at around 16h30. It was too hot to go out any earlier.

We found this young male Leopard lying at the base of a Mashatu tree at around 17h00. The shadows were long and the light golden with gentle contrast – perfect!

This young male was very relaxed with us nearby. Leopards often come down from their aboreal resting place late in the afternoon. During the heat of the day they can be found sprawled out on a horizontal branch, legs dangling either side of it. High up in the branches, where they are safe, the shade and breeze must provide relief from the heat.

After having woken up from a day time sleep, the late afternoon is a time when Leopards often lie on the ground looking all around them taking in the surrounding sights, sounds and smells, This is the time when they are usually well rested and hungry.

Being able to get close up images of this Leopard with a decent prime lens was a real privilege. These are magnificently beautiful animals. It is hard to think that their rosette-covered coats are used as carpets, karoses and people’s adornment.

After about fifteen minutes, this male got up and started to walk away. In the late afternoon sun, the colours were saturated and the rich browns and fawns seemed to glow.

Fortunately for us, this male wandered over to a nearby anthill and promptly lay down again. He used the anthill to hide behind and often peered out from behind it directly into the westerly sun – something must have caught his attention – we could not see what.

This young male Leopard was aware of us but essentially ignored us. The light was perfect. This was one of those times in the bush when the surroundings seemed to be in exquisite harmony.

He was still in the process of waking up and yawned often showing us his perfect teeth, a sure sign of his youth, to say nothing of his unblemished face. Territorial fights will come later.

Their cat-like qualities are very evident, but don’t be fooled. This is one serious predator adapted to surviving on his own.

Confident, relaxed and ready for the evening when he has the advantage.

After a further 20 minutes or so, something caught his attention and he decided to get up and go and investigate. I particularly liked his body posture as he got up and crept out from behind the anthill.

His eyes locked in focused attention. This is always a time when a wildlife photographer gets excited thinking he or she may just be lucky enough to get mesmorising images of the stalk and kill.

It was not to be, with his attention broken, he stopped not looking at anything in particular, but his acute senses were still picking up every sight, sound and scent.

He seemed to use the anthill as a shield, all the while lifting his nose to catch scents carried on the warm evening breeze, eyes darting to every movement and his flicking ears reacting to every sound.

”’

After a short while, now fully alert,  he walked off in the direction of what had first caught his attention. When we drove off, it was in the direction he had been looking, and there was a small herd of Impala grazing about 70 metres from him.

I leave you with this last image to show his immaculate camouflage.

‘

October is the end of the dry season in Mashatu. The storm clouds were beginning to build. The rain was not far off. The predators were thriving but the herbivores were struggling. Impala were resorting to browsing on Shepherd tree leaves and eating dry Mopani leaves which must have been much like crisps. Surprisingly, the herbivores were in better condition this year than the same time last year probably because of the floods at the beginning of the year.

The photographic opportunities on this trip were superb. I will compose another couple of posts in the following weeks which will show other predators such as Lion, Hyaena, Cheetah and Jackal in the Game Reserve, and in the ‘Land of Giants’ images of Elephants. I will also post of some of the bird images taken around the Rock Camp Lodge. This area is a birder’s paradise.

A big thank you to Jerry for a wonderful few days in a very special place with special people.

A Leopard Lay

By Linda A. Copp

A Leopard lay amidst the trees,
hiding in its greeny leaves,
Lazing in the noon day sun,
with no desire, none to run.

Listening to the rustling breeze,
he cautions it to, “Hush, don’t breathe.
Give no signal, that I lie
Upon this perch, up in the sky.” 

His hooded eyes seem half asleep,
His body quivers, never sleeps.
For as quick as lightening, he’ll flash down,
On any prey, yet, make no sound.

So, people prowling on the ground,
Take care to more than look around.
Dangers lurking everywhere,
both on the ground and in the air.

And wildcats, well, they seldom sleep.
Dreams of theirs don’t run too deep.
Their nature makes them keen and fierce,
their teeth are sharp, they claws will pierce.

A Leopard lay amidst the trees,
suddenly he hears.
He sees.
Now, he’s up and through,
its greeny leaves.
Look up.
He’s up.
Oh! LOOK UP!
PLEASE

Seek to understand nature, marvel at its interconnectedness and then let it be.

Have fun

Mike

I have put together a collection of images which I thought you might find interesting as they show the dramas during and after the animals crossing the Mara river. All of these images were taken from Lou and Veronica’s specialized CNP photographic vehicles which were superb shooting platforms.

The migration takes place from east to west across the Mara river. This post highlights some of the dramas on the West side of the river. The Mara river appears to be gently snaking through the Masai Mara. This apparent gentleness masks a  fast flowing river full of crocodiles and Hippos. It is bordered by a thick groves of riverine trees on either bank, which hide a variety of predators from Lion to Leopard and Hyaenas. Crossing entry and exit points vary from flat sandy areas to treacherously steep alluvial banks and slippery rocky outcrops.

The river itself claims many victims. This young Zebra slipped off a rock ledge jutting into the  Mara river. It fell in right next to where a Wildebeest had drowned. After a few heart stopping moments, this young Zebra managed to scramble back onto the rock shelf unscathed. After this scare the Zebra backed away and we did not see them again that day.

Some young souls do not get to cross the river. A Leopard was taking no chances with this Wildebeest calf.

This lioness looked bored while waiting in the open for Wildebeest and Zebra to appear on the east side of the river . Presumably these predators can see, hear the herbivores coming and feel the vibrations of thousands of hooves through the ground. There are plenty of trees and Crotons alongside the river which provide good cover for an ambush.

 

The panic is clear to see. Once the crossing starts, the Wildebeest follow each other blindly through the dust and launch themselves into the boiling water.

The flowing river quickly drags them downstream. There were rapids just below where these Wildebeest were crossing – adding to the difficulty and danger of the crossing.

As the crossing builds, it becomes chaotic and the danger increases exponentially.

The crossing is not all panic and hard swimming. Some of the wildlife take it all ‘in their stride’, sunning themselves on the beach, while the Wildebeest summon up the courage to cross the river.

The fast flowing river can make the swim exhausting. Some Wildebeest get to solid ground under foot on the west side of the river but are so tired that they struggle to get out of the water. This is just what the massive crocodile basking itself on the river bank had been waiting for. He had obviously seen this situation many times before. It was incredible to watch this massive croc slowly swim, in plain sight, up to the Wildebeest. The Wildebeest must have seen the croc coming but it did not move.

During the drowning process, other Wildebeest swam very close to the victim and must have seen exactly what was happening.

There is high drama when these Wildebeest swim furiously to cross the river, all the while are being dragged downstream by the fast flowing river, knowing only too well what is lurking unseen in the water.

 

Once successfully across the river, the Wildebeest and Zebra face another challenge, getting passed the waiting and hungry predators.

We were  privileged to see a classic Lion ambush and kill. It took place on the West side about 100 metres from the river. It was late morning. We had already seen a Wildebeest crossing and were driving away to chat about what we had just seen up over a cup of coffee. We were driving parallel to the ‘single file’ column of Wildebeest and Zebra walking away from the river. Their coats were still glistening with water. Sammy, our guide, saw a Lioness close to the road lying in wait and intently watching the column of herbivores. We then saw a second Lioness lying in a clump of long Red Oat grass about 40 metres away.  The column of successful river crossers walked right between the two Lionesses, but could not see either. Once the lead animals had walked passed the Lionesses, the  Lioness closest to us burst from her lying position.

The line of Wildebeest panicked, focusing on the Lioness hurtling towards them. One Wildebeest did not even see the second Lioness break cover from the clump of grass behind it, and hit it with 120 kilograms of teeth and claws in the hind quarters. The other animals scattered and the second Lioness reinforced the attack on the collapsing Wildebeest. The images are not particularly sharp because of all of the dust on the scene.

The second Lioness held the Wildebeest down long enough for the first one to manoeuver the animal to get a choke hold.

The second Lioness did not do much after the Wildebeest was on the ground, not wanting to get in the way of flaying hooves. It was all over in a couple of minutes and the Mara returned to normal.

In the next image, this Wildebeest must have made it across the river but fell foul of a predator on the west side. We came upon two Hyaena around mid-morning. Both were feeding on parts of a Wildebeest. One Hyaena was progressively demolishing the Wildebeest head, skull and all. They really are waste disposal experts.

This Hyaena kept moving the head to keep it in the shade as the sun was rising. He was making good progress demolishing the head by the time we left.

One drowned Wildebeest was floating close to the river bank. The proximity of the carcass to the bank enabled this Water Monitor to get to it without having to swim the crocodile gauntlet.

On another occasion, while waiting for a crossing, we saw this massive crocodile downstream from us eating a Zebra’s head.

The same massive crocodile decided to swim upstream towards us. Just upstream of us, it climbed onto the bank to bask. The angle was not good but it gives an impression of the size of this predator with the Zebra’s head.

The grass is always greener on the other side. In fact, in the Mara it is green and gold. With the storm clouds building, the sound of distant thunder and the smell of rain on parched earth probably merge to become an intoxicating mix which drives the Wildebeest and Zebra to make such an epic crossing each year.

We did not see Leopard, unfortunately – perhaps another time! We often saw Jackals, the light-weight gang in the clean up squad. The Cheetah operated near the river on occasion, but we normally saw them out on the open plains where these speedsters have some room to move.

I hope you enjoyed the dramatic, and at times gruesome, images which portray  the story of the daily drama on the west side of the Mara river.

It’s  not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.
Henry David  Thoreau

Seek to understand nature, marvel at its interconnectedness and then let it be.

Have fun

Mike

When showing wildlife images, I tend to focus on animals and birds which are wonderful, but the vistas across the Mara were spectacular and the quality of the light in the early mornings and storm cloud-filled afternoons were moody and compelling. In this post, I want to share some of the sights I was privileged to see.

Wonderful how completely everything in wild nature fits into us, as if truly part and parent of us.  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. 

John Muir

We would leave Kitchwa Tembo tented camp around 6h30. It was still dark with the soft glow of the dawn beginning to appear over the Mara. There were two reasons for leaving early. The main one was to get through the Oloololo gate into the park as soon after it opened as possible and the second was to catch the sunrise. Sometimes, if it had been raining the night before, clouds would still be hanging heavy in the morning sky. The colours were soft, saturated pastel shades and the vistas were capitivatingly beautiful.

The Desert Date trees made excellent foreground subjects for our sunrise images. The colours in the sunrise heralded a warm sun drenched morning ahead.

As we were driving on the bumpy road out of the camp, it became a ritual to stop and try to capture the sublime atmosphere of the sunrise in an image and to take in the smells and freshness of the bush first thing in the morning. Each morning at sunrise we would see balloons preparing to or having just taken off. They wafted away on the early morning north-east to south-westerly breeze down along the Mara river and off towards the Tanzanian border. Some mornings there were as many as six balloons in the sky. In the early morning light, the valleys were still relatively dark so when the balloon pilot fired up the burners, the red flame illuminated the balloon.

Some mornings you could hear the burners flaming hot air into the balloon canopy down in the valley.

The stillness of the early mornings created a serene atmosphere, hiding the dramas on the plains the night before. In the next image, I could not hear these Elephants, even in the stillness of the soft morning pastel light. At times you felt you were bathing in these soft colours, and almost had to pinch yourself to be sure you were awake.

As the sun started to rise in the easterly sky, so the warm sunrise glow started to fade, by which time the balloons were busy climbing into the sky.

By around 9h00 the sky had cleared and the heat had burned off the last clouds.  The clarity of the air enabled us to see for kilometres. The plains host a vast number and variety of game, with the Wildebeest and Zebra all around at this time of the year. One aspect I loved was the ability to look out over the vistas uninterrupted for tens of kilometres. That feeling of big sky country was liberating. The idea that these animals have vast areas of land to themselves without human beings messing it up for them or crowding them out, felt very good.

The Mara river changed mood with the colour of the sky. Despite its mood, the river flowed at about five kilometres per hour adding to the difficulty of the crossing for herbivores, which are not built for swimming. The  river was bordered by riverine forest comprising Fig Trees, Fever Trees, Quinine Trees, Magic Guarris and clusters of Crotons (very different to those seen in Mashatu).

.

For the most part, the Mara river had steep alluvial banks. There were many crossing points, some of which were flatter but of course they were also preferred by crocodiles and predators waiting on the West bank. Often the more popular crossing points had Hippo pools. Needless to say, the Wildebeest were easily spooked by the Hippos snorting but once the crossing started the Hippos knew to get out-of-the-way of all those paddling hooves.

The Mara river snakes through the spotted plains.

After crossing the Mara river, most of the Wildebeest and Zebra moved north to the foot of the Oloololo Escarpment where the grazing seemed to be particularly good. This next shot was taken just below where Denys in ‘Out of Africa’  was buried (after crashing his biplane) and where those two Lions lay on his grave looking out over the Mara.

The Mara plains rolled right up to the Oloololo Escarpment (part of the Great Rift Valley), which provided a picturesque backdrop. Many animals moved up the escarpment at night, perhaps for more protection, and then came back down onto the plains during the day.

It was good to see gravel only roads in the Mara Triangle. The main roads in the park were relatively good. In the high traffic areas, visitors were not allowed off-road but in the less travelled areas there were many tracks into the plains.

On our last day, Nic one of the photographers in our vehicle ,who heralded from London and who had not seen many Elephants on his last Tanzanian trip, was treated to a full showing. We came across a breeding herd of Elephant which had just emerged from the riverine forest. The Elephants in the Mara are nothing like as big as those in Etosha. The Elephant also have a different, more rounded shape to their head and their tusks are long and thin. It is almost as if these Mara Elephants were genetically half way between our southern African Elephants and Indian Elephants.

Border post, Masai Mara style!. These bollards served to demarcate the Kenyan-Tanzanian border in the Mara Triangle. This shot was taken looking south into the Serengeti.

One late afternoon right down at the Tanzanian border, a storm was brewing in the easterly sky. The sky darkened and big cumulonimbus clouds thrust their massive white plooms upwards. Down near the Tanzanian border you will find low flat-topped Inselbergs, volcanic remnants. These Inselbergs together with the Desert Dates and stormy skies made a distinctive background for this lone bull Elephant.

After watching our bull Elephant for quite a while it was getting late and we still had to travel about 40 kms back to the Oloololo gate in the north of the Mara Triangle. Inevitably, in the park when you are late and rushing for the gate, you either come across really unusual sightings or fantastic sunsets which you have to stop for. The stormy sky with the late afternoon golden light created a wonderful image.

Another shot taken when rushing back to the closing gate. These three Elephants were half silhouetted in that late afternoon light emphasising the golden Red Oat grass against a very dark storm filled sky.

Another evening, also on our way back to the closing gate, we had to stop for this sunset. The timing of sunsets coincided with the closing time of the park gate, which made choices very difficult. This shot was taken looking westerly toward the Oloololo Escarpment just after the sun had set. For twenty minutes after the sun has set, the evening sky is usually illuminated with gorgeous saturated  yellows, reds and blues.

I hope you have a sense of the scenery and vistas in the Masai Mara. The open expanses are deeply soul soothing!!

“Wilderness is a necessity … They will see what I meant in time.

There must be places for human beings to satisfy their souls. Food and drink is not all. There is the spiritual. In some it is only a germ, of course, but the germ will grow.” “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”

“How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof. In such places, standing alone on the mountaintop, it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make — leaves and moss like the marmots and the birds, or tents or piled stone — we all dwell in a house of one room — the world with the firmament for its roof — and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving track.”

“The mountains are fountains of men as well as of rivers, of glaciers, of fertile soil. The great poets, philosophers, prophets, able men whose thoughts and deeds have moved the world, have come down from the mountains — mountain-dwellers who have grown strong there with the forest trees in Nature’s work-shops.

– John Muir

Founder, The Sierra Club 

I hope you enjoyed the journey from sunrise to sunset in the Masai Mara.

Look, listen, enjoy, marvel and let it be.

Have fun

Mike

I had to get one post in showing some of the birds in the Mara. The Mara offers exceptional sightings of raptors. The main reason being that there is so much food available on the plains. Watching a raptor hunt is as fascinating and spellbinding as any big cat hunt. In fact, raptors do a whole lot more, during the day, than big cats.

The first afternoon we went to the southern part of the Masai Mara Triangle down close to Fig Tree bend in the Mara river. We had stopped to watch the Wildebeest massing on the opposite side of the river, and out of nowhere this male Secretary bird dropped in, landing  close to the vehicle. It promptly started foraging. The amazing thing about birds is that time and time again you can struggle to get a decent shot of a particular bird, then when you least expect it, one arrives and poses perfectly. The long tail on a Secretary bird seems to be a sign of a male where the female has a shorter tail not much longer than its wing feathers. These raptors are voracious eaters, happy gulping down a live baby francolin without a blink.

On the third morning, we were driving onto the Mara when we came across this pair of Grey Crowned Cranes. This was the only pair we saw but what a treat. They are stunningly beautiful and ornate birds.  These Grey Crowned Cranes were foraging in the water-logged gullies alongside the road. They normally feed on insects, frogs and the like. The male is slightly bigger than the female and it appeared to have a red marking just below its crown which the female did not have. The Grey Crowned Crane has a hind toe which allows it to roost in trees. Other cranes lack the hind toe and so cannot roost in trees.

After a hectic Wildebeest crossing down at Fig Tree bend, we retreated up the hill to have a coffee break under one of the statuesque Desert Dates. It was not long before these Superb Starlings flew into the tree above us. They really are superb, even more colourful than our Glossy Starlings. In North Kenya ,you can find the even more colourful Golden Breasted Starlings which are dressed in yellows, blues and greens and in West Africa you will find the Emerald Starling.

In the next image, this male Ostrich was full of testosterone. The red colour of his face, neck and legs advertises his sexual status and readiness to mate. Thankfully, the redness in our faces does not give us away beyond the rouge of embarrassment. We saw quite a few Ostriches on the Mara, with the girls out numbering the boys..

I have been trying to get a shot of a Long Crested Eagle for some time. One afternoon early in the trip, as we were driving back towards camp, there one was just waiting to be photographed. The light was not ideal, having washed out skies, but he was an impressive specimen. His colouring and fierce yellow eyes give him the appearance of a Brown Snake Eagle, but for the long crest.

Eagles don’t flock, you have to find them one at a time.

Ross Perot

One morning between nine and ten just after we had been watching a mating pairs of Lions who were resting after a hectic night, we began to head back to the main road. Just as we were doing so this juvenile Black Shouldered Kite flew to within 30 metres of us and started to hover. It must have hovered for a couple of minutes in front of us.  I had my focusing point dead on its head. It was remarkably still while it was hovering. I never realised they could be that stable in the hover. I suggest this is a juvenile because its eye is not ruby-red and its breast feathers are mottled and not pure white.

We used to have Tawny Eagles at school at Falcon College. They are impressive raptors which come in a variety of colour morphs from pale blonde to Tawny to dark brown. This particular female flew up to a branch alongside her nest in a Desert Date tree, which was close to the an Inselberg down near the Tanzanian border. We were looking for a coalition of three male Cheetahs when we found this female Tawny. The light direction was tricky but the pose was iconic American!!!

We saw many vultures in the Mara. This particular White Backed Vulture was lying flat on the ground sunning itself. Interestingly, we did not see many vultures thermalling. When I asked the reason, I was told it was because there was so much food they just needed to sit in a tree and watch the goings on around them and they would see a potential meal.

When ever you see  a group of vultures waiting around, either the predator is still around or they are waiting for the butcher, the Lappet-faced Vulture. to open up the carcass. The Lappet-face is a massive bird with a wingspan fo around 2.6 metres similar to that of a Martial Eagle, but both pale against the Wandering Albatross’s wingspan do 3.6 metres.

Close to the Tanzanian border, waiting for some action from the coalition of three male Cheetahs lying in the shade of a Desert Date, we watched the impressive hunting prowess of this Fiscal Shrike. Time and time again, it flew down from its perch in the adjacent tree and nailed an insect in the grass.

One afternoon not far from the camp we went down to watch the antics at a Hyaena den. On the way, we came upon this Sooty Chat. He hung around for a short while, but was scared off by the activity of the Jackals and Thompson’s Gazelle running all around us.

At first glance this looks just like a Brown Snake Eagle but the white bars on its tail feathers indicate it is a Southern Banded Snake Eagle. The Mara revealed many different raptors.  Amazingly, we were not especially looking for raptors but were lucky enough to see quite a variety of them.

Another afternoon on our way back to camp, we were treated to a good sighting of this Augur Buzzard. I haven’t seen one since a child in Zimbabwe.

This young Bateleur Eagle must have just bathed in a nearby pool of water and flown up into this dead tree to dry itself. It spread its wings in a pose I have seen a Fish Eagle adopt on the  Chobe River when it was drying its wings.

These were just a few of the birds, mostly raptors, which we saw on our travels around the Mara. The best time to see birds in the Mara is around the end of the year, or so I am told. Around the Kitchwa Tembo tented camp there were Ross’s Turacos and Double-toothed Barbets. I did not see either but we had little time in the camp. The birds in Kenya are fascinating and many of which are very different to our southern African friends.

The Masai Mara is big sky country and big cat country. This is where much of Big Cat Diary was filmed and where parts of “Out of Africa” were filmed. Once you gaze over the Mara it is easy to see  why!

We came across many Lions in our travels, different prides, different individuals, male coalitions, lone young females and mating pairs. The plains are covered in Red Oat and thatch grass, which provides ideal cover for crouching Lions. The temperature tends to show little variation during the seasons in the Mara Triangle because it is one degree below the equator. In the short time we were scouting the Mara, the days started with soft pinks, yellows, blues and greens at sunrise. The mornings usually offered blue skies and it was hot by midday, The sparely scattered Desert Dates provided the animals with some respite from the midday sun. In the afternoon, the cumulonimbus clouds would build, creating a moody dark sky and wonderful photographic backgrounds.

Among the many Lions we saw on the Mara,  one of the big attractions were two Lionesses each with four cubs. The Lionesses had chosen to stay alongside the road, resting in the cool of a moist gully during the day and probably keeping their cubs in the culvert at night for protection. Here Lou taught us an important lesson. When you have an ideal photographic opportunity like this you work it. The chances of finding an opportunity like this again will probably not come again this lifetime – lesson learnt Lou – thanks.

The two Lionesses took turns to look after the cubs, while the other off-duty Lioness could catch up on some well earned rest.

When the cubs moved onto the road we had clear backgrounds.

The three ‘mischief-makers’ off to seek another adventure!!!

Ahh – the next target insight.

The cubs were very cute and Mum’s tail was clearly an ideal way to sharpen your attack techniques.

Cubs have needle sharp teeth, so as fun as catching the tail must be, a bite must be really sore. This Lioness shows her irritation.

Generally, the  cubs stuck together as they were just waiting for one of their playmates to start a game.

Most of the time the cubs played with each other, but there were times when one would find a toy and have great fun biting and throwing it about – uncomplicated joy!

The Lionesses took turns to watch over the cubs and so giving each other a break. This Lioness is just basking in the warm, morning sun in peace.

The cubs were very demanding at times and it was clear the Lionesses teats were raw, so when the cubs competed for a teat it must have been excuciating.

The Lionesses were remarkably tolerant of their boisterous cubs but every now and then when a cub would  approach its mother with the clear intention to suckle, she would indicate in no uncertain terms that she was not ready by snarling. If my mother looked at me like that I reckon I would defer to her snarl – oh mother what big teeth you have!!!

We came across other Lions too. Not too far south of the two Lionesses with cubs, we saw a mating pair. It was about nine in the morning and the pair were catching up on some rest in the soft morning sun after what must have been an adventurous night.

The two were lying close together with the female stretching often and lying full stretch on her back looking at us. The male eventually moved some distance away and the female moved to a anthill find a soft bed of grass with a view where she promptly feel asleep.

On two separate occasions, we saw a lone Lioness lurking in the trees and bushes along the Mara river waiting for a crossing. We were also fortunate enough to see a classic Lion kill after one group of Wildebeest and Zebra has just crossed the Mara river, but this is a story for another post.

We also came across two young males resting in the shade of a Desert Date tree. We found them close to where we had seen a Cheetah mother move her cub. After seeing the Cheetah mother, we drove some distance away to have a ‘relief break’ and Veronica said be quick as there were Lions there. I thought this was just a ploy to get us to be quicker. It was only when we were climbing back into the vehicle that we realised there really were Lions there. When you have got to go you have got to go!!!

On the way back to camp one evening at last light we came across a lone young Lioness lying on a mound along side the road. We drove around to get a better perspective so that we were looking up at her. She was not fussed by us and in fact was inquisitive.

The Mara is a wonderful place to see Lions but perhaps our childrens’ children will not see them.

LionAid reports that over the past 50 years Africa’s lion populations have plummeted from over 200,000 individuals back in the 1960’s to fewer than 25,000 today. A shocking number if you consider the size of that continent, and by far the greatest number of remaining lion populations are small, scattered, and highly vulnerable.

There have been many conservation foundations working to improve the lot of the African lion, but sadly to date the declines have not abated. In fact the rate of decline in lion numbers is accelerating. Ghana, Coted’Ivoire, and Congo are the latest African countries added to long list that have lost all their lions, and Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda predict local extinctions in the next ten years.

West African lion virtually extinct: Population numbers are dangerously low with just 34 left in Nigeria.

LionAid say there are just 645 wild lions remaining in west and central Africa.

There are no lions in 25 African countries and are only just surviving in ten others.

The current world population is estimated at 7,100,000,000 and in the next 27 years another 2,000,000,000 people are expected to join their ranks, most of which will be in Asia and Africa. Don’t procrastinate,  wild places in Africa are disappearing fast and with them Lion, Rhino, and Elephant, you may not see them in 20 years, other than in canned enclosures.

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”
― Mahatma Ghandi

“If people were superior to animals, they would take better care of the world”

 – Winnie the Pooh

Seek, watch, enjoy, respect and let it be.

Mike

On the second morning of our Masai Mara trip, instead of driving down to the river in the hope of seeing a river crossing, Lou decided to look around the area directly north-east of Kitchwa Tembo, our tented camp. It was just after six in the morning and dawn  was breaking – the start of a new day. The colours on the plains are soft and muted. The air was fresh with the latent temperature releasing fragrances from the grass and bushes. The wonderful thing first thing in the morning in the bush is that your mind and heart are clear but you are full of expectation, without any idea of what you are going to see.

This particular morning we were privileged enough to come across a lone young female Thompson’s Gazelle in the final stages of labour.

She milled around intermittently grazing and stopping to cope with the contractions.

When the birth started in earnest there was no noise but for Hyaenas’ whooping in the distance, which caught her attention. The morning was temperate, not cold, and the sun was rising.

After a short while she got onto her knees and eventually lay down, There were no other animals around and we watched in respectful silence as this miracle of life unfolded in front of us.

Quietly and without fuss as she lay on the cool wet grass, this petite female ‘Tommy’ started to deliver her fawn. There was no noise  just a quiet acceptance of the natural advance of nature.

The fawn lay still on the wet grass as it was being born. The mother soon started to reach back and smell and touch her new fawn as its head peered out of the foetal sac.

Progressively and naturally the bond between mother and new-born started to be formed.

She started to lick the foetal sac off the fawn’s head and shoulders and the fawn started to react to its mother.

The foetal sac still bound the fawn’s legs so the mother began to eat the foetal sac to free the fawn and remove traces of the birth.

Even before the foetal sac had been fully removed the fawn was trying to get up onto its feet.The result was the inevitable nose dive.

Within a couple of minutes of the birth, the mother was on  her feet cleaning up her fawn.

Within 24 minutes of being born this fawn was attempting to get on its feet. All the while there were Hyaena whooping some distance away but the mother without fuss continued to clean up her fawn.

The fawn fell a few times when it tried to get up, but with splayed legs for balance it soon got the hang of gravity and was standing unsteadily.

Despite the nose dives the mother continued to encourage her fawn to get up onto its feet.

I am not sure whether it was the smell of its mother’s milk, but with no guidance this fawn knew exactly where to find its mother’s nipple. The natural intelligence displayed during this birth was spellbinding.

After a quick suckle and 27  minutes after the birth, the mother started wandering off from the birth site followed by the fawn. Apart from the privilege of being witness to the birth  of a new life,  I was so impressed by the lack of drama and the sense of naturalness and calm with which this mother delivered her fawn quietly at about 6h30 on the Mara.  All of us photographers sat in silence and reverence at what we had just witnessed.

There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself.

Henry David Thoreau

I hope you enjoyed this miracle unfold.

Have fun

Mike

I have just returned from an exceptional photographic trip to the Masai Mara hosted by Coetzer Nature Photography (CNP). After arriving at Nairobi and an interesting journey across town, we took off in a light SafariLink plane from Wilson airport heading for the Masai Mara. This flight, lasting 45 minutes, took us over the Great Rift Valley and landed us in the northern part of the Mara Triangle, close to the Oloololo Gate. The migration is one of the main spectacles at this time of the year. The Mara river crossings usually start around June/July and end in October each year. This year the main body of the migration seemed to have taken place about three weeks earlier than normal. The migration involves mainly Wildebeest and Zebra but also Thomson’s Gazelle. These herbivores migrate  in a clockwise direction from east to west across the Mara river.

Wildebeest apparently have no herd structure beyond the mother and calf relationship. This means that any individual can start a crossing. In the next image I have shown a small herd gathering on the east side of the Mara river, massing before they cross. This herd  was very skittish with the slightest disturbance triggering a mass retreat. The tourist vehicles you can see closest to the river bank were a real problem as over enthusiastic game guides kept pushing too close to the crossing points resulting in the herd abandoning the crossing. This happened four times over three days.  The Mara (which means spotted plains because of the Desert Date trees scattered across the plains) is relatively flat. As such the Mara river meanders through the plains in a snake-like fashion. This provides the animals with many places to cross. This sequence of images was taken at Fig Tree bend down close to the Tanzanian border. The river banks were steep in this part of the river.

The Wildebeest mass on the east side of the Mara river preparing to cross

Once massed there appears to be a push from the animals at the rear to drive the front animals to take the plunge. It is clear that the more experienced animals know exactly what the dangers are during the crossing. Not only do they have to run the gauntlet of  huge Nile Crocodiles in the river but also carnivores such as Lion, Leopard and Hyaenas which are waiting for them the other side of the river. In places, the Mara river is deep and fast flowing, probably five kilometres per hour. Easily fast enough to sweep a weak swimmer downstream.

The Wildebeest do not just rush in to the river but are very cautious trying to assess the danger.

The first animals in a newly arrived group do not run straight into the river but mill around very unsure of whether to cross or not. They advance down to the river’s edge and are easily spooked by either a Hippo snorting or sight of a crocodile or Lion on the far bank. The herd can advance and retreat from the river’s edge a couple of times before they finally start to cross. This process can take hours. Sometimes the crossing is abandoned for that day. Patience and luck are key in seeing and photographing a crossing.

Eventually one brave soul starts the crossing.

The modus operandi at a river crossing for the tourist vehicles on the west side of the Mara river was to stay back around 100 metres from the river’s edge until the first animal had entered the water, Then there was a mad dash to drive down to the river bank to get a good sighting of the crossing. Fortunately photographers with long lenses do not have to vie for the closest position.

The numbers of animals crossing builds up.

The crossing starts in an orderly manner with a single line of animals swimming across the river. The crossing sometimes includes a mix of Wildebeest and Zebra but in the few crossings we saw, the Wildebeest tended to move first. It was not long before the order turned to a scramble. Any Hippo in the area knows to get out of harms way.

The Mara river turns a muddy brown where the animals are crossing.

As the numbers of animals grow, so they kick up the dust making the scene more and more dramatic. Once the crossing starts the river turns a muddy brown.

The straight line of animals soon becomes a curve as the fast flowing water drags some of them downstream.

The spectacle of the crossing is something to behold.

What seemed very strange to me was the wildebeeste on the bank especially those high up on the bank would watch the animals in the water and follow them down stream. Then all of a sudden on what seems to be a suicide route they would start to jump down the steep cliff in the bank to get the water’s edge and launch themselves into the river.

The drop over the edge can be as much as six metres.

Once of the Wildebeest start jumping down the cliffs, the line of animals entering the river becomes fragmented and the crossing starts to become more chaotic.

The dust builds up.

The animals can hardly see so just seem to follow the animals around it.

Primal dash.

It is clear that the animals are terrified of what they think is in the water.

Wildebeest after Wildebeest irrespective of size.

The Wildebeest launch themselves off the steep river bank.

The dust removes visibility so they follow the animals in front of them.

The dust gets thicker and the  herding is dictated by the  animals around them.

Visiblity worsens.

Once in the water, away from the dust the task of crossing the river starts in earnest.

Each animal for itself.

Wildebeest are clearly not built for swimming so a herculean effort is required by them.

Swimming for its life.

The fear in their eyes is evident.

The terror associated with the crossing is evident in their enlarged eyes.

Once they get to the other side of the river they either find an easy sand bank to climb onto and make their escape or else they face a rock outcrop.

The Wildebeest get dragged down stream by the river where some of the exit points are very difficult because of the rock outcrops.

It is remarkable how many of the Wildebeest make it across the river.

The sweet Red Oat grass awaits the Wildebeest and Zebra on the other side of the Mara river -so too do the predators.

Once across they face the predators on the other side of the river and the smell of the sweeter Red Oat grass. Once this grass has been cropped the herbivores move on down to the Serengeti, usually toward the end of October.

What triggers 1.5 million Wildebeest and an estimated 300,00 Plains Zebra to make this daunting journey, no one knows for sure? They clearly need fresh grazing so perhaps the sound of thunder or smell of rain is the trigger. The prevailing wind in the Marais  North West to South East.

The full spectacle of a crossing is indescribable because of the combination of animal movement, sounds and the enormity of it all.

This is the first of a number of posts each week showing images from our journey through the Masai Mara. The abundance and variety of game make me think Noah must have parked his ark at the gate and allowed the animals to just pour onto the plains.

I am going to link this post to CNP’s Facebook site and want to thank Lou and Veronica for an awesome experience. The sightings and experiences were way beyond my expectation. We don’t see plains like the Masai Mara in SA , other than in the Karoo and parts of the FreeState, which don’t accommodate the variety and quantum of game.

I hope over the next series of posts, one per week, I will  convey the ‘specialness’ of the place.

What is life?

It is the flash of a firefly in the night.  It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time.  It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the Sunset.

Crowfoot

I hope you gained a sense of the spectacle of the crossing – until next week.

Have fun

Mike

This post shows some of the images taken on a recent trip down to the Mkuze River in KwaZulu Natal.  The Mkuze river  meanders across the southern Maputaland, eventually flowing into the St Lucia wetlands. The Mkuze River cuts through the Ubombo Mountains before serving as a boundary for Zululand’s famous Mkuzi Game Reserve.  Helen and I stayed at Amakhosi Game Reserve located on the northern bank of the Mkuze river, about 60 kilometres south west of Pongola.

There is a wide variety of game and the birdlife is superb for which this area is well known. The bush is very thick in large parts of the reserve and it is very mountainous which makes for great vista photography but also makes game and bird photography quite tricky because of difficult backgrounds.

There are a number of borehole fed waterholes away from the river. At one such waterhole we came across seven Giraffe drinking. This next image is of four of the female Giraffe turning away after having just drunk.  A bull Elephant came crashing through the bush next to the waterhole just as they had finished drinking and got their attention. The bull Elephant did not stop for a drink , he just crashed passed. All  Giraffe have two knob-like horns called  ossicones on top of their head. These horns are ossified cartilage which has formed into bone.  The males have large ossicones which are usually bald on top from fighting while the females ossicones are smaller and have hair on top.

The Amakhosi Safari Lodge is located along the Mkuze river . The next image was taken from one of the mountains facing the lodge looking east. There is good river frontage with a great viewing deck from which you can watch Elephant, Nyala and even Lion on occasions and of course a variety of birds.

As you can see the Lodge is very well appointed, elegant without being over stated which is just how we like it. We first came to Amakhosi on honeymoon and were so impressed that this was our third stay.

Depending on the temperature, breakfast and dinner are usually served on the deck outside to take advantage of the cool breeze and magnificent views.

The viewing deck  gives you a vista onto the Mkuze river and the massive fig trees on the other side of the river. The river flows all year round.

The Lodge is immediately surrounded by beautiful lawns and cycads around the pool. The rooms are spread out through the Tambotie forest alongside the river., which as you can imagine attracts a wide variety of birds from White Helmeted Shrikes, to Puff backs, Paradise Flycatchers, Drongos, Black Headed Orioles and a variety of Sunbirds and Barbets.

As any of you who have been to northern KwaZulu Natal in summer will know it can get fiendishly hot so a pool is a welcome  addition.

The Amakhosi Game Reserve has the big five – Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino ( white) and Buffalo for the ‘tourismos’ but for wildlife enthusiasts it offers much more in the form of birdlife, smaller mammals and a huge variety of flora and varied scenery. In the next image this female Buffalo was watching us intently. Buffalo seem to always look at you as if you owe them money, especially the bulls.

One of the little gems on this trip was finding Weeping Boer-bean trees in flower. These trees flower from August to October. It is part of the flamboyant family and has conspicuous sprays of red flowers. These red flower drip nectar which attracts a variety of birds from Sunbirds to Orioles, White-eyes  and Weavers. I have never come across a tree that has attracted five types of Sunbirds all at once. The Sunbirds varied from Amethyst to Collared, Scarlet Chested, White-belled and Marico. The next image of a female  Collared Sunbird, it is only the male which has the blue and purple collar

I also saw a magnificent male Scarlet-Chested Sunbird. I tried desperately to get this chap in full sun but the Weeping Boer-bean has thick foliage. The scarlet chest is evident but the emerald-green throat and cap are not as evident but are just as gorgeous.

Scarlet Chested Sunbird in a Weeping Boer-bean tree

The next image shows the collar of the male Collared Sunbird. The collars are iridescent in the sunlight. When all the various Sunbirds are in the Weeping Boer-bean at the same time it is noticeable how much smaller the  Collared Sunbird is compared with the Scarlet-chested and Amethyst Sunbirds,

There were numerous White-belled Sunbirds feeding from the flowers of the Weeping Boer-bean. The White-bellied vastly outnumbered the other Sunbirds. The male has a bright iridescent blue-green head, mantle and throat with a purple and blue-collar and white belly.

There were  many trees bearing fruit at this time of the year. In the midst of breakfast one morning , three Black-collared Barbets flew into the tree in front of us. Needless to say I sprung up to take the shot. Not good table manners but necessary!!!!

Being very obliging, one of the three Black-collared Barbets flew into an adjacent tree overlooking the river  which produced a much better background.

The colours on these Sunbirds are breathtakingly beautiful and disguises their fierce territorial imperative.

When a Sunbird, and this applied not only to White-bellied Sunbirds, could not access the flowers from a perch they would hover like a hummingbird to get at the nectar.

On a number of mornings we crossed the Mkuze river around 6h50. The sun was just coming up. What a glorious time of the day to be up. It is fresh, the bush is filled with fragrances. The sun is just starting to pep over the hills and we are full of expectation.

Crossing the Mkuze river at 6h30 in the morning.

At this time of the year, the Wild Wisteria is in bloom. We did not see big Wisteria trees but the small ones were in full blossom and as you can see were  beautiful.

Three were three large male Lions in the reserve. This was the coalition leader who would patrol the one fence line when he could hear the Lion in the next door reserve roaring. These three were introduced from Hoedspruit, near Kruger. This coalition hunted for themselves rather than relying on the Lionesses to hunt for them. It is quite remarkable how much they can move at night patrolling their territory.

This coalition leader lay next to the reserve fence. He must have heard the next door reserve male roaring, we could not but something really got his attention.

The temperature was very variable in the five days we stayed at Amakhosi ranging from summertime heat in the mid-thirties to just above zero some mornings. One morning, crossing the Mkuze river it was particularly cold and mist was rising from the river making for an evocative scene.

On the last morning, the clouds were brewing and it looked like it was building for a thunderstorm. The dark sky always makes a more dramatic backdrop. The next image is of a group of knob-thorn trees. The one in the centre of the image had already started to produce green leaves having finished its flowering. The flowers are a beautiful creamy colour which start turning brown as they finish, creating quite a show.

There were five types of Guarri trees in the reserve, groves of fever trees ,  and Money Oranges, Bushwillows and Tamboti forests. there are Jackal berries and fig trees along the river.  In the more hilly areas we found Tree Euphorias, Red Ivory, Buffalo thorns and Sickle bushes to name just a few.

The bush was thick and needed nature’s bush clearing machines to do their work, which they did. In my book, Elephant are nature’s heavy-duty bush clearing machines. we had heard from one of the rangers that a herd  of Elephant were rushing south toward the Mkuze river. They had been feeding in the northern part of the reserve when a few young bulls started to cause grief. With much noise, this group hurtled through the bush along game paths toward the river. The next image shows the last of the herd  rushing down the river bank, Interestingly, as soon as these Elephant got into the water they immediately calmed down, drama over.

The northern KwaZulu game reserves are about five and a half hour drive from the ‘big smoke’ Joies, about the same travelling time as the Northern Limpopo reserves. There is great variety down this neck of the woods. We will be coming to this part of the world much more often, though less so in mid-summer.

In between my photographic trips, I plan to use the time to expand my wildlife categories. This week I have added two new categories to my Birds section. The two I have chosen are both shoreline birds . The images were taken either along the Chobe River or  Marievale

The idea behind each category is to build up a collection of images on a species and keep replacing them as I get better ones. The intention is perpetual improvement. One of the key factors in capturing interesting story-telling wildlife images is that you have got to put yourself in front of the opportunities. It is very much about doing!!!

There are times when you are full of enthusiasm and you have the right kind  of kit and you are in an amazing place but the real action never gets going. Your enthusiasm and passion will drive you to keep trying.

Snipe

Snipe are fascinating not only because of their unusual beaks but also because of their glorious colouring and unusual behaviour.

We only have one type of Painted Snipe is Southern Africa, the Greater Painted Snipe. These Snipe are polyandrous, like the African Jacana, where the female has many mates and the male rears the young. The chicks are precocial, meaning that they can feed themselves after hatching. A necessary evolutionary trait living along side a river or in wetland.

Group of male Painted Snipe on the banks of the Chobe River

In the Painted Snipe world, the female are the more colourful. Apart from their beautiful colouring, the Painted Snipe has a relatively short bill which is curved down at the end.  It uses its bill to probe the mud for aquatic invertebrates and small vertebrates where touch and smell as its primary senses. The only Painted Snipe I have seen have been along the shores of the Chobe River close to Kaserne.

Another interesting Snipe species is the African Snipe. It is quite different to the Painted Snipe. It’s bill is  longer, its colouring is more muted but exquisitely camouflaged and its makes an unusual  drumming sound during flying displays.

The African Snipe has a longer bill than the Painted Snipe and is not polyandrous. Its colouring provides excellent camouflage especially in reed beds.

The camouflage of this African Snipe was superb. I did not see it until it moved in the reeds at Marievale.

The African Snipe is common and is usually found in marsh areas and wetlands. I frequently see African Snipe at Marievale. The wetland seems to be ideal for them.

A pair of African Snipe basking in the sun at Marievale.

In the image above the bird on the left hand side might be a juvenile as I don’t think there is much difference in coloration between the male and female.

I have not yet captured an African Snipe in flight. The buzzing sound the males make in territorial or courtship display flights comes from  the air resonating in its fanned tail feathers.

Stilt

The second bird category I have added is the Black-winged Stilt. It is also a wetland nomad. It is the only Stilt we have in Southern Africa.

In proportion to its body, the Black-winged Stilt has the longest legs in the bird world. This is one of the most slightly built of the Southern African waders.  Their long legs are very useful for feeding along the shoreline of a river or lake, but they do make mating tricky.

This pair of Black-winged Stilts were mating in shallow water in the Chobe River. After mating the male seemed to be affectionate with his mate, which is not something you see after birds have been mating. The only other species I have seen showing affection after mating has been the Laughing Dove.

The next image is of a juvenile Black-winged Stilt foraging in shallow water in the Chobe River. This youngster was beautiful and the colour of the reflections on the water added to the softness of the scene.

The next image is of an Adult Black-winged Stilt wading along the edge of the dam at Borokalalo National Park.  The wind was blowing creating small waves and the water was coloured bright green with algae.

These Stilts are very good fliers and can be seen at times displaying in small groups over the water.

It is a delicate job disentangling after mating.

The closest relative to the Black-winged Stilt is the Pied Avocet.

The long legs and relatively short beak shows that the Black-winged Stilt and the Snipe, although often found in the same water, feed in different places along the water’s edge and so don’t compete.

I hope you found this post on Snipe and Black-winged Stilts interesting.

I will introduce two new categories next week.