Happily I will be preparing to go to photograph Carmine Bee-eaters from Kalizo Lodge on the Zambezi by the time you read this post. I wanted to show you a few more images of the incredible diversity of  wildlife photographic opportunities available along the Chobe river. 

“We live in deeds, not years: in thoughts, not breaths;
In feelings, not in figures on a dial.
We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.”
~ Philip James Bailey

“Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.”
~ Kahlil Gibran

“Vision is not enough — it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the stairs, we must step up the stairs.”
 ~ Vaclav Havel

“Greet each day with your eyes open to beauty, your mind open to change, and your heart open to love.”
~ Paula Finn

“Life is a boundless privilege, and when you pay for your ticket, and get into the car, you have no guess what good company you shall find there.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Experience is not what happens to a man, it is what a man does with what happens to him.”
~ Aldous Huxley

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all of our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time. “
~ T.S. Eliott

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

Have fun,

Mike

I am preparing for a photographic trip to Chobe  in mid-October. One of the things I like to do before a trip is to look back over images from previous trips to the same place. This gives me an opportunity to identify gaps in my image portfolio and find scenes and species which I would like to improve on, if possible. There are always new and interesting stories around the sightings on each trip. While looking at images from previous trips it occurred to me that there were many trips and images taken before I started my wildlife blog in mid-2012. This blog shows a few of the images taken on my Chobe trips before mid-2012. 

“No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.”

~ Lewis Carroll

This first scene took place on a sand bank alongside the Chobe river. A troop of baboons was milling around first thing in the morning after spending the night at the top of the large trees next to the river. The youngsters are usually very playful at this time when it is still cool. These two young baboons were nervous as two playground bullies circled them. These two bullies were mischievous teenagers who stalked around them trying to intimidate them. The two youngsters clung on to each other for reassurance. They looked very human-like. Eventually those tempting long tails extended on the sand were just too tempting and the teenagers took their cue.

The next image was taken from a game vehicle in the Chobe National Reserve and not the boat. In relatively thick vegetation, we came across the Sable bull. He had paused for a drink in the late afternoon summer heat . I always marvel at the glossy sheen of an adult Sable’s jet black coat. It looks as if it has been groomed like a racehorse. This male was still relatively young, as his horns had not yet developed the full extend of their curve. 

Along the Chobe river late one afternoon, we came across these three Giraffe. They had come down to drink from one of the pools alongside the river. Most animals prefer to drink from the pools separated from the main river, provided the water quality is reasonable. The reason is their fear of crocodiles. The three comprised a female who appeared to be on heat and two very interested males with their entourage of Qxpeckers. The two attending males would not leave her side.

One morning early, around 6h00, we left the lodge and travelled by boat upstream towards Jackalberry corner.  There in front of us was this magnificent Fish Eagle which had caught a massive catfish (barbel) and was busy having breakfast when we came by. Unfortunately, we disturbed him and he flew off with his partly devoured catfish in one talon. This raptor just oozed power and strength. It was a thrilling sighting and looking this image transports me straight back onto the boat early that morning.

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

As you travel upstream along the Chobe river by boat past the army camp, just before you come to the first right hand bend in the river, there is a tree standing with its “feet” in the water. In the high water season this tree collects grass and reeds which provides a great nesting site for water birds. In the semi-shade of late afternoon this Black-crowned Night Heron appeared in preparation for its crepuscular hunting session. These night birds have a stunning ruby-red eye and two long white feathers, which look like a head-dress.

In summer, the water level of the river subsides and there are many small rivulets. This young Black-winged Stilt was busy hunting in the late afternoon in one such rivulet all on its own.

We were slowly cruising upstream along the side of the main channel towards the Chobe Game Lodge when this young crocodile climbed onto this dead broken tree stump sticking out of the water. This little crocodile was sunning itself. It is not uncommon to see crocodiles sunbathing to warm up. This little chap posed beautifully for us in perfect light and seemed unfazed by us close by.

The most ubiquitous Kingfisher along the Chobe is the Pied Kingfisher. You also see Giant, Malachite, Brown-hooded, Woodland and Half-collared Kingfishers along the Chobe in summer. The Pied Kingfishers are year round residents. They make their nests in the sand banks of the islands once the river subsides. As you can see they are capable hunters.

The Brown-headed Kingfishers do not feed on fish but the abundant insects down next to the river. They have cobalt blue primary wing  and tail feathers which create a splash of colour when they fly. 

Chobe offers a number of Bee-eaters. This next image is of a Little Bee-eater, the smallest of the bunch but one of the most dazzling with its emerald greens, yellows and oranges finished with some above the eye blue eyeliner. These Little Bee-eaters are also attracted to the river’s edge by all the insects. In summer you will also find the Carmine and Blue-Cheeked Bee-eaters along the river. The Little and White-fronted Bee-eaters are year round residents.

The Giant Kingfishers do not have the vivid colours of the Bee-eaters and other Kingfishers but are nevertheless strikingly coloured. This is a female identified by the ochre-brown feathers on her breast which look like a bib and in some cases like a bra whereas the male has a waist coat in the same colour. These are the largest Kingfishers on the river and are very skilled fish and crab hunters.

Providing it is not too windy there is a good chance of finding a Fish Eagle perched on a dead tree stump protruding out of the river, watching and waiting for a hunting opportunity. This was a fully fledged juvenile Fish Eagle. Already it looked like a powerful hunter. Just look at the size of those talons!!

“Never forget: We are alive within mysteries.”
~ Wendell Berry

A little gem found in the reeds along the Chobe river. There are plenty of Malachite Kingfishers along the Chobe river. They usually operate in pairs and are very fast fliers dashing from one section of reeds to another. This is the smallest Kingfisher you will find along the Chobe. I have never seen a Pygmy Kingfisher along the Chobe river. The Malachite Kingfisher is a very skilled fisherman diving into the water at blindingly fast speeds. These are very small birds but their brilliant colouring gives them away in the reeds as they sparkle like gems..

In the next image, it had been heavily overcast the whole day but we had gone out that afternoon on the boat anyway. Often even when the light is poor it is fun to just have a “game drive” by boat. At times when there is a thick layer of cloud, there is a break in the clouds when the sun breaks through and the colour of the light can be very unusual as was on this occasion as we slowly floated passed this family of Elephants having an afternoon drink.

You have to be aware of all the animals in and out of the water along the Chobe river. This is especially true of Hippo. On one occasion we had stopped along the sand bank of one of the islands in the Chobe river. We saw a huge Hippo bull lying asleep about 30 metres away. We were very quiet so as not to disturb him and were photographing the water birds nearby. The next minute the guide shouted to the boat driver to gun it. This Hippo bull had woken up and took objection to us close by and was blundering towards us at speed. Had it not been for the quick reactions of the guide and boat driver we could have had a couple of tonnes of angry bull Hippo on the boat with us, in which case I probably would not be writing this post. That was a close call and we all learnt a big lesson that day. Hippo are territorial and often display their dominance and frustration. The next image shows one of those occasions.

When on the boat, it is evident how careful the game is when it comes down to the river to drink. The reason is that there are many Nile Crocodiles in the Chobe river, and some are enormous. This large Crocodile rushed into the water as we passed. It had been sunbathing on a sandbank on one of the islands  in the middle of the river. It decided the water was a safer place to be.

There is an abundance of fish for the Crocodiles to eat but they will take almost anything that comes down to the water to drink with the exception of Elephant and Buffalo. Though even the old Buffalo bulls cross the channels in a group for fear of the larger crocodiles or “flat dogs” as we nick name them. When a Crocodile catches a catfish it will rise out of the water and shake the fish violently from side to side to break off its head, after which it devours the body of the fish.

The next image shows a bachelor herd of Elephant running along the bank of the Chobe river on the Namibian side. They were being chased by a group of fishermen. You can see a Makoro pulled up into the grass on the left hand side of the water’s edge. These Makoros are a type of canoe which can be up to six metres in length. In the more remote areas these Makoros are crafted from tree trunks, which are painstakingly hollowed out using hand-tools. We could not work out why these fishermen were chasing the bull Elephants. Surprisingly, the Elephants did not stand their ground but perhaps they had some nasty experiences with these types of humans before.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”
~ Albert Einstein

Up near Jackalberry Corner, where three large Jackalberry trees stand as guardians of the channel, there are two inlets with reed beds on each side and large rafts of floating water lilies. These water lilies have large leaves which float on the water’s surface and they attract many insects. The African Jacana’s inhabit these beds of water lilies hunting for food. There is one particular inlet which is called Jacana Alley, where there are many pairs of Jacanas. They seem to be intolerant neighbours because there are frequent spats which make for great photography. The next image is of a juvenile Jacana hunting for insects and little molluscs which live just under the lily pad.

The Jacanas have long legs and  feet with huge toes which helps them to lily trot. They tend to walk quickly over the lilies so do not sink. If they stand on a lily pad for too long they do start to sink, especially the adults. Jacanas are also good swimmers. The adults usually fly but the youngsters are capable swimmers. Very small Jacana chicks are known to hide under the lily pads when there is danger around.

In summer, the Yellow-billed Kites migrate back to this area. They are good fishermen and can often be seen catching fish on the water’s surface. This male Yellow-billed Kite was offering a female a gift but she seemed indifferent to his attempts to get her attention. 

There are many pairs of Fish Eagles along the Chobe river. They perch, roost and nest in the large trees which line the river on the Botswana side. When an adult Fish Eagle takes off from its perch you get a sense of size of these raptors. Obviously, one of the images every photographer wants to get is a Fish Eagle snatching a surface swimming fish from the water. We do not bait the birds so it is very rare to get a natural, unbaited shot of Fish Eagle catching a fish. 

“And at the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling.”

~ Shanti

At the end of an afternoon when making our way back to the lodge to be out of the park by 18h30 in summer, we stop to take some images of the sunset from the boat. Often we are graced by a spectacular show of light and colour at sunset.

This next image was taken of two young elephants mock fighting in the last of the day’s light. They were on the main island just upstream of the lodges.  We would love to spend more time on the water once darkness falls but the National Park does not allow it probably to give the animals and birds some peace and a break from the human gaze.

There is a wonderland of animals and bird life to photograph along the Chobe river. One of the big attractions of this forthcoming trip will be the Carmine Bee-eaters. I have been to the Chobe river to photograph many times and each trip is different and each day on every trip is different.

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.”

~ Roald Dahl

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

Have fun,

Mike

I was looking through some images from a previous trip to Chobe. One of the special sightings you are quite likely to see are Sable Antelope. These are, for me, the most magnificent antelope in Africa.

“It is my intention to present – through the medium of photography – intuitive observations of the natural world which may have meaning to the spectators.”
–Ansel Adams

Sable belong to the Hippotragini tribe, according to Trevor Carnaby’s “The Antelope of Africa”, the horse like antelope. They certainly look horse-like with their manes. This group includes the Sable, Roan, Gemsbok, Oryx and Addax.

According to notes from F.C.Selous in 1899, Sable were plentiful in the whole of South-East Africa at that time. Today you consider yourself privileged to see one in the wild, as they are rare.

This is a herd of young Sable. You can tell by the brownish colouring and and the horns are partially curved.

The older animals are either very dark brown or jet black. The females have shorter, more slender horns which do not curve back as much as the males. The males can have magnificent backward curving horns which can grow as long as 120 centimetres.

The Sable are usually quite skittish when coming down to the river. They do not linger. They drink and move off quickly.

Sable, like all the animals, are wary of the crocodiles lurking in the water and there are some massive Nile Crocodiles in the Chobe river.

“Your photography is a record of your living, for anyone who really sees.”
 –Paul Strand

Usually the Sable will drink of small pools of water just away from the water’s edge, for fear of surprises from Crocodiles.

The Sable herds are expanding in South Africa mainly on game farms and conservancies. The African Sable population is estimated to be over 70,000, though wars, politics and game fences have badly affected the population in the last thirty years.

Sable need to drink daily so there is a reasonable chance of seeing this antelope in the morning down at the river.

“A photograph is like a recipe memory the finished dish.”
– Carrie Latet

An older Sable and you can see the colour becomes black and takes on that groomed glossy sheen. This was a lone thirsty female.

Sable are a savannah woodland species, mainly grazers of the higher grasses but will also browse if there is too little grass or the quality of the grass is poor.

The distinct white markings on the face with the patch in front of the eyes separated from the white patch from the muzzle along the jaw by a black stripe.

I am really hoping to get more images of these magnificent antelope during my next trip to Chobe in October. I have included a video link to Youtube of Lions attacking a Sable along what looks to be the Chobe river. Don’t focus on the quality of the video or its title which must be wrong. The video shows how fast these antelope are and how dangerous Sable can be with the backward swipe of their horns.

https://youtu.be/nrija9Sdvu4

I can remember John Condy telling me as a child that as part of a wildlife veterinary research project in Zimbabwe they had darted a Sable Antelope and it was sitting on all fours as the sedation drugs took effect. To be sure the drug had sedated the animal enough to approach it they threw a stone at it. The Sable, even in its sedated state, batted the stone away with its horn. That is how accurate they can be with their horns. A Lion needs to be extra careful with these antelope, they are fighters and are known to impale their attackers.

Sable are generally smaller than Roan Antelope and I don’t think you find Roan in northern Botswana along the Chobe. With luck I will have better images to show you in the next few weeks.

“I think life is too short not to be doing something which you really believe in.”
– Steve McCurry

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

Have fun,

Mike

This is the last post from our recent trip to Mashatu with friends and offers a gallery of images showing the variety of sightings other than predators which you are likely to see in Mashatu. The birds shown are just the winter residents. In summer, the migrants dramatically swell the numbers and variety.

“It is the marriage of the soul with nature that makes the intellect fruitful, and gives birth to imagination.”

– Henry David Thoreau

White fronted Bee-eater nesting in a colony in the bank of the Majale river.

These Bee-eaters were very busy digging out their nest burrows in the river bank with nosy, noisy neighbours causing a tussles very now and then.

Sunbathing and dust bathing, both of which remove mites from these Bee-eaters.

Being winter is was cold in the mornings. This Lilac-breasted Roller was perched and in hunting mode. It was all fluffed up against the chilly wind.

The Lilac-breasted Rollers are ubiquitous in Mashatu and positioned on the bushes like sparkling gems.

While you do no see in Mashatu the huge flocks of Namaqua Sandgrouse that you will see in Kalagadigadi or Etosha but you will find small groups of two to four birds all over. This female was searching for seeds in the sand and keeping her head down due to the chilly wind.

The female Namaqua Sandgrouse is cryptically coloured and very easy to miss when scanning the area.

Grey Hornbill with its distinctive call. You often hear it before you see it. I love the marmalade colours of Mopani leaves in winter.

Yellow-billed Hornbill. You will also find the Red-billed Hornbill in Mashatu in winter.

“An understanding of the natural world and what’s in it is a source of not only a great curiosity but great fulfilment.”

– Sir David Attenborough

This female Saddle-billed Stork was hunting for fish in the pools of water remaining in the Majale river. It was cool and the sun had just risen so the colours were unusually soft. With such contrasting colours this bird can be tricky to expose correctly.

The female Saddle-billed Stork is identifiable by its yellow eye-ring and no yellow wattle under its bill.

A Burchell’s Coucal hunting in the undergrowth on cold early winter’s morning.

Kudu bull walking along the edge of a croton grove down near the Majale river, accompanied by a pair of Yellow-billed Oxpeckers.

Sparring young Kudu males. The dominant bull was watching these two probably assessing where his next challenge was going to come from.

A pair of young Warthog which had climbed up out of their burrow and were slowly waking up in the warm, winter morning sun.

Having warmed up it was now time to spar and play.

Young dominance rituals

The Majale river at the bridge close to Mashatu Main Camp.

For some reason these Impala would not run across the road but jumped clear of the road showing their incredible jumping ability.

High fliers despite some really stoney ground to land on!!

Low and fast. This is typical of the bush. You are driving slowly early in the afternoon. You see a few Impala on the right hand side of the road – nothing unusual. The next minute something spooks these Impala and they take-off across the road in front of us. Many of them jumped clear across the road with much room to spare.

Anyone who has been to Mashatu will recognise this scene – iconic.

“Come forth into the light of things. Let nature be your teacher.”

– William Wordsworth

Early morning sun was rim lighting these baboons as they sat warming up in the weak winter sun.

It was quiet. Most of the troop had come down from the Mashatu tree and were sitting on the ground just warming themselves.

Early morning family time before the hustle and bustle of the day.

A few Blue Wildebeest on a ridge creating a silhouette.

Young Giraffe with its mother.

Teaching her youngster which bushes to feed on.

One of the troop making his way down the great Mashatu tree (otherwise called the Baboon’s bedroom) first thing in the morning.

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

– Claude Monet

It was cold and windy. The animals do not like the wind as it messes up their smell and hearing senses. This was a large congregation of Impala which had clustered due to the wind. There must be safety in numbers.

A few playful Zebra.

A touch of striped sparring.

Striped horses in the bush.

A family of Klipspringers on the rock outcrop alongside the Majale river.

The Klipspringer is an unusual buck in many respects. It has a thick and dense, speckled “salt and pepper” patterned coat which provides effective camouflage in the rocky outcrops where is it usually found. Its thick, coarse hair is hollow, which aids them in regulating their temperature.

A pair of Klipspringers. The male has the horns. They stand on the tips of their hooves and are extremely agile on rock faces.

This is the last post from our trip to Mashatu in July. We had some wonderful sightings and got to meet really interesting people travelling around the reserve such as film maker, Kim Wolhuter and C4 photographic safari professionals Kyle de Nobrega and Ruth Nussbaum. This is one place I can never get enough of. I will be back again and again. The photographic opportunities are exceptional.

“Nothing is rich but the inexhaustible wealth of nature. She shows us only surfaces, but she is a million fathoms deep.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

Have fun,

Mike

This is the fifth post from my recent trip with friends to Mashatu Game Reserve. One of the unique aspects about Mashatu is that you are likely to have good sightings of Cheetahs.  I have travelled throughout Africa good sightings of Cheetah are hard to find. There are two Cheetah families operating in the Mashatu Game Reserve. One group comprised a coalition of three males and the other an adult female with four, now not so little, cubs.

“Travel is rebellion in its purest form. We follow out heart. We free ourselves of labels. We lose control willingly. We trade a role for reality. We love the unfamiliar. We trust strangers. We own only what we can carry. We search for better questions, not answers. We truly graduate. We, sometimes, choose never to come back”

– Anonymous

We have been privileged to get a number of separate sightings of the cubs growing up. Five cubs were born but after about three months one was killed. Since then the Cheetah Mum has done an admirable job of raising four cubs in an area occupied by Lions and many Hyaenas.

You can see this is a young Cheetah as its teeth are still razor-sharp.

Cheetahs have an ability to lie absolutely flat on the ground.

This was closeup of one of the young Cheetahs gazing out with a soulful look. The black stripes down their faces from their eyes help reduce glare and improve vision in bright light conditions.

It is not often you get to see the Cheetah’s non-retractable claws. Perfect spikes for the high performance sprinting athlete. 

Two almost fully grown cubs with their mother. Within the group they are always looking around. They lie in exposed areas for protection but also enables them to see potential prey far off.

Long, lean and lithe. Cheetahs generally live in dry areas and get most of their moisture from their prey. They can do without water for three to four days if need be.

When Cheetah roll over to lie on their other side, they rollover on their backs with their paws up

The roll is often accompanied by a yawn. Cheetahs rest up in the shade during the day, but don’t usually sleep. They hunt in the cooler times of daylight.

Cheetahs hunt during the day for two main reasons. Firstly, they have less competition from Lions and Hyaenas and secondly, you need to see where you are going when you are travelling at 110 kilometres per hour through the bush. They can accelerate from zero to 100 kilometres per hour in just three seconds.

At close to full speed a Cheetah is taking three strides every second – covering six to eight metres per stride.

Cheetahs do not have  bulk and claws to bring down prey but rather use speed and tripping to bring it down, then wrestle it to the ground and throttle it with a choke hold.

Females are solitary, whereas males tend to live in small coalitions of two to three individuals, usually brothers. This Cheetah mum decided to move on. She got up and first looked around. Before they do anything they quickly look around make sure of no unexpected surprises.

“Our relationship with nature is more one of being than having.  We are nature: we do not have nature. ”

–  Steven Harper

This Cheetah female is in superb condition, despite having to look after and feed four near adult cubs.

I am not sure how old the cubs are now but they must be about 15 months old. Cubs typically stay with their mothers for one and a half to two years.

The entire family lying in the semi-shade of a thorn tree. Their closeness is apparent but life will soon change for all of them.

“The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men.”

– Dmitry Merezhkovsky

Cheetah’s have the ability to lie very flat on the ground. Their profile looks aerodynamic even when they are lying down.

The second group of Cheetahs we were fortunate enough to see was a coalition of three males. The three males were lying on top of McKenzie’s Hill looking down on the plains below. The Cheetah’s spotted coat blends in well with their surrounds providing effective camouflage.

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

–  Rachel Carson

It was late afternoon and these males had clearly eaten earlier that day. They started to stir and get mobile.

Cheetah’s, young and old, have a very distinctive way of rolling over, yawning and stretching. Some of their mannerisms are very familiar.

Cheetahs do not roar like Lions, however they do have a range of other meaningful vocalisations such as purring, growling and a variety of contact calls which resemble bird-like chirping sounds.

This male Cheetah was smelling the ground around some of the bushes which are clearly used as scent sign posts.

All three males scent marked the bushes.

Just look at how full this male Cheetah’s belly is, it must have feasted well earlier that day. Cheetah’s are fast in all respects. They chase fast, kill fast and eat fast. Often Jackals start yelping as soon as they see a kill, alerting other predators to the action. So Cheetahs need to eat fast so they get most of the rewards of their efforts.

The males started to walk down the hill and in the process stopped to scent mark on available sign posts.

The only threats Cheetahs have are Lions, and Hyaenas and sometimes Leopards. Snakes are also a threat to younger Cheetahs.

These males certainly had fed well that day. They would not need to feed for another day or two. Speed is their best weapon and they would battle, constrained by those full bellies. The back half of a Cheetah’s tail is elongated vertically and is used as a rudder when travelling at high speed.

A classic pose of a Cheetah smelling the scent signs around a  well-worn tree.

We have had excellent Cheetah sightings on almost every occasion we have been to Mashatu. We have yet to watch a chase and kill in Mashatu – so we keep going back!!!!.

“True human goodness, in all its purity and freedom, can come to the fore only when its recipient has no power. Mankind’s true moral test, its fundamental test (which is deeply buried from view), consists of its attitude towards those who are at its mercy: animals.”

– Milan Kundera

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

Have fun,

Mike

This is the fourth post from our trip to Mashatu in late July. All of the images in this post were taken in mid-winter. Thankfully, Mashatu received late rains in April which made a world of difference to the flora and fauna. We visited many of the areas in Mashatu to see the wonderful diversity of scenes and landscapes. I have tried to show the diversity of landscapes in Mashatu in winter in this post. I have shown an image of Solomon’s Wall  which is on the western limb of Mashatu but have not shown any images of Mmagwa and Rhodes Baobab at sunset.  The reason being that we met and got talking to Kyle de Nobrega and Ruth Nussbaum from C4 Photo Safaris on top of Mmagwa. They were such interesting, friendly people that we never got to take any images on top of that sandstone ridge but just chatted and enjoyed the stunning scenery. They were great ambassadors for their photographic safari company.

“Discovering this idyllic place, we find ourselves filled with a yearning to linger here, where time stands still and beauty overwhelms.”

“The earth has its music for those who will listen.”

– George Santayana

“Look deep into nature, and then your will understand everything better.”

– Albert Einstein

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths your take,

but by the number of times your breath is taken away.”

“Nothing in nature lives for itself.

Rivers don’t drink their own water.

Trees don’t eat their own fruit.

Sun doesn’t give heat for itself.

Flowers don’t give fragrance for themselves.”

“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”

– Henry David Thoreau

“Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” 

—John Muir

“Each season has its own wonder, its own special place, and purpose in the pattern of creation.” 

“Travelling – it leaves you speechless then turns you into a storyteller.”

– Ibn Buttata

“Nature always wears the colours of the spirit.”

 – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man.”

“Live as if you were going to die tomorrow,

Learn as if you are going to live forever.”

“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt

“Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience.”

 – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I appreciate new things in my life.”

  – Ronnie Nijmeh

“Nothing living should ever be treated with contempt. Whatever it is that lives, a man, a tree, or a bird, should be touched gently, because the time is short. Civilization is another word for respect for life.”

 – Elizabeth Goudge

“Nature uses only the longest threads to weave her patterns, so each small piece of her fabric reveals the organization of the entire tapestry.”

 –Richard Feynman

“The best thing about animals is that they don’t talk much.”

– Thornton Wilder

“To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed.”

 –Theodore Roosevelt

“The landscape belongs to the person who looks at it.” 

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

“But especially he loved to run in the dim twilight of the summer midnights, listening to the subdued and sleepy murmurs of the forest, reading signs and sounds as a man may read a book, and seeking for the mysterious something that called—called, waking or sleeping, at all times, for him to come.”

—Jack London, The Call of the Wild

“There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature – the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”

– Rachel Carson

“The rich fire of the orange sunset gloriously announces the coming night.”

– Susan S Florence.

“If spring came but once a century instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake and not in silence, what wonder and expectation there would be in all the hearts to behold the miraculous change.”

– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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

Have fun,

Mike

This is the third post from our recent trip to Mashatu in late July.

“I arise today
Through the strength of heaven:
Light of sun,
Radiance of moon,
Splendour of fire.
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of wind,
Depth of sea,
Stability of earth,
Firmness of rock.”

 – Saint Patrick

We were privileged to be able to sit and watch this herd of breeding Elephants walk very close passed us on their way down to the lower areas to feed.

The herds comprised just females and calves.

The passing parade was walking with purpose but was very peaceful. The calves at the front of the herd often assumed the responsibility of  ensuring the parked vehicle knew its place!!!

It was early in the morning.

On another occasion we saw this herd walking along a game path and our ranger Maifala knew exactly where they were going to come out of the bush just  close to where the Matabole  joins the Majale river.

“The more I sit quietly and watch and listen the more I become aware of the natural intelligence all around me.”

“For the 99 percent of the time we’ve been on Earth, we were hunter and gatherers, our lives dependent on knowing the fine, small details of our world. Deep inside, we still have a longing to be reconnected with the nature that shaped our imagination, our language, our song and dance, our sense of the divine.”

 –Janine M. Benyus

Mum was allowing junior to throw his weight around. These youngsters are very cute, all “cocky” with ears and trunks flapping all over in an uncontrolled way  – you cannot help but smile.

No aggression from the female just posturing.

The calves were always close to their mothers. Some felt emboldened by the security of  their mother’s presence.

Each herd was coming down early in the morning from the higher ground where they had spent the night to feed down by the rivers. I think it must be warmer higher up where there is not the temperature inversion.

This was another occasion where a herd was coming down near the Matabole river.

Each herd followed a well-worn path.

The herd could see us from afar. Some were more cautious smelling us before getting close.

This female was not going for us, her ears fell forward as she stepped down the sand bank.

A typical scene of a calf keeping very close to its mother.

It was good to see so many calves – a healthy sign.

Down at the Majale river, a small herd crossed over on its way down to feed further down the river.

One happy family.

The herds did not waste time. They were on a mission to get down to their feeding grounds.

It was noticeable how small the female’s tusks were and many of them did not have any tusks. That could be their saving grace in the eternal dance with poachers.

“Your deepest roots are in nature. No matter who you are, where you live, or what kind of life you lead, you remain irrevocably linked with the rest of creation.”

 – Charles Cook

On each occasion, we parked close to the Elephant paths but did not block the path. They walked within five  to ten metres of us on each occasion.

We sat very quietly mesmerised by the spectacle passing us.

On no occasion did any of the Elephants give us a “rev”. It was very peaceful and serene. It is quite remarkable how quickly and quietly these huge animals passed us.

“You didn’t come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger here.”

 – Alan Watts

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

Have fun,

Mike

This is the second post from my trip to Mashatu in late July. Mashatu in winter is usually a good time to see predators .

“In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia”

– Charles Lindbergh

Seemingly in the last two months much has changed in the Lion world in Mashatu. Two large males have come in from Zimbabwe. There are no fences between Botswana and Zimbabwe in this area, so the game is free to move in and out. There is also nothing to stop the poachers down near the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers moving in and out.

Back in April, as a result of the arrival of the two new dominant males, we found seven of the youngsters near the cross roads to Solomon’s Wall. They must have fled west when the new males arrived. The young males in the next few images must have decided to come back sensing that the two dominant males were away, perhaps down on Charter, an adjacent reserve, in the Tuli block.

Day time is sleeping time for Lions as they are mainly active at night when they have maximum competitive advantage due to their excellent night vision. These two were resting up in a river bed in the shade of a Mopani bushes.

They acknowledged that we were there but soon resumed their slumber – dream land!!

Obviously nothing happens when Lions are sleeping, so one of the things I like to do when there is little action is to look around and often there is something interesting behind me. On this occasion there was a Mopani tree which had grown out of the river bank. It looked as if it had grown upside down. The roots and the quartz strata in the bank made an interesting visual, and I liked the flower arrangement the Mopani leaves made with their splash of  colour.

One of the young males started to stir and began licking his paw. I liked the shapes and textures.

The next day we crossed the reserve almost down to the Limpopo river to find this female Leopard and her cub.

She was fairly relaxed but her cub who was up a nearby tree and was very edgy. We did not find out until later that the main reason for the cub’s uneasiness was two male lions which were nearby, about two to three hundred metres to the west. They turned out to be the two young males we had seen slumbering under some Mopani bushes in a river bed the evening before.

This little Tree Squirrel was going about its business well aware of the female Leopard above it.

This female was not going anywhere while the Lions were nearby and continued to lie on her bough and yawn with boredom. These big trees are a safe haven for the Leopards. With Lions around it was just a waiting game.

The two young males had covered quite some distance the night before. At a rough estimate they must have walked 12 to 15 kilometres.

“An understanding of the natural world and what’s in it is a source of not only a great curiosity but great fulfilment”

– Sir David Attenborough

These were good-looking and young enough not to have had got involved in any serious territorial tangles which would have etched life into their faces!! The early morning light really highlighted their blonde colouring.

Since the two large males had not been seen for a while, perhaps these youngsters felt it was relatively safe to come back to have a look around where they had grown up.

They could enjoy the calm for now, relaxing in the early morning wintery sun.

This Black-backed Jackal wandered by to see if there were any food scraps it might be able to pick up- no luck!!

Up close, his pupils were contracted due to the brightening light  as the sun was climbing into the morning sky.

Impala and Guineafowl wandered by catching this youngster’s attention, but his attention did not turn into action!!

This young male must have been drinking from a muddy puddle to have his lower lip covered in mud.

It was still relatively early in the morning so it was still watching time, not yet siesta time.

This young male was just getting up. Looking at his powerful frame and the way he looked at us, I was reminded why it was a good idea to be on a game vehicle.

A little Lightroom licence to emphasise those penetrating eyes. They look at you as if they can see you on the vehicle and those big lenses certainly seem to get their attention, but they seem to associate you as being part of the vehicle, not prey. I wonder how long that association will last with the continual tourist interaction?!

“Nature teaches more than she preaches. There are no sermons in stones. It is easier to get a spark out of a stone than a moral”

– John Burroughs

On our last day when we were driving passed Main Camp, we saw this Lioness walking in a westerly direction with purpose. It was early, the sun was just up and it was nippy as you can see from her breath.

This Lioness walked within about thirty metres of the entrance to main Camp. A scent trail had really caught her attention.

Our ranger Maifala reckoned she was following two young Lions which were heading out west at a rapid rate. When we woke that morning, the two dominant males were roaring and making it known they were back. These two young Lions did not wait around. We do not know if it they were the young males we had seen a few days earlier near the Leopard. We spend the morning tracking these two young runaways. It was quite astounding how far and fast they had travelled. We never managed to catch up with them despite Maifala best tracking efforts.

We did not get to see the two big males either but that is the luck of the draw in the bush. In the process of trailing the two runaways, we got to see parts of Mashatu which I had never seen before, such as this view from “Cocktail spot”.

The morning was spent looking for but not finding our quarry. They covered an impressive distance across rough country. We could not catch up with them but we did get to see new and unexpected places.

“Economy without ecology means managing the human nature relationship without knowing the delicate balance between humankind and the natural world”

– Satish Kumar

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

Have fun

Mike

We spent six days in Mashatu Game Reserve in late July with friends, staying at Eagle’s Nest syndicate camp which is about 15 kilometres into the reserve, north of the Botswana-South African Pont Drift border post, beyond Main Camp. Mashatu is part of the Northern Tuli Game Reserve (NOTGRE). It is one of the largest privately owned game reserves in Southern Africa incorporating three major private concessions (Tuli Safari Lodge, Nitani Private Game Reserve, and Mashatu Game Reserve) and is bounded by the Motloutse, Shashe and Limpopo Rivers. The latter two rivers serve as natural boundaries with Zimbabwe and South Africa. The greater reserve comprises 71,000 hectares of wonderfully diverse habitat.

“Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quietest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey.”

– Pat Conroy 

It is winter in Mashatu in July and usually the reserve is very dry and dusty in the winter months. This year was different, the reserve still had a lot of water in the rivers because of the late rains in April. The fauna was still in good condition with the colourful splays of green, gold, orange and brown leaves on the Mopani trees, which were only just starting to dry out. The animals, especially the herbivores, were in surprisingly good condition.

Before we start there are two accepted spellings for the subject of this post, Hyaena and Hyena,  and I have chosen to use the former.

On our first day, Maifala, our ranger and guide took us to a Spotted Hyaena’s den on the northern bank of the Majale river. At first view there were two adults, probably feeding mothers, resting close to the den entrance. Others were resting some distance away from the den. In front of the den was a large sand/dust area which made the viewing and photography easier. The entrance to the den was not directly visible and the back drop was the tree line on the edge of the Majale river bank.

Activity around the den seemed to pick up in early morning and late afternoon with nap time roughly between 10h00 and 16h00. The photography was best in the afternoon because the open area in front of the den was west-facing so the late afternoon light lit up the den area and playful cubs.

Spotted Hyenas are organised into territorial clans of related individuals which are controlled by a matriarch. Females dominate the adult social structure with a clear, well reinforced hierarchy. A female Spotted Hyaena can be up to 14 percent heavier than a male.  The matriarch seems to be the largest and best fed member of the clan. You need to spend time observing the clan to work out the hierarchy.

On the three occasions we visited it, we never spent more than an hour at the den at a time so never had enough time to work out who was who in the clan. It was also difficult to work out how many cubs there were, as they were in and out of the den and there were a couple of different age litters in the den. This older cub was waiting patiently close to the den entrance for some of the adults to come closer.

Hyaenas are essentially nocturnal. They rest up during the day and go hunting at night.  Hunting Hyaenas do not usually bring food back to the den so as not to attract other predators to the den site and thereby helping to protect the cubs.

Spotted Hyaenas have an undeserved reputation as being sly and cowardly. This view is perhaps conjured up by their cackling, scavenging habits, eating their prey alive and their downward sloping back and apparent weak back legs. Nothing could be farther from the truth, they are tough, fascinating and intelligent carnivores with an organised and ordered social system. 

The Spotted Hyaena is the second largest carnivore in Africa after the lion. Vise-grip jaws and specialised teeth help slice through thick skin and stubborn tendons with ease. Spotted Hyaenas will crunch up bone, digesting the marrow and excreting the waste calcium. Hyaenas have the ability to digest practically anything making their physiology extraordinary . Scientists still want to know how it is they can ingest deadly anthrax without even becoming sick. Their immune systems seem exceptional, enabling them to avoid diseases like rabies and distemper that kill other big predators.

Spotted Hyaenas look like hermaphrodites because the females have a pseudo-penis that is basically an elongated clitoris. Females give birth through their penis-like clitoris. During  the birth process, the clitoris ruptures to permit the passage of the new-born, creating a large bleeding wound of several centimetres that can take weeks to heal. Other than size and the perhaps hierarchial behaviour, the only physical way to determine the sex of a Spotted Hyaena is by the shape of the tip of its penis, according to wildlife expert, Kim Wolhuter. 

The females rear their young together in the communal den.

Spotted Hyaenas have a dog-like appearance, with high shoulders and powerful forequarters sloping down to what looks like diminished weak hindquarters. Despite their dog-like appearance, Hyaenas are more closely related to cats than to dogs. Their hair is coarse, short with a mix of sandy, ginger, dull grey and brown colouring with dark spots on the back, flanks, rump and legs, which fade with age. A short mane ends just behind the shoulders, and the short, brown tail has a black, bushy tip. Hyaenas seem to have very tough skin. Even when a Spotted Hyaena is mauled by a Lion you will rarely see the Hyaena ripped open.

The structure of den does not normally permit the adults access, so cubs must come out of the den chamber to have contact with their mother and other adults. The males seem to play no role in the rearing of the cubs. As you can see the older siblings give the very young ones quite a rough time. From what we saw the little ones keep coming back for more and try to give as much as they get.

The size of an animal’s frontal cortex is believed to be connected to its social intelligence, and Hyaenas have a frontal cortex on par with primates such as Baboons. 

The Spotted Hyaena’s highly social nature has led to a range of vocalisations creating a language. The best known is the whoop, which can be heard over several kilometres. Research shows that Spotted Hyaenas can recognise each other individually by their whoops. These whoops can function as a rallying call to gather scattered clan members together to defend territory boundaries and call them to food found or killed.

Mothers whoop to locate their wandering cubs and some to gather a hunting party together. Whoops are also used as a form of status display. Spotted Hyaenas are also recognised by their laugh or giggle, which is a signal of submission.

The Spotted Hyaena has excellent eyesight, and acute hearing and smell senses. During the day, Hyaenas watch the sky for signs that Vultures have detected a carcass. Hyaenas are opportunistic scavengers and efficient hunters with great endurance. These predators seem to eat almost any mammal or bird or reptile they can find. They detect carrion by smell or from the noise of other predators feeding on the carcass. Their hearing is acute enough to pick up noises emanating from predators killing prey or feeding on carcasses over distances of many kilometres.

When a Spotted Hyaena greets another Hyaena after a long separation, they engage in greeting ceremonies. During these greeting ceremonies the two individuals stand head to tail with each usually lifting the hind leg nearest to the other and sniffing or licking the anogenital region of the other. The unique aspect of greetings between individuals is the prominent role of the erect “penis” in animals of both sexes. This is used to signal submission and usually the submissive animal is required to initiate the greeting. I am  glad I am not a Hyaena!!

In the afternoons, once the cubs have been called out of the den they are very playful and inquisitive. The cubs start to follow the adults on a hunt after one year.

Siblings play things range from sticks to each other’s tails, legs and necks. I can only assume that a Hyaena’s skin is very tough and they never seem to draw blood during play and they go for it at times.

The next image is of one of the older cubs who was very playful, spending much of its time in the open in front of the den. It was also very inquisitive. The very young cubs are almost completely black but they do not venture too far from the den entrance.

“I soon realised that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.”

– Lillian Smith 

These greetings occur between all ages and both sexes, although greetings between adult females and males are uncommon and are typically restricted to males above median rank, principally the alpha male. Cubs can erect their penis or clitoris and engage in greeting ceremonies as early as four weeks after birth.

Suckling mothers stay close to the den in the afternoon allowing their cubs to feed. Others stay some distance away to get some peace and quiet.

Spotted Hyaenas have a range of vocalisations. In the evenings they disperse to go hunting for food and keep in touch with other members of their clan with whoops and yells. One of the young adults at the den entrance, we think a male, was giving a low growl which was seemingly a call to bring the cubs out of the den.

Spotted Hyaenas eat almost anything, which makes them very important to the health of the ecosystem. Their scavenging makes them a vital waste disposal team in the bush ably assisted by Jackals and Vultures.  As hunters, they probably help maintain the genetic health of the herbivores in the area.

The information about Spotted Hyaenas in this blog has been gathered on observations on many bush trips, with behavioural detail referenced from http://www.hyaenidae.org/  and from discussions in front of the aforementioned den site with Kim Wolhuter. We were privileged to meet Kim Wolhuter who is an acclaimed wildlife filmmaker and photographer. Kim spends his life in the bush and comes from a family of game rangers. He has taken award-winning photographs for National Geographic and made award-winning documentary films for National Geographic Television & Film and the BBC. Kim began his film making in 1998 and has since produced numerous wildlife documentaries and TV series throughout Southern Africa, in places such as the Okavango Delta in Botswana, the Skeleton Coast and Namib Desert in Namibia, the Zambesi Valley and Malilangwe Reserve in Zimbabwe and Mala Mala Game Reserve in South Africa. Some of his best known documentaries are Hyaena Queen,  Predators at War, Stalking Leopards, Africa’s Deadly Dozen and Cheetah, Man, Wild.  He is currently doing the preparatory work for his next wildlife film based in Mashatu.

“Our key to greatness lies not in our ability to project ourselves to others as if we are putting ourselves onto a projector and creating an image of ourselves on a projector screen. Rather, our key to greatness lies in who we are which we can give to other people in a way that when they walk away from us, they are able to say in their hearts that they have taken away something with them quite extraordinary.”
―C.Joybell C

During two of our visits to the den site in the afternoon, Kim arrived at last light on each occasion in his iconic Land Cruiser which looks “thoroughly converted for bush work”. Kim was disarmingly friendly and willing to share information about these Hyaenas and their behaviour, which we found fascinating. This guy takes photography and wildlife film making to an altogether more intimate and insightful level. Have a look at this Youtube links to get a sense of what I am talking about. Double click on the image below.

Kim is writing a fascinating commentary on Facebook on his experiences at night in Mashatu, which I urge you to read.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152895682741612&set=o.115625618526537&type=1&permPage=1

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go and do it.

Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

 – Howard Thurman

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

Have fun,

Mike

In mid-July, Helen and I spent a Sunday morning at Marievale Bird Sanctuary. As any of you who have spent a winter on the South African Highveld will attest, it can be icey cold early in the morning. Unusually, this particular morning was clear and not heavily mist laden.

“Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but must always participate in the swell of the ocean, so we can never experience life by ourselves, but must always share the experience of life that takes place all around us.”

 – Albert Schweitzer

To the east of Johannesburg, in a floodplain just outside the small town of Nigel, is the Marievale Bird Sanctuary. It is situated in the southern half of the Blesbokspruit RAMSAR site, an area that is also a designated Important Bird Area (IBA SA021) in South Africa. 

One of the most amazing thing about birds in general, but waterbirds in particular is how they cope with the icey cold water in the winter.

Birds like humans and other mammals are homeothermic or warm-blooded. Birds regulate their body temperature through metabolic heat production which means balancing the intake of energy with what they have eaten. As long as birds can find a suitable food source, their bodies can convert that food into energy. It is finding food and ensuring they eat enough of it to build, and maintain, adequate fat supplies to store on the body and ‘burn’ for energy that are the greatest tests for wild birds in winter. Hard winter weather may mean a change in behaviour rather than a change of location. Birds have to feed at an accelerated rate, but must also take adequate time out to rest and conserve energy.

They reduce heat loss through their unique circulatory system of arteries and veins. In many birds, arteries and veins in their legs lie in contact with or adjacent to each other in order to exchange heat and maintain temperature. Arterial blood is usually at body temperature when sent to the feet and runs along side the cooler returning blood in veins. This unique circulatory system keeps warm blood of arteries warming the returning cooler blood of the veins. 

By fluffing up, birds create air space between feathers as well as feathers and skin, equivalent to putting on an extra jacket.

Wet feathers under very cold conditions could cause major problems and possibly death for waterbirds but they have oil-producing glands that allow them to preen a coating of waterproof oil onto their feathers to avoid their so-called ‘warm jacket’ from getting wet.

There are many Red-knobbed Coots at Marievale. The red knobs are extensions at the top of their white frontal shield that extends from the base of their upper mandible to the forehead. The size of the red knobs vary considerably by individual and are found on both males and females.

Coots are gregarious and huge flocks can be seen at Marievale. When breeding, a pair is monogamous and highly territorial.

These Coots can be very aggressive and do not hesitate to attack any species of waterbird in their breeding territory. They have four webbed toes which helps propel them when swimming and when attacking other waterbirds they are able to virtually run on water with the aid of their wings

These displays of aggression can be dramatic and stunning to watch. They seem to start spontaneously and so are difficult to predict to get good photographic sequences. Two key threats to these Coots are Grey-headed Herons and pollutants in the water from surrounding mining activity.

There had been a major fire which had cleared out of large sections of the reed beds.  The fire had  improved the visibility in some areas and in others backgrounds for photography had worsened.

This African Hoopoe was busy foraging for insects in the burnt patch alongside the road. It uses its long bill to probe the ground for invertebrates. These Hoopoes are mainly terrestrial unlike their cousins the Wood-Hoopoes.

The variety of bird life at Marievale is astounding which is why it is a favoured birding destination on the Highveld. While watching the Red-knobbed Coots, we saw squadrons of Spurwing Geese flying into the area. They came in groups of up to 50 birds at a time, arriving for almost an hour.

I am not sure where these Spurwing Geese were coming from but the only other place I have seen big congregations like this was along the Chobe  river and also in mid-winter. The spurs visible on the wrist of the wing are actually rudimentary “thumbs”.

Along the main road which runs directly through the pans in the floodplain, we spent about half an hour watching a pair of Malachite Kingfishers hunting. They were patient, focused and accurate fishermen.

They are extremely quick and I could not see the area of water they were diving into, but more than likely I would have missed the shot anyway.

Ducks are always weary of vehicles and people at the water’s edge. You really need to be in a hide to get decent images of wild duck. Invariably this pair of Hotentot Teal would steer away from us so I could not a shot from the front. I think these are one of most beautiful ducks we have in southern Africa.

Red-knobbed Coots feed mainly on aquatic plant material but will eat molluscs and crustaceans. I liked the colour contrast of the pink surface algae and sooty black feathers.

Among Red-knobbed Coots, the males are much larger but there no is sexual colour dimorphism. The red knobs, red eyes and a white front shield created a striking colouring offset by the sooty black feather colour.

This Little Grebe, previously called a Dabchick, was foraging among pink surface algae and diving under the water for quite long periods seemly oblivious of the icey cold temperature of the water. The Little Grebe is prone to running across the surface of the water like the Red-knobbed Coot.

“Woven into our lives is the very fire from the stars and genes from the sea creatures, and everyone, utterly everyone, is kin in the radiant tapestry of being.”

 – Elizabeth A.Johnson
Alongside the main access road close to where we watched the Malachites, we found this African Snipe. As a true wader it was probing the pan bed for invertebrates. It did not to seem to worry about the icey cold water either.

The African Snipe has cryptic colouring and must be nearly impossible to see from above. This species of Snipe is able to bend the end of its upper mandible when probing the pan bed to catch its prey. It then sequentially opens and closes  adjacent sections of its bill to shift it prey up it bill into its mouth without pulling its bill out of the sand or mud.

The bills of waders vary in length and shape and each  feeds at a different level of the pan substrate and on different food. Amazingly, this allows a variety of waders to forage in the same area at the same time. It was feeding time early that winter’s morning with no time for their characteristic spectacular diving which male African Snipes often do with their unique “tail drumming” during territorial displays.

On our way out of the sanctuary, we stopped to photograph this Black-shouldered Kite just passed the Hadeda hide.

The stalk it was perched on was flimsy but it had a good outlook. Unusually, this Black-shouldered Kite took off towards us clearly showing us its black shoulders. Whatever it saw in the low grass between us disappeared and it flew off. I was rather hoping it would hover in front of us, but not that time.

We also two juvenile Fish Eagles but they were too far to get a decent shot. We did not see the Marsh Harrier this time.

It is always inspiring to see the wonderful variety of bird life at Marievale. One thing that was not inspiring was to see the hard work some dedicated individuals had put into building hides and ablution facilities in some areas had been vandalised and almost totally destroyed.

“There is a lie that acts like a virus within the mind of humanity. And that lie is, ‘There’s not enough good to go around. There’s lack and there’s limitation and there’s just not enough.’

The truth is that there’s more than enough good to go around. There is more than enough creative ideas. There is more than enough power. There is more than enough love. There’s more than enough joy. All of this begins to come through a mind that is aware of its own infinite nature.

There is enough for everyone. If you believe it, if you can see it, if you act from it, it will show up for you. That’s the truth.”

 – Michael Beckwith

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

Have fun,

Mike