Category: Birds

Posted on

Okavango Photography Safari: Looking for Painted Wolves: Day 2: Pom Pom Leopards, Lions and more.

Our first full day at Pom Pom started with a thunderstorm and rain, which passed quickly and did not delay our planned early start, with a 5am wake-up call, quick light breakfast and out on our game drive by 5:45am.

Very soon our excellent guiding team found a male leopard, who seemed to be sniffing around for something. He had a deformed tail, possibly previously injured and healed with a deformity, but this did not seem to bother him too much. He did interrupt his sniffing to pose for a few quick photos.

We followed him until he eventually reached a tree in which there was a half eaten impala, possibly a kill left behind by another leopard. This one may have been sniffing around because he had gotten the scent and was looking for it. He proceeded to jump into the tree and enjoy the leftovers.

We received information that lions had killed a wildebeest nearby and proceeded to that site, where we found two lions, shortly joined by a third. The beautiful morning light after the rain, offered more opportunity for low angle photos.

Moving along, almost unbelievably, we found a female leopard and her cub. We had been informed of their presence in the vicinity and that hyenas had stolen their food. Mom was resting on a tree stump and junior was lying in a nearby tree.

When the mom started stirring, she offered excellent photo opportunities with the partly cloudy skies in the background.

When she got up, she called her cub down from the tree and they strolled along to where a dead impala was lying under a bush, presumably another kill she had made after losing her first one to they hyenas. She looked like she had already eaten and the cub started to eat.

With the day just a few hours old, we had already had the most amazing sightings and in between, a few other photo opportunities with Warthog, Red-billed Oxpecker, Lilac-breasted Roller, Striped Kingfisher, Fish Eagle and others.

By 11am we returned to camp for brunch, then settling into the usual rhythm of these photography trips: download and backup photos and video, charge camera batteries and clear memory cards to get ready for the next session. “Siesta time” was spent processing photos instead of resting.

At 4pm we went for “high tea” before starting out at 4:30pm for our afternoon drive. We spent some time trying (wholly unsuccessfully in my case) to photograph Carmine Bee-eaters in flight. After spending a while watching Pied Kingfishers hover, fish and fight, we proceeded to find a beautiful male lion, lying in the grass, looking interested.

Soon, he got up and started walking with intent. When we looked around, we saw a lioness approaching enthusiastically from behind. They met up and he started following her.

She made him work hard for it, but eventually he caught up and the relationship was consummated.

Returning back to camp after sunset, we stopped briefly to watch hippo’s emerge from their pool.

Reflecting on the day, even though we did not find the Painted Wolves, it had been almost too good to be true, an amazing experience. Throughout the day, Ryder and Zuma had managed to get us the most amazing sightings and Grant had made the occasional invaluable comment, helping us to get great photos and video.

If you enjoyed this and want to be kept updated when I post again, please subscribe.

Posted on

Late afternoon at Cape Recife Lighthouse and Blue Supermoon

On 19 August 2024 we had a blue moon and supermoon occuring simultaneously, normally a rare occurrence, but this the second within a 12 month period.

A supermoon occurs when the full moon is closer than usual to earth, resulting in the moon appearing larger than normal.

A blue moon can be either a second full moon within a calendar month or the third of four full moons in a given season, since there are normally only three full moons in a season.

Since moon rise would be occurring within minutes of sunset, I decided that this would be a good occasion to visit Cape Recife Lighthouse for a few photos.

The sunset was beautiful and I managed to get a sunburst photo over the lighthouse, while a few African Black Oystercatchers were enjoying the last light on the beach.

Soon the moon started rising over the sea.

With the sky still tinted pink and orange, the moon completed the picture beautifully.

As darkness set in, the moon appeared progressively brighter.

Finally, all that was visible, was the supermoon.

Posted on

Chobe 2024: links

Click on the links below to be taken to the relevant day’s post

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

If you like what you see and want to be kept informed of new blog posts, please enter your email below to subscribe. You won’t get spammed.

Posted on

Chobe, February 2024, Day 7

All too soon, our last day at Pangolin Chobe Hotel arrived. We had one last early morning excursion on the river. The impalas seemed frisky this morning

White-breasted cormorants gave a flying display, taking off one at a time

A pair of African fish eagles were regally surveying their kingdom from their perch high above the river

We stopped at Elephant bay for our morning coffee, sharing the space with Impala, Crocodiles, and elephants

A Pied kingfisher gave a hovering display, which I tried to photograph at slow shutter speed, more practice needed

By this time we had to rush back to the hotel in order to catch our flights. Along the way, someone on the boat spotted a baby hippo and we had to make a quick U-turn to grab a few last minute photos. Mamma hippo didn’t seem too impressed with us.

At the airport, we were told that our flight was delayed by 30-40 minutes, which ended up being 90 minutes. While waiting, we started chatting to two brothers who had also been on our flight coming to Chobe. This turned out to be a very interesting and enlightening chat and their photography websites are certainly worth a visit. Dave does wildlife, while Peter is a master at black and white landscape photography.

Back home, lots of editing work awaited us, especially for Liana with her videos. A few quick ones below, with more to follow

Posted on

Chobe 2024, Day 6

On our last full day, we once again had an early start, leaving the hotel at 5:30. We entered the park by a different route to the previous times. First stopping by a group of zebra for a few photos, we continued on to a watering hole, where we saw a Kori bustard, browsing in the tall grass, with beautiful golden light from the rising sun.

A long, sandy road followed, where the main attraction was a couple of squirrels in a tree stump, who kept us entertained for a while

We had heard the previous day that there were lions around a giraffe kill and went in search. Most of the lions had clearly already eaten their fill and departed. From the smell, it was clear that this was no fresh kill, but a lioness and her cubs were still hanging around, while all around, vultures were patiently waiting in the trees

After a coffee stop, I got to practice some more lilac-breasted roller shots. One day I will get the perfect one…

A chameleon showed unexpected speed and we just managed to grab a few quick shots before it disappeared into the vegetation

The afternoon session on the river started with a search for Jacanas. Along the way we also found another Malachite kingfisher

I can never get enough of the African fish eagles, such impressive birds

A Woodland kingfisher was a pleasant surprise

Red-billed oxpeckers were playing on the buffaloes

Once again, the Chobe sunset delivered, with elephants, crocodiles and hippos all playing their part

Posted on

Chobe, February 2024, Day 5

Another day on which we could get an extra half hour sleep, with coffee at 5:30 and a 6:00am departure to the river.

On the boat, cameras mounted and everything ready (photo credit Tom Williams), we first went in search of the birds in the reeds.

We were greeted by a Malachite Kingfisher and multiple Blue-cheeked bee-eaters.

Next up, African Jacanas walking on the water lilies

Terns were giving a flying display

A Pygmy Goose was sitting on a tree stump, appearing to be having a discussion with an African Darter

A Red-billed oxpecker was doing its thing on a buffalo’s nose

Just to remind us that this was indeed World Hippo Day, a hippo decided to photobomb the elephants

In the afternoon we saw some more bee-eaters hunting

An African Darter was struggling with a fish it had caught

Elephants were clearly feeling the heat and cooling off in the river

The sunset was once again a spectacular affair

The dust kicked up by the elephants, combined with the light from the setting sun, created some interesting effects

The day ended with another excellent supper created by chef Robson and his team, enjoyed in the company of strangers from across the world who had, by now, become friends, sharing their day’s experiences.

Posted on

Chobe, February 2024, Day 4

This is the day on which the lack of sleep finally caught up to me, thus the delayed blog post. Once again we had a very early start, coffee at 5: 00, with a 5:30 departure to the Chobe National Park entrance gate. Entering the park just before sunrise, we were greeted by the eerie silhouettes of Marabou storks sleeping high in the dead trees

Soon they started waking up and taking off. These birds, truly magnificent in their ugliness, are surprisingly elegant in flight

Up next, was a group of lions, lazing about in the middle of the road and causing a traffic congestion, which unfortunately made photography rather difficult

Driving along the river bank, we saw Little Bee-eaters hunting

Hippos were seen lazing about in the shallow water, where the water lilies could also be seen in the early morning light

Next up, was a very lazy lion, clearly having recently eaten his fill and now just lying under a tree, occasionally opening one eye to look at us, but otherwise barely moving

After a stop for morning coffee, we started making our way back, stopping to photograph White-fronted Bee-eaters hunting

Getting back to the hotel just in time for brunch, we then had a few hours available to look through our morning’s photos and video. As usual, I tried culling as many as possible of the unwanted photos immediately, in order to leave me with a manageable number to finally go through and select my favourites.

In the afternoon, after high tea, we were back on the river. An African darter, sitting on a log against a dark background, gave us opportunity to experiment with low key photography, before flying off, giving us further opportunity to photograph it in flight

Elephants and hippos are always interesting to observe and photograph.

As the sun was getting low on the horizon, a Fish Eagle came to the water’s edge for a drink, giving a smaller bird quite the fright when it decided to take off again

With the setting sun behind them, a herd of elephants also came down to the water’s edge to drink, with a lazy crocodile looking on

We arrived back at the hotel just in time for a quick shower before dinner. After dinner it was back to downloading and culling photos and charging batteries. At this point my own battery also needed some charging and I decided to get an extra hour sleep, rather than writing my blog post.

Posted on

Chobe, February 2024, Day 3

If you thought that a visit to Pangolin Photo Safaris is a relaxing holiday, you are in for a big surprise. On day 3 we were allowed to sleep in: coffee at 5:30, depart for a photographic activity on the river at 6:00am. We started off with a sighting of a Half-collared Kingfisher

This was followed by some Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, a Southern Red Bishop and a Malachite Kingfisher

Two otters popped their heads out, but we were too far and too slow to get any photos. Next up were a Coppery-tailed Coucal, a Goliath Heron, some Terns and Cormorants

No outing on the Chobe river is complete without crocodiles, but also don’t forget the Water Monitor lizard

My favourite, the African Fish Eagle, was seen in a tree, eating something, none of us able to figure out what exactly

A few others bird sightings followed: Squacco Heron and Open-billed Stork

What did the Egret say to the Buffalo? I guess only the dragonfly overheard, but he’s not telling.

On our way back for brunch, we saw a few Red Lechwe under the Botswana flag.

Brunch was followed by the usual camera battery charging, photos download and backup, an editing tutorial by Sabine and having to forego the planned afternoon nap. By 15:00 we were preparing to go back to the river for the afternoon session.

The afternoon started with excitement of watching an Egret having to repeatedly evade a Heron, which was trying to steal its lunch

We saw several kudu along the riverbank

However, the main focus of the afternoon, was elephants

By this time, it was almost dark and, while an impala was seen very nervously drinking at the water’s edge, carefully keeping an eye out for crocodiles, we had to rush to get back to our mooring before dark.

An excellent dinner was once again followed by downloading, culling, backup, editing and getting to bed way too late, but I just cannot help myself, I have to go through my day’s photos every evening to see what I managed to get.

Posted on

Chobe February 2024 Day 2

Day 2 saw us making a very early start, awake at 4:15 in the morning, editing some photos and video from Day 1, coffee and a light breakfast at 5:00 and a 5:30 departure to Chobe National Park gate in the game drive vehicle.

Our first sighting of the day, was a group of Southern ground hornbills. It was still quite dark, but we did manage to get a shot or two

Next up, was a pretty grumpy looking lion, who wasn’t overly impressed with the vehicles filled with humans, crowding him and soon disappeared into the bush

We saw numerous Marabou storks, not the prettiest birds, probably best looked at in black & white

Various bee-eaters, lilac-breasted rollers and a few baboons made up the rest of the morning

In the afternoon, we were back to the river. Once again a rainstorm came through, delaying our departure. This time, though, we were also caught by a second rainstorm which caught us on the river, just as we were about to start. We quickly had to cover all our camera gear and ourselves with rainproof covers and ponchos (thanks Sabine for the photo). 

A malachite kingfisher was also taking shelter from the rain under a tree. 

Once the rainstorm passed, we proceeded with the afternoon’s photography activities on the river, again seeing an abundance of bird life, including bee-eaters, African darter, egrets and fish eagles

Baboons, as always, contributed to the afternoon’s entertainment

Crocodiles, dragonflies and hippo’s were not to be ignored

The afternoon ended with a spectacular sunset

Back at the hotel, Robson did not let us down and we had an excellent supper, before getting back to work, downloading, culling, selecting and editing our photos of the day.

Posted on

Chobe Day 1

After our previous excellent experience with Pangolin Photo Safaris , we were excited to be able to do another photography trip to Chobe National Park with them. Unlike the previous visit, when we drove all the way from Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and did a more extensive trip through Botswana (links: Nata & Maun, Pangolin Houseboat, Pangolin Hotel and Mashatu) , we chose to fly in this time, for a 6 day visit. Our flight took us over the edge of Makgadigadi Pan.

Due to a delayed flight departure from Johannesburg and a further delay on arrival at Kasane airport, while another group’s lost luggage was being traced, we arrived at Pangolin Hotel later than planned, just in time for afternoon high tea. Just as we were about to depart on our first photographic excursion, a rainstorm hit, further dealying us. Despite these delays, we still managed to get a decent amount of time and some great sightings on the river.

The rich bird life around Chobe river never disappoints:

Playing around with some high key photography of an African darter:

My personal favourite bird, the African Fish Eagle:

The hippos, as always, very entertaining:

A very relaxed Nile crocodile allowed us ample opportunity to photograph it:

On our way back, a Pied kingfisher against the setting sun allowed us a final photography opportunity for the day: