Kalahari images

There is something magical about the Kalahari. This vast 'green' desert with its red dunes, ephemeral and fossil rivers is a very special place. I don't know if it's the colour of the sand dunes or the soft light of dawn and dusk but, whatever it is, I'm drawn to it.
Its also a great place for camera-trapping. This is because animal life is attracted to the few water sources (artificial or natural) that exist on the sprawling farms and wildlife reserves that cover the region. So, even though its a 10 hour drive from where I live - I do it happily and always with great anticipation.
This time the anticipation was even greater than usual because there was a suggestion that there might be Pangolin (Manis temminckii) and Small Spotted Cat (Felis nigripes) on the property I was visiting. Now you must understand that to an African camera-trapper these are mega-ticks! Trips like this are not frivolous affairs.

But sadly, by the end of our time there, the above two species hadn't graced my cameras with their presence. Nevertheless, it was great fun and we collected some images that I enjoyed:

Aardvark (Orycteropus afer)

Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)

Bat-eared Fox (Otocyon megalotis)

Gemsbok or Oryx (Oryx gazella)

Cape Fox (Vulpes chama)

Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So if YOU like the idea of getting images of Pangolins and  Small Spotted Cats then give me a shout and I'll organise a camera-trapping safari to the property. It won't take much to persuade me!

Bonus Birds

I've not been well lately! My self-diagnosis leaves me in no doubt that that I have a bad case of cabin-fever. This as a result of not getting out into the wilds for about a month now. I've had to console myself with browsing through my old camera-trap images. However, while doing this I decided that I needed to pull together a post about birds - specifically those that have walked in front of my cameras.

We're extremely fortunate to have a wide variety of large raptors, as well as terrestrial species, that are quite big enough to trigger a camera at some distance. So while I've only once actually set out to get images of birds (African penguins) I do get other big fellows fairly frequently. These are some of my favourites:

Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) at a spot where I was hoping to get an image of a leopard recently seen in the area.

Lappet-faced Vulture (Torgos tracheliotus) bullying the other birds at the water-hole.

An African Hawk-Eagle (Hieraaetus spilogaster). What was amazing about this series of images was that the other mammals in the images waited in the background for it to finish (about 20 minutes) before drinking themselves.

Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus)

Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori) - apparently the worlds heaviest flying bird.

A male Ostrich (Struthio camelus) with his young.

Hadeda Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash) an extremely successful species whose range is expanding dramatically in Southern Africa.

Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala).


However I can feel the fever starting to subside already since I'm headed off next week to a remarkable place called the Tankwa Karoo National Park. Its renowned for its natural beauty, rather than abundance of mammals, but I'm hopeful that the cameras will pick up something interesting.
 I'll keep you posted.........

A Comical Bird?

We're fortunate in Africa to have both the largest land mammal and largest bird in relative abundance. However, while the African Elephant is always a joy to watch the Ostrich is ...well....just an ostrich. There is no question that the elephant is a worthy inclusion in an African 'Big 5' (mammal) list but I'd argue that the ostrich is nowhere near charismatic enough to make a birding 'Big 5' list. Give me a Secretary Bird, Martial Eagle, Pels Fishing Owl, Kori Bustard or Marabou Stork any day.

Perhaps if I got to study ostriches I'd feel differently. Perhaps I'd also feel differently if I hadn't been chased by one as a youngster - much to the amusement of my friends. My reason for doing the 'bat out of hell' impersonation with the ostrich behind me was:
- they can grow over 8ft tall
- can weigh up to 300 lbs
- can run at speeds of up to 40mph
- have a booming call that, some say, sounds like a lion
- and have powerful legs with razor sharp claws that can slice you open with one well-directed kick!
(this last point being the one that comes to mind when faced with an angry bird)

Experts say that in the event of a determined ostrich attack there are a few survival strategies (running away is not usually on that list). One of them is to 'play dead'. Perhaps this explains the images, below, that I obtained when I set up a camera at a 'salt-lick' recently.

And now for my first trick.........playing dead.

Next....the headless chicken routine

So could the ostrich be the comic of the avian world? With their brains reputedly smaller than the size of their eyeball I somehow doubt it. I guess they're just being......well.......ostriches.