Showcasing the beauty of Mother Nature
Today felt like the perfect day to work through a few images of my favourite cats. I know I shouldn’t play favourites, as I am incredibly grateful for all the sightings I have on safari, but there is something that is just magical to me about leopards.
Cruising along the Chobe River is a great way to spot a variety of wildlife and birds, but it is an especially good place to spot fish eagles as they perch alongside the river. I’ve never had any success distinguishing the males from the females, despite having the opportunity to see pairs together in the past.
Here are a few images from my most recent trip to Africa, while staying in Chobe Park.
I really wanted to get back to the habit of editing and posting after a month away from it, and as I scrolled through images, the ground hornbills caught my eye. I have been very fortunate to see many of these birds, which are endangered. I still remember when we saw them on our very first trip to South Africa and our guide telling us how lucky we were to see them, since many people do not.
While in the Okavango Delta we saw a group of three on an afternoon drive and then a group of four the next morning. It is wonderful if you can get close enough to hear them calling to each other; the sound is a little spooky and otherworldly.
I have really let my photo editing and posting slide over the last 6 weeks. Looking at the timing of my last post, it was right before the start of the serious yard work season (as well as golfing). As much as I enjoy working on images, after a long day or week at work (staring at computer screens) having the opportunity to do things outside during our short decent weather season is a big priority.
I decided on some elephant images today because elephants make me happy. That’s as good a reason as any. I’ll be away for the next few weeks on a summer holiday, so there will be another pause in posting, but I am hopeful I can get back into some type of routine once I get back.
These images were all taken from the water in Chobe National Park. We had a mid afternoon boat cruise along the river which provided some lovely sightings of elephants coming down to drink. This particular area is one I have been to a few times, and the difference in the landscape from the first trip to this one is stark. My first trip was at the end of a very lush and abundant wet season, while the more recent trips were in the midst of a drought.
I was looking for a single photo to edit today due to both time constraints and not wanting to miss posting two weeks in a row, and this lion cub caught my eye. It was part of a large group that we found at the start of our afternoon drive in Savute. It was quite a hot afternoon, probably around 38C, and the lions were doing exactly as expected; moving as little as possible in the shade. It reminded me of the way my dogs like to lounge around while I am working, relaxed and belly up. It was nice to have this posture and direct gaze, rather than just seeing sleeping brown lumps under the bushes.
I love being outside in the early morning, and watching the sky progress through a multitude of colours as the sun climbs higher and higher. Waking up for early morning game drives while on safari is never a chore for me since I naturally love the time of day. Here are a few images from various early morning drives on my last trip.
I’ve been really enjoying working through bird images lately, so I have carried on with that today. These images are from both my 2022 and 2024 trips and the only thing that unites them is that they caught my eye when I wanted to work on some images. Perhaps that isn’t the best theme or reason, but I went with it anyways.
We were fortunate to see a lot of lions the last time that I was in Southern Africa. Both South Africa and Botswana provided some amazing lion sightings – from cubs playing to mating to lounging away the heat of the day, we had a little bit of everything.
This male was seen in Chobe National Park during a morning game drive. He was following in the footsteps of a female, and she was leading him around to a variety of different places. Here, we were parked on the road and had the opportunity to watch him walk directly towards us, and then after he passed in front of the vehicle, off into the bushes.
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to see a lot of lions now, and honestly, it doesn’t get old. Each time is a thrill and a privilege.
This week, I was fooled by an A.L.T (Animal Like Thing). It’s pretty common while out watching birds or wildlife. Those pesky distant bushes that look like an antelope, the upturned branch that looks exactly like a perched bird, the big rock that fooled you into thinking it was a rhino.
While I was out with my dogs earlier in the week, I stopped dead in my tracks, absolutely convinced there was an owl perched on a fallen tree in the back forest. I quickly took the dogs in and grabbed my camera and raced back outside, eagerly zoomed in and then saw – a broken branch sticking up from the dead tree. And here I was excitedly thinking I was finally seeing the great horned owl after hearing it call from the depths of my yard for years. I had a brief moment of disappointment and then headed back inside to tend to the pups.
There are a few fallen trees in the forest behind my home that I know look like animals, but this was one that hadn’t caught my eye before. Once all the snow is gone, I might need to go flag it with something so I don’t get fooled by that one again.
Since I am still without even seeing the great horned owl, let alone capturing an image of it, I instead have a photo of the barred owl in the yard. We’ve seen brief glimpses of an owl flying near the house recently, likely the barred as it seems quite comfortable hanging around near the house.
Continuing on with the bird theme from a couple of weeks ago, I decided to focus on herons this week. When I used to live near Vancouver, I loved taking my dog for a walk along a river and would usually spot a great blue heron or two along the route. My current walking area doesn’t feature herons, but it does sometimes have animals like deer and moose (as well fox and coyotes tracks left overnight for the puppies to enjoy), so, I definitely can’t complain about a lack of things to see. At some point, I am hoping I will have both my dogs comfortable and calm enough while walking to take my camera out with me, but that is still a work in progress. But back to the herons.
The variety of herons that I have seen in Southern Africa is impressive, boasting a wide range of sizes and colourings. The striated, purple and squacco herons are on the smaller side, the grey heron is the size that comes to mind when I hear the word heron, and then there is the goliath, which is truly impressive in its stature. The one thing I never really understood was the naming of the purple heron, as the bird is more grey and rust coloured than what I would call purple. But, bird naming conventions (or renaming, as that seems to happen fairly frequently) isn’t something I can claim to understand.
On to the photos.
