Wildlife – Jennifer Sawicky Photography

March 30, 2025March 30, 2025

2025-03-30: Lion

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 guy definitely had swagger, and was looking good from the front.

March 23, 2025March 23, 2025

2025-03-23: The owl that wasn’t there

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.

March 16, 2025March 16, 2025

2025-03-16: Herons

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.

The grey heron is very similar in size to the great blue heron that we see here in BC, just with different colouring. The grey heron is a fairly common heron to see, and I’ve come across them on most of my travels in Africa. This one was spotted in Moremi Game Reserve. Botswana, April 2024.

A striated heron alongside a dam on a dull morning. Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa. November, 2022.

A squacco heron spotted in Moremi Game Reserve. This particular afternoon drive was a bonanza of water birds, including the black heron that I shared a couple of weeks ago, amongst others. Botswana. April, 2024.

A purple heron spotted during a boat trip along the Zambezi River. Zambia, November, 2022.

Another grey heron, this one spotted while on a game drive in Madikwe. South Africa, November 2022.

The largest of the African herons, the Goliath heron. These birds are massive and so impressive to see up close. This one was perched in a tree at the edge of the Zambezi River, spotted during a boat cruise. Zambia, November, 2022.

A squacco heron alongside a dam. I spent quite a long time watching this heron from the hide at our camp; it is amazing how still they can remain. Botswana, April, 2024.

March 2, 2025March 2, 2025

2025-03-02: Water Birds

When I chose the ostrich images last week, I flagged quite a few other bird images to work through, and settled on a few water birds seen in Botswana on my most recent trip. All of these images were taken during the Okavango Delta portion of the trip.

I think this year finally needs to be the year that I get my act together and start my E-Bird list to track all the birds I’ve seen. Thankfully, my last two trips I’ve travelled with an incredibly organized, avid birder, so hopefully I can get some screenshots of her lists to get me started from the most recent trips. The rest will be scanning through my image catalogues; and to be honest, I can think of worse ways to pass the time. Who knows what images might jump out at me, wanting to be revisited.

The African jacana often appears to be walking on water, but is really just taking advantage of slightly submerged plants like these water lilies. They have incredibly large, wide spread feet to distribute their weight on sparse vegetation.

The distinctive profile of an African spoonbill. I love that the spoon shape of the bill is reflected in the water.

I’d have to go through a lot of photos to be sure, but I think this was my first sighting of a black heron. We were even lucky enough to see it in the umbrella posture that it uses to create shade to hunt.

February 23, 2025February 23, 2025

2025-02-23: Ostriches

While I have seen ostriches on several of my African trips, they aren’t the most common bird to come across, so they are always special to see. Until you are right alongside one, it is easy to misjudge just how enormous these birds are.

This past trip we had a couple encounters with ostriches; first a group of them at sunset, who were all moving like they had somewhere to be, and second a lone female and a lone male (though the lone male was too far away to bother trying to capture any pictures).

A lone female ostrich feeding in the early morning in Moremi Game Reserve. Botswana, April, 2024.

I love that you can see the dust being kicked up so you know that this group was really on the move. Our guide was desperate to find the ostriches so everyone in our vehicle would have the chance to see one (there were quite a few safari newbies on my trip, which is always fun), but we didn’t know he was also desperate to get us to a special spot for a wonderful sundowner party at the top of a hill. We did miss most of the sunset, but spending time with animals and birds is why we were there. Savute, Botswana. April, 2024.

February 16, 2025February 16, 2025

2025-02-16: Elephants in the riverbed

I remember how peaceful it was to sit on the deck of our cabin in the early afternoon and watch this beautiful herd of elephants. They came down to a dam (just out of the picture to the left) to drink, and once they had their fill, begin heading into the (mostly) dry riverbed to feed on the abundant vegetation.

A herd of elephants seen at Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.

Part of the herd had already moved deeper into the riverbed; there were perhaps 15 – 20 in the group in total.

Just because the game drive is over doesn’t mean the wildlife viewing is over. There is often an abundance of birdlife and animals to be seen just relaxing around camp.

February 9, 2025February 9, 2025

2025-02-09: Sunrise Giraffe

Watching a sunrise with giraffes is never a bad way to start a day. I’ve shared some images from this sighting before, but it was so beautiful, another one won’t hurt.

Timbavati Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.

February 2, 2025February 2, 2025

2025-02-02: Elephant Connections

I’ve often said that if there was only one animal I could watch on safari, it would be elephants. They are always doing something: feeding, drinking, fanning themselves with their ears, and most importantly, interacting with one another.

It’s the interaction that I wanted to highlight with my selection of photos today.

This group of young elephants were having a lot of fun alongside the waterhole, where the rest of their herd was drinking and splashing. These guys were enjoying a bit of trunk wrestling in the late afternoon heat. Botswana. April, 2025.

A classic trunk hug from a mama to her baby. Botswana. April, 2025.

The type of mama and baby photo you normally see in illustrations, with baby holding on to mama’s tail. Botswana, April, 2025.

A small family heading to the waterhole, passing by a large, solitary male. Here you see the matriarch leading the way, followed by the youngest, with older elephants protecting the youngster from the rear. Elephants are so protective of their young, and it is very common to see groups walking in this manner, to provide as much protection from danger as possible. Botswana, April, 2024.

January 26, 2025January 26, 2025

2025-01-26: Birds in Pairs

I decided to focus on birds this week, and looked for images where I had a pair of the same species together. I was surprised how many I found, and surprised by how many bird images I still have to go through from my last few trips.

While the wattled cranes are a fairly rare sighting and the pygmy geese were a first for me, the rest of the birds featured are fairly wide spread and easy to spot. I’d be pretty shocked for anyone to go on a southern African safari and not see a lilac breasted roller and at least one type of hornbill.

A pair of wire tailed swallows perched on the guard rail along a bridge. Klaserie Sands Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April, 2024.

A pair of yellow-billed hornbills spotted on a drive in Klaserie Sands Private Game Reserve, South Africa. April 2024.

A pair of pygmy geese seen in the Okavango Delta. Botswana. April, 2024.

A pair of wattled cranes seen in Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.

A pair of red-billed hornbills spotted during a game drive. Makadikadi Pans National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.

Seeing double with a pair of blacksmith lapwings perfectly reflected in the shallow pool they were standing in. It was a toss up between watching the birds and watching the sunrise. Savute Game Reserve, Botswana. April, 2024.

A pair of wire tailed swallows hitching a ride on the front of our boat. Chobe National Park, Botswana. April, 2024.

A pair of lilac breasted rollers spotted in Chobe National Park. We had hoped seeing them together we might see the unique rolling behaviour in flight, but no luck there. There’s always next time! Botswana, April, 2024.

December 29, 2024December 29, 2024

2024-12-29: Giraffe Silhouette

After a few dreary and grey days, I was in the mood for colour again, and these giraffes images certainly fit the bill. The shape of the giraffe is so easily recognizable that they are a great subject for a silhouetted shot, if you are fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time, with both subject matter and weather cooperating.