2016-02-21: What I’ve seen this week

The week ended on a very interesting note, and has left me with a fair number of photos to go through.  On the advice of one of the members of the photo group, I went east of town yesterday hoping to see the northern hawk owls that had been spotted earlier in the day; I managed to see one, perched so high up in a tree, the first time I drove straight past it.

Today, I decided to take a drive about an hour out of town to a park, to scope out potential photography areas for the spring.  It was just too lovely a day to be indoors.  I had Spencer with me and we had a nice walk along the frozen marsh, but on the way out, I started to pull over closer to the side of the road to let a truck past, and the combination of ice covered road and extremely soft snow on the side, I ended up with the passenger side wheels stuck.  A lady tried to give me a tow (who it turns out is also part of my photo group, but we hadn’t met yet), but that didn’t work so we set off to get into cell range so I could call for a tow truck.  While I waited for the tow, it gave me a bit of time to catch up on some podcasts I’d been wanting to listen to, and honestly, the people around here are lovely.  Every single person heading in or out of the park stopped to see if they could help in any way.  I’m very grateful to the kindness of strangers.

And if I hadn’t been delayed an hour, I likely wouldn’t have seen a bald eagle perched high in a tree on the side of the highway (thoughtfully, right near a truck pull out so I could safely pull over).  And since many wise photographers have always said “look behind you”, I turned to scan the opposite side of the highway, and saw two more perched in a tree and one soaring above, calling repeatedly.  So an owl Saturday, and four bald eagles (plus a slightly lighter wallet) on Sunday.  All in all, an excellent weekend.

And with that long and rambling weekend description behind us, on to the photos.

Enjoy, and have a lovely week.

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Couldn’t ask for a prettier late winter day – warm out and sunny blue skies.
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Moonrise, peachy coloured clouds… it was too pretty not to snap a quick photo on our late afternoon walk.
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A slightly odd shot that didn’t quite turn out as planned, but that never seems to stop me from including them anyways. A couple night ago while out with Spencer, I was intrigued by the fast moving clouds and the bright moon. I decided to play around with the new camera and it wasn’t quite doing what I anticipated, but I do like the rainbow effect around the moon.
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The brilliant blue sky, bright sun and fluffy clouds reminded me a little of some of the sky shots I took in Botswana…. until you look down and see the glare from the snow!
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I’ve had requests for Spencer to be included in my posts, so here he is – enjoying his day out.
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The eagle I spotted from the road while driving.
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The fourth eagle of the afternoon

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I waited around just long enough for the second eagle to get its face out from behind the branch.

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2016-02-20: World Pangolin Day

I’ve already done a post with the best pangolin photos I managed to take (if you missed it the first time around, you can find it here).  But as it’s world pangolin day, I thought I would see what I could do with a photo that didn’t make the original post, in a black and white edit.  I like the way the texture of the scales are emphasized in monochrome.

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2016-02-11: WPC Vibrant

I missed last week’s photo challenge, but when I saw it, I couldn’t resist posting a photo of one of my favourite birds, the lovely lilac breasted roller.

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Lilac Breasted Roller
Okavango Delta, Botswana, April 2015
1/1000 sec, f5.6, ISO 320

WPC: Vibrant

2016-02-07: What I’ve seen this week

It was quite an exciting week for photos this week!  Given the continued icy conditions on my road, I’ve been driving a short distance away to one of the main roads to walk Spencer.  Tuesday morning, there were a huge group of ravens and magpies surrounding a ravine, so I stopped the car to see what  had happened.  During the night, the local coyote pack took down a deer, and the birds were tucking into the leftovers (evening at 9am, maybe only 1/4 of the deer remained.

We set off again at lunch for another walk, and this time the ravens and magpies were absent; while walking I figured out why – a beautiful bald eagle was watching over the area.  I grabbed a few shots and he or she flew off through the field, and I carried on with my walk.  On the drive home, I spotted the eagle again and grabbed a few more shots through the open window of the car, before realizing that there were two eagles in the area.  I followed one to the end of the cul de sac, and was lucky enough to be able to get a few more shots in before it was time to get home and get back to work.

Fingers crossed this coming week brings more wonderful photo opportunities.

Have a great week!

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On Monday afternoon I spent a bit more time with the northern hawk owl. It was late afternoon and snowing lightly, and he chose the top of the tallest tree possible to perch. This was the best of the few shots I got.
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First spot of the eagle; this was only the second time I have seen eagles in my neighbourhood. The first time was a fleeting glimpse far too quick for me to capture.
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The deer carcass was at the base of this hill. The previous day, the snow was untouched; there certainly was a large amount of activity that went on in the night.
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I stopped the car, put on the four way flashers, and took a few photos (I live in a really quiet area so it’s not a safety issue).
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This is the second of the eagles I saw. I don’t know of the distinguishing features between sexes, so I don’t know if I saw two males, two females or one of each.
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I couldn’t have asked for better light. Midday sun up north in the winter comes in at a pretty gentle angle.
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The branch shadows are a bit unfortunately, but at least the body positioning leaves the stunning yellow eye exposed.
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Up and away. I did briefly see the pair when I returned home, circling high up, reminding me of the vultures in southern Africa.
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What more could you ask for on a Tuesday lunch break?
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I always love the opportunity to capture birds in flight. 1/1600sec, f5.6, ISO 180

2016-01-26: WPC Optimistic

I am optimistic that all of these beautiful creatures will have the opportunity to live out their lives in the way nature intended, without the influence of poacher’s or trophy hunter’s bullets.  That is my hope, and if like minded people continue to join together, perhaps it will happen in my lifetime.

 

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This pangolin was definitely the most photographed animal on Londolozi that day. It was one of my safari dreams to see a pangolin. 
Londolozi, May 2015

 

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A leopard with one of her young, as they worked to reunite with the second cup (gratefully we were able to witness the reunion). 
Ngala Game Reserve, May 2015

 

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Part of an elephant parade on route to a waterhole for an early evening drink. 
Sabi Sands, May 2015

 

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A rhino calf eyes us up while his Mom has a drink. 
Phinda Game Reserve, April 2015

 

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We were fortunate to spend time with this lioness with her pair of young cubs (one was lying flat behind Mom when I snapped this). 
Kalahari Desert, April 2015

 

WPC: Optimistic

2016-01-18: Monochrome Monday

As it turns out, I didn’t end up liking a single photo I took last week, so instead, I edited one from the archives that I was looking at over the weekend.

 

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An early morning rhino family photo. I love the long shadow along the body of the one on the right; it mimics the shape of the horn beautifully.
 
Phinda Game Reserve, May 2015.
1/320sec, f5.6, ISO 500
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