Good morning everyone… Here we have a Marabou stork, a massive bird, and unmistakable due to its size, bare head and neck, black back, and white underparts. It has the largest wingspan of any land bird in Africa. I love these storks, and when spending some time with them they can be very entertaining. This photo was taken at Melkvlei and he was playing with a stick for almost an hour, repositioning it in his big beak, almost like prey.
Take a look and let me know what you think…
Good morning everyone… here we have a Lanner Falcon(Falco biarmicus) in flight, and to get them in flight, especially flying towards you can be very tricky. The more you play the better you get! So start practising! It usually hunts by horizontal pursuit and loves to catch smaller prey like wattled starlings, sparrows, sandgrouse or any small bird drinking water. The kill is usually quick and after spending around 2 months at Cubitje Quap waterhole last year i managed to capture some shots of them hunting. They normally hunt one bird a day, the size of a dove or sandgrouse and usually early mornings. This photo was taken at Kij Kij with my 600mm f4 lens. Take a look and let me know what you think…
Cheers til tomorrow.
Hi all…I hope you all had great weekends because I know I did. The ‘Getaway Show’ was great and a big thank you to everyone that came to visit me at my stand. It was great seeing you all so thanks for the support. Pretty tired now though but that’s what you get for talking to people the entire weekend. I have a treat for you guys again this week because I have decided to extend BIRD WEEK. This week will be dedicated to birds as well so I hope you enjoy it. Today’s subject is a beautiful little bird – The Shaft-tailed Whydah. This little male I photographed during their breeding season. I know this because that is when they have this colouring/plumage and the four elongated tails. After the breeding season the male sheds this tail and goes back to a olive-brown female-like plumage. These birds mainly like to eat grass seeds. So ladies, let me ask you this…what woman wouldn’t want him?
Take a look and let me know what you think…
Cheers til tomorrow.
Hi all…so I am here at the Getaway Show at Lourensford, Somerset West uploading this post. There is so much going on here so you should all come down here, bring the family, and take a look around. Loads of specials and prizes to be won especially from me where my books are on promotion for this weekend specially and we are running a competition where you can win one of my Limited Edition Black & White Prints. Believe me-you want to win this one! Speaking of Black & White pictures, I have one for you today as I do on Fridays and a couple of us from the show so that you know what to look out for when you some.
Take a look and let me know what you think…
Noa and I at the Stand
My vehicle on display outside
Black & White Photograph
Cheers til Monday guys and have a good weekend!
Hi all…busy busy day setting up for the Getaway Show this weekend so you all better be coming to visit me! This is just a quick post to keep to my commitment of bird week. Today’s subject is a Black-shouldered Kite. This magnificent bird I managed to capture with its wings spread wide open which is in complete contrast to the strikingly blue background of the sky. It is a small and graceful, predominantly pale grey and white, raptor which can be distinguished by its black shoulders and red eyes. It loves to prey on rodents and spots them from hovering in mid-air above the open areas.
Take a look and let me know what you think…
Cheers til tomorrow…
Hi all…so my post today is just trying to highlight the fact that, when it comes to birds, size does not matter. If you have an interest in them, it really does not matter what size they are because some of the most fascinating species are incredibly small and are often more interesting than the larger birds-of-prey. I have a huge interest in every living creature out there in the Kalahari so to me, birds are a very large source of entertainment. You are lucky today as well because I am again sharing two of my photographs with you. I chose them hopefully to show you a little of the diversity that can be found in the park. The first is of a Swallow-tailed Bee Eater which you can unmistakably distinguish because of its forked tail. This bird is brightly coloured and has a preference for honey bees. They only eat insects and as the name suggests, prefer bees. The second photograph is of a Juvenile Pale Chanting Goshawk having just caught a mouse to snack on. They like to use the tall dead trees around this area as an effective vantage point to hunt from in the open areas. However, they can also often be seen walking around on the ground.
Take a look and let me know what you think…
Swallow-tailed Bee Eater
Juvenile Pale Chanting Goshawk
Cheers til tomorrow…
Hi all…today is Tuesday thanks to the public holiday yesterday so a short week left for all of you. It is always nice to start the week with this in mind. Some of you may have read my comment on the previous post already but for those of you who don’t know yet, this week is going to be a bird week. Every post this week will feature birds of some kind so I hope you enjoy it.
So to kick-off bird week, today’s post features the Pearl Spotted Owl. It is one of the smallest owls in South Africa. What I love about this owl, and managed to photograph here, is that it has mock eyes in the back of its head. This is to confuse predators as to which way the owl is facing. This species of owl typically hunts by day and mostly preys on insects, bats, small invertebrates, rodents etc. They do however have powerful talons which allow it to catch birds up to the size of small weavers, small mammals and reptiles.
Take a look at this interesting little fellow and let me know what you think…
Back with ‘mock eyes’
Front with yellow eyes
Cheers til tomorrow’s next bird post.
Hi all…its Friday again! The happiest day of the week for most but even more exciting today because it is a long weekend in South Africa with Monday being a public holiday for Human Rights Day. So to help you get through the day I have another one of my special Black & White collection to share with you. This will helpfully distract you for a little bit making the weekend come even faster. This photograph is some of the inspiration for my next project that will be starting in about 3 months where I will be focusing on leopards in the South of the park. The subject in this picture is one of the female leopards however she is on the ‘Botswana side’ and does not like vehicles which makes her difficult to find. She is beautiful though and whenever I am lucky enough to see her I stay with her for as long as possible.
Take a look and let me know what you think…
Enjoy the long weekend everyone and get yourselves outdoors! Cheers til Monday!
Hi all…its great to be back in Cape Town and everything and everyone are keeping me busy but I must say, I do miss my home-from-home, The Kalahari and all of its special inhabitants. The invitation stands for anyone that is interested in me or my business that wants to get in touch with me while I am here. I will do my best to fit you in to my busy work schedule. Today’s blog post you might think is a little bit of a strange one but that is what I am surrounded with up in the Kalahari. I never know what to expect which is part of its appeal to me. I came across this spotted hyena trotting off into the bush. It had killed a gemsbok all by itself and after gorging itself on about half of the kill, it decided to choose the stomach as the take-away. It was able to extract the stomach pretty much keeping it intact which was impressive for a hyena. I like this photograph because it is kind of quirky and funny and not something you see everyday.
Take a look and let me know what you think…
Cheers til tomorrow and don’t forget to tune in to my blog again for another of my special Friday posts.
