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WILDLIFE BLOG
Through the Lens: My Favourite 5……Birds
I am going to add some details about the settings used to take the shot and why I chose them. I hope it's interesting - please feel free to Share! So here goes.... Number 5: Backlit White-fronted Bee-eater Canon EOS 7D, 300mm f4 lens at f4, ISO 800, 1/1600sec, EV -2/3 and Evaluative metering. The bee-eater was using this Picnostachys spp. plant repeatedly as a launch point for aerial sorties to capture insects. I crept in [...]
Wildlife: The ever-challenging dogs
The South Luangwa is one of the best wildlife destinations, in part because of the diversity of species that it offers. Wild Dogs are just one of our 'specials' and particularly since they can be found at almost any time of the year. I took my first trip into the park since returning from the UK and followed up on some Wild Dogs who had denned just south of one of my favourite camps last year. [...]
Through the Lens: Vulture Silhouettes
While waiting for some lions to get up from their slumbers and "do something", some Hooded Vultures flew up off the ground and landed on a dead branch in front of us. They too had been waiting for the lions, but in their case they wanted the lions to do something in the form of making droppings which they could then eat!! Unappealing as it may seem, there is a lot of goodness in lions' dung [...]
Wildlife: of a different kind…
I am on my annual month's holiday in UK with my family. This morning I took my daughter to go and meet the lambs at the neighbouring farm!!
Guest Report: Ken MacLennan-Brown & Sandra Rossi, UK
It's a great pleasure to post some of Ken and Sandra's images on my blog. They are seasoned travellers, great photographers and good fun to take on safari. We spent 5 days together in October, and this is their report of the trip, through their words and images. Hope you enjoy - it's a good read! Africa keeps calling us back, but of all our trips to wildlife destinations, it was only the combination of the [...]
Guest Report: Roger and Vicky Fry, UK
I have known Roger and Vicky Fry for over 5 years, and have taken them on safari annually since then! They are great lovers of the Luangwa and have been wonderful people to take on safari - keen to explore new things, sit and watch whatever the bush is offering and good company to sit with over lunch and dinner. Here's a summary of their time on safari with me since they first came in 2011, [...]
Guest Report: Hermann Buchen, Germany
Hermann Buchen visited South Luangwa in September on a private safari with me from Marula Lodge. We enjoyed some wonderful sightings. The best of these happened on our first afternoon in the park...but I'll let Hermann tell you about it: Meetings with leopards and lions in South Luangwa - Hermann Buchen There are still places in Africa, where nature can be found protected from mankind as far as possible. South Luangwa is one of those places [...]
2015 in Review
Many thanks to all my followers who have supported my activities in 2015; some of you have commented on photos, many have contributed to discussions on social media boards, and an increasing number have joined me on safari! Through all these contributions, 2015 has been my best year to date, and I’m most grateful to you all. 2015 Outlook We started the year surrounded by doom and gloom in the African tourism trade. The global slow-down [...]
Wildlife: Reviewing some images
While going through my portfolios from 2015, in readiness for my annual "Year in Review" post (coming soon!), I came across a few images from a safari in April that I had overlooked. I remember the safari well - buckets of great sightings, the drama of 10 Italian men in a camp for a week!, and loads of rain - but I also remember that I went on holiday with my family the day after it [...]
Wildlife: A bird in the hand….
Yesterday, I went to participate in a bird-ringing exercise at a friend's house - her gardens are a mecca for all sorts of visiting birds from abroad, and it always throws up some great sightings. Leading the ringing, were experts Klaus and Lizanne, who have ringed birds for many years and fed hundreds of pages of data to the University of Cape Town. They have visited Luangwa on many occasions so it was gratifying to recapture [...]
Through the Lens: Irritable Buffalo
On a short morning safari with my family at the weekend, we found a solitary buffalo bull. Although these guys aren't very social (or sociable!) they are very rarely seen alone, preferring the company (and protection) of other bulls. It's a fallacy to say that they are all the old bulls who have left the herd for retirement. It only takes a bit of observation, followed up with some reading, to show that bulls cycle through [...]
Wildlife: A Green Paradise
Safaris at this time of year are a bit less predictable than during the drier months. That's not to say that we don't enjoy great sighting, but just that you can't guarantee them every day like we (almost!) can in the winter. Nevertheless, a short afternoon drive with my family over the weekend still gave us over 20 mammal species and close to 50 bird species. I think that living in such a wildlife-rich part of [...]