WILDLIFE BLOG

While I was in the North Luangwa National Park recently, we went out to have a look at a large nest that had been seen in a Brachystegia. The finder of the nest had reported seeing a pair of Bat Hawks nearby, and concluded that they had constructed the nest. We consulted one of our field guides which said that Bat Hawks - a medium-sized raptor which feed largely on bats in the evening and at [...]

While I was away in the North Luangwa, many of the grasses that line the dambos in the park produced their seeds. I returned to find the elephants gorging themselves on the nutritious Rice Grass - or Lupunga as the locals call it. Baboons, whose diet varies considerably depending on what is available, were making the most of it too. This female has stuffed her cheek pouches full of seeds which she can chew at her [...]

....just aren't your day. The colours at this time of year can be fantastic, but there are also days where the cloud never burns off and everything looks flat and unappealing. I don't think this Brown Snake Eagle thought it was his day either as he was repeatedly mobbed and dive-bombed by this small Lillian's Lovebird. The grey sky behind certainly didn't help with getting the right exposure, but I think this shot correctly conveys the [...]

I've had my family and godparents staying for the last 6 days, and it's been a great week! When the rains came early in October, I feared that a January visit would be a complete wash-out; impassable roads, thick bush, endless bugs, sticky mud and very little game. How wrong I was. We've enjoyed cool, cloudy days with sunny spells, and game viewing to rival a week in the dry season. Here are some of the [...]

Not often seen in this area, although a fairly common rains migrant from Russia, I found this Steppe Buzzard in the miombo woodland on the hills above the valley floor. Happy New Year.

For a long time, the taxonomic status of hyaenas has been under discussion. Should they be classified with dogs (Family: Canidae) or with the cats (Family: Felidae)? In the end, they are sufficiently different from both to gain their own family, Hyaenidae. Here are two hyaenas making the most of the cooling waters of the Mushilashi, while idly chewing on an old buffalo skin.

I stood in roughly this same spot about two weeks ago and watched 400 hippos jostling for space in the shallow water. In the space of a few days, they've all moved out. Add 20 cms to the river depth, which is what the rain in surrounding areas has done, and it becomes uncomfortably deep for a resting hippos. The small amount of rain locally will also have re-filled some of the nearby lagoons, which the [...]

Early morning and late afternoon are the busiest times for primates. Grooming, feeding, cementing relationships, caring for young and resolving disputes are common activities at this time. This morning, I sat and watched this young female grooming an older female. Possibly a member of her immediate family, but also possibly one of her ''friends'' within the troop, offering to groom a more senior member of the troop is all part of the system of reciprocity that [...]

Of all the Eagles, the Long Crested Eagle must be one of the most unusual. Part Snake Eagle (orange eyes) and part true Eagle (feathered legs). This is the male of a pair which are mating near Mfuwe airport. The male's white legs differentiate him from the female.

I was watching Warthogs on a big, open plain today. This female was foraging with her piglets and last year's offspring. Suddenly, they got spooked (a turn in the wind carried my scent towards them) and they all turned and fled. Only the female turned to check that I wasn't following before dashing for the thickets.