Uganda Edition: Croc!
Nile Crocodile: Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — We were coming to the end of the trip and my friend Stan was complaining that he had not seen a “monster” croc yet…so, of course, we had to find him one from the tour boat on Lake Mburo. This gentleman had to be 15 feet long, and was just massive with it! Just the kind of croc who figures in the fables. Old and wily and wise…a true climax predator, without an ounce of mercy in his whole body! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 500 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher (and Baltimore Oriole)
Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher (and Baltimore Oriole): Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — The Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher is not, in fact, a flycatcher, but it does have a long tail. Here in the US, we also have a silky-flycatcher, the Phanopepla of the South West deserts. And, of course, the Baltimore Oriole keeping company with the Silky-flycatcher is a common summer bird all up our east coast. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. The birds were not close, and the “close-up” is a heavy crop. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Uganda Edition: Hippos at Lake Mburo
Hippopotamus: Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — There are hippos in Uganda wherever there is water deep enough to cover their backs when they kneel on the bottom. Lake Mburo is, of course, no exception. In the fading light of a late afternoon, we saw as many as we could have hoped for from the very large tour boat on the lake. Sony Rx10iv at 580mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 160 and 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Yellow-thighed Bushfinch
Yellow-thighed Bushfinch: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — There are generally a few Yellow-thighed Bushfinches around the feeders at Miriams, and they are always a treat to see. Such an unlikely bird! The sooty-black, fine textured plumage and then those bright yellow booties. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 3200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Uganda Edition: Cape Buffalo with Oxpeckers
Cape Buffalo and Yellow-billed Oxpecker: Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — As we cruised up the shore of Lake Mburo, we saw quite a bit of wildlife, including these two Cape Buffalo, resting in the shallows and on the shore. And, of course, where there are Cape Buffalo there will be Oxpeckers! Always (at least in my experience). Notice the apparently well worn ear on this animal…though various amounts of fringing is normal on the Cape Buffalo’s ears. Sony Rx10iv at 580mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 640 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Flame-colored Tanager
Flame-colored Tanager: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — Though the Flame-colored Tanager does come down to foothills level, I have never seen one except high in the Talamanca Mountains. In fact, it is first bird I generally see that I think of as unmistakably a mountain bird. Though they feed in the mid to upper canopy, they do come to feeders, especially on the mountain side where the feeders are already at canopy level for the trees downslope. In my experience they are also quite variable in color, from palish orange to deep orange. Both of these birds are males, and both were coming to the feeders at Miriams, so this is not a “trick of the light.” They were different color orange. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 1000 (paler bird in the shadows) and 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Uganda Edition: Bushbuck
Bushbuck: Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — A female and a male Bushbuck along the shore of Lake Mburo from our late afternoon tour boat. Apparently they are a common site along the lake shore, as sightings are mentioned on several safari web-sites. In the park at large they have the habit, somewhat unique to Mburo, of standing watch on the tops of termite mounds and I saw one in 2019 posing on such a mound in the seeping dusk as a leopard stalked it. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 320 and 640 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Lesser Violet-eared Hummingbird
Lesser Violet-eared Hummingbird: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — Another hummingbird we got our first looks at off Miriam’s back deck. The Lesser Violet-ear (and, before you ask, there is on “Greater” Violet-ear…maybe they are anticipating a possible split??) is one of the most common, and certainly one of the most aggressive, hummingbirds in the American tropics, and can be found from Rainforest to Cloud Forest and everywhere in between. A gorgeous bird wherever it is found. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 640 and 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Uganda Edition: African Fish Eagle
African Fish Eagle: Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Certainly one of the most impressive and recognizable birds of Africa…with a range through all but very center of sub-Saharan Africa (all of the “safari” countries), and a common sight where ever there are larger rivers and lakes. These birds were perched along the shore of Lake Mburo, and seen from the tour boat on the lake on our late afternoon excursion. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmotor Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Talamanca Hummingbird
Talamanca Hummingbird: Miriam’s Quetzals Restaurant, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — We left Los Cosningos after lunch and had time for a coffee, hot coco, and birds stop at Miriam’s Quetzals on the way down into San Geraldo de Dota and the Trogon Lodge. Miriam’s perches high on the side of the Savegre Valley and the feeders she maintains off the deck on the back of her restaurant generally provide our first views of some of the mountain specialties. Trouble is, once you are there, and have your cup of excellent coffee or coco, it is hard to get away, and you do not want to be late for your first trout dinner at the Trogon either. The Talamanca Hummingbirds were so bold they came to sit within inches of those who got too close to the feeders. One of the larger hummingbirds…the largest in Central America, it is always impressive, and never more so than when the late afternoon light catches the gorget. Such a treat! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 2000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.