Dawn over the forests of Kibale
Chimpanzee Forest Lodge, Kibale National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Sony Rx10iv at 24mm equivalent. HDR mode. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 125 @ f2.5 @ 1/60th. -1.3EV.
Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher
Black-and-white Shrike-flycatcher: Crater lakes near Kibale National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Where we stopped for the Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaters, we also saw a pair of Black-and-white Shrike-flycatchers. They were way in the top of the huge tree by the road were it runs between the two crater lakes, and just within reach of the Sony’s 600mm lens, with some creative enlargement in post. Beautiful little perky birds. Notice the very different look of the male and female. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/1000th and 1/800th.
Chimpanzee edition: last one
Kibale National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — The elder of the troop, this large male did not climb up to the high perches with the rest of the chimps. He took his ease on the ground in the shade, and younger chimps came to groom him. Looks like he earned his privileged status. Sony Rx10iv at 591mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise-reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/100th (dark under the canopy).
Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater
Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater: Crater lakes near Kibale National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Leaving the Chimpanzee Forest Lodge on our way to Queen Elizabeth National Park, we take a back road over the ridge, past a few of the many crater lakes (sink hole lakes) in the area, and always stop for the colony of Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaters that nests along the road where it passes close between too of the lakes. Like all bee-eaters, the Cinnamon-breasted is an active bird…and, while it might perch, it is continuously “sallying” out for insects. Beautiful bird! And of course we saw a good number of other species while watching the bee-eaters. More to come. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 and f4.5 at 1/800th and 1/1000th.
Chimpanzee edition #2
A bit closer shot of the infant and mom from our Chimpanzee Trek at Kibale National Park in Uganda last August. I am not a good judge but I would guess this chimp is only a few months old. Certainly it was still very clingy on its mom. Sony Rx10iv at 595mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications with multi-frame noise-reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 5000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Butterflies of Kibale National Park
Kibale National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — When we got back to the wood road from our Chimpanzee Trek in Kibale National Forest we had a longish wait for our vehicle (our guide was taking the opportunity to wash and clean the Land Cruiser). Fortunately we had at least 14 species of butterflies to entertain us…or at least I was entertained by them. The true birders in the group pretty much sat on the ground and watched for birds. I do not know the butterflies of Maine as well as I should, and I know the butterflies of Uganda and East Africa not at all! I had no hope of identifying these butterflies but I did find an excellent publication on the Butterflies of Kibale National Park, available as a download PDF, this morning while doing a bit of research and I should be able to ID these and most of the others. Consider this a teaser. My intention is to come back to this post with IDs over the next few days as I have time to dig out the names. 🙂 All shots with the Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos, and assembled in FrameMagic. ISO was all over the place, from 2500 (with multi-frame noise reduction on) for the shots on the ground to 100 for the shots on the sunny foliage @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Chimpanzee edition: baby!
Even when the chimpanzees came down lower, they were still high enough in the tree and up against the light behind the canopy to make photography difficult. Still, this youngster and mom were interesting to watch as he clambered around on her lap. Sony Rx10iv at 547mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications with multi-frame noise reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 5000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Hairy-breasted Barbet
Hairy-breasted Barbet (Streaky-throated): Bigodi Community Birding Project, Bigodi, Uganda, August 2022 — There is evidently some variation in the Hairy-breasted Barbet over its range. This is clearly the Streaky-throated variety (Tricholaema hirsuta [flavipunctata Group]). It is yet another Ugandan bird with a disjointed range on the West Coast of Africa and then nothing until Uganda, and pretty much restricted to Uganda. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 500 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus 1EV.
Chimpanzee edition: first of a few!
Chimpanzee: Kibale National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Chimp trekking at Kibale is always a mixed blessing. After a longish hike, up and down and around, off-trail, bushwhacking through rainforest, (both times I have done this I have gotten the feeling that the guides go out of their way, literally, to make it a trek…that they know right where the chimps are at any given time. but are determined to make every hike in an adventure!) we got to the chimps to find a large group of noisy tourists already there before us…which included the inevitable half-dozen pushy photographers with their long lenses and sense of entitlement, and, the chimps high in the trees, just furry back things way up there. There was one old gentleman chimp…probably the dominant male…taking his ease under the trees. He was surrounded, of course, by photographers trying to line up the perfect shot. I hung back, so as not to trod on anyone, and shot over their heads through the gaps in the undergrowth. All in all, anyone could be forgiven for being disappointed. However, we waited, and soon enough those who had come before us moved off, back up the considerable hill toward the road. We were left alone under the chimps. And they began to come down, moving from their high perches to somewhere else up the hill in the same direction the tourists had gone. They were in no hurry, and several paused just above us. We have several real moments with the chimps. That was enough to redeem the experience for me. I count my blessings. Those moments were worth it. Of course we then had the trek out, but there were lots of butterflies waiting for us on the road, to entertain us while we waited to be picked up. Enough for me. This young male gave me one of my moments, and I am thankful. Sony Rx10iv at 277mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 6400 @ 4 @ 1/320th and 1/400th.
Western Nicator
Western Nicator: Bigodi Community Birding Project, Bigodi, Uganda, August 2022 — Birds of East Africa says the Nicators are common, but difficult to see in well grown forest and rainforest at mid-elevations of East Africa. This one indeed played hard to get in the little patch of remnant forest on the Bigodi Birding walk. Like many East African Birds, the Western Nicator has a range further west in Africa along the Atlantic coast, and then a disjunct range mostly in Uganda. (Nicator, by the way, seems to mean victor or conquer in some ancient language, though I could be wrong about that.) Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.