Elephant edition: Our first!
We came across our first elephants along the banks of the Nile where the Albert and Victoria Niles join in Murchison Falls National Park. Elephants are still recovering after the Ugandan herds were decimated under Idi Amin…so you do not see the mass groups common in other East and South African countries. Ugandan elephants are still seen mostly in small groups of 6 to 12, including males, females and young. There seem to be a significant number of old bachelor males who are not attached to family groups…but that could just be my impression. This was a family of three, with one youngster…though there may have been more elephants back further in the brush waiting for us to pass. Sony Rx10iv at 74 and 100mm equivalents (they are big animals and we were quite close). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Abyssinian Ground Hornbills
Abyssinian Ground Hornbill: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Ground Hornbills are most often seen in family groups, male, female, and generally a single chick to sub-adult bird. The male and female often walk through the savannah grasses next to each other. These are big birds, the size of a North American turkey. They prefer to walk or “lumber” even when threatened, but you do catch them in flight occasionally, mostly moving up to or down from a roost in the lower branches of well grown trees, and they have striking white patches on the wings. You can just see a bit of white poking out on the male’s wing in this photo. There is a Southern Ground Hornbill, which replaces the Abyssinian (or Northern) in Kenya and the rest of Africa south and east of there. They tend to be very local…but we saw several families on this trip to Murchison. This family happened to be close to our track along the edge of the Nile near where the Albert and Victoria Niles join. Sony Rx10iv at 554mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Feline edition: Leopard!
Leopard: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — I posted one shot from this sequence a while ago, but now, working through the Uganda photos in order, I come back to it. 🙂 I also told the story of the traffic jam of safari vehicles that had blocked the road and overflowed into the savannah on either side trying to see this Leopard hiding in tall grass, waiting for a safe opportunity to cross the road to get to its kill, which was hanging in a tree on the other side. There were well over a dozen vehicles, jammed in every which-way, bumper to bumper, back to front, like a crazy puzzle. Our guide walked the length of the jam talking to the other drivers and convinced them that no one was going to see the cat while all those land cruisers and vans were blocking its path, and we slowly untangled the mass of vehicles and moved off. We just happened be coming back to get to another road when the cat finally decided to get up and move. It was still trying go get around us to it’s prey, so, though we only stopped for a moment to see it, we got to watch as it stalked through the tall grasses parallel to the road. Wonderful indeed. Sony Rx10iv at 580mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/1000th.
Little Bee-eater
Little Bee-eater: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — We saw 8 of the 12 possible species of Bee-eaters in Uganda…most of the ones we missed have restricted ranges that we did not visit (mostly North-west Uganda), or are seasonal migrants that are only in Uganda during a different season. So not bad at all. And I always like seeing Bee-eaters. They are so bright and somehow so alive! We did eventually see Little Bee-eater at closer distances…but this was our first encounter in the brushy savannah of Murchison Falls National Park. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 125 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Wildlife edition: Rothschild’s or Nubian Giraffe (or Northern?)
Rothschild’s (or Nubian) Giraffe, Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Or Northern Giraffe, or just plain Giraffe. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature only currently recognizes one species of Giraffe, though there have been numerous (and conflicting) genetic studies over the past 10 years that indicate that there are at least 3, possibly 4 (just maybe up to 9) different species of Giraffe. The Nubian and Rothschild’s were considered sub-species of Northern Giraffe under the 3 species scheme, but are now suspected to be the regional variations of the same species. At any rate, all the Giraffes in Uganda are (or were) Rothschild’s (if they are not really Nubian) and definitely Northern Giraffes. Confused much? Wherever the ball comes down in the Giraffe species roulette, the Ugandan Giraffe is a beautiful animal…with a boldly marked hide, pale legs, massive shoulders and a long neck. They browse the tops of Acacia trees, giving the trees their characteristic flat tops, and taking only the tender new leaves…stripping them off the thorny branches with nimble lips and an agile tongue. They are big animals…not only tall, but massive, with powerful legs. They do indeed stand tall in the savannahs of Uganda. Sony Rx10iv at 412mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ 4 @ 1/500th.
White-browed Coucal
White-browed Coucal: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — One of the more common birds of the brushy savannas and open grassy groves of Uganda, the White-browed Coucal is a cuckoo, often seen clinging on at the top of a bush or walking on the ground hunting for insects and small toads and lizards. I like the patterns in the plumage of the adults and the interesting poses it gets itself into. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 and 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Primate edition: Patas Monkey
Another road-side attraction from Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda. Patas Monkeys appear to be the most common primate at Murchison. We saw our first one before we got to the lodge on the first day of our visit, and several on our game drives over the nest days. This one was, as you can see, right beside the road. It looked to be a solitary male, as it did not have a troop of females and young with it. I have to admit that on more than one occasion I almost called out Lion! when I saw a Patas moving on all fours through the tall savannah grasses. It has very much that look about it and it moves in a similar, stalking, way. 🙂 Still I was almost as happy to see another Patas as I would have been to see a lion…almost. Sony Rx10iv at 111mm equivalent (that close!). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/320th.
Helmeted Guineafowl
Helmeted Guineafowl: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — There are three possible Guineafowl in East Africa, and two in Uganda, but I have only ever seen the Helmeted…which is the most widespread and common. You see them frequently by the roadside (and in the road) at Murchison Falls National Park and at both Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo…generally in small groups of up to half a dozen birds. I had to zoom back and lean out over the open top of the Land Cruiser to get this shot. The bird was that close. Sony Rx10iv at 247mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/500th. (Actually, it is hard for me to think of Guineafowl as “wild” birds as I grew up with Guineafowl running around the yard in Upstate New York. My Grandfather raised a number of “exotic” birds…we had a peacock and various fancy chickens and ducks as well.)
African Buffalo
African Buffalo: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — I always want to call this animal, wherever I see it in Africa, a Water Buffalo, but, of course it is not. You do see Water Buffalo in Africa, as domestic cattle along the upper Nile, but the Buffalo of the savannahs is the African Buffalo…most often the larger sub-species sometimes called the Cape Buffalo (there is a slightly smaller and less common subspecies called the Forest Buffalo, which I have probably seen in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, but the difference are small and hard to be sure of). African Buffalo are notoriously mean-tempered…but that is probably not fair to the Buffalo…they do not see well at a distance and respond unpredictably to threats when detected…so they have to be approached cautiously…and preferably, not at all. Left to themselves they are relatively placid animals, fond of wallowing in mud-holes and grazing. Sony Rx10iv at 184mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/400th.
Palm-nut Vulture
Palm-nut Vulture: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — The Palm-nut Vulture is exactly what the name says. It is, oddly enough, a vulture that feeds primarily on palm nuts…both Oil and Raffia, and its range in sub-Sahara Africa closely matches the range of those trees. It does occasionally feed on fish (crabs, reptile eggs, smaller reptiles, etc.) and it is listed in the field guides as a “fish-eating raptor,” and is most often seen near water. The black and white adults, with their huge yellow beak and red eye-patch, are unmistakable. The immatures are plain brown, developing more white plumage as they age, but they have the bare patch around the eye and, of course, that big beak.
Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Adult: ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th. Immatures: ISO 100 @ f4 and 6.3 @ 1/1000th.