Posts in Category: wildlife
Acorn Woodpecker
Acorn Woodpecker: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica — The Acorn Woodpecker is a common woodpecker of the western regions of North America, all through Central America, and down into the north west corner of South America. It is found a higher and higher elevations the further south you go. As you might guess from the name it is closely associated with mixed oak forest and is famous for two things…stashing acorns in telephone poles and tree trunks, and drilling holes in house siding and shingles. They are always active around Miriam’s feeders. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/1000th.
Uganda Edition: a journey of Giraffes
Nubian Giraffes: Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — I mentioned the abundance of names for a group of Giraffes a few days ago…journey, kaleidoscope, tower, herd, troop, etc. — this is maybe half of the tower we encountered on our walking safari at Lake Mburo on our last morning in Africa, as they moved slowly away from us. Sony Rx10iv at 83mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f3.5 @ 1/200th.
Flame-colored Tanager
Flame-colored Tanager: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2022 — After a few hours on the Paramo, we headed back for lunch at Miriam’s. There was birding time between ordering and eating, and of course we spent it on her back deck. These female and male Flame-colored Tanagers posed nicely in the mid-day light. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Uganda Edition: Giraffe head shots
Nubian Giraffe: Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Still with the small tower of Giraffes we encountered on our walking safari with an armed ranger at Lake Mburo. A few portraits. You can see how delicately they strip the new growth leaves from the tops of the acacia trees…pulling them off without catching the thorns. Their browsing is what gives the acacias of Africa their characteristic shape. Wonderful creatures! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 1000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Volcano Junco
Volcano Junco: Cerro de la Muerte, Costa Rica, December 2022 — And this, for a birder, is why you drive up the road to the antenna station at the top of Bueno Vista mountain and get out at 11,400 feet in whatever weather the day provides and walk around the roads through the paramo. The Volcano Junco is a regular around the lower buildings at the station. We worked harder for this one than for most…generally they are on the ground behind the buildings in plain sight. This was one of several skulking deeper in the brush and only coming out to the road about when were ready to give up. Still it gave us great views. Of the other birds of the paramo, the Volcano Hummingbird and the Timberline Wren, we got the hummer and dipped on the wren (that makes two years in a row we have missed the wren). I have only ever seen the Peg-billed Finch once there. Still, it is always good to see the Volcano Junco, a bird that is restricted in range to the tops of the highest mountains in Costa Rica, and can be seen nowhere else in the world. Sony Rx10iv at 517mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th. (I have heard at least 3 different stories as to why the mountain is called Cerro de la Muerte…mountain of death…but none of them are particularly convincing…certainly on a clear day Bueno Vista is a better name.)
Uganda Edition: 2nd helping of Giraffes
Nubian Giraffes: Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — There were more young Giraffes with the kaleidoscope of Giraffes than adults…perhaps it was a nursery group…and perhaps it was just a really good year for young. They all seemed to be of and age. Sony Rx10iv at various focal lengths as needed for framing. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 800 and 640 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Nubian Giraffes
Nubian Giraffe: Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — There is nothing quite like encountering Giraffes on foot…when you are on foot, walking, as you do during the Walking Safari’s with an armed Ranger at Lake Mburo National Park. These huge, gentle, surprisingly graceful creatures are doing well at Lake Mburo…the herd is healthy…but in the larger context of the whole of Africa the subspecies is in decline, listed as endangered. This used to be the Rothschild’s Giraffe, and is a subspecies of the Northern Giraffe, only found in Uganda (where most of the population resides) and in one park in Kenya. Over the next few days I will be sharing a number of images from our two close encounters with this particular journey of Giraffes. (There are many names for a group of Giraffes in use: tower, herd, corps, journey, totter, and kaleidoscope are just a few of them. Venery (group naming) is an art, not a science. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 277mm (we were close!) equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Nubian Giraffes
Nubian Giraffe: Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — There is nothing quite like encountering Giraffes on foot…when you are on foot, walking, as you do during the Walking Safari’s with an armed Ranger at Lake Mburo National Park. These huge, gentle, surprisingly graceful creatures are doing well at Lake Mburo…the herd is healthy…but in the larger context of the whole of Africa the subspecies is in decline, listed as endangered. This used to be the Rothschild’s Giraffe, and is a subspecies of the Northern Giraffe, only found in Uganda (where most of the population resides) and in one park in Kenya. Over the next few days I will be sharing a number of images from our two close encounters with this particular journey of Giraffes. (There are many names for a group of Giraffes in use: tower, herd, corps, journey, totter, and kaleidoscope are just a few of them. Venery (group naming) is an art, not a science. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 277mm (we were close!) equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Nubian Giraffes
Nubian Giraffe: Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — There is nothing quite like encountering Giraffes on foot…when you are on foot, walking, as you do during the Walking Safari’s with an armed Ranger at Lake Mburo National Park. These huge, gentle, surprisingly graceful creatures are doing well at Lake Mburo…the herd is healthy…but in the larger context of the whole of Africa the subspecies is in decline, listed as endangered. This used to be the Rothschild’s Giraffe, and is a subspecies of the Northern Giraffe, only found in Uganda (where most of the population resides) and in one park in Kenya. Over the next few days I will be sharing a number of images from our two close encounters with this particular journey of Giraffes. (There are many names for a group of Giraffes in use: tower, herd, corps, journey, totter, and kaleidoscope are just a few of them. Venery (group naming) is an art, not a science. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 277mm (we were close!) equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Nubian Giraffes
Nubian Giraffe: Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — There is nothing quite like encountering Giraffes on foot…when you are on foot, walking, as you do during the Walking Safari’s with an armed Ranger at Lake Mburo National Park. These huge, gentle, surprisingly graceful creatures are doing well at Lake Mburo…the herd is healthy…but in the larger context of the whole of Africa the subspecies is in decline, listed as endangered. This used to be the Rothschild’s Giraffe, and is a subspecies of the Northern Giraffe, only found in Uganda (where most of the population resides) and in one park in Kenya. Over the next few days I will be sharing a number of images from our two close encounters with this particular journey of Giraffes. (There are many names for a group of Giraffes in use: tower, herd, corps, journey, totter, and kaleidoscope are just a few of them. Venery (group naming) is an art, not a science. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 277mm (we were close!) equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th.