Posts in Category: Uganda
Uganda Edition: Bar-tailed Trogon
Bar-tailed Trogon: Neck, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Another good bird, though only a “for the record” shot, from our spot in forest of Neck along the road from Ishasha to Bwindi. The Bar-tailed Trogon is one of two trogons in East Africa and is only found in a narrow band just where we were in Uganda. This bird was distant, in the dark, and obscured by foliage, so I am, overall, happy with the record. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro on the Mac Air. ISO 2500 @ f4 @ 1/500. Plus 1.7EV.
Banded Prinia
Banded Prinia: Neck (Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park), Uganda, August 2022 — From that same section of foothill forest between Ishasha and Bwindi, (which I now know is called Neck)…a much harder bird to see and photograph: the Banded Prinia. This Prinia is a mountain skulker in the underbrush. Sony Rx10iv at 580mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 640 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Uganda Edition: Augur Buzzard
Augur Buzzard: In the foothills somewhere between Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — We drove from Ishasha to Bwindi on the dirt tracks…barely dignified enough to be called roads, though they see a lot of heavy truck traffic headed south and west (or north and east), and stopped in a section of forest to bird for a few miles. Just before we got there, we passed this Augur Buzzard sitting in a tree beside the road as though waiting for us to pass. The Augur Buzzard looks and acts a lot like our Red-tailed Hawk…has a red tail (easier to see in flight as it is short), and at least two color morphs as well. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 160 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Uganda Edition: Topi!
Topi: Ishasha Sector, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — The Topi is most easily found in Uganda in the Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, but it can also be seen at Lake Mboro. It is reputed to be the fastest antelope over short distances. Sony Rx10iv at 236 and 447mm equivalents. (The male is at 236mm…so I was really close to him!) Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 125 @ f4 @ 1/500th and 1/640th.
Uganda Edition: Black-shouldered Kite
Black-shouldered Kite: Ishasha Sector, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — I was not quite half way through my photos from Uganda in August when I left for Costa Rica on the first of December so I will be doing double posts for a while…otherwise I will be still hearing Africa and Costa Rica when I leave for India in March 🙂 This is the Black-shouldered Kite from a snag on the game drive in the Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park…famous for its tree climbing lions, which I have yet to get a good look at. Still, a Kite at close range is some compensation! Sony Rx10iv at 595mm equivalent. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/1000th.
Elephant on water
African Elephant: Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Still on our way from the Northern sector of QENP to the Ishasha sector, we came upon a small herd of Elephants making their way across a wetland below the road, grazing as they went. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Wednesday extra: Monitor Lizard
Not our first Nile Monitor Lizard of the trip to Uganda in August…we saw one from the boat on the actual Nile in Murchinson Falls National Park earlier, but we were on foot for this one…beside the Kazinga Channel in the northern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Sony Rx10iv at 238mm equivalent (so close). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus 1.3EV.
Sacred Ibis
Sacred Ibis: Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — We left the northern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park shortly after lunch for the, shall we say, “brutal” drive to the southern sector, or Ishasha as it is known. It is a long dive on a dirt road that way too many big trucks headed to or from far western Uganda use, it is always in desperate need of grading, and we are always in just a bit too much of a hurry to get to our lodge and what the Ishasha sector has to offer…from Topi to tree-climbing lions. We stopped at a small pond along the way to look for water birds and were rewarded with this somewhat bedraggled Scared Ibis…maybe not feeling quite so sacred at the moment. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed In Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4.5 @ 1/1000th.
Mom Lion
Lion: Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — The sharp eyes of Moses, our driver/guide for our Uganda safari, picked out the mother lion in the shade of a bush near the cub from yesterday’s post. Some maneuvering with the Land Cruiser and we found a spot on the road with a decent view through the long grasses. As I mentioned yesterday, she has worn a tracking collar for many years now, so this is a well known and well studied lion…with many successful litters of cubs over the years. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th.
Little lion in the tall grass
On our first pass by this spot, the lions were there, or were presumed to be there, as they had been seen a few moments before…but we could not find them in the long grasses. On our way back out, our driver/guide Moses spotted this cub, maybe two years old (practically a teenager in lion terms)…just a set of ears twitching above the grasses…and we watched as it eventually got up and moved around and gave us better views…still in the long grass…but better. The lions of Queen Elizabeth are well studied and monitored. The mom in this small pride wears a radio collar, so the rangers pretty much know where the pride is on a day to day basis. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/800th.