Posts in Category: action
Red-billed HornbillÂ
Red-billed Hornbill, Trimisana Lodge, Balule Game Reserve, South Africa
Hornbills are by far the most numerous and visible birds in the South African bush at the end of a dry winter. The most see is the Yellow-billed Hornbill…familiar to most as a main character in the Lion King. Thus is a Red-billed Hornbill. I was two days in Africa before seeing one.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode. Processed in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet.
Hippos in early light
Hippopotamus. Olifant River, Balule Gamer Reserve, Greater Kruger NP, South Africa
One of the things that attracted me to Viva Safaris was the inclusion of a 4 hour bush walk at Balule Game Reserve, part of the greater Kruger National Park in South Africa. Experiencing the African bush from a Game Viewer (a converted Land Cruiser or Land Rover with high seats and open sides) and experiencing it on foot are two very different things. The Olifant River, a perennial river that flows across Kruger, is not far from Viva’s Tremisana Lodge were we stayed, and we were driven out to walking distance and then walked up over a ridge and down to the river. There were, as promised, Hippopotamus. (Hippopotami?) A fairly large group, already back in the water after a night of feeding on the sparse grasses of late winter in a drought. Just as we got to the river, the hippos had a crocodile scare and all burst up out of the water at the same time…too fast for a pic, but I took plenty as they settled back down. These animals are the most dangerous in Africa…and kill more people every year than Lions and Rinos and Cape Buffalo combined…largely because it only takes one bite when you get between a Hippo and the water, and that is evidently not all that hard to do. The guides at Tremisana are cautious and respectful and do not approach the river if the Hippos are still out of the water. Once in the water, you are safe, if you maintain a reasonable distance, and offer no threat. Though they might appear to be swimming, the hippos are actually kneeling on the bottom in shallow water, and can, as we saw when we got there, burst up pretty quickly. We saw other game and lots of birds on our bush walk, and learned a lot about the environment of the South African bush, but the highlight is certainly the Hippos of the Olifant River.
Sony RX10iii at 591mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ f4 @ ISO 125. Processed and cropped for effect in Lightroom.
Hansom Fellow. Giraffe at Kruger
Giraffe, Kruger National Park, South Africa.
As I suspected, the wifi at the lodges and camps in greater Kruger National Park in South Africa was somewhat chancy, so I have some posts to make up from my 11 days there. I will be doing it over the next several days. This hansom male Giraffe could not have been better posed, and the light could not have been better. You can tell it is a male because of the smooth round knobs on the end of its bony extrusions (horns). Females have tufts of hair there. I had many opportunities to photograph Giraffes and you will undoubtedly see several over the next few days. 🙂
Sony RX10iii at 390mm equivalent field of view. I found that full zoom was only occasionally needed when photographing the larger animals at Kruger. Program mode. 1/640th @ ISO 100 @ f4. Processed in Lightroom.
Poison Dart Frog, Tranquilo Bay
Poison Dart Frog, Tranquilo Bay Lodge, Bocas Del Toro, Panama
This is an early post for tomorrow. I leave in the middle of the night for 13 days (with travel) in South Africa, in Kruger National Park, where I am not certain at all I will have wifi or internet, so this may be the last post for a while, or posts may be intermittent. I promise to catch up when I get home. 🙂
The island of Bestimeno, where Tranquilo Bay Lodge is located in Bocas del Toro, Panama, has only the red/orange variety of Poison Dart Frog. Just across the bay, on Popa, they have several varieties: ranging from orange with blue legs to yellow with turquoise legs, all the same species (so far)…and even another species altogether which is black with yellow stripes. There is a Smithsonian study going on right now to determine the pattern of genetic variation in the Poison Dart frogs of Bocas del Toro. This shot was taken on our first afternoon hike at Tranquilo…using the flash on the camera.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/60th @ ISO 200 @ f4 with on-camera flash. It was considerably dark under the canopy in the rainforest, Processed and cropped slightly in Lightroom.
Urania Swallowtail Moth
Urania Swallowtail Moth, Tranquilo Bay Lodge, Bocas del Toro, Panama
We saw hundreds, maybe even a thousand, of these spectacular migrating moths while in Panama. They were everywhere, from the Continental Divide at 4000 feet, to flying out over the bays of Bocas del Toro at sea level. It is the Urania Swallowtail Moth…a moth, despite looking very like a green and black swallowtail butterfly, and despite flying during the day. Of the huge number I saw, this is one of only two I saw perched. The other was at night on the ceiling of my cabin porch, next to the porch light. Interestingly, by the light of my flashlight or the flash on my camera (and I suspect any light striking the back of the moth near the perpendicular) the “green” is bright metallic gold.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. ISO 800 @ 1/250 @ f4. Processed and cropped slightly in Lightroom.
American Pygmy Kingfisher Panama-style
American Pygmy Kingfisher, Snyder Canal, Bocas del Toro, Panama.
You have a pretty good chance of seeing at least 5 of the 6 possible Kingfishers for Panama along the banks of the Snyder Canal in the Changuinola district of Panama. And the 6th is at least a possibility…but it is only seen occasionally. On our trip there last week we saw Ringed, Green, Amazon, and Pygmy…but no Green Rufous Kingfisher…for 5 out of 6. The American Pygmy Kingfisher has to be one of my favorite birds. It packs more attitude into its tiny body than birds 10 times it size 🙂 Along the Snyder Canal we are in bigger boats so a close approach is not always possible, but I am happy with this shot from further out.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ ISO 800 @ f4. Cropped and processed in Lightroom.
Keel-billed Toucan
Keel-billed Toucan, Snyder Canal, Bocas del Toro, Panama
We were stopped along the canal to photograph another bird when our sharp-eyed boatman spotted this Keel-billed Toucan almost right overhead. It was pretty well buried in the foliage but by squirming around in the boat I managed a decent shot. This is closer to a Toucan than any other sighting in Panama by a factor of 50, so I am happy with it.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode. Processed and cropped in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet.
Sloth Baby
Two-toed Sloth. Changuinola Valley, Panama
I believe this is a Two-toed Sloth we found on the road down to the Changuinola River in the foothills for Panama above Bocas del Toro. The mother is making a hammock for her baby. The baby was, typical for the young of any species, quite active (for a sloth). It was also very interested in us.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode. Cropped and processed in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet.
Passerini’s TanagerÂ
Passerini’s Tanager. Snyder Canal, Bocas del Toro, Panama
Before we got to Swan Island and the Red-billed Tropicbirds yesterday, we spent most of the day motoring quietly along Snyder’s Canal… the first Panama Canal…built to move bananas from Plantation to port. It was only used for about 5 years before the United Fruit Company built a railroad that was much more efficient. Along the shores of the old canal today you can get close views of many of the lowland and forest species. This Passerini’s Tanager came right out to the edge to take a look at us as we floated a dozen feet off-shore.
Sony RX10iii at 600mm equivalent field of view. Program Mode. Processed and cropped slightly in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet.
Red-billed Tropicbird
Red-billed Tropicbird. Swan Island, Bocas del Toro, Panama.
At the end of a long day in a boat in the Snyder Canal in Bocas del Toro, Panama (as part of the ZEISS VICTORY SF Experience at Tranquilo Bay Lodge) we chanced the off-shore waves to go out to Swan Island to the Red-billed Tropicbird rookery. Sea bird rookery is more accurate as Brown Boobies and Magnificent Frigatebirds also nest and roost there. The Tropicbirds, however, are certainly the stars of the show. Super elegant, graceful, impressive in every way. Today there had to be a hundred birds circling the island and the nests in holes in the cliffs. It had clouded over but there was still enough light for effective photography.
My Sony RX10iii actually did a pretty good job with the fast moving birds…better than I expected. My custom bkrds-in-flight mode…ISO set to auto, minimum shutter speed 1/1000th, and wide area focus to pick up the birds against the background. This shot was processed in PhotoShop Express on my Android tablet.