Posts in Category: animals
Sloth down low
Two-toed Sloth: Playa Blanco, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, December 2022 — While we were watching the Macaws, folks at the house at the end of the long drive shaded by the Beach Almond trees were watching us. We were on their property, and it did cross my mind when a young lady and gentleman came walking up toward us that we about to the “told off”, but, of course, being Costa Rica, they actually wanted to invite us down to the house where they had a sloth low in the tree that shaded their picnic table. Did we want to come take photos? Well, yes, thank you! Really low as it turns out…just at eye level for the taller among us. The young couple enjoyed watching us ooh and awe and snap. It was the home of the young lady’s uncle, and yes, she had grown up right there in Playa Blanca. The young man was less talkative, but all smiles. You don’t often see a sloth so close, and in such good company. Sony Rx10iv at 300mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications with multi-frame noise reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 5000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Eyelash Pit Viper
Eyelash Pit Viper: Las Tardes Community Ecology Project, Corcovado National Park, Osa Penninsula, Costa Rica — As I mentioned in a previous post, because of high water and damaged roads up the river channel we could not take our normal tractor and trailer ride up the Recon River into Corcovado National Park, so we drove into the Las Tardes Community Ecology Project at the edge of the park. One of their projects is snake relocation. They pay local farmers to bring the snakes they encounter in their fields to them, rather than just killing them, and then, after keeping them a few days to make sure they are healthy, they relocate them deep in the park. On any given day they may have several venomous snakes ready for relocation. They brought out two Eyelash Pit Vipers for us to see and photograph: one the bright yellow we associate with the species, and this one which is quite different in color. It turns out that Eyelash Pit Vipers come in a variety of colors…and there can be any number of colors in a single hatch of eggs. Sony Rx10iv at 600 and 192mm equivalents. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 1600 and 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th and 1/400th.
Sunday Supplement: Squirrel Monkey
A troop of Squirrel Monkeys roost right over the dinning area at Danta Corcovado Lodge here on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, but they only appear when it is almost dark. We found this troop along the road into the Las Tardes Community Ecology Project at the edge of Corcovado National Park. They have to among the cutest of the primates! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos.
ISO 640 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
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.
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.
Sunday Supplement: Vervet Monkey
A young Vervet Monkey in a Candelabra Tree in the northern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda in August of this year. I am not sure what it is looking at…but it is certainly looking! 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.
Yellow-billed Oxpecker on African Buffalo
Yellow-billed Oxpecker on African Buffalo: Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Pretty much your classic shot of a Yellow-billed Oxpecker…and pretty much your classic portrait shot of an African or Cape Buffalo. Oxpeckers are actually parasitic on some animals, like Giraffes, where they open wounds on the animals hide to attract insects, but in the Buffalo it is a symbiotic relationship where the Oxpecker eats the insects that would eat the Buffalo. Sony Rx10iv at 526mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th.
Black Friday Special! Hippo from the bank
Hippopotamus: Kazinga Channel, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — I have lots of photos of hippos taken from the boats on the the Nile and the Kazinga Channel, but this is one of the few I have taken while on foot. We had stopped by the channel for a break, mid game drive, and there was a whole school of hippos off-shore. Sony Rx10iv at 469mm (close!). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/800th.