Monthly Archives: August 2022
Bonus pic for today! White Rhino
Bonus pic for today! I promise that no little old ladies (or Rhinos) were harmed in the making of this photo 🙂 The lady is actually much closer to me than she is to the White Rhinoceros at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Uganda. It happens that this is the only shot I have of an adult Rhino with its head up. At Ziwa the business of Rhinos is eating and groaning and reproducing…with time out for raising young. That’s all they have to do, as they are guarded day and night by armed rangers. So in most photos the Rhinos are very busy with their heads down grazing in the tall grass. 🙂 Such is life in the protected species lane. Ziwa now has 30 of the 50 Rhinos that the Sanctuary can support, and they are looking forward to releasing their first White Rhinos back to the wild in just a few years. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 1000 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird: Jet Dream Suites, Entebbe, Uganda — Our first morning in Uganda, along with the Black-headed Gonolek in the courtyard of our lodgings, there was this tiny, very noisy little bird bouncing around deep in the branches of the same tree. I managed a couple of shots, and Gordon, our birding specialist trainee guide for the trip, identified it as a Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird. We were to see lots of Tinkerbirds during out trip around the southwestern sector of Uganda, but this was, as far as I can remember, the only Yellow-fronted. Sony Rx10iv at 591mm equivalent, Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus 1EV exposure compensation.
Pied Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher: Mabamba Marsh, Lake Victoria, Uganda, August 2022 — There are 15 different species of Kingfishers in Uganda, and in our 14 days of travel we saw 9 of them…but the most numerous and widespread has to be the Pied Kingfisher. They were pretty much everywhere, along every lake and river…and they were present in what can only be described as “large” numbers. Several times we saw trees or bushes with more that 10 birds perched together, and they were so common hovering over water while hunting that after a while it would have seemed more strange not to see a Pied Kingfisher than to see one. And they are hard to miss…about the size of the common North American Belted Kingfisher, and with that bold black and white plumage pattern, and their habits of actively hover hunting over water. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Black-headed Gonolek
Black-headed Gonolek: Dreamjet Suites, Entebbe, Uganda, August 2022 — On our first night in Uganda we stayed at the Dreamjet Suites on the hill overlooking the lake, because there were no rooms at the Dreamjet Cottages, where we generally stay and it was only a few hours of rest after our long flights anyway. They had a postage stamp garden and I was greeted by this Black-headed Gonolek, certainly a treat on any morning, and a great welcome to the birds of Uganda. It is a cousins of the Bulbul, which is probably the most common and widely distributed of East African Birds, but, of course, much more colorful Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 1000 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus 1 EV exposure compensation.
Leopard!
Leopard: Murchinson Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — There is a story about safari vehicle traffic jams and management of wildlife encounters around this photo, but patience and common sense paid off with a somewhat rare sighting of Leopard in the tall grass savanna of Murchinson Falls National Park. The safari vehicles were blocking the road between the Leopard and its prey, which was hung in a tree, so the Leopard was keeping well hidden in tall grass. Some effective negation on the part of driver/guide Moses, got all the vehicles moved out of the way so the cat could move…and we happened back by the spot just as it decided it was safe to do so. A very special encounter with a magnificent cat. Sony Rx10iv at 580mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/800th.
Bushbuck
Bushbuck: Ziwa Rhino Santuary, Uganda, August 2022 — This Bushbuck crossed the road ahead of our Land Cruiser and posed for a photo out the window. Sony Rx10iv at 277 and 600mm equivalents. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Nominal exposure ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
White Rhinoceros
White Rhinoceros: Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, Uganda, August 2022 — Carol asked if we had seen anything besides birds yet in Uganda, and of course we have. These are White Rhinos from the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where efforts are being made to restock the National Parks with White Rhino, which were expatriated from Uganda many years ago. From 2 donated Rhinos, they have built a herd of 30…and when they reach 50 (the capacity of the refuge), they will begin relocating them to the National Parks in hopes of establishing several viable herds. The Rhinos are wild within the protected refuge, and part of the funds to operate the refuge come from Rhino Trekking…where visitors walk out into the field (with armed rangers) in hopes of encountering Rhino. Sony Rx10iv at various focus lengths. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos.
Blue-breasted Bee-eater
Blue-breasted Bee-eater: Mabamba Swamp, Entebbe, Uganda, August 2022 — Another one of the many bee-eaters we hope to encounter in Uganda. This the Blue-breasted seen from our Shoebill boat in Mabamba Swamp on the shore of Lake Victoria. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Malachite Kingfisher
Malachite Kingfisher: Mabamba Swamp, Entebbe, Uganda, August 2022 — Shoebills, of course, are not the only birds in the Mabamba Swamp. This Malachite Kingfisher posed nicely along one of the channels. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Ross’s Turaco
Ross’s Turaco: Entebbe Botanical Gardens, Entebbe, Uganda, August 2022 — There are several Turacos in East Africa and Uganda. The Ross’s is arguably among the most colorful. We found this one with a group of Great Blue Turacos at the Botanical Gardens in Entebbe. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 500 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus 1.3EV.