Monthly Archives: September 2022
Primate edition: Patas Monkey
Another road-side attraction from Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda. Patas Monkeys appear to be the most common primate at Murchison. We saw our first one before we got to the lodge on the first day of our visit, and several on our game drives over the nest days. This one was, as you can see, right beside the road. It looked to be a solitary male, as it did not have a troop of females and young with it. I have to admit that on more than one occasion I almost called out Lion! when I saw a Patas moving on all fours through the tall savannah grasses. It has very much that look about it and it moves in a similar, stalking, way. 🙂 Still I was almost as happy to see another Patas as I would have been to see a lion…almost. Sony Rx10iv at 111mm equivalent (that close!). Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/320th.
Helmeted Guineafowl
Helmeted Guineafowl: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — There are three possible Guineafowl in East Africa, and two in Uganda, but I have only ever seen the Helmeted…which is the most widespread and common. You see them frequently by the roadside (and in the road) at Murchison Falls National Park and at both Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo…generally in small groups of up to half a dozen birds. I had to zoom back and lean out over the open top of the Land Cruiser to get this shot. The bird was that close. Sony Rx10iv at 247mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/500th. (Actually, it is hard for me to think of Guineafowl as “wild” birds as I grew up with Guineafowl running around the yard in Upstate New York. My Grandfather raised a number of “exotic” birds…we had a peacock and various fancy chickens and ducks as well.)
African Buffalo
African Buffalo: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — I always want to call this animal, wherever I see it in Africa, a Water Buffalo, but, of course it is not. You do see Water Buffalo in Africa, as domestic cattle along the upper Nile, but the Buffalo of the savannahs is the African Buffalo…most often the larger sub-species sometimes called the Cape Buffalo (there is a slightly smaller and less common subspecies called the Forest Buffalo, which I have probably seen in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, but the difference are small and hard to be sure of). African Buffalo are notoriously mean-tempered…but that is probably not fair to the Buffalo…they do not see well at a distance and respond unpredictably to threats when detected…so they have to be approached cautiously…and preferably, not at all. Left to themselves they are relatively placid animals, fond of wallowing in mud-holes and grazing. Sony Rx10iv at 184mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/400th.
Palm-nut Vulture
Palm-nut Vulture: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — The Palm-nut Vulture is exactly what the name says. It is, oddly enough, a vulture that feeds primarily on palm nuts…both Oil and Raffia, and its range in sub-Sahara Africa closely matches the range of those trees. It does occasionally feed on fish (crabs, reptile eggs, smaller reptiles, etc.) and it is listed in the field guides as a “fish-eating raptor,” and is most often seen near water. The black and white adults, with their huge yellow beak and red eye-patch, are unmistakable. The immatures are plain brown, developing more white plumage as they age, but they have the bare patch around the eye and, of course, that big beak.
Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Adult: ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/640th. Immatures: ISO 100 @ f4 and 6.3 @ 1/1000th.
Antelope edition: Oribi
Oribi are small, graceful antelope, and are very common in the tall grass savannah of Murchison Falls National Park…apparently less common elsewhere in Uganda. The females and young can be seen at the edges of grazing herds of Uganda Kob, or off by themselves. The males seem to be more secretive, at least in my experience. I have only seen males twice in Uganda. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 250 and 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
White-faced Whistling Duck
White-faced Whistling Duck: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — These White-faced Whistling Ducks were in the same little puddle-pond/water-hole with the Crake from yesterday, along the road into Pakuba Lodge in Murchison Falls National Park. A look at the range map tells me that the White-faced Whistling Duck has perhaps one of the widest distributions in East Africa and Uganda, and can be seen just about anywhere there is appropriate habitat. 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.
Antelope edition: Jackson’s Hartebeest
In Uganda they call this the Jackson’s Hartebeest…but a little research this morning indicates that the Jackson’s Hartebeest is considered to be a cross between the Lewel’s and Coke’s subspecies…and in Uganda, at least at Murchison Falls National Park where we saw this one, is most probably identical to the Lewel’s…it is certainly counted as Lewel’s for conservation status purposes. On the other hand, other websites and local guides seem confident that this is the Jackson’s ??? Whatever it is, it is a handsome beast, closely related to the Wildebeest. The name, apparently, means “tough ox”… Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Black Crake
Black Crake: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — According to my field guide, there are 7 Crakes we might have seen Uganda, but we only saw the Black Crake…and we saw that pretty much wherever there was water…from the marshes of Lake Victoria, to the banks of the Nile, to little puddles in the savannah…like this one we passed on our way to our lodge in Murchison Falls National Park. Crakes, like most rails, are active, somewhat secretive, foragers of shallow waters. Their big feet allow them to walk on floating vegetation in the shallows. Orange and yellow and black…a striking color combination. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 320 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Martial Eagle
Martial Eagle: Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — On our way out for our first game drive in Murchison Falls National Park, we spotted this Martial Eagle in the top of an Acacia Tree a hundred yards from the road, sitting up in the early sun. The Martial Eagle, according to my brief research this morning, is the largest Eagle in Africa…with a wingspan of over 6 feet and weight of almost 10 pounds (huge for a bird). It is reportedly capable of some impressive feats of strength. Some say it can knock a grown man off his feet. It is heavily persecuted throughout its declining range, by farmers who are convinced it takes livestock…and by game rangers who think they are protecting vulnerable mammal species. It is certainly a big, heavy eagle, with just enough crest to make it stand out. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 125 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Bishops
Black Bishop and Northern Red Bishop: Bodongo Forest and Murchinson Falls National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — These two Bishops were not that far apart as the crow (or the Bishop) flies. The Black Bishop was in the fields at the edge of the Bodongo Forest just south of the Nile, and the Red Bishop was on the savannah just north of the Nile in Murchison Falls National Park. It is a long drive, but a short flight. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 400 and 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th and 1/640th. (Very different light…the Black Bishop had 1EV and added exposure for the cloudy dark morning.)