Daily Archives: September 14, 2022

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.