Monthly Archives: January 2023
Uganda Edition: Plains Zebra
Burchelle’s Zebra (Plains Zebra), Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — Lake Mburo, always our last stop before the airport at the end of our Uganda safari, is also our last chance for the larger wildlife of Africa…and our only chance for Zebra (they also have Zebra in the Kidepo Valley National Park, in the northeast corner of Uganda right up against Kenya, but we don’t get up there). Zebras have never been domesticated…their spines are not strong enough to carry weight or to pull weight…it could also have to do with their temperament, but we won’t go there. They are certainly beautiful animals to see in the wild. Lake Mburo has numbers…but not the big herds of Kenya or Tanzania. Sony Rx10iv at 229mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Lesser Goldfinch
Lesser Goldfinch: San Vito, Costa Rica, December 2022 — Another bird from the wasteland by the airport in San Vito. The Lesser Goldfinch is actually rare in Costa Rica, and restricted to foothills and highlands. It is similar to the Lessor Goldfinches we might see in South Texas, but quite different than our Lessers from most of the west. Sony Rx10iv at 591mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 200 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Uganda Edition: more Lilac-breasted Roller
Lilac-breasted Roller: near Lake Mbruo National Park, Uganda, August 2022 — The Lilac-breasted Roller deserves another post (I think, at least). Two more shots from the roadside on our way from Kabale to Lake Mburo. Such a glorious bird! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/1000th, plus 1.3EV and ISO 125 @ f4 @ 1/500th, plus 2.3EV.
Rufous-browed Peppershrike
Rufous-browed Peppershrike: San Vito, Costa Rica, December 2022 — We drove down to the town of San Vito, cutting down a narrow steep shortcut to come out the other side of town by the airport. There is a woodworking shop there where birders park to overlook the little wetland in the valley below in hopes of some interesting water birds. It is a long shot, but there are sometimes some brushy birds in the waste ground around the shop as consolation prizes…on this visit a Rufous-browed Peppershrike, down low. This is a mid- and high-canopy bird of forest edges, so seeing it in bush 5 feet from the ground in the open was kind of special. It stayed well tucked back in the bush and was only in clear view for the moment when I happened to be looking through the camera. 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Uganda Editon: Lilac-breasted Roller
Lilac-breasted Roller: On the road from Kabale to Lake Mburo, Uganda, August 2022 — It was Stan’s first trip to Africa and all his daughter wanted from him was a photo of a Lilac-breasted Roller. And, though I had seen them in South Africa and Kenya, I had missed seeing one in Uganda in 2019, so I really wanted one on this trip. We watched the wires on the drive from Kabale to Lake Mburo very carefully, and Stan had the honor of calling this one out! We stopped (of course) and took photos. And, of course, once the ice was broken, we saw many more in Lake Mburo National Park…but this one, though totally backlit, was special! Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 100 @ f4 @ 1/800th. Plus 1.3EV.
Wild Turkeys in the winter…
Wild Turkeys: Kennebunk, Maine, USA, January 2023 — We have this herd of Wild Turkeys in the neighborhood the past few days. They come out of the little patch of forest across the road before sun-up, and yesterday, wandered into our backyard, where they foraged under the trees. A few came right up under the deck to get the spilled bird seed. The snow layer is frozen hard, so I assume they are having trouble finding food in the forest. Carol counted 40 in our yard. Again, these shots are at the limits of light 🙂 Sony Rx10iv at 350 and 240mm equivalents. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/200th and 1/100th.
Uganda Edition: Black-headed Heron
Uganda Edition: Black-headed Herons, on the grounds of Bird’s Nest Lodge on Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda, August 2022 — The nest was in the tree overhanging the veranda, and clearly the birds were not bothered by the constant observation of the guests. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. ISO 160 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Common Chlorsphingus
Common Chlorosphingus: Las Cruces Biological Research Station, San Vito, Costa Rica, December 2022 — Indeed the most common Chlorosphingus in Costa Rica and probably in Central America. One of the most common birds around feeders and often the flock leader in mixed feeding flocks in the forest. They are pretty much everywhere, at higher elevations though I think the Sooty-capped is more common at the highest elevations. Sony Rx10iv at 485 and 600mm equivalents. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. ISO 800 and 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus .7EV.
Uganda Edition: Slender-billed Weaver
Slender-billed Weaver: Bird’s Nest Lodge, Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda, August 2022 — Bird’s Nest Lodge on Lake Bunyonyi is a luxurious rest stop after Gorilla or Golden Monkey trekking in the mountains. A place to clean off the mud, take a hot shower, and enjoy the views out over “the lake of many little birds” (which I think is the translation of the name). There are always birds on the grounds as well. These Slender-billed Weavers were nesting over the veranda above the lake. Sony Rx10iv at 600mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications and multi-frame noise reduction. Processed in Pixelmator Photo and Apple Photos. Equivalent ISO 6400 @ f4 @ 1/500th.
Lesson’s Motmot
Lesson’s Motmot: Las Cruces Biological Research Station, San Vito, Costa Rica, December 2022 — If you remember, I posted a Lesson’s Motmot from our very first day in Costa Rica, from the grounds of the Hotel Bougainvilla, This one came for the bananas on the terrace behind the dinning hall at Las Curces. Lesson’s and the Blue-capped Motmot with a range in Northeast Mexico both used to be the Blue-crowned Motmot when I first birded in Central America. The Lesson’s is perhaps the most common Motmot in Central American and certainly in Costa Rica. Sony Rx10iv at 580mm and 493mm equivalents. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Pixelmator Pro and Apple Photos. Upright: ISO 400 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Horizontal: ISO 800 @ f4 @ 1/500th. Plus .7EV.