Tag: Botswana

photography

More Photos!!

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Due to WiFi issues, my posting plan has lost all semblance of reason. I am just posting any photos in no particular order. Here the photos are from Botswana and Victoria Falls. Additionally, thanks to Cedar CEDIE BOI for providing the photo of the Victoria Falls Bridge! 🙂

This is a Slaty Egret, one of the specialty birds of Botswana’s Okavango Delta. It is restricted in range and somewhat rare, so seeing it was a very good addition to our Moremi/Khwai birds.
Southern Ground Hornbills are some of the weirdest birds we saw on our trip. They can grow up to be over three feet long, and travel in packs, working their way across the ground searching for food.
The second-to-last of the Big Five for us to see. Despite their reputation, it is not the huge herds that are very dangerous, only the lone old males.
Almost immediately after seeing the buffalo we found this leopard. Apparently practically everybody else in the entire campground had also heard about it, so there was a huge group of safari vehicles clustered around this one forested area, with the leopard clearly visible among the trees.
Along with the Slaty Egret, Wattled Cranes are one of the Okavango Delta’s “Big Three” birds. They are classified by the IUCN Red List as globally Vulnerable with a population of 6,000-6,300 birds. We saw two on the ground, with one sitting on a potential nest.
Driving back from our day trip along the Khwai River we spotted this owl. At first we thought it was a Spotted Eagle-owl, but once it gave us a good view we identified it as a Verreaux’s Eagle-owl, one of the birds I most wanted to see.
Upon arriving in Victoria Falls we found this pair of White-fronted Bee-eaters, some of the most colorful birds in the region.
At the same place where we saw the bee-eaters I noticed this Red-winged Starling, drinking from the fountains near the pool where we were having lunch.
While going on a walk in Vic Falls I spotted a flock of White-crested Helmetshrikes, and got this photo.
One yard near our Air BnB had a tree that overhung the fence. In one tree I found this Black-collared Barbet along with Southern Masked-weavers, Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, Collared Sunbirds, and more.
This is a photo of the Victoria Falls Bridge. We were at the Victoria Falls Hotel when Cedar CEDIE BOI 🐓🐱🐈🐶🐕🐹 wanted to take a photo, so I let him take this one.
On the lawn of the Victoria Falls Hotel there was a large group of warthogs, letting people get close and letting me get this photo.
photography

Africa, Part One!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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As many of you know, we are now in Africa! Currently we are in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, after doing a 12 day safari in Botswana with our guide Kabelo. As we are in Africa, I have seen over a hundred new species of birds and taken many photos of them (and a couple of the more interesting mammals). Because of this, today’s post may be a bit long. However, I think you will enjoy it! (Due to the large number of photos I would like to post I will be posting four installments, each with 21 photos. Because of this, the photos in this post are from August 3rd to the 5th, our first two days of the Botswana safari).

This is a Familiar Chat, seen on the drive to the town of Otse in Botswana, south of Gabarone. The chat was very familiar, and did not fly away, allowing me to get this, and some other, photos.
This is a Cape Griffon, or Cape Vulture, which is very rare and declining, a victim of poisoning. Its current global status is Endangered, and in the whole of Botswana there are only two colonies. This picture is from the colony at Otse, the reason we went to that village.
The Gray Go-away-bird, one of the most common birds in the region, is very endearing and comes close to you, allowing good photos. This one flew into our camp at Khama Rhino Sanctuary and perched on a tree with its crest raised, providing a perfect photo.
Along with the go-away-bird, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills are also very common in central Botswana. I saw this one just after we had started a game drive at the rhino sanctuary and the sunrise light on it provided an amazing view.
Helmeted Guineafowl are some of the more common game birds in southern Africa, and congregate in huge flocks; we saw some reaching an estimated 50 birds!
Springbok were the first large mammals we saw, easily distinguished from impala by the different shape of the horns and the dark brown stripe on the side.
Although similar in appearance to sandpipers, Crowned Lapwings are not closely tied to water; we saw many out on the open pans, with no water nearby.
Impala were the second large mammal we saw, after Springbok. They turned out to be more common, and soon became like mule deer in Colorado.
Our first mammalian predator to be seen was the Black-backed Jackal, one of the most doglike creatures you can find. We particularly enjoyed how they run, described by many as “trucking“.
At one particular water hole we saw jackals, impala, Martial Eagle, White Stork, warthog, and Red Hartebeest coexisting together (which makes sense, because a jackal couldn’t eat any of those).
This Burchell’s Sandgrouse was the second sandgrouse species we saw. Sandgrouse are well-known for their habit of flying varying distances to watering holes to drink at various times of the day.
Crested Francolins turned out to be surprisingly common, much more common than any game bird in the U.S. We quickly began seeing large flocks moving about everywhere.
The Dwarf Mongoose is southern Africa’s (south of the Cunene and Zambezi Rivers) smallest carnivore. We saw several of these tiny mammals, at first thinking they were baby Banded Mongooses due to their size: full-grown ones are just 20 cm long!
Red-billed Oxpeckers frequent all types of large mammals; we saw them foraging for insects on kudu, impala, zebra, donkeys, and cows!
On a hike up the Goo-Moremi Gorge (not to be confused with Moremi Game Reserve) we saw an unexpected Verreaux’s Eagle, a very large raptor that we have only seen that one time.
On our second evening at Khama Rhino Sanctuary we witnissed a spectacular sunset over a watering hole filled with impala. This was one of the most iconic African scenes we have observed.
At that same time we noticed a herd of giraffe walking towards the watering hole, and I realized that this was a moment I could not miss. (Actually, I pulled out my camera to find out that I had used up my memory card space, so hastily deleting a video and some photos got me the ability to capture this photo).
This is a Natal Francolin, the second francolin to be seen by us. I noticed it just after I got up at the campsite at Khama Rhino Sanctuary.
I have compared the brilliant color of the Crimson-breasted Gonolek’s underparts to those of a Vermillion Flycatcher, one of our Southwestern birds in the U.S., some of the most admired birds for their color.
Fork-tailed Drongos are some of the commonest birds in this region, and are easily seen sallying to catch insects in flight.
Although their appearance is similar to cows, Blue Wildebeest are actually large antelope, and we saw many of them, sometimes in large herds, but never as many as in the documentaries where somebody with David Attenborough’s voice is grandly describing the “great migration” that occurs in Kenya.
poetry

Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl

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Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl

on a bare branch
directly along our path
in the last sunset light a camera needs
beneath the blue-white glow
of a nearly-full moon
he perches casually
as if we’ve conjured him
as if there were anything else we needed
as if we hadn’t been awed enough

our pink eyelids blink back at his
and our jaws hang open
our lips forming a wowed o
for owl

poetry

shapeshifter

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Owen took these photos

shapeshifter

in the thicket
sunlight flows
and shadow flickers
unremarkable
except for a
white twitch of tail:
leopard

poetry

Saddle-billed Stork

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Owen took these photos

Saddle-billed Stork

out of the world
of tribal masks
and dances from the spirit realm
comes an ancestor
tall on thin black legs
with a bright white body
like a spotlight
then a long brilliant bill
orange-red like a night fire
off in the bush
then a shaman’s face
black, bony, banded
with ceremonial pigments
the same fire engine red
but also taxi cab yellow

he stands two hands higher
than the tallest reeds
herky-jerks his way
through the shallows
shaking his magnificent head
like a melodramatic puppet
bends low
comes up awkward
with more fish than he can swallow
manages anyway
ends up with a bream-shaped bulge
in his long smooth neck

when we drive past him the second time
I’m just as awed –
again he appears as
a fierce young warrior
long-limbed
and all adolescent elbows

poetry

Owen at Twelve

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Owen at Twelve

Owen gets burned and says almost nothing
sprawls across my lap
trying to capture light and feathers
just right
tells stand-up-comedian-quality jokes
(he asserts)
while cracking himself up until he squeaks
works hard every day
to get a huggie! response from his brother
sleeps sound while a hyena
yowls its way through camp
eats whatever meat is set before him
knows birds he’s never seen before
nearly as well as he knows
how to turn the tumblers
on each one of our hearts
while arching his eyebrows
giving a mischievous sidelong look

poetry

Tsodilo Hills Masterwork

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Tsodilo Hills Masterwork

3,000 years ago
one soul laid on his back
smearing red on rock
saying
I’m here
now.

Yes,
and I see you knew
how to mark a whale
spinning through blue
stabbed with sunlight –
something my tentative hand
still can’t manage
despite all the time in the world
to try.

poetry

Navigating Botswana

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Navigating Botswana

we sniff out water
like all the other animals:
moist must of algae and clay
true reflection of sky
(not just mirage)
dark sepia of saturated soil
bright green of a drinking plant

they lead us to our rendezvous
with stork and zebra
elephant and giraffe
impala and kudu
even vultures gulping what’s left
in this dried-out land

we search out
the flush toilets and working sinks
cold fizzies and St. Louis cans
hot showers and cold swimming pools
coffee tea delta panhandle Boteti
our veins pulled to whatever else still flows
through these deepest of dry sands

poetry

who owns the rain?

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who owns the rain?

in a thousand villages
in a hundred towns
in a dozen cities
people argue right now:
who owns the rain?

in a western water court
old men hear cases
weigh the rights of farmers and fish
consider the adage
first in time first in line
gauge what use is beneficial
collect money to buy life
decide with finality
who owns the rain?

in Botswana
money = pula
and pula = rain
the earth’s heart is carved
into mountains of tailings
to exhume sparkling rocks
while some drink salt
hoping for a new borehole
weathering drought wondering
who exactly owns the pula?

in Colorado
you had to be a renegade
to steal the water off your roof
every ounce of the rivers
already over-allocated
bought and paid for
by who knows who
you had to be brave to rebel
to catch that daily liquid thunder
and defiantly say
I claim this rain