Nikon200500 on The Singemonkey

September 19, 2024

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 20:39:57 +0000

A White-Fronted Bee-Eater. I’ll hopefully post a compilation for fellow bird-nerds before too long. I’ve seen some cool stuff and some that’s really new to me or photographed ok by me for the first time.

September 19, 2024

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 17:39:38 +0000

Kruger is about landscape as well as beasts, birds, and trees.

September 15, 2024

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 21:51:42 +0000

The prettiest kitty. Dozing on a branch over the Sabie just like her ancestors have probably done for thousands of years.

September 15, 2024

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 09:10:31 +0000

From hell’s dark heart we stab at thee. The oxpeckers riding the behemoth were sold to me as a kid as being benevolent helpers clearing animals of parasites. But they are also parasites themselves. This huge flock are riding this giraffe to pick at an open wound on its back.

It’s no good shaking them off. They just swoop back seconds later.

September 12, 2024

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 21:25:19 +0000

Long and lovely day. Goodnight.

September 09, 2024

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 19:28:20 +0000

All elephants together.

September 09, 2024

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 19:12:01 +0000

Plains Zebras are very passionate. Affectionate or fighting at the drop of a hat. Horses got strength and endurance and zebras got the rest perhaps.

September 09, 2024

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 18:39:20 +0000

I’ve been struggling a little with my photographic workflow since this 20 year old Nikon D200 uses the old compact flash cards and my card reader no longer reads them.

One bit of emergency photo recovery and some new software later, I’m back in business. I should be posting more regularly on this trip.

There’s been a lot of talk about the qualities of old CCD sensors like this one. But really the sensors before this generation (the last) were rather terrible.

September 06, 2024

Fri, 06 Sep 2024 20:30:34 +0000

Three days on the road and now we get to relax. We’re not going to be go-getters tomorrow. We had to go through the park pretty swiftly from Malelane Gate to Kruger Gate and, although we saw tons of great stuff, I only took a handful of pics.

A Steenbok is the most delightful little animal. And those terrapins are showing us the way - basking on top of a fully alive but very sleepy hippo.

June 26, 2024

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 15:53:58 +0000

Took another crack at the sunbirds. There were so many. I took more decent pictures of them today than in my entire life up until. Trying to think how to post a few more without it being boring.

June 20, 2024

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 09:24:38 +0000

I had a lovely experience with this little character. It’s a Cape Spurfowl - a common little ground bird that starts life as a fluffy golf ball on spindly legs. I was struggling to focus as it got nearer and nearer until it was right next to where I was lying on the grass - inspecting me at close range for signs of edibles. They’re lovely up close with their intricate patterns.

June 20, 2024

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 08:18:32 +0000

À propos first thing in the morning? The Cape Town Valkyrie, the Hadeda Ibis. I recently read that they have a sensitive organ in their long beaks that can detect the tiny vibrations of prey wriggling beneath the ground.

May 28, 2024

Tue, 28 May 2024 18:37:59 +0000

Today was another perfect winter’s day in Cape Town. The end of May had absolutely no business being this hot and sunny. My dad and I went to Kirstenbosch for lunch and lugged big lenses to photograph sunbirds because - to top it off - the aloes were flowering in blazing Technicolor, making a feast for the wee nectar suckers. It was simply too hot… in May… to stay long photographing them in the sun.

April 28, 2024

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 12:05:58 +0000

We have a number of large herons in South Africa. As a rule they’re pretty shy. But for some reason yesterday morning we kept coming across Black Headed Herons that were close to the road or even had to be persuaded to move.

April 27, 2024

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 17:16:32 +0000

Then there was this mystery buzzard. Common Buzzard? Something more unusual. I dunno. Will update.

April 27, 2024

Sat, 27 Apr 2024 16:08:33 +0000

Morning flamingos. 🦩 @millar6300 @joydemillar and I went to Strandfontein and started seeing big flocks of greater flamingos straight away in the early light.

October 28, 2022

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 11:28:03 +0000

Looking through some pics to make some prints and I discovered this lion pic from 2018. They really are strange-looking cats. Very long and lean. I guess they’re built for more endurance than Tigers and most other cats that are ambush hunters. Lions have to keep up with prey for longer periods of time, I think.

September 12, 2021

Sun, 12 Sep 2021 18:52:32 +0000

I decided I preferred this Blue Eared Starling pic.

September 12, 2021

Sun, 12 Sep 2021 18:41:17 +0000

Would you believe that this creature is one of the most common birds in the Kruger National Park? They’re even common in Johannesburg gardens. They’re still stunning birds, no matter how ubiquitous - and cheeky - they are.

September 09, 2021

Thu, 09 Sep 2021 18:15:02 +0000

Not every leopard just walks right up to your car.

September 08, 2021

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 17:23:42 +0000

The delicate little Steenbok that lives a very nervous life all by itself in the Southern African bushveld.

September 08, 2021

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 17:15:46 +0000

Bird dump: Little Bee-Eater, African Darter, Greenback Heron, White Helmetshrike, Blue Waxbill.

September 06, 2021

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 19:42:10 +0000

A turkey sized bird with a knife for a face. And despite the name, they can definitely fly.

September 06, 2021

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 08:21:26 +0000

We’ve been seeing more giraffes that ever before so far on our holiday. From youngsters to grizzled veterans towering over the car with their scars and lion-lost tails. While I’m sometimes used to them, I’m still sometimes struck by what zany nonsense creatures they are. Evolution can take you to really strange places if you’re not careful.