The Itinerary Starts Here

King Vulture (female) - Laguna del Lagarto, Costa Rica

Today we had the first transfer of the trip from the hotel in San Pedro to the eco lodge Laguna del Lagarto. It wasn’t too far to travel and by midday we were checked in and taking our first pictures. On the way we had been treated to the spectacle of thousands of Swainson's Hawks and Turkey Vultures migrating from the USA down to South America.

The beauty of Laguna was the huge deck from which we could shoot, sheltered from any heavy rain showers of which there were a few over the two days we spent there. Our main targets here were Toucans - Keel-billed and Chestnut-mandibled, Collared Aracaris and if we were lucky, some shots of the Caiman that inhabit the lake below the decking.

After our three-course lunch, the afternoon was spent photographing the smaller species. We had plenty of action from Tanagers, Orioles, Honeycreepers, Kiskadees and Black-cheeked Woodpeckers. On the mammal front we had a charming visit from a White-nosed Coati that gave us some amusement and consequently some good images.

Late in the afternoon we were able to photograph a Milk Snake with just enough time before darkness and the set up for Pallas’ Long-tongued Bats. This proved to be quite an interesting new technique for us, pre-focussing, keeping the shutter open waiting for the bat to fire the flash, then closing and re-opening the shutter immediately. Part of the learning process here was not to leave the shutter open too long in order to keep noise under control. Naturally, there were a number of times when the flash fired as I had closed the shutter. I was quite surprised to learn that in the 50 minutes session there were 90 bat passes, out of which I had 30 keepers.

Day two at Laguna started early, we were set up on the decking before 5:30, fully two hours before breakfast was due. Within 15 minutes the first Toucans appeared and after half an hour we had recorded Collared Aracari, Keel-billed and Chestnut-mandibled. All of our targets in fact.

Naturally a lot of the smaller birds showed up in this period, a few Coatis and a couple of perched Black Vultures drying their wings. But it was dominated by the Toucans.

The main focus of the day was actually an extra not in the itinerary, but a unique opportunity to photograph King Vultures from a hide. I’ve got cold in many hides over the years, but this had to be the hottest I’ve encountered by far. It’s fair to say we got some nice images, but in truth there were a lot of Black Vultures present, which made getting clean shots difficult. The perches favoured by the King Vultures were quite distant and they rarely ventured closer. Consequently the Black Vultures on the ground between the hide and the perches were the issue. It was an expensive extra and I’m not convinced it was value for money.

The afternoon session was in the lodge owner’s garden at his nearby house. There was a Hummingbird set up and some natural perches positioned to attract some of the smaller species. Undoubtedly the set up was more productive than the perches despite the fact that there was an influx of Bananaquits that limited the number of Hummingbirds. Not the most productive afternoon, but I probably shouldn’t complain as I have 56 keepers from the set up session.

The day was rounded off with a repeat of the Long-tongued Bat set up as soon as darkness fell. This proved to be a longer session, nearly twice as long in fact and yielded more than double the number of images. Keepers were up too, but not by the same ratio.

Our final morning was another 5:30am start and followed much the same activity as the previous morning, until we were finishing breakfast. It was at that point that some unusual activity occurred on the far side of the lake, Black Vultures started descending in number. Eventually we could see there was one of the Caiman on the far bank and it seems it had a kill, which the vultures were hoping to finish off.

Now this was an opportunity not to miss and a quick couple of hundred metres sprint, all downhill, had us in position. I’ve certainly never been as close to a Caiman as we were this time and I’m really pleased with the results.

Before we left there was just time for another set up, but this time it wasn’t for birds. By now it had started to rain quite heavily, but fortunately we were able to get under cover. This was definitely time to exercise some care, not for the shots of the Red-eyed Tree frog, but those of the Eyelash Pit Viper and the Hog-nosed Viper. Both poisonous and capable of striking out if you get too close. Thankfully we all survived.

That was it for this lodge, time to move on to our next location, with an interesting stop on the way. But that’s for next time.

An Excellent Addition

Yellow Crab Spider

As I wrote in my previous post, our first full day in Costa Rica was an unplanned addition and as such didn’t appear in the itinerary. However, it turned out to be an excellent, if surprising day.

We motored out of San Jose on the tour bus for about an hour before we turned off the main highway and down a rough track, stopping outside a house. We were met by the owner and ushered into the garden where we were to spend the day.

At first I admit I was sceptical about what was in store for us, but we were kept busy the whole day.

The owner of the house is a self-taught and exceptionally talented artist. He has set up the garden so that he can attract plenty of birds and animals to give him an unending supply of subject matter. In so doing, he has also created an environment that satisfied our needs as photographers.

The day was planned around certain set ups that saw each one of us have a number of 30 minute sessions. Whilst not doing a set up, we were in a hide next to a pond where there was a constant stream of birds to capture.

The first set up was for Hummingbirds and introduced us to the techniques involved in capturing sharp and well-lit images as the birds came into a flower. The main species here was the White-necked Jacobin, not altogether a surprise.

Running in parallel with this was another set up where we could get to grips with our macro technique. After all, macro was one of the main subjects for the trip. My first session involved an unusual, but very beautiful yellow Crab Spider. Ordinarily, I’m not a lover of spiders, but this trip introduced me to some beautiful specimens and I’ll look at spiders differently from now on.

A number of the birds we were seeing were the same as those we’d photographed in Trinidad and Tobago earlier in the year, but in my times between set ups I had a number of first sightings.

Outstanding among these were the Grey-necked Wood Rail, Collared Aracari, Orange-chinned Parakeet and the Chestnut-headed Oropendola.

With plenty of activity going on, it was a surprise how quickly lunchtime was reached. A delicious meal prepared by the house owner’s wife set us all up for an equally busy afternoon. There were more surprises to come.

After a time of carrying on the morning programme, we all climbed back on the bus and headed a mile or so down the road to a forest where there were known to be Crested Owls. Once there it didn’t take long to find them, but photographing them wasn’t going to be easy. It was naturally quite dark in the forest and we were somewhat distant from them. We needed 600mm focal lengths to reach them and with a requirement for a degree of flash, the Better Beamers were pressed into service. Even then I was shooting wide open at f/5.6 and an ISO of 6400 still only gave me 1/80th sec shutter speed.

Before we left the forest, our guide took a look around for some Honduran White Bats and to our great good fortune he found some. The final piece of luck we had was reserved until we were all boarding the bus. The guide had spotted a Slaty-tailed Trogon, deep in the forest and quite high up, but a notable sighting.

Arriving back at the house, there was still more to come and as we were preparing for the next set up, word went around that there was a young male Sloth in the tree above the house. Finding it was something of a challenge due to the vegetation and its proximity to the buildings, but two or three of the group managed to get a spot to take some pictures.

The rest of the group started to look around for a better vantage point and we were well rewarded. Further up the tree was an adult female and the gentleman who lived in the next-door house invited us into his garden to take our shots. From there we had an uninterrupted view as she climbed even higher up the tree. As she did so it slowly became apparent that she had a baby clinging on to her fur. We were enthralled for fully thirty minutes.

It’s fair to say that all members of the group had hopes of seeing a Sloth on this trip, but knowing the likelihood wasn’t that great. We weren’t due to travel to the area of the country where they are most prevalent. But to see three on our first full day was very special. We didn’t see any more.

Once this excitement was over, it was back to some more macro shooting and I ended my day with images of a Ghost Glass Frog and a Brown Leaf Katydid.

All too soon it was time to board the bus for the hour back to our hotel after what had been a very productive extra day. It was no surprise that evening that no-one decided to go out after dinner for more macro.

Time for Costa Rica

Golden-eyed Leaf Frog

When we returned from Kenya in November 2017 there were no plans for an immediate return. I suppose it was as we worked through our images from the trip that the enthusiasm for the idea started to build and by January arrangements were falling into place.

We knew it would be a different season of course, but when we arrived, the length of the grass in comparison to November was a big surprise. As I’ve mentioned in my previous posts, this made for a different overall experience and naturally a new variation of shots.

Reviewing the images we got from this trip has only strengthened our resolve to return to the Mara as often as possible. As we publish selections of our pictures in various groups, we are naturally exposed to some stunning shots captured by others and the big cats in particular become more and more familiar. There is quite a network of people who have superb knowledge of the individual cats and to some extent are able to quote family trees for various prides of Lions for instance.

This gives a new dimension to the images we have captured by enabling us to identify with particular animals. We get caught up in the whole scene and start to understand the interactions between the animals. It in turn fuels the desire to return to see how the various animals are progressing and where cubs are involved, the dynamics of when and how they have to finally fend for themselves.

There is a downside to this though, as the recent demise of certain Lions and a Leopard have brought home to us. It's just nature taking its course, but upsetting nonetheless.

In the past we have visited locations in Zambia, Botswana and South Africa, each on more than one occasion, but never experienced the same feelings. The terrain is different in those countries it’s true, but I can’t see how that has an effect. Maybe it’s as simple as the fact that Zambia and Botswana actively keep control on tourist numbers by keeping prices high. That in turn means there are less people taking a special interest and documenting proceedings.

It’s well known that the Mara is crazily busy during the migration, but at other times that’s not the case. It’s also our experience that there are many people, both pro and amateur photographers, who return again and again. They (we) can’t all be wrong surely? Indeed, we are set to return in January 2019.

We are also hosting an 8-day safari for photographers in November 2019 with just 2 places still available. Take a look at the 2019 Safari tab above. It’s a superb opportunity to photograph the animals from a dedicated vehicle and at a reasonable cost. Who knows, you may just be grabbed by the place in the same way as we have.

Kenya 2018 Summary

Kaboso in Stealth Mode Backlit

When we returned from Kenya in November 2017 there were no plans for an immediate return. I suppose it was as we worked through our images from the trip that the enthusiasm for the idea started to build and by January arrangements were falling into place.

We knew it would be a different season of course, but when we arrived, the length of the grass in comparison to November was a big surprise. As I’ve mentioned in my previous posts, this made for a different overall experience and naturally a new variation of shots.

Reviewing the images we got from this trip has only strengthened our resolve to return to the Mara as often as possible. As we publish selections of our pictures in various groups, we are naturally exposed to some stunning shots captured by others and the big cats in particular become more and more familiar. There is quite a network of people who have superb knowledge of the individual cats and to some extent are able to quote family trees for various prides of Lions for instance.

This gives a new dimension to the images we have captured by enabling us to identify with particular animals. We get caught up in the whole scene and start to understand the interactions between the animals. It in turn fuels the desire to return to see how the various animals are progressing and where cubs are involved, the dynamics of when and how they have to finally fend for themselves.

There is a downside to this though, as the recent demise of certain Lions and a Leopard have brought home to us. It's just nature taking its course, but upsetting nonetheless.

In the past we have visited locations in Zambia, Botswana and South Africa, each on more than one occasion, but never experienced the same feelings. The terrain is different in those countries it’s true, but I can’t see how that has an effect. Maybe it’s as simple as the fact that Zambia and Botswana actively keep control on tourist numbers by keeping prices high. That in turn means there are less people taking a special interest and documenting proceedings.

It’s well known that the Mara is crazily busy during the migration, but at other times that’s not the case. It’s also our experience that there are many people, both pro and amateur photographers, who return again and again. They (we) can’t all be wrong surely? Indeed, we are set to return in January 2019.

We are also hosting an 8-day safari for photographers in November 2019 with just 2 places still available. Take a look at the 2019 Safari tab above. It’s a superb opportunity to photograph the animals from a dedicated vehicle and at a reasonable cost. Who knows, you may just be grabbed by the place in the same way as we have.

It's Nearly Over

The Fast Five in their Habitat

Our last full day of the trip started out by meeting up with the Double Cross/Enkoyonai Lion pride. We had some gorgeous golden light and concentrated more on the juveniles for our shots. Their location gave us the chance to capture them both on open flat ground and also in some of the fine longer grasses.

However, Lions weren’t our target for the day, there were more pressing engagements awaiting us. On our trip in 2017 we had seen a coalition of five male Cheetahs on a few occasions and were keen to see them again on this trip. Our efforts had been frustrated up to now, as they had moved into an area of the Mara where we were unable to go, but the day greeted us with good news.

Overnight they had been spotted back in the area we could access and so that was where we headed. To get there we had to cross the Talek River and go through the town of Talek, then back out on to open plains. On our way to the Talek gate, we had a couple more avian sightings.

The first was a Rufous-naped Lark, perched beautifully in great light and with a nice clean background, but even with a 600mm focal length, a bit distant. Not long after that we were treated to what is possibly the best Secretarybird sighting we are ever going to get. For a change, it wasn’t moving away from us. This bird was perched on the top of a tree, facing us and with a clean background for fully twelve minutes. In that time I shot over a hundred frames, before the bird flew off.

This was our signal to head for the gate and get on the trail of the Cheetahs, who have become known as the Fast Five. Within 75 minutes, we had located them. We tracked them as they walked purposely through the long grass of the open plains until they found some shade beneath a few bushes, where they took a break.

Time was getting on and our guide assessed they would stay in this location for a while which would give us chance to adjourn to a safe distance for breakfast. We found a position where we could still see the Cheetahs, but for a change took breakfast in the vehicle for safety.

We returned to a closer position after breakfast, but it was another thirty minutes before they decided to move having spotted a herd of antelope on a nearby hillside. They gradually approached their prey and as they did so we moved position again to get a better view once the hunt began. In all, we spent nearly three and a half memorable hours with these guys, but we were approaching a time where a decision had to be made.

Our plan for the trip included a visit to a local school to deliver over 18kgs of pencils, books, notepads we had taken and football kit donated by both Weymouth and Dorchester football clubs. We had some distance to travel and were in danger of not arriving before the children left school for the day. So we abandoned the Cheetah sighting and headed off. Later on, we learned from the rangers who were overseeing the sighting that the Fast Five never did hunt the antelope that afternoon.

It’s no surprise the visit to the school was memorable. The happy smiling faces of the children and the gratitude conveyed by the staff for the items we had taken were reward enough. They danced and sang for us and posed happily for photos, it was a good visit.

After we moved on, the afternoon turned out to be a similar bird-fest to the previous afternoon. In quick succession we had Croaking Cisticola, Lesser Striped Swallow, Red-necked Spurfowl and African Grey Flycatcher.

Time was moving on now and we were within around ninety minutes of darkness. It was also apparent there were some heavy rain showers gathering around us, distant for now, but ominous. We started to head back to base.

It was only about five minutes after setting off we encountered a Female Elephant with a juvenile male and a baby that could only have been weeks old. It was so small, it could fit underneath mum’s body virtually without touching her. Given Rose’s love of Elephants, this was a heaven-sent opportunity for some stunning shots. We were grateful for our Canons’ low-light capability as we shot usable images at ISO’s up to 6400 and witnessed some amusing antics from the baby.

By now the showers were getting closer, so we moved off to batten down the hatches, before we got soaked. Not long after, the rain started and it was torrential to say the least. We were still some way from camp, but dry inside.

Suddenly though, we became stuck as we negotiated a dip in the track that had become flooded. We could neither go forwards nor backwards and were in the same situation as the truck we’d encountered a few days before. Our guide swiftly arranged some assistance from a nearby vehicle that managed to pull us out backwards. Our guide and his spotter were absolutely drenched in the process as they attached and detached the towing rope.

A relaxed drive back to camp was in order and we arrived without further incident, in the dark and also, it was dry. A day to remember for some time to come for many reasons, not all including wildlife.

It's Plan A Again (Part 2)

Lunchtime in the Marsh

We’d taken a leisurely lunch at our familiar spot by the Mara River, where we had spent time with the Elephants a few days before. This time there were no sightings, but having had a good morning, we weren’t too worried. Setting off again we hoped the day would continue to be fruitful and it turned out to be the case, although maybe not in the way we expected.

We were in the Marsh area, nears Governors and this had proven to be a good spot earlier in the week. Indeed on our previous trip we had some good captures there and this time was the same.

Over the years, I’ve never really got any good Hammerkop pictures and that may partly be because I find them rather an uninspiring bird. But our first sighting of the afternoon put that right and also gave us images of a pair.

Not more than a hundred metres away we had our next encounter with an Elephant in a very marshy area enjoying some succulent green vegetation in really good light. Being Rose’s favourite animal, it’s no surprise we spent some time photographing this encounter. Eventually we got to a position where the light was less than favourable so time to move away.

Again, we didn’t have to go far before we got our next subject and this was another first for us, a Ruppell’s Long-tailed Starling. The beautiful iridescent blue feathers in this bird combined with the superb light gave us some pleasing shots, but things got even better as the bird relaxed and actually moved closer to the vehicle. Yet another memorable encounter, punctuated by a brief visit from a Fiscal Shrike.

Time was moving along and we felt it was perhaps time we did the same, but our guide suggested before we left the area we should revisit the spot where we had taken lunch to see if there was any likelihood of an Elephant crossing. In less than five minutes we were there, but no sign of any Elephants again. However, there was a Hippo pod in the river and quite a bit of noise being made, more than we had heard from Hippos before. It became apparent that the noise was emanating from just one pair and what we were witnessing was a courting and mating ritual. Of course all this was happening beneath the surface and all we could see were the heads. In fact it could almost have been mistaken for fighting, which had been our first thought, but once the female became submissive, there was little doubt.

From that point on, the drive turned into more of a bird watching afternoon. First up we had a wonderful opportunity with a Desert Cisticola singing its heart out atop a branch. That was swiftly followed by a Coki Francolin, albeit fleetingly and no chance for a picture.

Shortly after we came upon a flock of Crowned Plover and mixed amongst them were a number of Senegal Lapwings. It was getting into late afternoon by now and the light was less harsh, so we managed some nice pictures, aided by the birds being quite confiding.

A little further on along the track and we encountered a breeding pair of Yellow-throated Sandgrouse. These birds were more of a challenge as they fall into the category of bird that is always walking away from anyone who ventures close with a camera. Much the same as the Secretarybird.

There was then a lull of about twenty minutes before we came upon our next encounter, this time a Red-capped Lark. This was another new species for us and some nice, if distant, pictures of it feeding came our way.

Our bird watching sequence was nearing its end by now and brief sightings of a juvenile Yellow Wagtail and a Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark wrapped it up for the day.

It wasn’t the end of the day though and as we made our way back to camp we had a glorious opportunity with a large Banded Mongoose family playing on the Termite mound they called home. The light was perfect as we were in the golden hour and it was coming from a position virtually directly behind us. We spent a magical twenty minutes observing their behaviour and capturing some wonderful images before the light went.

This still wasn’t the end of the day though, as ten minutes later we encountered Olbarnoti and his girlfriend again. No excuse for not shooting a few frames, but the auto ISO setting on the cameras hit its peak setting of 12,800 as we fired away. Fortunately we were quite close and even at that setting, usable images resulted.

Looking back, this had to be a day to counter the slow day we had earlier in the trip. There weren’t many more days to come.

It's Plan A Again (Part 1)

Grey Crowned Crane

It’s always said that a good plan should be flexible, but it also needs to be repeatable. Happily, Plan A at Zebra Plains is both, so first on the agenda today was to look for Kaboso again and she didn’t disappoint. In fact she gave us a rare treat by introducing both her cubs to us for the first time.

We had a fairly frantic fifty minutes as they emerged from deep vegetation, crossed some open ground and then were lost to sight in more deep undergrowth. It was very early and the sun had yet to appear over the horizon when we first sighted them, but we did get some shots, albeit at ISO values up to 10,000. As the sun gradually rose we were able to use more usual ISOs, as the golden light on them was beautiful. It was also an amusing sighting, as although the female cub stuck close to mum, the male was more adventurous. He was already very wet, but he was repeatedly lagging behind mum and she had to stop once or twice to call him. A superb start to the day and already more than 350 frames exposed, but no point in hanging around so off we went to our next opportunity.

About forty minutes later we were with a coalition of Male Lions known as the Autumn Boys, who are the sons of the Topi Pride girls. This wasn’t a terribly fruitful sighting though, they were lying down in long grass and we weren’t able to get any clear or uncluttered shots. About a quarter of an hour passed while we tried and failed to get anything useful, but things soon looked up as word reached us that the Topi Plains pride were on the move. A ten-minute drive and we were with them, watching and photographing their antics for around forty minutes.

The Topi Plains pride is quite large and a wide range of ages. We estimated there were at least 15 on this occasion, but stretched out over a long distance and in the long grass, it wasn’t easy to count them. They were stalking a herd of Topi that were some way off, but were quite relaxed about it and kept stopping to take a break and look around. This was particularly good for us as it gave us numerous poses to capture, helped in no small measure by the fact they came quite close.

It was clear from their relaxed nature that there wasn’t too much interest in chasing after the Topi and with breakfast time rapidly approaching, we left to find a convenient tree.

Suitably refreshed, we decided to go in search of the five male Lions we had seen the previous night, hoping to find them in a decent location and maybe a bit more active. On the way, we again had a nice sighting of a pair of Grey Crowned Cranes and took the opportunity to check the Hyena den once more. There wasn’t a Hyena in sight, but a relaxed Malachite Kingfisher rewarded us instead. He posed for us for fully four minutes before he decided we’d had our chance and flew off.

We soon located the 5 boys and as usual they were doing very little. Lying in the long grass at the base of a tree to get some shade, occasionally one would sit up and look around for a few seconds, then flop back down again. We were quite distant and the heat haze was a problem so nothing usable resulted, unlike one photographer who had managed to get close. Park rangers appeared to move him along, but it appeared he had documentation allowing him to be off-road. He was in a vehicle that had no side door and so was able to get the very low point of view we all crave. With his proximity to the lions though, it did look precarious.

Eventually we got a better set of shots, a just reward for our patience and ability to sit with them for over 90 minutes. But it was now the middle of the day and very hot, so time to find some welcome shade and adjourn for lunch. It had been a good morning, starting out well and continuing to deliver.

Next time, I’ll continue with the afternoon section of the drive, which turned out to be mainly dominated by birds.

Time for the Birds

Yaya's Cub in the Undergrowth

Setting out on Wednesday, we weren’t aware that it was going to be a slow day, but that’s exactly how it panned out. In fact it was nearly two hours out from camp before we exposed a frame.

Our first encounter was with a female Lion named Yaya and her two cubs, only two months old. Understandably she was keeping them well hidden, although they could be seen moving fairly freely in the undergrowth. It presented us with a difficult decision, did we move on, or did we stay put in the hope of some decent shots. We came down on the side of waiting; after all, if we did get a shot, the ‘cute’ box was likely to be well and truly ticked.

There wasn’t much action being relayed to us about other sightings so we were happy to stay, but on this occasion our patience wasn’t rewarded. Yaya decided to move the cubs deeper into the vegetation to a point where it was difficult to even see her and so after more than an hour we decided to move elsewhere.

Soon after we left we encountered a Crowned Plover beside the track, first bird of the day and posing well in nice light. A wee bit distant, but we can’t have everything. Next up was a lone Elephant and a wonderful opportunity to take some more unusual shots as he moved through the long grass with just the open plains as a backdrop. It was a sighting to savour for sure.

Then it was back to the birds and around 20 minutes passed until we had a Spur-winged Lapwing (Plover if you prefer) beside the track. We had one clear shot before it moved into some longer grass and gave the autofocus a hard time. This brought us nicely around to breakfast time, always an enjoyable part of the day eating our cereals under the shade of a tree, that is if you can find a spare tree.

Over breakfast we discussed the plan for the next part of the drive having been told of a Rhino sighting quite near to our location. Naturally this was of interest as although we have seen both White and black Rhino before, a sighting in this part of the Mara is rare. Resuming our drive, we soon found ourselves in the area where it had been spotted, but instead of a mammal, the bird theme continued.

At first we only spotted one bird and it was a while before we realised there was actually a pair of Black-chested Snake Eagles. We got a huge number of flight shots, albeit most of which were high key due to the overcast conditions. We saw a number of failed food pass attempts and that seemed to spoil the party as they split up and moved away.

What followed was a frustrating couple of hours unsuccessfully searching for the Rhino, punctuated by a sighting of a Spotted Water Thick Knee that yielded no images, a Grey Crowned Crane and a solitary Buffalo amongst a pod of Hippos on a sand bank. Nothing for it, it was time for lunch.

It was fully two hours later that we next exposed any pixels and this time one of Yaya’s cubs obliged. I’m not sure that ‘obliged’ is the right word, it was a fleeting glimpse that allowed me to shoot four frames, one of which I’ve used above. It was soon obvious that we faced the same situation as we had in the morning and as the time was approaching when the lodges were coming out for their afternoon game drives, we decided to leave them alone and look elsewhere.

We headed back to the Marsh area near Governors Camps and as we drove down the main track, we found three juvenile Hyenas playing and enjoying the sunshine outside of their den. Their den is actually in a drainage pipe that crosses underneath the track, but it seems to suit them quite well. We spent the better part of thirty minutes with them and then moved on to our actual target, a coalition of 5 male Lions. To say they were uncooperative would be an understatement, they did what Lions do by day - sleep - and in the long grass we had no chance.

So that wrapped up our day, save for one encounter on the way back to camp. I don’t like to speak out of turn, but this, to me, was somewhat bizarre. We met up with a vehicle loaded with Japanese tourists, nearly all of whom were wearing face masks. Now I’m willing to believe back home they have pollution issues in their cities, but the air in the Maasai Mara couldn’t be much fresher. An amusing end to what was a slow day.

A Plan Comes Together - nearly

Bella 2 between trees

Day 4 and a pattern is starting to emerge. Head for Kaboso’s last known location and see what happens. This time we were lucky and soon after arriving she emerged from the undergrowth. This time she was alone, with no sign of her cubs, but the sighting was superb. She came close, very close and gave us frame-filling shots at 135mm. All too soon she disappeared into dense undergrowth and it was time to move on.

As we turned to head off to our next sighting, we saw both Black-backed Jackal and Spotted Hyenas and with the time not yet 7am, they were bathed in beautiful golden light. An opportunity not to be missed with the Hyenas positioned to give us some backlit shots as well as fully lit images.

Next up was the Double Cross/Enkoyonai Lion pride, but a different situation to most of the encounters with this pride. Rather than Olbarnoti enthusiastically mating at every opportunity, this sighting centred on the other male in the pride, Lolpapit. Overnight, the pride had killed a Zebra and Lolpapit was having his fill of the carcass.

Waiting in the wings were a couple of Black-backed Jackals and a group of Hyenas impatiently waiting their turn with the remains. This caused some amusement as both groups pushed their luck by getting closer and closer, but Lolpapit was wise to their antics. He would allow them to reach a certain distance and then let them know in no uncertain terms that they should back off. They did, but it wouldn’t be long before they tried gain and the whole scenario was repeated.

The next part of the plan had been to make a determined effort to seek out another female Leopard named Bahati. She was located some distance away and we had already tried to find her once and been unsuccessful. However, there had been sightings reported and we decided to try again.

On the way we had a nice sighting of Hartebeest before we stopped to have our bush breakfast. Moving on, we arrived at the area Bahati had been sighted in and spent a while photographing a lone Hippo on rocks. Very quickly the call came that Bahati had been sighted and it was game-on. We had a memorable session, but it turned out this wasn't Bahati, but her daughter Bella 2. She moved back and forth between two trees, first settling in one and then coming down, walking across open ground for about 50 metres and climbing the other.

Clearly we had to move away to have our lunch and we did so hoping that she would still be there, or close by, on our return. Finding a solitary tree to provide shade was a bit of challenge, but eventually we were successful and on climbing out of the vehicle a macro opportunity presented itself. Deep in the grass was a pair of African Reed Frogs, so in the absence of macro lenses the 100-400mm zooms were pressed into service.

Understandably, lunch was a fairly hasty affair as we were all keen to get back to where Bahati had been seen the previous day and soon we were underway again. When we arrived at our previous location, we were pleased to see Bella 2 was still there and actually gave us shots of her in the very top of the tree. Bahati was nowhere to be seen. However, as we moved around to change angles and backgrounds, we noticed no more than 100 metres away was a male Lion, sleeping. Our guide identified this individual as Long Face.

It’s no surprise we spent the rest of the afternoon moving between the two animals capturing some very nice shots, before Long Face awoke and decided to move. This was our signal to do the same as the grass was quite long and the sun getting ever lower in the sky meant the chance of some different shots. We followed him for some distance until we got to a point we felt he should be left alone and we should head back to the lodge. We had quite a distance to travel.

It wasn’t an uneventful journey, nor was it the first time we have had an ‘issue’ on the way home. Back in November we sustained a puncture and with all three of us out of the vehicle, the jack in place and the wheel removed, a male Lion walked past not 100 metres away, totally ignoring us. On this occasion, the mishap befell someone else and involved another vehicle that had become stuck in floodwater on the track. A couple of other vehicles turned up to help, but none of us were able to pull or push the vehicle out. Next day we learned a specialist vehicle had got it out around two hours after our attempts and the guests aboard were late for dinner that night.

Kaboso Again

Serval in the long grass

Setting off on our third full day, the only sensible plan was to head for where we had last seen Kaboso. That was after all what we had decided over dinner the previous night. But we never got there.

As we headed that way we got a call to say a Serval had been spotted and we had some ground to make up to get to the location. I have a pecking order in my mind where a Leopard sighting will always get precedence over a Cheetah sighting, which in turn trumps a Lion sighting. However, a Serval, Caracal or Wildcat will always take precedence due to their rarity.

On this occasion we were lucky and the Serval was still in open grassland when we arrived, albeit difficult to locate due to the length of the grass. We spent almost 30 minutes and took a huge number of images in the hope of capturing something that wasn’t affected by the long grass. Needless to say a large number have been deleted.

Once the cat had melted away into the grass, we headed off to our next sighting and unsurprisingly it was the Double Cross/Enkoyonai pride of Lions and Olbarnoti once more mating with his lady friend. After spending some time with them (how many shots of mating Lions do we actually need), it took us nicely into time for a relaxed bush breakfast. Little did we know just what was to follow.

With the inner man satisfied, we set off once more and soon got word of a Cheetah sighting, which pleased me straight away. When we arrived, we found it was a Cheetah we had not seen before, called Mugie. This turned out to be a sighting that lasted more than three and a half hours and ended in the kill shown in the image attached to last week’s post.

There was a large herd of Thomson’s Gazelles on the open plain and at first Mugie was well hidden from them. He soon broke cover, although still at a distance from which he couldn’t successfully hunt, but gradually he edged closer. The natural grazing of the gazelles took them away from him, but then inexplicably they started to move back towards his position. Other animals on the plain were well aware of his presence and keeping a watchful eye on him.

To the left of our position was a row of bushes and eventually Mugie walked down the other side of the bushes out of sight of the gazelles. Nearly two and a half hours had passed by now, but then suddenly there was action and we had to hurriedly reposition. There were some stray gazelles near the bottom of the line of bushes and it was these that Mugie had managed to stalk until he got close enough to be able to strike. He actually took the gazelle down as it ran into a flooded area and swiftly dragged it into a bush where we witnessed the kill with Mugie’s jaws clamped around the gazelle’s throat. Once he was sure it was dead, he set about lunch, reminding us that we were an hour and a half late having ours. We withdrew and went off to find some welcome shade.

Once lunch was over we set off to find the Fig Tree Pride of lions, which we managed quite easily, beside the Talek River. They were accompanied by the most obnoxious smell imaginable, emanating from a giraffe carcass they had secreted in the bushes. It was unbearable and we had to retreat to a different spot where the air was much fresher.

The Fig Tree pride is quite large and at this time had a number of cubs. They were under various bushes in the location and just when you thought you had counted how many there were, another would appear. We spent much of the remaining afternoon with them and shot a number of images of black-faced cubs and mothers washing them. The vultures started to congregate, but still the lions would go back to the carcass clearly not ready to give up the kill just yet.

Moving away, a rather handsome Elephant entertained us for a while, but it was time to head back to camp. On the way we decided to call in to Mugie’s last location and he had certainly had a good feed. We found him easily enough in the open not ten metres from his kill, very sleepy and with a very full belly. Another superb day in the Mara ended.

More from the Mara

Cheetah with a Kill - Maasai Mara, Kenya

Day two commenced much as the first and indeed the whole stay was to follow the same pattern. Our plan was to head back to the Lion pride we had been following the previous night and spend some time with them while we waited to hear if there was any other action taking place.

Two males we had seen on our last trip, Olbarnoti and Lolpapit, have taken over the females in the Double Cross/Enkoyonai pride and a feature this trip was the number of times we witnessed Olbarnoti mating. We had seen it the previous night and as soon as we caught up with the pride on day two, he was still with the same female. Twenty minutes passed and we heard that a Leopard had been spotted with a cub.

Arriving at this sighting it turned out to be a well-known female Kaboso’s cub, but no sighting of either Kaboso or her other cub. The early morning light was good and we had a full 30 minutes with the cub before moving on.

The next hour yielded a mother and baby elephant, a herd of Topi and a rather confiding Fiscal Shrike, before another lion encounter. By now it was time for bush breakfast as the sun warmed the plains and we could remove a layer or two of clothing.

After breakfast we set off to a location where our guide knew there was a great chance of witnessing a large elephant herd crossing the Mara River. On the way we had opportunities to photograph Saddle-billed Stork, a favourite bird of mine the Grey Crowned Crane and Grant’s Gazelle before arriving at our chosen spot.

Around three-quarters of an hour passed before upwards of 30 - 40 elephants of all ages turned up at the water’s edge. We were treated to about 90 minutes of them frolicking and washing in the river, but sadly on this occasion no crossing. It was nevertheless a fascinating sight. That took us nicely into lunchtime.

Setting off in the afternoon we headed for the Talek River and our first sighting there was of the Crocodile I published in my last post. It was the biggest Croc I have ever seen, suggesting there is no shortage of food.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with a relaxed Tawny Eagle and trying to capture Giraffe images that showed the Mara plains. I always find Giraffe a difficult subject, due in no small part to their physical shape. It’s either a portrait, or a full-length shot with a lot of background to deal with. In the close bush, I always find those shots messy, but in the open plains of the Mara, much more pleasing shots can result.

We also managed to get some beautifully detailed Wattled Plover shots, portraits in fact, as they were just too close to the vehicle. That was about an hour before the sun was due to set and as we were some way from the lodge we started to head back in that direction.

Arriving at the point where we had seen Kaboso’s cub in the morning, it was obvious from the number of vehicles around that something was happening and we soon found out that Kaboso herself was hunting a herd of Impala. This was another fascinating sight, not just watching the technique she was using, but also witnessing the apparent suicidal behaviour of the Impala. Far from running away, they have a habit of turning back towards predator to keep a watch on what it’s doing. As Kaboso got into a position where she felt she was close enough undetected to launch an attack, things took a surprising turn. About 50 metres away a Lion emerged from the undergrowth heading in the other direction. This was enough to spook the Impala and Kaboso broke cover, but was unable to catch anything.

With the light failing, we headed back to the lodge and a well-earned dinner. It had been an eventful day with some wonderful sightings and plenty of pictures to edit. Clearly the plan for next morning had to be a revisit to where Kaboso had been hunting to see if she had any success later on. Roll on 6am.

The Mara Beckons Again

Large Crocodile - Talek River, Maasai Mara, Kenya

We first visited Africa in 2005 where we had our first safari as part of our honeymoon. It’s no surprise that we fell in love with the place and since then we have made several trips to Zambia, Botswana and to South Africa in search of animals to photograph. But it wasn’t until last November that we finally made it to Kenya, a trip I blogged about earlier this year. What we didn’t know then was how soon we would be making a return visit, but mid-June saw us back on a plane bound for Nairobi.

Of course we knew it would be somewhat different this time, it being Winter there rather than Summer. We also knew there was a slim chance of a migration crossing, but that wasn’t what we went for. What we were surprised about was the length of the grass caused by unprecedented rains in the previous few months. In places it was around a metre tall and this was both a hindrance and a help. Finding wildlife was sometimes very difficult, but set against this was the ability to capture images of animals framed in soft foliage. Another effect was on the migration, predicted to be delayed by around 2 – 3 weeks, not good news for those people booked on trips based on normal migration dates.

Arriving at the Ol Kiombo airstrip late morning, we were straight on to a game drive on the way to the lodge, in time for lunch. I was very pleased to encounter a Cheetah on the drive, as they are my favourite big cats. The trip could not have got off to a better start as far as I was concerned.

Suitably refreshed, we set off mid-afternoon for our first proper game drive and we were soon in the company of Rose’s favourite African animals, a herd of Elephants. Next up was the obligatory Lilac-breasted Roller opportunity, swiftly followed by two Cheetahs, one of which was a 10 week-old cub. We were hopeful that this had set the scene for a successful visit and turned in that night, full of expectation.

Our preference on these trips is to take all day game drives with a dedicated guide and vehicle, avoiding the usual siesta between brunch and high tea that a lot of lodges offer. We also get to enjoy a picnic breakfast and lunch out in the wild each day. The main advantages of this approach are that we can spend as much time as we like on any sighting and also ensure a prime position on afternoon sightings before the ‘siesta lodge’ vehicles even leave camp.

On our first full day we had a 5:15am alarm call, which gave us enough time to get ourselves ready, have a coffee and leave the lodge at 6am. It was still dark then, but enabled us to be in position for the sunrise and within forty-five minutes we were with a pride of Lions we were to spend some time with on the trip. Less than thirty minutes later we were photographing a Leopard and our hopes from the previous evening were being fulfilled.

One thing we noticed from our trip last November was the distinct lack of birds, to some extent not surprising given the lack of trees and bushes on the open plains. However, in June it is a different story and we saw considerably more species this time. So far the long grass wasn’t causing an issue, just making it harder for the guide to spot animals. Of course with us sat in the vehicle on a slightly higher level (we have a row of seats each) we were able to assist on many occasions. The long grass did have one effect on us though; it disorientated us as places looked totally different to how they had in November. It was a couple of days before I was able to work out where we were in relation to previous sightings.

Hopefully that has set the scene for the trip, which I’ll continue to blog about next week. If you are enthused by what you read, I can announce that we have negotiated a preferential rate for up to four guests to join us on a repeat visit in November 2019 on the basis I have outlined in this blog post. It is not being run as a workshop, although we will be on hand if you require any help, therefore you are not paying for our services. I hope to have an itinerary and full cost (payable in £ sterling) for my next post. Anyone interested please use the Contact tab above.