About the Author

James Tyrrell

Alumni

James had hardly touched a camera when he came to Londolozi, but his writing skills that complemented his Honours degree in Zoology meant that he was quickly snapped up by the Londolozi blog team. An environment rich in photographers helped him develop the ...

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on Surprises in the Birding World

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Dear James
What a lovely set of bird photos! I have, as usual, taken a couple of them to be screensavers. I keep adding Londolozi pics of birds and animals and now have a really huge number of them as screensavers which go round and round. Instead of our friends visiting us, we are beginning to think they visit our screensavers – because they sit gawking at them right through their visiting time with us. It is difficult to hold a conversation with them! Neil and Wendy

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Do you know of an app where I can photograph a bird and the app will let me know what kind of bird it is? It is so difficult to get great bird photos but then not know what they are when I return home. Thanks.

Hi Jeff,

We’ve discussed an app like this many times and thought how useful it would be. Similarly a sort of Shazam for bird calls!
Unfortunately there isn’t one that I’m aware of… The best bird app I can recommend is the Roberts Bird App, available from the iStore, but you’ll be identifying everything yourself. That is half the fun though!
Regards,
James

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As you mentioned the ostriches, how are they doing?

Pretty well, Ian!

They’ve been seen fairly regularly around the grasslands, still with four chicks.

Regards,
James

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I have only recently been enjoying you news and wonderful photos. I visit Botswana regularly where I see some wonderful birds, so am hoping you will include more photos for us birders!

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Lovely bunch of photos, and does make me really want to confirm a few things. I’m coming to your camp next September so 1. Does that mean the bird population is pretty light or do you have some non-migratory birds anyhow.
2. Is it worth bringing a 500 mm lens – pictures often share settings but not focal length – pictures of people on safari appear to be 70 to 200 or 100 to 400 mm lens – but I am a birder too.
Any clarification would be great !
Thanks

Hi Claude,
1. Absolutely not, the bird population is thriving again now that the rains have returned. The cuckoos are back in droves and the weaver colonies are in full swing. It was only during the height of the drought that the bird population seemed quieter. It seems to be business as usually by now, and we have approximately 300 species here at the moment.
2. For bird photography, a 500mm lens would be great. The extra 100mm, combined with the clarity that a fixed lens brings, makes a big difference. I’ve used a 400mm for birds before and have often found it a little bit short. For general game and the predators a 500mm can be limiting, as you will largely be restricted to portrait shots and photographing things in the distance to capture scenery, but if you have a different lens to bring, say a 70-200mm, you’ll be fine.
Alternatively we have many lenses for hire here at the lodge, so instead of lugging a whole lot of gear along, you can rent any lens for a few days, even trying different ones if you feel like it.
Follow this link to check out our rental site: http://photography.londolozi.com/
Regards

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Hi James great blog. Wow how lucky to see that Cuckoo!! Which bird call app do you think is best? We hear bird calls all the time that we can’t identify. We live in a coastal forest with an abundance of birdlife. Some of the calls we learned at Londos but we would like to get more in tune with our feathered friends.

Hi Trevor,
The Roberts bird app is by far the best. No question! It’s a little more expensive than the others but is far more comprehensive and definitely worth the extra money!

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