We set off in the afternoon on a birding mission into the southwestern grasslands, following up on reports of two unique and uncommon birds at one of the waterholes. Two birds that would be lifers for me. But over and above that, our goal was to deliberately try and not see any of the Big Five.
Upon arriving at the waterhole where these birds were last seen, our hopes of finding them diminished immediately thanks to a herd of buffalo all frolicking around in the water attempting to cool off on a steamy afternoon. We chose to drive past some other waterholes close by to see if maybe they hadn’t flown across there. Before we knew it we had ticked off three of the big five without even trying.
No signs of these unique birds, but a very close relative got me doubting the ranger’s birding ability, but I think let’s give them the benefit of the doubt for now. We moved on towards Shingi Dam and where we knew we were going to spend 12 hours the next day and spent some time with the Shingi Male in a gorgeous sighting of him rolling around in the soft river sand of the Maxabane.
It was right outside camp that we completed the Big Five in one drive, not a regular occurrence and even more special that we didn’t have any intention of seeing any of them.
Enjoy this Virtual Safari…
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The last surviving cub of a litter of three, he is on the cusp of independence.
Wow Sean, what a magnificent afternoon drive, and getting to see the Big 5 while out looking for the birds. Absolutely incredible viewing – Thank you!
A really cool video, Sean. Seeing the Big Five kind of accidentally in one afternoon drive. Can only happen at Londolozi, I guess.
Amazing the big five and really good photos of every one of them. Loved the elephant bull and the lion and mother and young rhino and the leopard who was having problems with flies and the wilder beast poor things with the flies the birds thank you for this virtual
Amazing what you can achieve without trying…..someone must have tipped them off that you deserved an early Christmas present! Wonderful footage of the Shingi male on the sand. I guess you’re all hoping Maxim’s stays well and continues to tolerate his son in his territory.
Hi Sean, well that was such an awesome afternoon seeing the Big 5 in one afternoon. Special sightings of each one of the sightings. Just goes to show, you never know what you are going to see on each drive you do. Hope you do get to see your 2 knew bird so you can tick them off your list.
I found your video entertaining as how many guests are fortunate to see the big five in one drive whilst looking for something else, as you did on this particular day. Perhaps you’ve discovered the secret to a phenomenal drive – don’t search for them, rather look for birds, and the big five will materialize. Your detail shots of Shingi male, the buffalo, and rhinos were fantastic. It seems the Shingi male has quite a large tick at the corner of his eye – do these generally leave after they’ve fed for awhile?
I commend you on producing phenomenal video content this year. Your Virtual Safaris have been varied and interesting, full of surprises and sometimes heartbreak, but when one is sitting at home but wishing to be there, your videos fill the void, until the next visit. Thank you.
Wonderful!!! Happy Holidays to you and your sweet family Sean!