You know it’s been a great few days when you have to scratch your head and really think in order to work out which sighting happened on which day. It all starts to blend seamlessly together after awhile, until it seems like a continuous highlights reel is looping.
That tends to be the standard pace of things here, and now that the rains are upon us it’s become even more so, as the bigger gaps that we find during winter are now being filled by a hundred and one smaller creatures and plants and events that define this change of season we are undergoing.
As well as a change in colour you will start noticing a change in characters going forward, with a lot more of Londoloi’s smaller inhabitants starting to take centre stage.
Enjoy this Week in Pictures…
Buffalo have been popping up all over the place. It’s a funny thing to say when talking about a herd of a couple of hundred bovines, but we’ve been seeing herds in places we usually don’t which is always a welcome surprise. This bull’s senior status is evident in the worn fur on his face.
I know African Hawk Eagles have featured in a number of TWIPs of late, but for some reason I always feel compelled to try take a picture of one if I see it. It’s especially tempting when the bird is sitting right above you like this one was; it doesn’t often happen as the larger birds of prey tend to be quite shy, flying to a different tree if you approach.
On the subject of birds, this Fork-tailed Drongo nest was an exciting find, with its complement of three eggs. If the drongos had only waited a couple of weeks, the red-bush-willow they built the nest in would be foliated (you can already see the buds emerging), and the nest would have had far more cover. They’re pretty exposed because of the timing, so let’s hope luck is on their side.
Elephant calves tend to display with a lot more bravado if their mother is close by their side…
As soon as the mother wanders off however, all pretence at bravery from the calf goes out the window…
The Flat Rock male had stolen this kill from the Piccadilly female and her cub. Male leopards in this area obtain quite a high proportion of their food by kleptoparasitising kills off females, that is, appropriating kills that have already been made. They can get away with it by virtue of their larger size.
A female giant kingfisher, distinguishable by her rufous belly, not chest. Just remember it as males wear a shirt, females wear a skirt, describing where each sex has the rufous.
One of the local hippo pods at sunset. The rains have brought blessed relief to the hippo population; the river has risen substantially and there is far less pressure on space.
Spring and summer are about moody skies. This photograph of a female yellow-billed hornbill is nothing special, but I liked the green/blue/yellow combination brought on by the dark clouds.
The Ximungwe female feeds on some scraps she had managed to snatch back from the hyena that had just stolen her kill. She had dropped it out of the tree and the hyena had immediately grabbed it. We’ll be releasing the story of this sighting on our Instagram page soon…
An Nkuhuma lioness turns her paw up as she listens for the calls of her pride. She was walking around vocalising until late in the morning, eventually linking up with some of the other females and settling for the day.
The smallest cubs currently on Londolozi, the Mhangeni pair. They have even younger cousins – three of them apparently – that are being stashed in the Sand River close by, and we are eagerly awaiting our first viewing of them.
Whilst the cubs and two lionesses snoozed into the afternoon, two heads appeared over the skyline; two more Mhangeni females were joining from a nearby waterhole, shortly to be followed by the Othawa male.
Sunset means roosting time for most of Londolozi’s avian population, vultures included. Dead trees are generally favoured as the birds can land without worrying about getting their wings snagged in branches and twigs.
The XImungwe female in the same sighting as the above photograph with the hyena, before she dropped the kill. There’s a macabre element to this scene with the impala herd in the background, many of which are watching their former herd-mate being eaten only a couple of hundred metres away.
Stunning pics this week. Love the buffalo.
Great TWIP, James. What a great opportunity to have an African hawk eagle above you like that; I’m yet to get a reasonable photo of 1 of these. And the picture of the elephant calf – are those real live visitors in the Landrover? (not that I’m suggesting you’d put dead ones in!)
Had the same question about visitors.
Hi Suzanne, yes they are indeed real visitors. We have opened to South Africans and other countries who have been permitted…we are waiting patiently for the South African government to open up to the rest of the world.
Hi Jemma, I’m thrilled to bits for you all to finally have some guests! Let’s hope you have enough to at least keep you ticking over. We postponed our trip from November to February, and I’m optimistic 4 months will be long enough for things to settle down – I’m so looking forward to my 11th visit!
Thanks so much James for such a beautiful week in pictures…… I always look forward so much to receiving them….take care Pauli
Love the pics this week. As usual you do not disappoint
Terrific TWIP! Enjoyed it very much!
Curious about your assessment that there are 3 “stashed” lion cubs.
Everyone in the impala herd watching one of their number being eaten, thinking: “There but for the grace of the Great Impala….! 🙁
James, It will be nice to see the seasonal changes with the rains coming now. Thanks for another great week of images!
Amazing series of images as usual!! Particularly love that shot of the giant kingfisher!
Whilst your “language” has been “interesting amidst insightful imagery” this week, James, (in how you have been describing the build-up and outcomes of scenarios), .. all in all, I have to say out of bias, that I get excited when I see new pictures of the lions, large and small. – This weeks pictures display unique vivid compositions.
A great week as usual, it’s always hard to pick a favourite! Thanks for sharing the pictures and that very useful bird (skirt/shirt) info.
Loved the Buffalo, Elephant calf and Kingfisher! Great stuff! Also learned a new word “kleptoparasitising” – now I just have to practice using it in a sentence (don’t get much of a chance for that in the city LOL)
Wonderful pictures. The hyppos seem to be diving into golden water. Stunning.
James, I saved the African Hawk Eagle, Elephant Calf, Female Kingfisher, and I saved the Lion cubs🤗
Stunning pics as always!
Another fantastic buffalo photo this week in addition to the giant kingfisher female. The elephant calf was pretty cute as well. Enjoy another great week!
Absolutely stunning and amazing photography James. The close up of the lion’s paw is awesome. I also loved the rhyme regarding the female/male distinguishing feature with the giant kingfisher.
Whichever day of the week a simply sensational blog James, loved Lion Paw and never seen a Drongo nest before. Thank you.
Hi James. That young ellie who is haring after its Mom for protection seems to be watering from the gland. This is a young ellie to be in musth, surely? Would it just be the fright on seeing itself suddenly alone that could cause this? Another picture that fascinated me was the neatness of the Fork Tailed Drongo on its neat little round nest! All so NEAT! As you say, it looks pretty exposed but the tree will soon be covered in foliage hopefully. Wendy M
Fabulous grip of photos this week! Bravo!!