Before we dive in, a quick answer to last week’s What Bird Is This? #34. The mystery bird was a scarce and elegant visitor, and well done to those who got it right.
The image we provided you.
And the ANSWER IS…
A Montagu’s Harrier!
Right, back to the task at hand. So, in prepping for this Week In Pictures, it was firmly brought to my attention that I need to dedicate more time and focus while out there to capture a lot more still frames. The catch is that I spend most of my time behind a video camera, which means my still photography takes a back seat. So what follows in this week’s episode is a random grab of frames from the last little while, nothing polished, nothing particularly curated.
The rains have not entirely packed up and left yet. We are still catching the odd sprinkle here and there, enough to keep the bush thick and green, though the grass is beginning to show the first hints of winter with that slow shift from lush green to a dry, golden brown that tells you the chillier months are on their way. The pans and waterholes are still full, the Sand River is running with enough conviction to have a mind of its own, and occasionally cuts off our access to the north.
It has been a rich few weeks of sightings. The Mhangeni Pride is in good shape, the Nkumati Males are holding things together, and the pride is feeding well. The Msuthlu Lionesses have also been around, as alert and unapologetic as ever. A male cheetah has been making regular appearances in the southwestern grasslands. A crocodile offered up a close look at some ancient, solar-panel engineering. Vultures perched up in dead knobthorns at sunset. And the albino zebra foal continues to move with its dazzle, doing remarkably well.
On the leopard front, the Nkoveni Female was hunting, the Ximungwe Female’s cubs are wide-eyed and sharp, and the sighting of the week, perhaps of the week, was the Hlambela Male turning up on Ximpalapala Koppie. A cause for both celebration and a certain quiet anxiety, for reasons those who know that territory will understand. Stay tuned for more on this soon.
Enjoy This Week In Pictures…
This was the first sighting I had of the foal, and you can see just how pale it was and the stripes still being visible here.
The ever-so-stunning Nkoveni Female, utilisies a fallen marula to scan for anything to hunt.
Londolozi's most viewed leopard and prolific mother. This gorgeous female has raised multiple cubs to independence.
Not an award-winning photo, but it is great to see that this young zebra’s face has recovered and more intriguingly to see the stripes on its skin.
One of the only shots I got of the curious and particularly alert cubs of the Ximungwe Female. I love how they are fixated in my direction.
Having been viewed by vehicles from an early age, this leopard is supremely relaxed around Land Rovers.
While zooming out to try search a new leopard den, this was a stunning scene that I had to stop for a few seconds to try capture. I am glad it turned out ok.
The Mhangeni Pride feeding on that wildebeest drew in a number of vultures that perched up in a dead knobthorn tree in the distance as the sun was setting, allowing for another sunset and silhouette shot.
The Swainson’s Spurfowl is often a vocal bird, but I came to realise the other day that I have very few photos of them and so snapped a sequence of this chap in a tree shouting his lungs out.
An intense stare from this younger Msuthlu LIoness showing her displeasure with me trying to sneak past her and her siblings as I was trying to get across to the wild dogs a few weeks ago.
Now at first glance, this is a pretty bang-average image, but what impressed me was the size of that massive green fly on the eyelid of this Mhangeni Lioness as she was feeding.
The Mhangeni Pride has been through a lot of late, but now with four young cubs and the Nkumati Males controlling them, they are bounding back and doing very well.
Sunsets and silhouettes are a great way to add a few filler shots to a selection of images.
The male cheetah has been showing up a fair amount in the southwestern grasslands and here, this fallen marula was the perfect vantage point for him to scan for any unsuspecting victims to become his breakfast.
Still a great perspective, but I feel the B&W version had so much more gravitas to it.
This was a quiet moment to celebrate yet in the same breath, panic. The celebration stems from being able to have a proper sighting of this male leopard, the Hlambela Male. The panic stirred up from where he happened to be resting.
An impressive male, appearing as a rising force in the north. Making a name for himself by pushing other males out.
Ancient textures of a crocodile. Each one of these little nodes, acts as a little hyper-efficient solar panel helping to warm this cold blooded crocodile up on a cool day. They carefully orientate themselves to the sun depending on how much power they need to hit the panels.
The same was just tweaked into a black and white image for the dramatic effect.
Quite a contrast between the mother and its foal. It is impressive firstly, how far these zebras have moved but secondly, how well this youngster is doing.
A tender moment between this foal and its mother. The best part about having this foal around is seeing that the dazzle/herd have accepted it and that it is gracefully moving about with all of them.
A full moon rising over the Sabi Sand. That deep amber colour only lasts a few minutes before it bleaches out , Before you know it the moon has risen and the entire scene is transformed.
A bank of clouds drifted across the rising moon and turned the bush sky into something straight out of a werewolf film.
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on The Week In Pictures #747