Oh boy, yet another Masai Mara report? A return to the Mara, February 2019

[mopsy]

Great birthday present @janzin and a really enjoyable trip report too.

 

Your photography is stunning.

Edited July 11, 2019 by mopsy
spelling mistake

[janzin]

The next morning we set out with Trai, just about 15 minutes earlier than usual, so that we could catch sunrise a bit away from camp.  Stopping at a nice vista we watched as the light changed.

 

 

 

 

Trai spent some time helping Alan with settings on his new Sony RX100VI...a deceptively complicated pocket camera. He can handle his Nikon DSLR but the little Sony is mystifying! (and I was little help!) Trai was really good at figuring out some simple changes that would make his life easier--even though she wasn't familiar with that particular model.

 

Our first stop of the morning was back with our old friends, Amani and her cubs. I really hope you aren't tired of cheetah photos. As before, we found them just hanging out, grooming and stretching. At least at first.

 

 

 

Mom, pay attention to me!

 

 

 

We had heard that they STILL hadn't had a successful hunt...they hadn't eaten in at least three or four days. So they were really hungry. The hope, of course, is that we'd get to see a hunt.

 

Amani finally started to move...

 

 

 

And the cubs all followed...but not very discreetly.

 

 

Amani looked determined.

 

 

all the cubs followed...

 

 

But they really just wanted to play...they were not helping at all!

 

 

Once again, it looked like there would be no hunting this morning.   We were starting to worry about them, but James said that eventually Amani would be successful...she was a good hunter and a good mother.

 

 

We left them for now and headed further afield. 

 

We came upon a long collared elephant. James told us his name is Hugo. He was very calm.

 

 

 

A new bird for us.

 

 

And then we came upon quite a scene. An assortment of vultures and Marabou Storks were on a zebra foal carcass. It seemed like a fresh death, it was unclear if it might have died from natural causes as there were no lions or hyenas around.

 

 

More and more birds kept coming. We'd hardly seen any vultures so far this trip--all of a sudden it seemed every vulture in the Mara was here!

 

 

There were some confrontations.

 

 

As we watched, the scene got bloodier and bloodier.  And the carcass soon just skin and bones.

 

 

Some jackals came to visit too.

 

 

There was quite a cacophony of sound as well! For once, I remembered to take video.

 

 

Eventually the birds started moving off, and we did as well.

 

On the way back to camp, we found a much prettier bird.

 

 

All in all a very nice morning, it was really fun having Trai accompany us. We talked a lot about Nikon cameras, compared settings, I even gave her a few things to try out which she hadn't thought of before.  And she let me check out her Nikon D5 and 600mm lens--which she was hand-holding! 

 

After returning to camp for lunch, and retiring to our tent for a rest, we experienced the most intense rainstorm. It was raining torrentially...even harder than it had during my birthday dinner. I was a bit worried that we wouldn't be able to do our evening drive...and we had another night drive planned that night!  But it was over as quickly as it began, maybe lasting 10 minutes.

 

I leave you with some calming African rain...until the evening drive!

 

 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2019 by janzin

[janzin]

The rains let up and we headed out for our afternoon drive; the plan was to again stay out for a night drive and come back late for dinner.

 

I don't think we had any particular plan this evening, we just headed out to see what we might find. We first headed to the rock outcrop where we'd seen the leopards yesterday.

 

We found a pair of Dik-diks there. Hmmm would be good for leopard dinner...but the leopards weren't around.

 

 

Some Woodpeckers.

 

 

A bit later we found a lone cheetah who was hunting. But just then...the rains came down again. James put down the plastic top and sides of the vehicle and we followed the cheetah for awhile. Soon the rain stopped and the cheetah did too.

 

Looking a bit bedraggled.

 

 

Looking better after some grooming!

 

 

Light was getting low but we followed her a bit into the sunset.

 

 

Until it was just too dark to photograph her.

 

 

But we had a spectacular moonrise! Another favorite photo from the trip.

 

 

Our night drive began in earnest and we once again tried to find Aardvark. We weren't successful...again...but we did find another mammal we were super excited to see. Our first Zorilla--sometimes called Striped Polecat.  Some of you may remember that @Tom Kellie always yearned to see a Zorilla; I shouted to Alan "I have to get a photo for Tom!"

 

Well, I didn't do too well. This is a "proof of life" photo   Maybe I'd get a better one tomorrow night

 

 

We also saw many Springhares. This critter is not uncommon to see at all, but very difficult to photograph as they are always bounding away rapidly. So I was chuffed to get this.

 

 

No Servals tonight, and no Aardvarks either. But still a success! We got back to Serian just as the other guests were having dessert.

[Kitsafari]

wow what a fab stay you had at Serian! mating leopards - you can never beat that kind of birthday gift from the bush, except, perhaps, a day sighting of an aardvark or a caracal or a pangolin - is that asking too much?!

 

that video of the rain outside the serian tent had me yearning to return.....

 

we didn't get to see the spider webs when we were there so i wonder if that phenomenon occurs only if the right conditions occur? but they are beautiful. 

 

Looking forward to more! (sorry your birthday dinner was drenched....)

 

 

[Soukous]

On 6/24/2019 at 6:36 PM, janzin said:

....  far in the distance, we saw some elephants. You may wonder why I've posted no elephants so far. Well...there weren't any! In fact these were the first elephants we'd seen in our three days in the Mara. That was a big change from our time there in September 2016. We would see more in Mara North, but in the Reserve...they just weren't around.

 

This is quite alarming really, and tallies with my own experience in Tanzania.

I was in Serengeti (well Ndutu really) in February and we did not see a single elephant.

On previous visits I've seen plenty.

[Soukous]

maybe "yet another Masai Mara report" but no way is it "just another Masai Mara report"

Wonderful from start to finish and such magnificent photos, anyone might think you'd done this sort of thing before 

 

How many lenses do you carry on safari and do you find yourself using the same one for birds and mammals?

[janzin]

8 hours ago, Kitsafari said:

wow what a fab stay you had at Serian! mating leopards - you can never beat that kind of birthday gift from the bush, except, perhaps, a day sighting of an aardvark or a caracal or a pangolin - is that asking too much?!

 

that video of the rain outside the serian tent had me yearning to return.....

 

we didn't get to see the spider webs when we were there so i wonder if that phenomenon occurs only if the right conditions occur? but they are beautiful. 

 

Looking forward to more! (sorry your birthday dinner was drenched....)

 

 

@Kitsafari I really have you to thank for steering me towards Serian. Or maybe I should curse you...because now all I can think of is going back, LOL!!

 

An aardvark, pangolin, or caracal would be asking a lot...but never too much. All of those are still on my most wanted list

 

I imagine the spider webs had to do with the very misty/foggy morning, just a guess but perhaps they are most active when it is wetter. We saw them the same morning as that dense fog.

 

[janzin]

2 hours ago, Soukous said:

 

This is quite alarming really, and tallies with my own experience in Tanzania.

I was in Serengeti (well Ndutu really) in February and we did not see a single elephant.

On previous visits I've seen plenty. Oh that is worrisome. But I'm thinking we didn't see any elephants on our February Ndutu visit (2013) either. I just looked at my photos and I don't have a single elephant photo from that time. I do have many from the Serengeti though (Seronera area and surrounds.)

 

I did ask Ping about the scarcity of elephants and he seemed to think we just weren't in the right places. Not many acacia trees where we were, mostly open plains in the Reserve. But in Mara North there was more varied habitat.

 

2 hours ago, Soukous said:

maybe "yet another Masai Mara report" but no way is it "just another Masai Mara report"

Wonderful from start to finish and such magnificent photos, anyone might think you'd done this sort of thing before Thanks @Soukous, not finished quite yet!

 

How many lenses do you carry on safari and do you find yourself using the same one for birds and mammals?  I usually carry only two lenses on safari, this trip was the 500 F4E on the Nikon D850 and the 70-200 2.8E on the Nikon D500. For birds I pretty much exclusively use the 500mm (sometimes with 1.4 tc.) And I'd say a good portion of the mammal shots are with that lens as well; for bigger/closer game I'd use the 70-200. Also I used the 70-200 on night drives to get that extra stop of light.

I used to carry a lens for scenery but it was too much of a hassle changing in the field and I never used it, so now I carry a smaller mirrorless, this trip was a Fuji X-e3 although I just bought another, the new Fuji X-t30. Small enough to stuff in the back seat pocket pouch and just pull out when I want to shoot a scene.  Of course, all of this is an endless sinkhole of $$

 

 

Edited July 12, 2019 by janzin

[Atdahl]

Fantastic photos as always Janet.  I have to say that your springhare photo really stands out though.  I know how tough these hopping masses of fur are to photograph but that didn't stop you from taking a stunning image. 

[janzin]

5 hours ago, Atdahl said:

Fantastic photos as always Janet.  I have to say that your springhare photo really stands out though.  I know how tough these hopping masses of fur are to photograph but that didn't stop you from taking a stunning image. 

 

Thanks! not only are they always hopping but they are always hopping AWAY and not TOWARDS you

[Trai Anfield]

On 6/26/2019 at 9:31 PM, janzin said:

On to Mara North!

 

 

(Ok, this photo was actually taken as we left, as we didn't come in by plane obviously. But it seemed like a good place to put it.)

 

Actually I mis-remembered earlier, Serian camp did NOT pick us up--they were originally supposed to, but due to some mix-up about timing, they didn't have anyone available to do so.  So another staff member from Enaidura met up with Ping and us after the lion sighting, and we transferred vehicles; he drive us to Serian. Funny how as one is writing the report, things come back to you which you'd totally forgotten!

 

Driving into Mara North Conservancy from the Reserve, at first we were a little concerned because there seemed to be lots of cattle and community bomas. But soon we were past all of that activity and back to the wild, empty plains we associate with the Mara. We didn't really see or stop for much on our way to camp;  it was midday and so pretty quiet, and our Enaidura driver had never been to Serian before, so we got a bit lost. We finally found what apparently was the back entrance road where supplies are driven in, and someone there pointed us in the right direction; we weren't too far away.

 

We arrived in time for lunch and were warmly greeted by Aslin, who had recently started as camp manager; and Rosin, the prior camp manager who some of you know.  We also were very excited to meet WiFi...Rosin's dog, who was visiting for a few days along with Rosin and her daughter Charlotte. He is quite famous on Facebook

 

WiFi drinking from the birdbath. BTW, this is the only Wifi at the camp

 

 

A few words about Serian camp. We chose it, in part, because all parties get their own vehicle and private guide. Of course, this is reflected in the cost, but its one less variable to deal with. All of their guides are silver rated and we were very fortunate to get James, who is a favorite of @Kitsafari , and I can see why. He was hands-down the best guide we've ever had in Africa..extremely knowledgeable and personable.  I would say he was even better in some ways than Ping...which says a lot, and we really enjoyed every moment with him.

 

Because you have your own guide, you can set your own schedule...go out all day, do a night drive, even bring dinner out in the field. They will accommodate just about anything you want to do.

 

We also loved the camp. Our tent was spacious and the furthest from the main area...but not too far, as they only have 7 tents in total. An interesting feature of some of their tents is that the bathroom/shower is outside in a separate building, a few steps down and away. However, a few tents have a secondary toilet room attached. We requested one of these as honestly I don't like going outside in the middle of the night to...well, you know! Nothing to do with fear of animals but I find it just wakes me up too much...all that zipping and unzipping of the tent, getting a flashlight etc. and then I can't go back to sleep.  Also... bugs! Anyway, our request was met. Here is our tent, you can see the little supplementary toilet room on the far left; it had a toilet and sink.

 

 

And here is the attached room with other toilet, shower, and a tub too. Another nice thing about Serian is full-time hot water...no bucket showers here.

 

This photo was taken during one lunch break where it poured rain. This, and one evening, was the only rain we had. But it was really drenching for awhile!

 

 

 

The view from our tent. Across the river you can see their sister camp, Ngare Serian, which is even more exclusive, with only four tents. This is also where they have their tree-house, The Nest, which you can book for a night. There is a footbridge to cross the river. We never got over there, unfortunately...just ran out of time.

 

 

We never saw much wildlife down at the river...just a Grey Heron who was hanging out. But no animals, oddly not even a hippo or crocodile.

 

The dining/community area. Dining was at communal tables or you could opt to have a private dinner on your tent deck.

 

 

The whole area was excellent for birds, and they had a water feature (which Wifi is drinking from, above) which attracted many birds during the mid-day heat.  Knowing the camp was right on the river was actually another thing that tipped me over to Serian, as I really enjoy spending my lunch break shooting birds in camp. We actually picked up a couple of lifers there--African Blue Flycatcher and Spot-flanked Barbet, although I didn't get any decent photos of those.

 

This Fish Eagle was perched across the river from our tent. It was actually the only one we saw on the trip.

 

 

All of these next birds were in the camp during midday, photos taken during the lunch breaks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have to mention one other under-rated perk of Serian. They often have a photographer-in-residence, who is available to either go out with you on a drive or just chat with you about photography. No extra fee and they are just like any other guest, eating meals at the communal table and available to ask questions or give advice. I honestly didn't expect to utilize this (expert photographer that I am, --just kidding, we all can always learn something new!) but as it turned out, it really added to our experience there. The photographer who was in residence when we were there was Trai Anfield, a really lovely woman and excellent photographer, who was a joy to talk with. She was also a Nikon photographer which was great for me as a Nikon shooter, so we had plenty to talk about! After meeting her we decided we would definitely go out with her for one morning drive. More on that when I get up to that day in this report!  More on Trai here: https://serian.com/trai-anfield-photographer-residence/

 

They have a few other photographers who rotate and I'm sure they are all excellent, but I'm really glad we got to meet Trai.

 

Trai was planning to build a bird blind somewhere in the back of camp and she had started doing that when we left, not sure if it was completed. If so, that would add even more to the bird photography opportunities right in camp.

 

Okay, soon time to go out on our first afternoon safari with James....

 

 

[Trai Anfield]

11 minutes ago, Trai Anfield said:

Wonderful account of your trip Janet, and thank you for all your kind words - it was a real pleasure to meet you both, and I'm so glad that you found our time helpful!  Yes, I did finish the bird hide during my Photographer In Residence stint! Complete with a small pond, it quickly became a magnate for a wide range of small birds, kaleidoscopic in their colours, as well as a family of dwarf mongoose, monitor lizards and a couple of tawny eagles that fancied their chances at swiping a mongoose on their way past too!  Next time you visit give it a go - you never what will turn up! Trai xx

 

 

[janzin]

2 hours ago, Trai Anfield said:

 

 

Thanks so much Trai for stopping by! Perhaps you remember us shooting those Purple Grenadiers together, you probably have a similar photo!

 

I surely hope to return to Serian and perhaps manage to do it when you are there again I'm eager to see the bird blind!

Edited July 13, 2019 by janzin

[janzin]

Our last full day at Serian.   But its not over yet! We mentioned to James that we hadn't really had any great lion sightings in Mara North yet, so we set out early morning to find some. He knew that there had been a new pair of adult males in the territory a bit north of Serian. These guys are known as the "Angama boys" because they had come over from the Angama pride out of the Reserve.  In fact, the last two nights we were at Serian, the chief researcher from the Mara Predator Conservation Project, Niels Mogensen, was staying there as he was trying to get data on these new lions who had come into Mara North.

 

Well amazingly it wasn't long before we found our first male. Still very early and a bit misty.

 

 

He was walking in that determined way that lions do. We followed but soon he was way ahead of us.

 

But wait...there was the 2nd male, following not far behind him. The light was coming up now and I was able to get some nice images.

 

 

We didn't have their names at the time...but found out after we returned. This fella with the split nose is Lenkume; the other, who we'd seen in the mist, is Pilipili.

 

 

A handsome fellow.

 

 

At one point he lay down for a bit. He was against the sun and James asked if we wanted to go around to the other side, but I said no, I'd like to get the rim lighting.

 

I think it was successful!

 

 

After awhile with him just laying down, we decided to move further on. James suggested we check out a hyena den that had pups. Sure!!

 

Mom (or Dad?) was asleep.

 

 

But others were playing.

 

 

There were many pups of different ages...none super young, but James thought there were very young ones in the den. Unfortunately those never came out.

 

But this one had a bone to play with.

 

 

One a big younger.

 

 

After waiting awhile for the younger pups to come out, we decided to keep moving.

 

Some more random scenes from the morning.

 

I don't think I've posted a Warthog yet. They were certainly around, but usually running away from us with tails up, as they do.

 

 

Dwarf Mongoose

 

 

Grant's Gazelle...larger, and not as common as the Thompson's.

 

 

 

I am not sure exactly where we went the rest of the morning. Since we weren't on the hunt for anything specific, we took some time to concentrate on the birds. I'll just post them randomly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But the most exciting bird of the morning was a lifer for us: Rosy-throated Longclaw. We came upon an area where amazingly there were several, foraging in the grasses. They were constantly moving and it was hard to get a clear shot, but we persevered. Once in awhile one would perch up.

 

 

And then we got lucky as one perched on this stump. We were a bit far and I didn't want to get closer for fear it would fly off, so this is a more "environmental" portrait.

 

 

Another excellent morning!

 

[Kitsafari]

ooooh that wonderful rosy-throated longclaw! Did you hear him sing? Its so melodic and distinctive.

[mapumbo]

Wonderful photos of a fabulous safari.

Hopefully we will have even a small percentage of great sightings as we follow a similar track in a few months.

[janzin]

Since we only had one night left in Kenya we opted, of course, to make one last night drive; however, we aimed to come back pretty close to dinner start so that we could enjoy one final dinner with the guests and staff (at this point, I think the only guests were the two people from the Mara Predator Project, and Rosin and her husband were still there at well, and of course Trai and Ainslie.) So we didn't plan to stay out too late...but still hoped to get lucky and maybe find an aardvark.

 

Anyway, not much to narrate for this last drive, but we did find a few nice things.

 

A life antelope! Grey Duiker, not seen very often.

 

 

An agama...

 

 

We paused to appreciate the beauty of the plains.

 

 

 

So many zebra!

 

 

We encountered one lone resting cheetah in gorgeous light. Not sure who.

 

 

 

 

When it was nearly dark, we came upon another leopard! But wait...it's Nalangu! But she was quite distant from where we'd seen her mating a few days ago. We spent time with her, she seemed like she wanted to hunt. But there were a lot of bushes in the area and we couldn't really follow her; besides, we didn't want to disturb her hunt.

 

 

We did finally see her go after a hare! But she didn't get it.

 

Soon it was dark and we went back to the "aardvark" area which was actually quite close to camp.  Back and forth, back and fourth, circling...but no aardvark. However...more Zorillas! And I managed a SLIGHTLY better photo. Only slightly

 

 

Before we knew it, it was dinner time so we headed back to camp.

 

But there's still one more morning safari...and it wouldn't disappoint.

 

 

[janzin]

Over our time at Serian we'd mentioned to James that we'd like to see Leopard Gorge--the area made famous in "Big Cat Diaries."  It is not that far from Serian camp. Although there are no longer leopards living there, due to the dens being pretty much taken over by hyenas, we still were curious to see the famed gorge and the fig tree which marks its entry.  Several times we'd headed in that direction, but we always seemed to get distracted by something (leopards! Cheetahs!) and never made it there. So this last morning we asked James if we had time to go to Leopard Gorge, and he said sure. Our flight out of Mara North airstrip was scheduled at 11 a.m.; but as it turned out we were informed by Ainslee that as we would be their last stop in the Mara, it wasn't going to pick us up until about 11:30.

 

We headed out early; and speaking of hyenas, the first thing we ran into--literally--was a large hyena pack. There were at least 20 of them and they were running and yelping in the dawn light.

 

 

It turned out that there were actually two clans, and they were sparring a bit over territory. One came in from the other side of some vegetation.

 

 

We soon realized that the one, larger clan was chasing the smaller one out of their territory. Not the best video (I'm awful at video!) but you can hear them--what a fantastic sound!  And no one else around.

 

 

After this interaction, the hyenas dispersed and we headed towards Leopard Gorge. As the light came up, we started seeing some good birds.  In fact, we actually got a life bird when we came upon a field full of Caspian Plovers! They had apparently just migrated in, as they are winter migrants here. I think James was amused that we were so excited to find this bird.

 

 

We soon arrived at Leopard Gorge and sure enough, here was the view I'd seen so often on Big Cat Diaries, complete with the famous fig tree.

 

 

We drove into and through the gorge as there is a "road" along the bottom. The walls get quite high as you continue through, although all in all its not very long.

 

 

Although there are rarely leopards here anymore, the area is home to one more animal which we'd yet to see on this trip. They live in and amongst the rocks of the gorge.

 

Rock Hyraxes! Lots of them!

 

I think this is a baby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So cute!

 

And we did see the proof of why there were no more leopards---a hyena den in the rocks, although I couldn't get a clear photo, we did see a hyena go into it.

 

The area also brought us some new trip birds! Within the gorge itself we found this beautiful Scarlet-chested Sunbird.

 

 

We drove out the other side and came back along the top plateau...where we found some more great birds.

 

 

 

 

And another lifer!! We were really excited to find this White-headed Barbet posing high.

 

 

Now you may wonder if we went the entire trip without seeing the ubiquitous Lilac-breasted Roller   Of course not! We saw plenty. But it wasn't until now that one posed nicely for us in the right light.

 

 

As we headed back, more birds...

 

A pair of Black-bellied Bustards.

 

 

 

Yellow-billed Oxpeckers on a Kudu.

 

 

We still had time, so we decided to check in for one last visit with Amani and the cubs. Turned out they had just successfully hunted and killed a hare. Not nearly enough food for them at all.

 

One cub still had a remnant of fur.

 

 

Washing up after breakfast.

 

 

 

 

A final farewell to the entire sweet family.

 

 

I was a bit worried about these cubs as they hadn't had a successful hunt the entire time we were there; but we did find out that they got a meal within the next day or so, and they are still going strong. Amani is a great mom!

 

Reluctantly, we left Amani and the cubs as it was finally time to head to the airstrip.

 

But we still had some cats to see! As we approached the Mara North airstrip we encountered these three lions! No idea who they are or from what pride. Looks like two females and one older cub. They were just strolling along.

 

 

 

When we got to the airstrip, there were some Zebra on the runway...James got out of the vehicle to chase them off. But as he got back in, we saw some vehicles on the other side, eyeing something in a tree. Could it be?

 

Yes, it was a leopard!! But in a terrible position and since we were the last vehicle there, there was no way to get a good view of the face. James told us it was a leopardess named Tamu.

 

So I leave you with one last leopard shot...which I rather like.

 

 

Amazingly, on our last drive, against all expectations, we saw all three of the big cats!!

 

We sadly bid our adieu to James, and vowed to come back as soon as possible.

 

That's pretty much THE END and thanks to all who have followed along! Later I will come back with a few observations on September vs. February and the Reserve vs. the Conservancies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2019 by janzin

[Zubbie15]

What a great ending, and an awesome trip. You definitely got a unique shot of that last leopard, well done. Thanks for sharing! 

[Atdahl]

What an awesome report Janet.  Your photos continue to dazzle all of us .  That parting leopard photo is a prime example. I love that composition.

 

Thanks for sharing your great journey with us.

[Africalover]

Although I really enjoyed your TR, not to mention your photos, I find it disturbing and sad that it is so easy to find all the cats that you more or less want. Every cat has a name and known to all the guides. They even know when most of the cats made a kill. I wonder if they sometimes have a day off from tourist. 

I have never been to Mara, but maybe I will some day . 

Edited July 16, 2019 by Africalover

[TonyQ]

Thank you for a very enjoyable trip report with superb photos.

And your enthusiasm shines through!

Edited July 16, 2019 by TonyQ

[mapumbo]

Looking forward to your comments on comparisons of time and place.

Thank you for the trip report of your fabulous safari.

[mopsy]

Thanks for a great trip report @janzin it was a most enjoyable read.

 

You certainly did well with all the cat sightings.

[Zim Girl]

Thanks for yet another extremely enjoyable trip report with lots of really, really beautiful pictures.