Niyam's African Adventure (August 2013)

[africapurohit]

As the golden light fell upon us, the rain falling on the Kenyan side of the border made for a wonderful scene. As we returned to camp we had a wonder sunset over the Mara River, turning the river red.

 

Wattled Starlings getting a ride on a zebra

[Kitsafari]

Brilliant sunset photos! Love the synchronized geese.

[twaffle]

I love the synchronised geese and the molten river … you've captured the feeling of the place so well.

 

We are there mid July, fingers crossed, but like everything to do with safari it is a matter of being prepared and taking what we are given.

[TonyQ]

The whole day's pictures do give a good flavour of the changing light

I really like the wallowing hyena!

[michael-ibk]

I´d just like to point out that @@africapurohit has achieved something very special. He´s the most "liked" member here, and the first one with more than 2000(!) clicks of affection.

 

So congratulations for this, you still have some way to go for your real pith, but you´ve already deserved a "pith of love" for your wonderful contributions to this forum.

[africapurohit]

Thank you all for your comments and thank you @michael-ibk . But I don't think all this affection suits my avatar. I've had lots of photos stored on my hard drive for so long and ST has given me somewhere to dump them. So thanks to all the members who have liked them.

 

@@twaffle I'm sure Alex can arrange for a small dam to be built to make sure you get across.

[graceland]

Very much enjoyed your entire trip. You and Niyam have set the bar high for a young man's first venture into Africa! And I think Niyam has a future ahead as a guide/photographer or just a very well seasoned safari goer.

 

Stunning sunsets.

[africapurohit]

The highlight of our morning on Day 6 was watching a pair of Secretary Birds hunting in the long grass close to the Mara River. We followed them for some time, at a distance, and our patience paid off! Mdebe and Lonyoki identified that one of the birds had homed in on a target, so I started tracking the bird with my camera and clicked away. Here are some images from the sequence as it happened......

 

Stamping on the target to stun and immobilise it.......

Leaning in for the kill.....

Got it!

Getting ready to swallow the mouse

Into the digestive tract

[AKR1]

I´d just like to point out that @@africapurohit has achieved something very special. He´s the most "liked" member here, and the first one with more than 2000(!) clicks of affection.

 

So congratulations for this, you still have some way to go for your real pith, but you´ve already deserved a "pith of love" for your wonderful contributions to this forum.

Congratulations AP. This metric is better than a Pith, at least IMHO.

[pault]

I've had to give up following this daily due to various interruptions, but I can see I should have. I'll read every word later, but I am more than getting the point from the pictures and of course the places are often famliar anyway, of course. Epic trip report (epic in the welcome sense of course - the more, the merrier) and clearly a great trip.

[africapurohit]

Careful @@AKR1 you'll get the @@Game Warden hunting you with his rifle!

[Africalover]

Damn good TR, damn good pictures. Really enjoying it :-)

[Game Warden]

@@Africalover okay, time to sort out your avatar image...

[africapurohit]

I then started to track the second bird and, despite not seeing it make a kill, it put on a more impressive hunting display than its successful partner. Mdebe was sure that it too had identified a target, but it probably escaped. It was fascinating watching the Secretary Birds hunt and some of the poses were almost mythical dragon-like.

 

 

[twaffle]

Superb Secretary Birds, I must remember to be more patient with them.

[Africalover]

@@Africalover okay, time to sort out your avatar image...

 

Hi Game Warden, what do you mean by that?

[africapurohit]

@@Africalover he means you need to add an image or photo to your profile - like I have a honey badger as my avatar.

 

Here is a link to show you how to do it: http://safaritalk.net/topic/32-creating-and-uploading-a-custom-avatar/

[Africalover]

Thank you I will.

[pault]

@@africapurohit

Superb Secretary Birds, I must remember to be more patient with them.

Plus one to that!

[africapurohit]

Thanks @@twaffle and @@pault. The ability to off-road in northern Serengeti played a huge part. We anticipated what direction they were walking in, positioned the vehicle and waited (probably spent around 20 minutes with them) . If you suddenly approach them, they will just move in the opposite direction. These birds generally walk in lots of zig-zags and circles, so you need a bit of luck regarding them staying on the anticipated course. Personally, I would always choose a secretary bird hunting on the ground over a raptor in the air.

 

We had similar situations in Tarangire, but the inability to off-road meant we couldn't correctly position the vehicle and just had to watch them walk away.

Edited November 29, 2013 by africapurohit

[Maki]

@@africapurohit - did I read correctly, in an earlier post by yourself, that you were just a beginner in photography ... hmmmmm... they don't look like that to me! You make vultures look pretty, and the geese and secretary bird pictures are amazing!

[africapurohit]

@@Maki in my previous eight African safaris, I always preferred video to still photography. I did take some photos but video was always my priority. This was my first safari where I prioritised still photography, so it was a new experience. I did attend a few workshops/courses before the trip to learn about the cameras and their controls/functions.

 

It was my first safari in 5 years but during this time I had been taking photos of my children, so I suppose that has helped. I have also been inspired by some amazing photos on Safaritalk over the last couple of years and have learnt a lot from some fantastic photographers here. I have six more photographic workshops booked over the next few months, so I can continue the learning. I've now got the photography bug!

[Atravelynn]

Fascinating series of Secretary Bird hunting. Lovely lighting in so many of your shots.

[TonyQ]

Two great sequences of secretary birds - the first with the kill, but I really like the second one with its feathers up

These photography courses obviously work!

[africapurohit]

The majority of our morning was spent close to Crossing Point 4 where herds were gathering in numbers - and although we did see some crossing action, it wasn't anything significant. Here some more images from our morning drive on Day 6....

 

Elephants at sunrise, close to camp

I just loved this scene with a lone lioness standing close to the Mara River. There was actually a pride of six but the other five were temporarily hidden in bushes allowing me to capture this moment

The river is beautiful and quite isolated from traffic between Crossing Points 3 and 4

Hippo island

Mara crocs vying for a bit of hard ground

Apologies for the Marabou Stork close-up

Immature Lappet-faced Vulture