Tdgraves big year

[Tdgraves]

Great sparrow (new for us - I'm sure we've seen them, just not knowingly)

 

Mashatu elephant hide, 2/9/14

 

 

Canon 5D, 100-400, ISO 400, f 6.3, 1/2000

[Tdgraves]

Helmeted guinea fowl

 

Mashatu elephant hide, 2/9/14

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canon 5D, 100-400, ISO 640, f7.1, 1/1000-1/2000

[Tdgraves]

Cape turtle dove

 

Mashatu elephant hide, 2/9/14

 

 

Canon 5D, ISO 400, f 7.1, 1/1250

 

 

Canon 5D, ISO 800, f 7.1, 1/2000

[Tdgraves]

Red-eyed dove

 

Mashatu elephant hide 2/9/14

 

 

Canon 5D 100-400, ISO 1600, f 6.3, 1/2000

[Tdgraves]

Laughing doves

 

Mashatu elephant hide, 2/9/14

 

 

Canon 5D, 100-400, ISO 800, f 6.3, 1/1600

 

 

Canon 5D, 100-400, ISO 800, f 6.3, 1/1600

 

 

Canon 5D, 100-400, ISO 800, f 7.1, 1/1600

 

 

Canon 5D, 100-400, ISO 500, f 7.1, 1/1600

[Soukous]

lovely stuff @@Tdgraves

Mashatu elephant hide certainly looks like the place to be.

how much time did you spend there?

[Tdgraves]

thanks @@Soukous unfortunately only one morning. It was an optional extra (with extra expense, about $60 per person I think) and obviously means that you miss a game drive. As we had never done anything like it before, I thought I would just book one session out of our four days. However, when we go back, which I'm sure that we will, I'll book two. The eponymous creature only appeared as we were leaving, so another session would have been useful for more mammals. They have also built a new one, so one session in each would be good.

[Soukous]

thanks @@Soukous unfortunately only one morning. It was an optional extra (with extra expense, about $60 per person I think) and obviously means that you miss a game drive. As we had never done anything like it before, I thought I would just book one session out of our four days. However, when we go back, which I'm sure that we will, I'll book two. The eponymous creature only appeared as we were leaving, so another session would have been useful for more mammals. They have also built a new one, so one session in each would be good.

 

That sounds a bit harsh. You miss a game drive and you have to pay extra for the hide.

I've not come across that anywhere else.

[Tdgraves]

Well, it is because it is run by an external company and you have a professional photographer in the hide with you, giving instruction

[Tdgraves]

Black-headed oriole

 

Mashatu, 31/8/14

 

 

Canon 7D, 100-400, ISO 250, f 7.1, 1/2000

[Tdgraves]

Juvenile martial eagle (I believe - best fit from my book, but am happy to be corrected)

Central KNP, 6/9/14

 

 

Canon 7D, 100-400, ISO 400, f 8, 1/1000

[Tdgraves]

oops, just realised that the upper photo in #148 is Meves's starling, not glossy starling and the lower is Burchell's, sorry

Edited December 3, 2014 by Tdgraves

[Tdgraves]

This is a glossy starling

 

Leopard hills, Sabi Sand, 12/9/14

 

 

Canon 7D, 100-400, ISO 320, f 7.1, 1/800

[Tdgraves]

And this is a Meves's starling

 

[Tdgraves]

Southern grey-headed sparrow, 2/9/14

 

 

Canon 5D, ISO 400, f 7.1, 1/1250

[Tdgraves]

Goliath heron (amgonst other things) not the greatest shot

 

Fever tree forest, Northern K, 4/9/14

 

 

Canon 5D

[Tdgraves]

Black-winged stilt

 

Fever tree forest, Northern KNP, 4/9/11

 

 

Canon 5D 100-400, ISO 500, f 7.1, 1/1000

[Tdgraves]

And now for some which are not new, but have better photos....

 

Firstly, an African fish eagle

 

We scared this fish eagle from next a watering hole into a tree (not on purpose) and when we returned for sundowners he was beautifully silhoutted. I asked the guide to inch forward to get him to fly and it worked!

 

Kings camp, Timbavati, 7/9/14

 

 

Canon 5D, 100-400, ISO 1600, f 7.1, 1/6400

 

 

Canon 5D, 100-400, ISO 1600, f 7.1, 1/8000

 

 

Canon 5D, 100-400, ISO 1600, f 7.1, 1/8000

[Tdgraves]

Second, lilac breasted roller in flight

 

Mashatu, 1/9/14, not a great shot as it was our first full day on safari and I hadn't set the camera up properly

 

 

Canon 7D, 100-400, ISO 160, f 6.3, 1/1000

 

Leopard Hills, Sabi Sand, 10/9/14

 

 

Canon 5D, 100-400, ISO 320, f 7.1, 1/2000

[Tdgraves]

Third, ground hornbill in flight, silhoutted!!

 

Kings camp, Timbavati, 6/9/14

 

 

Canon 5D 100-400, ISO 10000!! f 5.6, 1/250 (taken at 6pm)

[Tdgraves]

Fourth, a yellow-billed kite with some unidentified object in its' talons...

 

Kings Camp, Timbavati, 7/9/14

 

 

Canon 7D, 100-400, ISO 400, f 8, 1/1600

[Tdgraves]

Just found another new one, Natal spurfowl

 

Mashatu elephant hide, 2/9/14

 

 

Canon 5D 100-400, ISO 800, f 7.1, 1/1000

 

 

Canon 5D 100-400, ISO 1000, f 5.6, 1/3200

[Soukous]

@@Tdgraves you manage to successfully convey the impression of an endless holiday. Very jealous.

[Tdgraves]

Then the other new species which we were not fast enough to catch on camera: Southern Boubou, Palm swift and a Purple-crested turaco, which was stunning, but too fast!

 

I thought I had a shot of a pair of yellow canaries, but it must have been deleted for focussing issues as I can't find it.

[Tdgraves]

@@Tdgraves you manage to successfully convey the impression of an endless holiday. Very jealous.

 

@@Soukous and I haven't even started the TR yet - I fear I haven't the bandwidth for all the shots

Edited December 9, 2014 by Tdgraves