Ruaha and Zanzibar - September / October 2014

[graceland]

Wow you really saw quite a few more giraffe than we on foot...and they really are accented by the stunning scenery.. I truly love to watch their faces; so that is one negative about walking around to find a spot to sit and watch; they do NOT cooperate!

 

A Happy Holiday season to you and your family.

 

Thanks for continuing

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 02, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

 

I continue the morning drive of our 3rd full day in Ruaha with another photo of giraffes:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we saw this group of female Greater kudus on the bank of Ruaha river:

 

 

 

 

Zebras with Greater kudu in the background:

 

 

 

 

Female Greater kudus:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Atravelynn]

Playful lions are always fun. Nice series on the pied kingfisher. Your photos show the mischievous personality of the troublemaker elephant.

 

I switch from thinking Katavi-like to Tarangire-like in looking at your report.

Edited December 30, 2014 by Atravelynn

[FlyTraveler]

Playful lions are always fun. Nice series on the pied kingfisher. Your photos show the mischievous personality of the troublemaker elephant.

 

I switch from thinking Katavi-like to Tarangire-like in looking at your report.

 

Never been to Tarangire, but judging by photos and videos that I have seen it seems to me like the closest-looking to Ruaha park.

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 02, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

 

On with this morning drive and some running Greater kudus:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zebras with a foal going down to the Ruaha riverbed:

 

 

 

Impalas and zebras in the Ruaha riverbed:

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 02, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

 

Another photo of Impalas and Zebras in what I believe is Ruaha riverbed (could have been Mwagusi, starting to forget already):

 

 

 

 

Elephants drinking from holes in Mwagusi riverbed:

 

 

 

 

Masai giraffe and a baobab tree:

 

 

 

 

Harem of Impalas:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Red-necked spurfowls (are they?)

 

 

 

 

Breeding herd of elephants under the shade of acacia trees:

 

 

 

 

[Atravelynn]

Nice series of running kudu!

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 02, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

 

All right... this is going to be my last post here for this year.

 

 

 

We stopped to watch some birds in the Ruaha riverbed. I thought that they were quite a few, not knowing how many more will fly over in ten-fifteen minutes time.

 

 

I could recognize Great egrets, Hadada ibises, Open-billed storks, Yellow-billed storks and Hamerkops. Please, feel free to correct me if I am wrong or if I have missed some types of birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

... and this is before the bulk of the Yellow-billed storks and the Pelicans have even started to arrive...

 

 

I'll show you the bird's party in full swing next year...

 

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year to all Safaritalk members!!!

Edited December 31, 2014 by FlyTraveler

[xelas]

@FlyTraveler: and a Happy New Year 2015 to You! Let it be filled with great travels!

 

I cannot believe that I have not been back to your report almost so long! Yet it makes a great New Year Eve reading it now.

 

Re "Photos are not very sharp and I would assume that apart from the cheap entry-level lens that I am using (Nikon 70-300 VR), the main reason for this must have been myself, overplaying with the lens stabilization system and taking photos with camera on a beanbag with relatively high shutter speed (1/800 sec and up) with VR on.

 

There is a lot of discussion if VR on affects the sharpness or not. However, with 70-300 VR (which is a great lens and very affordable and portable one) main problem is that it is softer at 270-300 mm so keeping it at 250 mm and stopping down to f8 really makes a much bigger difference then switching VR on or off (specially if below 1/1000 s and not on a sturdy tripod).

[Bush dog]

@@FlyTraveler

 

Happy new year!

 

The birds on your pictures

 

Hammerkops

Hadada Ibis

Yellow-billed Storcks

Saddle-billed Storcks

Great Egrets

Little Egrets?

An african Spoonbill

 

I do not see any open-billed storcks

[FlyTraveler]

@@FlyTraveler

 

Happy new year!

 

The birds on your pictures

 

Hammerkops

Hadada Ibis

Yellow-billed Storcks

Saddle-billed Storcks

Great Egrets

Little Egrets?

An african Spoonbill

 

I do not see any open-billed storcks

 

Happy new year to you, @@Bush dog!

 

Thanks for the correction.

 

So, the first bird standing in the water on the right on the last three photos is a juvenile Yellow-billed stork? I thought that it was an Open-billed...

[Bush dog]

 

@@FlyTraveler

 

Happy new year!

 

The birds on your pictures

 

Hammerkops

Hadada Ibis

Yellow-billed Storcks

Saddle-billed Storcks

Great Egrets

Little Egrets?

An african Spoonbill

 

I do not see any open-billed storcks

 

Happy new year to you, @@Bush dog!

 

Thanks for the correction.

 

So, the first bird standing in the water on the right on the last three photos is a juvenile Yellow-billed stork? I thought that it was an Open-billed...

 

That's what I think, yes, and the 2 others looks like juveniles also?

[Marks]

Happy new year, I hope 2015 takes us all on safari at some point.

Really like the eles gathered beneath the acacias in your recent post.

[FlyTraveler]

Happy new year, I hope 2015 takes us all on safari at some point.

Really like the eles gathered beneath the acacias in your recent post.

 

Happy New Year @@Marks! Really hope so... twice, if possible

[FlyTraveler]

@FlyTraveler: and a Happy New Year 2015 to You! Let it be filled with great travels!

 

I cannot believe that I have not been back to your report almost so long! Yet it makes a great New Year Eve reading it now.

 

Re "Photos are not very sharp and I would assume that apart from the cheap entry-level lens that I am using (Nikon 70-300 VR), the main reason for this must have been myself, overplaying with the lens stabilization system and taking photos with camera on a beanbag with relatively high shutter speed (1/800 sec and up) with VR on.

 

There is a lot of discussion if VR on affects the sharpness or not. However, with 70-300 VR (which is a great lens and very affordable and portable one) main problem is that it is softer at 270-300 mm so keeping it at 250 mm and stopping down to f8 really makes a much bigger difference then switching VR on or off (specially if below 1/1000 s and not on a sturdy tripod).

 

Happy New Year to you @@xelas! Yes, keeping 70-300 mm lens at 250 mm probably helps, the problem is that in most cases it is difficult to control the focal length while looking through the viewfinder... I think that I will open a new thread about these issues in the Photography section...

 

We should start getting ready for the Kgalagadi TP :)

[xelas]

@FlyTraveler: indeed we should; only me and my DW has to make a trip to Panama first. What a bummer .... !

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 02, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

I have been quite busy lately and not able neither to process nor to post any images for a while. In order to catch up with the Ruaha River birds' party moment, I should go back a little and show you some more scenery shots taken on this game drive.

 

The beautiful acacia forest area right next to Ruaha River that @@pault talked about in his report. I believe the first photos from this place that I saw were sitting giraffes under the acacia trees on the @' s first trip report about Ruaha during the green season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Couple of warthogs sleeping in the shade:

 

 

 

 

Masai giraffe under a sausage tree:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and again Impalas in the Ruaha riverbed:

 

 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[Gregor]

Fantastic Trip report and it is a joy to follow it, and I guess it is still more to come

 

I have one question. Your pictures have a really high temperature. In my taste a notch to much. Is this deliberate?

 

Best regards / Gregor

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 02, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

Hi everyone, sorry for the long break and on with this Ruaha TR.

 

Two posts back I mentioned that we saw a congregation of birds in Ruaha river, mostly Great white egrets, Hamerkops, Hadada ibises and Yellow-billed storks. Later on mixed flocks of Pelicans Yellow-billed storks and African spoonbills started to arrive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Marabou stork flying in front of the camera:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The birds kept coming in mixed flocks. I had the feeling that I'm watching "The Birds" of Hitchcock:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[Dam2810]

Those pictures are amazing. ruaha looks like the paradise to me;-)

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 02, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

I am continuing with the Ruaha River birds' sighting.

 

 

Now we had a full-swing birds' party in the river. I have no idea what makes birds to congregate in such mixed groups. Some of the pelicans and the Yellow-billed storks were fishing, but it didn't look quite like a feast. Perhaps at the end of the dry season fish are so scarce that even the smallest quantities attract large numbers of birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scenery shot with the birds in the river and a giraffe at the opposite bank:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A closer look at the birds' party:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[FlyTraveler]

Oct. 02, 2014. Ruaha National Park, morning game drive.

 

 

A few more photos of the birds' party in Ruaha River:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs. FlyTraveler with Alphonce in the Land Rover:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and Yours truly:

 

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2015 by FlyTraveler

[michael-ibk]

Both of you definitely look very happy - but who wouldn't in such a beautiful place?

 

Good to see you continue!

[KathBC]

Is that a Canadian flag I see on your jacket??

[Marks]

Quite an assembly of birds, and also nice to put a face to your name!

I always like your wide shots that show the landscape.