Kenya after the Rains (mostly): Meru, Ol Pejeta, Olare Motorogi

[dlo]

Adorable little hyenas,I always enjoy seeing them. Count me in as a fan of hyenas, I love their curiosity and I find them to be so personable.

 

All old photos from my 20's have a grainy film from all the gel on my head splashing on the camera lens☺

[SafariChick]

I too love hyenas - these were adorable! The mama is so patient and the babies so cute. I also love the photos of the sleeping male lions.

[Alexander33]

What a perfect spot for breakfast. The rolling landscape with a giraffe in the midst of zebras is just quintessential Africa, don't you think?

 

That shot of the male kori bustard in display is wonderful.

Edited February 27, 2016 by Alexander33

[offshorebirder]

Wonderful last couple of posts @@TonyQ - you are starting to outdo yourself.

 

I especially like the Hyena den series - what cute babies! And I LOVED the Kori Bustard in "bull goose" display! Y'all were so fortunate to see that and by the looks of it, you got some brilliant photos.

 

And good White Stork closeup and flock view.

 

Between your post and @@bettel doing so well recently I am seeing a stay in OMC in my future!

[PT123]

@@TonyQ

Great report, I'm very much enjoying reading it. I especially liked the black rhino sequence in post #122. You really had a great morning drive that day!

 

@@pault

Nice reference to Bonn Scott - I sill have old AC/DC albums pre Brian Johnson days...maybe I should sell them on e-bay.

[Livetowander]

Jackals have such sweet little faces. I love the closeup.

[mapumbo]

You have been very fortunate with the baby sightings (cheetah gazelle, hyena, zebra, and on and on)

[Kitsafari]

Ooh love love the baby hyena series. Among the cries of the babies, do I hear the zebras calls in the second video?

That picture of the sleeping male lion in post 172 where he tilts his head is so reminiscent of the way my dogs and cats sleep. Would be so endearing except that this is a big predator!

[pault]

Between your post and @@bettel doing so well recently I am seeing a stay in OMC in my future!

They are still in Ol Pejeta @@offshorebirder you should definitely try OMC though.

 

@@TonyQ. I am quietly confident you are going to get even better hyena den pictures in good light. Looking forward to seeing them too. Enjoyed the first set very much.

Edited February 28, 2016 by pault

[samburumags]

Cant get enough of this report, its really great. The photography is wonderful and the video clips just add extra "life" to the entirety. I think I will just report "had a good time" on my next safari! I cant compete with you! Kicheche are superb camps. I stayed at Kicheche Mara three years ago and loved every minute. I hope this is not the end of the report..........

Edited February 28, 2016 by samburumags

[TonyQ]

@@Tom Kellie

Thank you - it was lovely to watch them (it was difficult to know whether to ZOom in and show the detail or Zoom out and show the numbers!)

@@Terry

Thank you for your kind comments

@@dlo

I am glad you like hyenas!

@@SafariChick

And that you like their babies...

@@Alexander33

I agree - a perfect breakfast stop - we recommend them!

@@offshorebirder

Thank you- the Kori Bustard was very impressive (we are still in OlPejeta here)

@@PT123

Thank you - it was a lovely day (I will have to check AC/DC references)

@@Livetowander

Thank you - I really like Jackals - I think they are beautiful animals - and when they stop they look at you (a very helpful habit!)

@@mapumbo

Yes we did see a lot of babies - and there are some more to come. Luckily we didn't see any being killed (we are softies)

@@Kitsafari

I think the sleeping lion is endearing as well - but do not pat him on the head! I am glad you like the baby hyenas. I am not sure if the zebra can be heard - I have old ears.

@@pault

There are some more hyenas to come - I hope you like them (I remember the pictures you took when you were at Ol Pejeta - and that you visited them twice - so I suspect you will)

@@samburumags

More report to come. We really like the Kicheche camps. I look forward to your trip reports!

[TonyQ]

The usual early start, we meet Andrew at the car at 6.00. Again we are lucky to have the car and Andrew to ourselves for the day.

 

It was very misty at the start of the drive. We saw a White-bellied Bustard, and another Kori Bustard displaying. We spent some time watching a group of Jackson’s Hartebeest moving through the mist

With Baby

 

We also saw a number of White Storks. The mist then cleared quite quickly to reveal a beautiful morning.

 

Jackal

Reticulated Giraffe

Common Zebra

Warthog checks us out

Grant’s Gazelle keeps an eye on us

 

Two males sizing each other up

[TonyQ]

And then we see….

Tiny babies

(For those of you who don’t like Hyenas there are some Elephants coming up later!)

 

The way they sniff the air is so cute

Testing each other out

This one was much smaller than the others (probably less than one month old – the other dark ones are about 6 weeks old))

[TonyQ]

Video Clip (1min 49sec)

Handsome youngster with fluffy long coat ( these would be over 3 months old)

Most of the adults were out hunting, so one baby-sitter was left with the youngsters and the babies.

 

This was had obviously been very muddy

 

The big advantage of being on our own with Andrew was that we could stay as long as we wished. In the case it was about 75 minutes. (We understand that not everybody would be quite so keen on watching hyenas!). We found the behaviour and interactions fascinating and loved every minute of it. The only slight disadvantage was the number of flies (non-biting) that were around, testing our non-violent intentions.

 

Very relaxed

 

[TonyQ]

After this we decided to break for breakfast

 

Andrew Obaga

 

When we had talked to Richard at Expert Africa, we talked about guides. He recommended Andrew and put in a request for us, so we were delighted to get him. (I believe that all of the Kicheche guides are “Silver” qualified and have a good reputation).

 

We got on with him really well. He is a keen photographer himself (I had seen some of his work in the Kicheche Facebook pages before we came to Kenya). He has worked at Ol Pejeta for a number of years and knows it very well. He approaches animals very expertly, knowing what is an appropriate distance for different species and how to approach without scaring them. He was also very good at judging the angle and light for photos. He was also good at predicting what an animal would do next and positioning us appropriately for that next move.

 

On top of all of this he was a very nice, interesting and impressive man. He had left school early and then put a lot of effort into educating himself and can talk very knowledgably about a wide range of subjects – we learned a lot during our stay. To have him for ourselves for almost all of our stay here was a delight.

 

The vehicle

Large windows (it can be cold early in the morning), an open roof, good storage inside, and good heavy bean-bags provided. Very good for viewing and for photography.

 

The Breakfast

Superb as usual!

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@TonyQ

 

In the photograph of a reticulated giraffe, which follows a jackal image, it appears to have extended its tongue, despite not eating.

On the ground near its hooves there is what looks like stairs.

What is it? Man-made?

Tom K.

[TonyQ]

After breakfast we watched elephants, tracking them as they move towards water

A real pleasure to watch them interact

 

We also saw herds of Eland with some Zebra

( @@Tom Kellie the structure is a water trough, originally built for cattle. The giraffe has its tongue out because it has been drinking)

Edited February 29, 2016 by TonyQ

[TonyQ]

And then we came across another group of Elephants

Suckling

I haven’t finished yet

 

(We actually had another vehicle for part of this elephant sighting – very unusual)

Warthog

Baby

? (I am not sure what this is)

[TonyQ]

We then spent a long time watching fascinating behaviour in the grassland, and trying (usually failing) to photograph it. There was a male Jackson’s Widowbird displaying.

 

Jackson’s Widowbird

 

The display involved throwing itself up into the air and then dropping back down to the ground. Photography involved trying to anticipate when it would jump and firing away. Here is a series of the more successful attempts!

 

As we headed towards camp we saw another display – this time by a Long-tailed Widowbird

 

The display was a flight to show off his tail to the females.

And a final view of a Lilac Breasted Roller

 

before getting back for lunch at about 1.15. As part of the briefing when you arrive at camp you are told - "don't worry about meal times - stay with the wildlife you want to stay with". An attitude much appreciated by us!

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@TonyQ

 

Thank you for the clarification on the giraffe that had been drinking from a former cattle trough.

Is there any possibility that the unidentified raptor might be a harrier...e.g. a female Circus macrourus, Pallid Harrier, or perhaps a juvenile Circus pygargus, Montagu's Harrier?

A more experienced birder reading this will be able to correct my conjecture with an accurate identification.

Your widowbird images are nothing less than spectacularly lovely. Stellar avian photography of a moving bird.

I like the camp's “don't worry about meal times” philosophy. Your Kenya safari took place under lucky stars.

Tom K.

[michael-ibk]

Love the Widowbird series, great you saw that. Agree with Tom, a Harrier, Montagu´s or Pallid. Wing patterns don´t quite fit a female Pallid, I´d say immature Pallid but not sure - Montagu´s looks very similar.

 

The fifth Ele pic (first batch of posts) is ecxeptionally cool, and you´re doing a great job showcasing how fantastic it can be to watch Hyenas.

[SafariChick]

@@TonyQ agree with @@michael-ibk about the coolness of that ele pic where it is spraying water, and I love the baby ele suckling. And I still love baby hyenas - said it before but I'll say it again. The air sniffing IS very cute and you captured it so well!

[bettel]

Hyena cubs are adorable . I always wonder how they can be so cute when they are little and grow into ... eh not that cure adult animal

[deano]

@@TonyQ - just catching up. More fantastic images (of everything) and I actually think I like the widow bird stuff the most - who would have thought!? The cheetah with their gorgeous eyes, lounging lions and the fluffy hyena are also among my favorites from the recent posts and of course...reticulated giraffe with a winding rough two track road of some sort. My kind of image (although mine are never up to your top quality).

 

kind regards

 

deano.

[Terry]

The picture of the Jackson’s Hartebeest moving through the mist is fantastic, just a lovely mode picture.

 

The youngster hyenas with their fluffy coats are cuddly looking. No one will ever say that again in a few months! Nice pictures also!