Meru, Samburu, Lake Nakuru, Kenya — October, 2014

[Caracal]

What a wonderful surprise!

Welcome back @Tom Kellie. Hope all is well with you.

A lovely resumption of this thread. Looking forward to more.

[Tom Kellie]

Buteo augur's rufous tail,

Confirm's the bird's identity.
While hunting, whether win or fail,
Augurs probe with alacrity.

 

 

 

Indifferent Impala

 

 

 

Wing White

 

 

 

Rufous Tail

 

 

 

On the Attack

 

 

 

Persistent Buzzard

 

[Tom Kellie]

A melanistic companion,

Suddenly shows up on the scene,

Theirs but a very brief union,

A meeting wholly unforeseen.

 

 

 

Buteo augur  Pair

 

 

 

Under Spread Wings

 

 

 

Interested in Something

 

 

 

No Longer Interested

 

 

 

Separate Lives

 

[JohnR]

Welcome back, Tom!

[Tom Kellie]

Buzzard nests must be both stable, 

And soft enough for eggs and chicks.

Doing the best they are able,

Parent birds use grass and small sticks.

 

 

 

 

Lift-off with Nesting Material

 

 

 

Bound for the Nest

 

 

 

Buteo augur with Grass in the Bill

 

 

 

Determined Buzzard

 

 

 

Winging Skyward

 

 

 

Last View of the Nest-builder

 

 

[Tom Kellie]

Plumage beneath is all in white,

A gentle contrast to blue skies.

We watch the buzzard's soaring flight,

Circling swiftly, dazzling our eyes. 

 

 

 

Electric Power Pylon

 

 

 

Buteo augur Aloft

 

 

 

By Air

 

 

 

Passing Overhead

 

 

 

Nesting Material in Talons

 

 

 

Nakuru Buzzard

 

 

 

Two-for-One

 

[Tom Kellie]

A small impala bachelor herd,

With zebra joining in a feast,

Natural here, elsewhere absurd,

True kinship between beast and beast.

 

 

 

Nakuru Track

 

 

 

Impala Bachelor Herd

 

 

 

This Must Be in Nakuru

 

[Tom Kellie]

White egrets with dark buffalo,

With fleet swallows zinging above,

Nakuru's grass isn't fallow,

As it's the fodder these herds love.

 

 

 

Nakuru Buffalo

 

 

 

Lovely Nakuru

 

 

 

Grazing Buffalo

 

[Tom Kellie]

As expected, solitary.

Tender browse is delectable,

Although shoots may widely vary,

Nonetheless all palatable.

 

 

 

Rhino's Morning Stroll

 

 

 

Nakuru Rhino

 

 

 

Rhino and Spreading Tree

 

 

 

Near Homes

 

 

 

Trotting Rhino

 

[Tom Kellie]

The park entrance and private homes,

Too close for comfort, yet there.

The notch-eared rhino daily roams,

Untroubled by worry or care.

 

 

 

Lumbering Off

 

 

 

Lake Nakuru National Park Entrance

 

 

 

Notched Ear

 

 

 

At a Distance

 

 

 

With a Single Oxpecker

 

[Tom Kellie]

Even Hirundo rustica,

That peerless zephyr of the sky,

From Europe to America,

Sometimes wants to rest more than fly.

 

 

 

Rest Stop

 

 

 

Arco Hirundo

 

[Tom Kellie]

This Bostrychia hagedash,

Mostly brown with a greenish splash,

As with most others of its kind,

Looks down to see what it may find.

 

 

 

Ibis Rear Plumage

 

 

 

Sunlit Vegetation

 

 

 

Hadada Ibis in the Morning

 

[Tom Kellie]

Seeking answers from high above,

Concerning fate, life, death, and love,

This pensive baboon hurries not,

Content with what life has taught.

 

 

 

Contemplative Mien

 

 

 

Come Hither

 

 

 

To Climb...or...Not to Climb

 

 

 

Seeking Answers

 

 

 

Philosopher

 

[Tom Kellie]

Vouchsafed an up-close encounter,

We admire the bird's fearlessness.

Sizing us up with cool hauteur,

The buzzard disdains with finesse.

 

 

 

Augur Buzzard on Grass

 

 

 

Buteo augur Profile

 

 

 

Contemplating Departure

 

[Tom Kellie]

Neither lens nor eye can capture,

The fleeting drama when a bird,

Making a wing-borne departure,

Startles without saying a word.

 

 

 

Rapid Departure

 

[Tom Kellie]

Rising water levels of late,

Have submerged most of the lakeshore.

In response to this soggy fate,

Wildlife has had to adapt more.

 

 

 

Look Who's Here

 

 

 

Baboon Cliff

 

 

 

Forlorn Zebras

 

 

 

Yellow-billed Storks

 

 

 

Lake Nakuru Egyptian Geese

 

 

 

Waterbuck and Zebra

 

[Tom Kellie]

Flamingo feeding behavior,

May occur in groups of a few.

Dining on morsels they favor,

They're close, yet solitary, too.

 

 

 

Flamingo Group

 

 

 

To Each Their Own

 

 

 

Mud Stalkers

 

 

 

Wading in the Shallows

 

 

 

Flamingoes of a Feather

 

 

 

Flamingo Quartet

 

[Tom Kellie]

Large-gaped pelicans by the score,

Beside a pink flamingo flock,

Are more numerous than before,

With little room for them to walk.

 

 

 

Lake Nakuru Bird Life

 

 

 

Morning Rest

 

 

 

Fancy Dancers

 

 

 

Pelicans and Friends

 

 

 

Lake Nakuru Brunch

 

 

 

Flooded Lake

 

[Tom Kellie]

Nakuru the same as ever,

Or is it? A shifted shoreline,

Driving a fruitless endeavor,

Every road in steady decline.

 

 

 

Near the Rising Shoreline

 

 

 

Blue Lakeshore

 

 

 

Flood-isolated Tree

 

 

 

Buffalo, Flamingoes and Drowned Trees

 

[Tom Kellie]

Improbably fashionable,

Vibrant shades of pink prevailing,

Flamingoes are remarkable,

Bright plumage our eyes assailing.

 

 

 

Beguiling Pink Plumage

 

 

 

Egyptian Goose Landing

 

 

 

Lake Diners

 

 

 

No Heads-up Here

 

 

 

Phoeniconaias minor

 

 

 

Rosy Pink Dining Attire

 

[Tom Kellie]

Female Lesser Masked Weavers check,

What's their woven nest condition.

The interlaced grass looks high-tech,

When viewed from any position.

 

 

 

Female Ploceus intermedius

 

 

 

Lesser Masked Weaver Nests

 

 

 

Nest Inspectors

 

 

 

Weaver Condominium

 

 

 

Woven Nests Against a Cloudless Sky

 

[Tom Kellie]

“Anthony, look, Pelicans...there!”,

The seasoned guide shades his keen eyes,

“Those are storks, flying everywhere”,

His comment brings me down in size.

 

 

 

Mycteria ibis Formation

 

 

 

Wrong Way Stork

 

 

 

Far Overhead

 

[Tom Kellie]

We stop to see the lake below,

Flooded tree groves where roads should be.

The wildflowers in bright yellow,

Nature's wondrous diversity.

 

 

 

Saffron-hued Surprise

 

 

 

Trees in Lake Nakuru

 

[Tom Kellie]

Beauty in Nakuru's parkland,

Is observed in plants and flowers,

Brightening the roads as if planned,

Raised by sunlight and rainshowers.

 

 

 

Billowing Bower

 

 

 

Botanical Delicatessen

 

 

 

Color Source

 

 

 

Tree with Bright Blooms

 

 

 

Growth Among Outcrops

 

 

 

Acacia Blooms

 

 

 

Spreading Trees With Blooms

 

[Tom Kellie]

Warthogs pause in the shaded track,

Look us over then they decide,

To trot off as a porcine pack,

Into the woods to play and hide.

 

 

 

Stop and Stare

 

 

 

On Their Way

 

 

 

Nimble Trotters

 

 

 

Sleek Swine

 

 

 

Off On Another Adventure