This Week At Angama #124

18 June 2020 | This Week at Angama |

Reading Time: 5 minutes

This week at Angama, lions took, well, the lion’s share of game viewing and every minute was more spectacular than the last

When out on safari, I usually have at least one particular animal that I’m hoping to see. There’s never really any specific reason behind this – it could be an animal I’ve never seen before or one that I haven’t seen in a while, or even an animal that I’m taken with at that particular time. [f 6.3, 1/800, ISO 200, 0.0]
 
Flock of birds 1 Photograph by Adam Bannister

I was recently able to check leopard off my list after months of hoping to spot one. It was a rather shy adolescent male and he was gone in a flash – blending into the grass with such efficient stealth that I wasn’t even able to get so much as a blurry photograph. [f 13.0, 1/40, ISO 200, 0.0]

Lion Lying Down Photograph by Adam Bannister

When I first arrived in the Mara, spotting a lion felt like a rare treat, particularly fully grown males. [f 5.6, 1/640, ISO 640, +0.67]
 
Lion with Kill Photograph by Adam Bannister

Perhaps it is the diminishing rains or the shorter grass, or maybe even the soon-to-arrive wildebeest. Whatever it is, it has brought about near daily sightings of these big cats. [f 5.0, 1/640, ISO 500, +0.33]

Lion in GrassPhotograph by Adam Bannister

On a recent drive, we came across 24 lions in total with seven being stunning adult males. [f 5.6, 1/500, ISO 100, 0.0]

Lion GazePhotograph by Adam Bannister

[f 5.6, 1/500, ISO 500, +0.67]

Hyena with lionesses

A particularly cheeky hyena sniffed around this lioness and her almost-grown cubs early one morning, perhaps hoping that there were remnants of a kill nearby. [f 8.0, 1/30, ISO 160, 0.0]

Lioness Snarl  Photograph by Adam Bannister

[f 5.6, 1/200, ISO 125, +0.33]

Jackal
Jackal have also been enjoying the resulting windfall of successful lion hunts. [f 7.1, 1/400, ISO 100, -0.33]

Lioness kill Photograph by Adam Bannister

[f 6.3, 1/250, ISO 200, -0.33]

Photograph by Adam Bannister

[f 5.0, 1/1250, ISO 320, 0.0]

Wildebeest continue to stir up some excitement with their presence, though still infrequent and in limited numbers. [f 6.3, 1/500, ISO 100, 0.0]

two eland

Though there are some resident eland right by camp, I feel their numbers have increased recently and I have chosen to view this as a good omen with regards to the coming Migration. [f 11.0, 1/250, ISO 100, -1]
 
Eland  

[f 8.0, 1/400, ISO 100, -1]

Martial Eagle

I very nearly missed getting a shot of this Martial eagle as I determinedly scanned the treeline for signs of a dangling leopard tail. [f 6.3, 1/400, ISO 200, 0.0]

Black-chested snake eagle
I didn’t make the same mistake with the black-chested snake eagle though. [f 6.3, 1/1600, ISO 200, +0.67]

Hammerkop

I’ve started to get better at spotting birds – it is certainly easier than trying to find a lion or leopard in the tall grass. The hamerkop isn’t difficult to spot by any stretch of the imagination, but it was lovely to see this one in a particularly picturesque area by a little stream. [f 6.3, 1/250, ISO 200, 0.0]

Flock of birds 2Photograph by Adam Bannister

The Mara continues to surprise and delight and I look forward to what else it has in store. [f 13.0, 1/40, ISO 200, 0.0]

This Week Two Years Ago

CheetahPhotograph by Adam Bannister

This time last year, two young male cheetah arrived in the Mara Triangle – who knows, maybe they will make a reappearance again this year. [f 3.5, 1/1600, ISO 125, +033]

AUTHOR: Mwikali Ndambo

From writing to chocolate making – Mwikali is happiest when using her creativity and working with her hands. Photography gives her the chance to do both in order to tell and share stories of the world around her as she assists in hosting the Angama Photographic Studio.

COMMENTS (2)
Anne
July 9, 2020

I never really thought much about birds till I saw your photography Mwikali. This is breathtaking. I think I might just take up birdwatching now. The Hamerkop by the stream was stunning!

REPLY
    Nicky Fitzgerald
    July 10, 2020

    Thank you for your lovely comment Anne and a good plan to take up birdwatching. But look out – I am told it comes with an addiction warning 🙂

    REPLY
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