The Anhinga Trail and Flamingo… Everglades National Park

March 14, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 21 Comments

If you’ve been following my blog over the past couple of months, you have already met Anhingas: In Africa. I showed one demonstrating the proper way to eat a fish in Chobe National Park, Botswana. We found this fellow with its googly eyes along the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades National Park, Florida.

Peggy and I traveled to Everglades National Park a few weeks ago, came back to our basecamp in Virginia, spent two weeks rushing to prepare for our five-month road trip, and are now in Terre Haute, Indiana sitting on the border of Missouri. We were supposed to be continuing west today, but the National Weather Service had a severe thunder and lightning storm warning up for Missouri. It’s not the type of weather to be out on the road, especially when pulling a small, light trailer.

The storm introduced itself last night. We could hear it approaching from miles away, at first a distant constant rumble, it became an earth-shaking roar. We hunkered down and wondered if Armageddon had arrived. I worried about hail. Baseball size chunks were crashing down on Kansas City. Serafina, our trailer, would not have been happy. But the storm passed us by without any damage.

On top of that, we had a propane leak, which can be more dangerous than softball-size hail. My solution, other than a few chosen words, was to shut the tanks off and wait until we could find an RV service facility to fix it, which often takes days or even weeks to schedule. Fortunately, we have options that allow us to function without propane.

Peggy and I have learned in our recent travels that mobile techs can solve most RV problems, however, often on a same-day basis and at a fair cost. Since we were here for the day, I called a local business in Terre Haute: At Your Service— Mobile RV Repair. And boy did we luck out. I reached the owner, Allen Grota, and he told me he would be over as soon as the storm stopped. He went through everything, tanks, connections and regulator. Finally he found the problem. The hose to the trailer had been left hanging next to one of our levelers and the lowering and rising of the leveler had cut it. As soon as this had happened, the regulator had shut down the tank. We weren’t in danger, but neither would we have propane. Allen then ran downtown to get what he needed to fix the problem. The cost was incredibly reasonable. And it turns out, Allen is a heck off a nice guy.

I’ve already done three posts on our Everglades trip: One on white pelicans, one on osprey, and one on the area around Everglade City on the Gulf Coast. I’ll conclude today featuring more of the Atlantic Coast side where we found the osprey and white pelicans. We entered the park at the Ernest F. Coe entrance. After stopping off at the Visitor Center, we made a beeline for the Anhinga Trail, just inside the park. Peggy and I had been there before and were quite impressed with the alligators and birdlife.

From there, we drove down through the park to Flamingo, where we would be glamping. We stopped along the way at various pulloffs to check out features of the Everglades emphasized by the National Park. First up, the Anhinga Trail.

Our first stop was to admire this impressive mangrove. Peggy provided perspective.

Shortly afterwards, we came on this colorful bird that was busily walking over lily pads. It’s a Purple Gallinule.

Next on our list of colorful birds along the Anhinga Trail was this great blue heron.

Here’s another shot of the googly-eyed Anhinga. One of its relatives was busily fishing in the pond below.

Anhinga style, only its head was above the water. We liked the shadow.

It had been fishing under water and came up for air here.

A turtle also swam by underwater while we were watching the Anhinga.

In addition to the wildlife, the scenery along Anhinga Trail is also quite attractive. A loud noise in the middle of it caught our attention…

A large alligator had raised its head among the trees and was bellowing.

A close up. Remember, one way you can tell the difference between a crocodile and an alligator is that the crocodile shows its teeth. The alligator doesn’t. Another is the alligator has a shorter snout.

Having made his point, whatever it was, the big fellow swam toward us.

One of our stops along the way toward Flamingo was the Mahogany Hammock Trail where we found this great egret. I called it scruffy neck. They say that great egrets have really long necks.That would certainly appear to be true from this photo. But it got longer…

We wondered if it had inherited giraffe genes!

Our glamping tent in Flamingo. It had a good view of Florida Bay. Low tide brought in various birds to take advantage of the the feast it made available.

Among them were these guys hungrily scarfing down miscellaneous delicacies, at least from their perspective. While they may seem like different birds, they are all white ibis in their various development stages from juvenile to adult.

I close with this shot of the egret. Next up, we take a look at some of the excellent wildlife carvings we found in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and take you to the workshop where they were made. You will be surprised.

Fishing Village on Lake Kariba… On Safari 20

March 11, 2024March 15, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 24 Comments

Children anxiously awaited our arrival at the tribe fishing village we visited on Lake Kariba. Which one was trouble? Grin

When the Zambezi River was flooded in the 60s to create Lake Kariba, several villages of Tonga people were flooded— without compensation. Some of them were later granted limited fishing concessions on the lake. Our guide was eager for us to meet Africans as well as wildlife and arranged a tour of one village located on an island. I found the people and village life quite similar to what I had experienced as a young Peace Corp Volunteer in West Africa 50 years earlier. Following are some of the photos that Peggy and I took.

Life continued as usual in the village during our visit. The bathtub.

Child safety seat. How much safer could one be?

Housing construction varied. This one was was made of round mud bricks.

The construction process. We watched as bricks were added.

Both methods would eventually be finished off with this solid clay covering, which I assume withstood rain.

Roofing materials varied as well. This was a traditional covering. The reeds were purchased from a nearby town and brought in by boat.

Modern tarps of various kinds were more common.

This came as a surprise. You may have noticed it on our ‘Main Street’ photo. A solar panel makes lots of sense.

Roof decoration? It’s possible that this hippo jaw was present to scare away evil spirits.

A more modern store featuring the latest in sugar-free drinks! “Same great taste.” Even in 1965, the then small town of Gbarnga, Liberia where I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer had a Coke billboard. And one for Guinness.

The chief of the village (blue shirt and leaning on post) took us on a tour where cooking, house building and fish net mending were demonstrated. The man in the cap talking is the captain of the houseboat we lived on while exploring Lake Kariba. This demonstration was how the Tonga cooked fish.

Mmm, mmm, good! Since fishing was the primary source of income for the villagers, fish were also their primary source of food.

Mending fishing nets was an ongoing, daily process.

Fish caught for sale were salted and dried.

After a steady fish diet, eggs might make a welcome substitute. Or chicken?

Peggy taught one of the children to make the Peace sign. The kids were an absolute delight.

And here Peggy was teaching them the ‘A wuni kuni ki yo oonie’ song and clapping game. Everyone of our grandchildren, nieces and nephews will immediately recognize this. Peggy, a retired and well-loved elementary school principal, had a large group of the children with her wherever she went in the village.

I’ll close today with a photo of two of the children who had adopted John. He skipped up to the village with them!

Peggy and I are on the road again. Tomorrow we start our journey west where we will be taking three months to travel up the West Coast from Big Sur to Olympia National Park camping out in our travel trailer as we go. I will blog about the trip as we go! Hopefully, I’ll be able to wrap up Africa and the Everglades on our two week drive across the US. I’ll continue to read blogs and respond to comments as time allows.

And Why Are Cape Buffalo So Dangerous?… On Safari 19

March 8, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 13 Comments

Cape buffalo are dangerous, no doubt about it. But what makes them so? The look alone says “Don’t mess with me.” The eyes, the horns, the ears and even the nose speak of danger! We were safely ensconced in our boat on the Chobe River. Did I mention that the buffalo are great swimmers…

Size matters. The big bulls can weigh up to a ton. The really big ones can reach over 6 feet in height and 11 feet in length.

Which, in no way, means that you would want to mess with a thousand pound female…

And then there are the horns. No one, not even a lion, wants to be hooked by one.

They are the boss. That is actually what the horn structure is called. The solid shield created where the horns meet is so tough that it can withstand the pressure of another large male crashing against it!

They attack as a group. You won’t be dealing with one. It could be the whole herd. They protect each other, including the young, the old and the sick. The largest males form a circle around the vulnerable with their horns pointing out. When a calf cries in alarm, the bulls come charging.

Terry, the co-owner of the Iganyana Tent Camp where we stayed on the edge of Hwange National Park, told us a story about this downed tree. His brother-in-law came to visit and went out for an evening walk. He called Terry and asked for a pick up because he heard lions. Terry jumped in his truck and rushed to the scene. He didn’t have to worry about the lions. They were up as high as they could get on the stump as the herd of buffalo ran in circles under it, threatening instant death if they dared to come down. That’s how scary they are. The week before we arrived, a herd of around a thousand came to visit the camp and stayed until 11 that night, Terry told us. No one could go back to their tent until the buffalo left! One of them left its calling card on the pathway up to the tent we were staying in. Peggy and I had a hard time imagining being in the tent while the herd roamed around outside.

We were out for an evening drive with our guide when we came across the herd crossing the road. “Be quiet,” the guide told us. “Be very quiet.” The guide waited until there was a break and dashed through it.

What our guided didn’t tell us was that the herd was coming to graze in the same field where a surprise party was being hosted for us!

While Peggy made horns, I checked out the tree for a possible escape. Just in case, you know. I’m happy to report that the buffalo happily munched away on their side of the field while we drank on ours.

Fortunately, there was a sufficient supply of alcohol with a great motto.

Enough that Peggy changed her approach to making horns. That’s it for today. The next post will be about a fishing village we visited on an island in Lake Kariba, and a carving camp we shopped at in Victoria Falls.

A few of the children from the fishing village gathered around me and demanded that I take their photo.

Who’s a Pretty Bird… Florida’s 10,000 Islands and Big Cypress National Preserve

March 6, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 28 Comments

Well maybe not pretty, but we thought the neck colors of this wood stork we found standing next to the road in Big Cypress National Preserve rather striking. We asked her if she hired out for delivering babies. Her response was, “Are they tasty?”

Peggy and I visited two different areas during our recent trip to the Everglades. The first was Everglade City that I will be blogging about today. It’s a small town on the southwest Gulf Coast that has a feel of old Florida. It’s far away from the huge populations and hustle-bustle of the southeast coast where Miami reigns. We could easily walk anywhere in town and meet friendly people, including a few old timers who fit the description of quirky. Our kind of folks.

The town’s primary source of income is the tourist trade that comes to experience the natural wonders and adventures provided by the Everglades 10,000 Islands and the Big Cypress National Preserve. Local businesses offer a variety of options for exploring inside and outside of the park from airboats and swamp buggies to eco-tours and kayaks. We chose a motorboat eco-tour for the 10,000 Islands area. To start, we drove south from Everglade City for a couple of miles to Chokoloskee Island and the end of the road. Our objective was the old Smallwood Store, which does double duty as a museum and a tour center. The store provided a perspective on the first white settlers in the area. We met out tour guide/boat captain there and headed out into the 10,000 Islands with one other couple. Following are a few highlights.

Three different species of mangroves provide the base for most of Florida’s 10,000 Islands. These trees have adaptations that allow them to take in extra oxygen and to remove salt that allows them to thrive in coastal intertidal zones. The creation of new islands is an ongoing process. 10,000 is a guesstimate at best.

Our two hour trip took us through the relatively open waterways shown above to the enclosed jungle-like canal shown here. Speed varied from zoom to put-put with occasional stops to admire the local flora and fauna.

The Everglades are one of the few places on earth where crocodiles and alligators co-exist. While our small, bouncy boat wasn’t the best platform for photography, it’s easy to see that this is a crocodile from its long, thin snout and visible teeth.

Our tour through the 10,000 Islands also produced this colorful bird with its interesting top-knot, a yellow-crowned night heron.

Something moving very fast left this trail through the water in a split second. Can you guess what it was?

It was a dolphin. Several of them had chased fish into the shallow water and were working to catch them. I had never realized how fast they are. Apparently they are quite common in the area. One tour operater offered, “If you don’t see dolphins on our trip we will refund your tickets.”

After our tour, we stopped at a local Chokoloski Island institution, the HavAnnA Cafe for lunch. It’s a charming, roofed-over, open air restaurant with lots of greenery— and chickens. A flock came clucking through while we were eating, eager to pick up any crumbs that had escaped to the floor. “The officials won’t let me sell their eggs to our customers,” the owner complained to us. I was both surprised and pleased that the officials allowed the chickens visiting rights at all. I did see chicken on the menu, however. I ordered a Cuban Sandwich instead.

We decided to drive ourselves on a tour of the Big Cypress National Preserve, which was just north of Everglade City. The name of the road we would start on is Birdon Road. How could we resist? And it was true. The three roads we drove over— Birdon, Wagon Wheel, and the Turner River— followed streams and were packed with birds, and alligators.

A pair of wood storks barely bothered to move off of Birdon road as we drove by.

An osprey seemed surprised by our presence.

A snowy egret hovered over a stream where it was fishing.

One of the defining chacteristics of a snowy egret is its yellow feet. Hard to miss!

One of the streams we followed through the Preserve.

This great white egret was surveying its world from the top of a tree.

We found another one fishing by the stream and took a close up.

A great blue heron flew away before we could take his photo. “Be that way,” I called after it and snapped a photo in flight.

An anhinga twisted its neck so it could keep an eye on us.

We also found alligators lurking along the stream. The clearness of the water and the time of day led to some interesting reflection shots.

And even more so here! I’ll wrap up today’s post with this ‘two tailed’ example. At first glance, Peggy and I thought we had spotted a monster! The next blog will be on the most dangerous animal in Africa, the Cape buffalo.

A Hodgepodge of Cute African Animals and Scary Reptiles… On Safari 18

March 4, 2024March 4, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 23 Comments

“Snake? What snake? Let me at it!” It’s hard to believe that this cute, friendly looking mongoose lying outside my door at our lodge in Victoria Falls could be a deadly enemy to snakes, or anything, except bugs…

A pack had arrived on the lawn while I was “home alone.” Peggy had gone out with our group to a local in-home dinner while I was catching up on some much needed rest. The mongoose were all busily hunting for insects except for the one that was taking advantage of our warm balcony. I think she took offense at my comment…

“Who dares to say I can’t take on a snake?” I thought I’d provide her with some options…

How about this one? We heard our next door neighbors yelling as they dashed out of their tent cabin on the edge of Hwange National Park. They had a visitor, this long olive green fellow that looked like a black mamba. Black mamba’s are long, skinny, and can be more olive colored than black. They are one of the most feared snakes in Africa. I grabbed my camera and ran over to photograph it before the staff showed up and kicked me out. Getting up close and personal with a mamba might not seem too smart but I’ve been known to lie down in front of rattlesnakes so I can get good headshots. Grin. But hey, I turned 81 yesterday and I’m still here. Turns out it was a grass snake, but boy could it move fast. The staff came armed with brooms.

Or how about this large black snake? It looked scary enough when we came upon it near the Cape of Good Hope. It’s nonpoisonous, however, and good at capturing gophers and mice. The next snake we discovered close by was different, a worthy opponent of of my visiting mongoose. It’s scientific name is *Bitis ariens*, and with a name like Bitis…

The puff adder causes more fatalities than any other snake in Africa and is responsible for 60% of the snake bites in South Africa. With long fangs, a venom that kills cells, and the ability to swim and climb trees, it was not a snake to be messed with. Note its forked tongue and puffed out cheeks.

It headed off for the grass and we were glad to let it go. We saw several other reptiles that didn’t push our heart rates off the charts, including a six-foot long lizard.

We spotted this monitor lizard on the banks of the Chobe River in Botswana. They can reach 6 1/2 feet in length and are known for standing on their hind legs to monitor their surroundings, thus the name. In addition to being the largest lizard in Africa, they are the only lizard with a forked tongue. Some specialists argue that this makes them more snake than lizard. They are also supposed to have a high IQ— for a lizard. Apparently, they can be taught to count up to six. One clever thing they do that I read about is lay their eggs on termite nests. The termites cover them up and the nest provides protection and heat regulation. When they are born, they have a ready supply of termites to eat. It hardly seems a fair way to treat your host.

We found this colorful lizard on a rock near the Cape of Good Hope. It’s a southern African rock agama.

It disappeared over the edge, but then poked its head up to watch us.

We were up on Table Mountain next to Cape Town, South Africa, when we spotted this interesting, “armor-plated” lizard. It’s called a black girdled lizard.

I’ve always liked tortoises. I wasn’t expecting to see any in Africa, so this leopard tortoise in Chobe National Park came as a happy surprise.

We also found another one. Check out its attractive shell. Males compete for their lady loves by bumping into each other. They also pursue and bump into females until they agree to mate. But mainly, both males and females wander around and graze on grass and other herbaceous plants.

And now back to mammals and the competition for cutest animal. We thought that the mongoose featured on top might win, but that was before we met a hyrax up on Table Mountain.

As I mentioned in my last post, hyraxes have a number of physiological characteristics that make them more closely related to elephants and manatees than to the rodents one would expect. They are found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

And just how cute are they? Our sister-in-law, Frances, couldn’t resist buying a cuddly toy hyrax for her new granddaughter.

Speaking of cute, this small velvet monkey showed up at a restaurant overlooking the Victoria Falls gorge where we had stopped for lunch. I think he was looking for a paw out. That does it for today. On Wednesday, Peggy and I will take you back to the Everglades. On Friday, it’s all about Cape buffalo.

On Wednesday, we’ll return to the fantastic birdlife of the Everglades and the Bald Cypress National Preserve plus throw in some crocodiles, alligators and dolphins.

Zebra, Zonkey, Zorse: Zzz… On Safari 17

March 1, 2024March 1, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 16 Comments

A zebra mare and her foal make their way across the savannah in Hwange National Park.

We were on a mission to find zebras. They were the only major animal on our must-see list that we hadn’t seen in Chobe National Park. Finally, deep in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, we found them, a whole herd. As is obvious from their physical appearance, they are closely related to horses and donkeys. In fact, zebras can mate with them. When a zebra and a donkey get together, their offspring is a zonkey. Not surprisingly, the offspring of a horse and a zebra is called a zorse. This is definitely party conversation material! Like mules, zonkeys and zorses are sterile, however. You won’t find them in large numbers.

As for the marvelous black and white stripes, scientists aren’t exactly sure of their purpose. One might be to confuse predators. It’s really hard to pick out vulnerable individuals in a herd, especially when they are running like heck to get away. They may also serve as a form of identification for other zebras, a name tag if you will, since the stripes are different on each zebra. Controlling body heat might be another factor.

Peggy and I really liked this photo. Note the beautiful symmetry on the face and how the stripes extend up from the zebra’s neck into its mane. If you shave off all of the hair, a zebra’s skin is black.

And a full body shot. While the stripes on each zebra may be different, it’s subtle. Other than the differences between size and sex, I certainly couldn’t tell the difference. I’d be right there with the lion in trying to pick one out! BTW, this is a different zebra from the one I featured above.

The herd, for the most part, was focused on something off to the right, possibly a predator. One was eating, however, which is the zebra’s primary occupation. As herbivores, their main food is grass, supplemented by leaves, roots and bark. Droppings in the foreground suggest this is a major elephant route. (It was hard to take photos anywhere near water in the dry season without the droppings. More than once, I cropped them out!)

The herd moved in among the trees and provided another photo op. Zebras are social animals and live together in herds. When annual environmental conditions force them to migrate, the herds join together into huge herds, sometimes numbering in the thousands, and often travel with other herbivores like antelope. Within herds, zebras hang out in smaller groups consisting of a dominant stallion, several mares and foals.

The stallions can be quite aggressive in establishing and maintaining their dominance. Note the look on the zebra in the back. This was not a love-bite!

A wrestling match with more bites ensued.

The winner! The dominant zebra, having proven its point, walks away while the other remains on the ground. These fighting skills are also used in defending zebras against predators such as lions, leopards, jackals and cheetahs. The zebras form a semi-circle facing the predator and attack if necessary using both their sharp teeth and powerful kicks.

A zebra appears to be having a discussion with two kudos, antelope that may migrate with them.

I’ll conclude today with this young ‘teenage’ zebra that was following mom in the first photo. On Monday we will be focusing on a number of other interesting creatures we met on our safari including the hyrax below.

It’s hard to believe that this cute little fellow’s closest relatives are elephants and manatees. Peggy and I met up with him on Table Mountain near Cape Town, South Africa.

Getting Up Close with Osprey… Everglades National Park

February 28, 2024February 27, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 18 Comments

A large nest with two Osprey was located near our camp in Everglades National Park. The wind was playing with this fellow’s feathers.

At the beginning of February, Peggy and I drove down to Florida to visit with our son Tony, his wife Cammie and their three boys: Connor, Chris and Cooper. Afterwards, we drove down to Everglade City in southeast Florida where we explored the 10,000 Island area of the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve. There were birds galore, alligators, and even crocodiles! We then crossed the state and drove down to Flamingo in Everglades National Park where we went glamping, i.e. stayed in a tent camp with floors, electricity and comfortable beds.

Peggy discovered an osprey nest nearby when she was searching for a restroom. The one in our glamp-camp was closed for cleaning. She came back to our tent quite excited— to say the least. It was imperative that we go check it out, immediately! We decided to have lunch near the nest so we could watch the osprey come and go. Peggy had seen a chick being fed on her first foray. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see it. “Teach me to head for a restroom without my camera!” Peggy groused. But there was plenty of other action as the ospreys watched us, preened, and remodeled their nest.

The female Osprey lands on the nest. Her ‘necklace’ gives her away. Had I been faster in refocusing, I could have captured her large wing span. The black streak that extends down from the beak to the wing is an identifying factor for osprey. Its partner watched as she landed. The birds mate for life and can live 15-20 years.

The size of the nest suggested that the two Osprey had been using it for several years.

I’ve always been excited to see osprey. Besides their beauty, they are superb hunters. Watching one dive feet first from 30 to 100 feet up in the air to capture a fish is a sight one never forgets.

These fierce looking talons are specialized for catching fish. That they are sharp, is obvious. Not so obvious is the fact that Osprey are unusual in possessing a reversible outer toe that enables them to hold a fish with two toes in front and two behind. Note the pads. They are barbed to help them grip their slippery catch. We were amused to learn that an Osprey lines up its fish head first to reduce wind resistance.

Given their strict fish diet, it isn’t surprising that Osprey always build their nests near water including rivers, lakes and the ocean. Somewhat more surprising is that they are found on every continent except Antartica. If conditions are right, they may live in the same area year round, but if not, they migrate and have been known to fly as far as 4200 miles. Their history as a species dates back over 11 million years.

While the birds weren’t particularly worried, they did keep an eye on us.

Sometimes, it seemed like they were posing.

One peered over the edge of the nest at us. Or maybe it was checking its chicks.

Eventually they ignored us and started to preen…

And then a van showed up and disgorged a group of photographers with serious cameras. They scared the Osprey. I kept my small, light weight camera with its mega digital lens that I easily hold in one hand to myself. Grin. That’s it for today. Friday’s safari post will be on zebras.

Birds of Africa: It’s a Wrap… On Safari 16

February 26, 2024February 29, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 32 Comments

I’ve always admired cattle egrets as they follow cattle around waiting for them to stir up something edible. They do the same thing in Africa, but the animals they associate with tend to be bigger and more scary. This egret had teamed up with an elephant next to Lake Kariba in Zibabwe. Had we visited the same area a month later, we would have probably found the same elephant and egret together. Cattle egrets, I read, tend hang out with the same animals.

I’ve mentioned before in this series (several times probably) that Peggy and I were both surprised and impressed with the bird life we found on our safari through Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. We ended up focusing on the birds as much as the other wildlife. I’ve already introduced several. Today, I’ll do a wrap up on the others that captured our attention.

The Cape buffalo is considered the most dangerous animal in Africa, which is saying a lot considering all of the dangerous animals I’ve already featured on this blog. This egret represented the ‘height of nonchalance’ in its choice of a perch. At least it didn’t have to worry about any of the predators that might consider it food!

The oxpecker is another African bird known for its close association with a number of animals, including this Cape buffalo we found next to the Chobe River in Botswana. It had already worked its way around the buffalo’s face and moved on to its horns in its endless search for insects.

Two birds claimed this old snag that stuck out of the Chobe River. The tail belongs to an African Darter/anhinga. The small fellow is a pied kingfisher.

A close up of this handsome representative of the family. It was facing into the wind…

This cutie is a juvenile African skimmer. It’s waiting for its mom to bring home her catch.

Mom arrives and the two of them seem to get into a shouting match. In my imagination, it went something like this. Kid: “I’m starving to death, mom. You’re late!” Mom: “You hardly look starved. If you are, get off you lazy butt and go catch your own food.”

Mom got in the last word. You probably noticed that the lower beak is longer that the upper beak. The skimmer uses it to skim along the water scooping up small fish. Thus the name.

This small fellow with its black eye mask is known as a bee eater.

A bee eater of a different species. This one is known as a carmine bee eater.

“That’s a go away bird,” our guide announced. “It gets its name because it always calls ‘go away, go away, go away’ when it is frightened and flies away.”

This is a Jacana, also known as the Jesus bird. They earn the name by supposedly walking on water. Their large feet enable them to walk on lily pads.

A Jesus bird demonstrates on the Zambezi River near Victoria Falls. I think it was cheating, but check out its long feet. I will show a similar bird on Wednesday from Florida Everglades National Park.

Judging from this photo, it seemed to me that the Jesus bird could have been named fan dancer.

For sheer color, this iridescent blue starling won the prize.

We found a flock of open billed storks hanging out in front of a female waterbuck. The Chobe River is in the background.

Here, an open billed stork searches for its favorite food, snails.

A marabou stork: Not the most handsome bird we saw. Grin. There’s a reason why it is also known as the undertaker.

‘Can I offer you a stick?” Or is it, “Want to build a nest with me, Sweetie?” Marabou storks flap their neck sacks when courting. That must be exciting. We’ll wrap up our African bird photos today, but more birds will be featured on Wednesday. This time from our recent trip to Everglades National Park in Florida. Friday’s post will be on zebras.

This nesting osprey in Everglades National Park will be among the birds we will feature on Wednesday.

A Slightly R-Rated Post on Baboons: On Safari 15

February 23, 2024February 29, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 12 Comments

Mom checks us out. Given the ‘look,’ I don’t think I would mess with the baby. We were at a water hole in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe when we came on this mother and her baby.

In the animal kingdom, baboons are close relatives of ours, sharing 94% of our DNA. While others are closer (chimpanzees at 99% for example), 94% is close enough to feel a sense of identity, or at least imagine one. This mom’s interactions with her baby were about as ‘human’ as they get.

Assuming we were harmless, junior trotted out for a closer look…

And received a lecture from Mom for his boldness. At least that’s the way it looks!

Like us, baboons are omnivorous. This one has found a tasty stick to chew on….

While carrying on a conversation with another baboon. He may be talking, in a way. Baboons have 10 or more vocalizations they use to communicate.

The baboons here were harvesting the fruit in this tree. Our guide told us they chewed off the outer rind, which was spicy, and ate the sweeter fruit in the middle. Impalas, apparently liking spicy, waited under the tree to gulp down the rinds.

An impala feasting on the rinds is at the base of the tree. Several more baboons can be seen on the ground. Groups of baboons are called troops.

I’ve already featured baboons sifting through elephant dung to find ‘tasty’ tidbits.

Two of them were hard at work with the chore.

We saw lots of baboons going about their business in Chobe National Park. This little fellow seemed to be in a hurry. Maybe mom was calling.

A distant photo caught a mother carrying its baby that was hanging on underneath. We saw another baby riding on its mother’s back like a cowboy rides a horse.

Mom and a teenage baboon make their way through the grounds of the Safari Lodge where we stayed next to the Chobe River.

This handsome dude seemed to be focused on something other than food. (Warning: Now’s the time for the R-rated part of this post.)

And found her. Females have patches on their rear that turn bright red when they are ready to mate. If males are a little slow on the uptake, the females ‘flirt’ by backing up to them. No flirting was required here. That’s it for today. And no more R-rated posts until we get to the mongoose. Monday’s post will feature a number of birds we saw on the safari that I haven’t covered yet: They range from sublime to ugly.

A Flotilla of Over 250 Hungry White Pelicans… The Everglades

February 21, 2024February 21, 2024 / Curt Mekemson / 26 Comments

Peggy and I were leaving the Everglades last week when we drove by a small pond that had at least 250 white pelicans working their way back and forth across the pond, herding fish, and downing them as they went.

Having lived in California and Oregon with occasional trips to Washington and the west coast of Mexico for most of my life, I have spent hours watching brown pelicans make their impressive dives into the Pacific Ocean capturing fish. White pelicans are much leas common in the West and have a very different approach to fishing. They don’t dive. Instead, they herd fish as a group, scooping them up as they go. Peggy and I had only seen this process once before. We were at Morro Bay on California’s Central Coast and watched a half dozen white pelicans form a semi-circle and herd fish toward shallower waters. Imagine our surprise when we passed by a pond that had between 200-300 swimming back and forth in unison!