Kenya 22/12-12 part 4

It has been a long time since I shared photos on the blog now, and I figured that it would be a Nice way of enjoying the Winter here in Longyearbyen by looking through more of the photos from last Christmas.

The Mammals of Africa are ones that most Europeans see on the TV, and for many, like me, it is a great dream to get to see these iconic animals. At Lake Nakuru the animals were more than willing to show themselves to us, and I got a real taste of what was to come later on.



This Cape Buffalo (Kafferbøffel) was one of my most wanted species in Kenya. These huge animals appear to be dosile and calm, but the power and changing mood they can show just make them a true danger in woodlands and on the savanna.



Cape Buffalo/Kafferbøffel

When this Waterbuck appeared out of the tall shrubs I was amazed at what a beauty it was. When we drove off I truly wanted to stay behind and look more at it. It appeared as royalty in the darkness of the forest.



Waterbuck

Baboons were seen several Places, but I thought this Picture where it is "mooning" the world was a good picture for us who have grown up With them in the Disney-universe.



Baboon/Bavian.

Thompsons Gazelle (Thompsongaselle) is a vary delicate little antelope, amd to see this one feeding was a nice sight.



Thompsons Gazelle/Thompsongaselle

Another common antelope was the Impala(Impala). These elegant antelopes wanted to run away from the car, but I managed to get Pictures of this one who wasnt quick enough to run away!




Impala/Impala

The striped horse, the Zebra, didnt mind us getting close, and they were obviously more than happy to be photographed. This baby was among the cutest animals I saw this day, and I just had to have it in this blog-post.



Plains Zebra/Steppesebra

 And when I was photographing the Zebras I got the idea of making close-up portraits of some of the animals. I am pretty pleased With the outcome of this one!



Plains Zebra close-up.

The Rock Hyrax is among the closest relatives of the Elephants! When you are stood looking at an animal the size of a large Rabbit, that it is a cousin of the Elephant is not a thing that strikes you....



Rock Hyrax/Klippegrevling



Rock Hyrax/Klippegrevling

Rhinos to me have allways been a living armoured tanks. Bur seeing the White Rhinos feeding next to the car, only ten meters away to begin With, made me think otherways. When they were around a meter away from the car they appeared as nice and peacefull creatures. To not be the slightest bit afraid when a couple of tons of muscles and horn is stood just next to you is a great feeling!



White Rhino/Hvitt neshorn



White Rhino/Hvitt neshorn

Lokking at the Giraffes made me remember all the times that I've seen them in the sunset on TV. And they are my mothers favourite African animal, so off course we spent some time looking at them. :)



Rotchild's Giraffe/ Rotchild giraff

 Our Guide got very happy when we spotted this Black Rhino at a distance. This was the only animal in the park that he didnt feel comfortable driving up close to. So the Pictures were taken at about 40-50 meters. A great animal that truly showed that it was the king of the land......



Black Rhino/ Svart neshorn



Black Rhino/Svart neshorn

 And when I spotted this one, the guide could tell that it was at least two years since he last saw this species. The Pictures didnt become too good due to the fading light, but yo can manage to see the species. :)



Striped Hyena/Stripehyene

May 2013, this far.

May is a wonderfull month when it comes to birds, amd here are some of the more interesting birds that I have had the pleasure of seeing this far in may.

May 11th:

The first goose of the year had arrived at Hotellneset. This was a Canadagoose, ssp. parvipes (Kanadagås, underarten parvipes). We were not expecting it to be this species, so both Vegard and I were surprised when the "Pink-footed Goose" (Kortnebbgås) showed a clear white cheek.......

May 13th:

One of the first unusual gulls that I have gotten to see this year. A Black-headed Gull (Hettemåke) spent a few days in the delta before disappearing again.

May 18th:

Another interesting gull up here in the High Arctic, a Common Gull (Fiskemåke) was seen for only one day before it had disappeared again.

May 19th:

American birds are a rare treat in Svalbard, and after the Canada Goose on the 11th of May, a sighting of a Pectoral Sandpiper (Alaskasnipe) was very nice.

And to make it even better, just next to it a Lapland Longspur (Lappspurv) was feeding at the edge of the pond.

May 20th:

Another bird from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean showed itself in Adventdalen, a Greater White-Fronted Goose, subspecies flavirostris (Tundragås, underarten flavirostris) was sitting in between a flock of Pink-Footed Geese (Kortnebbgås).

May 21st:

A total of three good birds photographed this day. The first is a Pectoral Sandpiper (Alaskasnipe) male that chased of a second male, and then kept displaying on the tundra. This is not a species that should be breeding on this side of the Atlantic, so there could be something really interesting going on here.

A Great Black-Backed Gull (Svartbak) was sleeping next to a little flock of Gaucous Gulls (Polarmåke).

 

And finally a pair of Long-Tailed Ducks (Havelle) were resting in the harbour on my way back home. 

 

 

May 22nd:

A male Tufted Duck (Toppand) was the highlight of this day.

May 23rd:

A Taiga Bean Goose (sædgås, underarten rossicus) gave great views for when sat in the car only 25 meters away from it.

May 25th:

Another sighting of the Viking Gull (Vikingmåke) was a cery nice experience. It came in to eat bread together with the Galucous Gulls (Polarmåke). This hybrid between Herring Gull (Gråmåke) and Glaucous Gull (Polarmåke) is very little described in the litterature, so pictures like these are very good to have for future ID-ing of individuals.

Looking very much like a Herring Gull.

Very little markings on right underwing and left upperwing.

Very little markings on right upperwing and left underwing.

Kenya 22/12 -12 Part 3

Everybody likes to look at cute ducks in parks, and the opportunity I got here at Lake Nakuru, to get the rest of the family interested in these birds, was perfect!

Red-Billed Duck/Rødnebband

Hottentot Teal/Hottentottand

Raptors are allways among my favourites when it comes to birds, and around Lake Nakuru we got to see a few at a very good distance.

Osprey/Fiskeørn

Tawny Eagle/Savanneørn

A couple of birds with interesting head-ornaments allso showed up. Helmeted Guineafowl(Hjelmperlehøne) looks like it has got some kind of dinosaur-horn onn its head, whike the Grey Crowned Crane(Gråkrontrane) looks like it has borrowed a posh hat from a high-end woman.

Helmeted Guineafowl/Hjelmperlehøne



Helmeted Guineafowl/Hjelmperlehøne

Grey Crowned Crane/Gråkrontrane

Grey Crowned Crane/Gråkrontrane

As many may have seen earlier in the blog, shorebirds are among my absolute favourite birds, and to get to see some species that I have wanted to see for a long time up close eas amazing. It was also a little surprise to get to see some very familiar species here as well.

Black-Winged Stilt, female/Stylteløper, hunn

Black-Winged Stilt, male/Stylteløper, hann

Pied Avocet/Avosett

Spur-Winged Lapwing/Sporevipe

Marsk Sandpiper/Damsnipe and Black-Winged Stilt/Stylteløper

Marsh Sandpiper/Damsnipe, note the thin bill

More pictures will be coming soon!

Kenya 22/12-12 Part 2

This part of the trip was to be so much more than expected, even though I did not really have any special expectations. I was quite stunned after we had driven around Lake Nakuru! For a bird-lover there are few single locations that can be more filled with interesting species! At least that is how it was for me. While mammals are what you usually see on TV from Africa, I am even more interested in the birds, and here I got to see many more than I could manage to find them in my bird-guide.

The drive from Sunbird Lodge to Lake Nakuru gave a brief glimpse into what was awaiting. Great Egret (Egretthegre), Yellow-Billed Stork (Gulnebbstork) and African Spoonbill (Afrikaskjestork) gave a glimpse into the long-legged birds, and an African Hawk-Eagle (Afrikahaukørn) sat on a post gave a hope of seeing many raptors as well.

Since it is difficult to quite remember all the details about the drive around the lake, I will use the bird-guide to go thruogh some of the more interesting species that I managed to identify around the lake.

Both Great White-(Hvitpelikan) and Pink-Backed Pelican(Rosenpelikan) where seen on the lake, and a roost of Great Whites gave good possibilities for photographing.

Swimming Great White Pelicans (Hvitpelikan)

Roosting Great White Pelicans(Hvitpelikan), theyre all GWP's even though some are quite pinkish.
 

Cormorants were spread around the lake. Most were Great Cormorants (Storskarv), but there were also som Long-Tailed Cormorants(Langhaleskarv) sat in small trees around the lake. I even managed to spot a couple of African Darters (Slangehalsfugl), even though they did not give me an opportunity to photograph them.

Long-Tailed Cormorant/Langhaleskarv

Great Cormorant/Storskarv, surrounded by Cape Teal/Kappand, Greater Flamingo/Flamingo, Lesser Flamingo/Dvergflamingo and Grey-Headed Gull/Gråhodemåke.

Egrets, herons and other long-legged birds have allways fascinated me, and here I got to see all that I wanted! Common Squacco Heron/Topphegre is a species that have eluded me for quite a few years. People have seen individuals in the exact same spot as me just minutes before I have gotten therem but when I get there it has off course left the location! But here one of them sat just next to the road, trying to be as impossible to see as it could! A beautiful species!

Common Squacco Heron/Topphegre

Of the white Egrets I got to see Little Egret/Silkehegre, Great Egret/Egretthegre and the one I really wanted, Intermediate Egret/Duskhegre. I did not think that I would be able to distinguish between Great and Intermediate, but the bill was a good way of telling them apart! I allso got to see the familiar Grey Heron/Gråhegre. Just like seeing it at home, except for everything surrounding it!

Intermediate Egret/Duskhegre

Grey Heron/Gråhegre

Of the other long-legs I got to see, many were very nice to see in close-up. Yellow-Billed Stork(Gulnebbstork) and White Stork(Stork) are both majestic birds which deserve to be watched thurroughly! Ibises are strange birds that allways catches my interest, while the African Spoonbill(Afrikaskjestork) is just a beauty. The flamingos, both Greater-(Flamingo) and the Lesser Flamingo(Dvergflamingo) looks like they have bought stilts, and that they dont want to leave them behind.

White Stork/Stork

Yellow-Billed Stork/Gulnebbstork - juvenile

Yellow-Billed Stork/Gulnebbstork - adult

Sacred Ibis/Helligibis

African Spoonbill/Afrikaskjestork, with a Hottentot Teal/Hottentottand next to it, and a Cape Teal/Kappand in the background.

Lesser Flamingo/Dvergflamingo in the centre of the picture, Red-Knobbed Coot/Knoppsothøne front-left. The ducks in the middle are (left to right) Southern Pochard/Fløyelsand - male, Cape Teal/Kappand, the next three are Southern Pochard females. Two Greater Flamingos/Flamingo in the background. 

Grey-Headed Gull/Gråhodemåke, Ruff/Brushane, Greater Flamingo/Flamingo