The red-billed queleas had been unleashed

[Richprins]

Big ellie!

What lovely bird pics, I must say, Pumbaa! Interesting light.

[Lisbeth]

Those zebbies have been let loose from a circus, they look very well trained

That's a big Boy

The martial eagle has a very nasty look

[Bushcraft]

A belated welcome back

I’m still jealous of that leopard sighting

Size ellie

Impressive pics once again

[Pumbaa]

That ellie has very impressive tusks.

Lovely pics all round.

Aat, identified him as Shipene

Big ellie!

What lovely bird pics, I must say, Pumbaa! Interesting light.

But that light was very bad that day because of the dark clouds

[Pumbaa]

Those zebbies have been let loose from a circus, they look very well trained

That's a big Boy

The martial eagle has a very nasty look

We do always love to watch Zebras when they are in that rollicking

A belated welcome back

I’m still jealous of that leopard sighting

Size ellie

Impressive pics once again

And we are always jealous of the number of leopards you see

[Pumbaa]

who was quite impressed with himself



and we had a great time in observing same as he was not willing to clear the road.



Pity was that the tsessebes we saw this year always were located far away as I would have loved to have a closer look onto this tsessebe calf which kept hidden behind mom.



Also when travelling along this road I still had the pictures of last year on my mind when you thought you were travelling though wasteland or a desert but this year the whole area was covered with high grass and lot of yellow flowers were in bloom it was simply magic.



Magic was also that cute zebra foal with its mom



especially when mom started to rub on a log the little one imitated mom and rubbed its head on her back



it was simply too cute to watch them both.



Hidden in the high grass we noticed two black backed jackals



who we already followed quite a while whilst same where running in front of us directly in the middle of the road only to finally stop and let us pass.



Meanwhile we were approaching Tihongonyeni as already said lots of tsessebe could be noticed, however, in the distance but lots of white storks were hanging around as well

[Pumbaa]

and it was such a joy to see that the waterhole offered still water



as same is always attracting so many different animals including a large group of ostriches



and for sure an amazing number of zebras could also be seen. The weather got also better and although it was cloudy the whole day it stayed dry.



At Tihongonyeni we made a longer break but we had to drag ourselves away as it still was a long way to go to Shingwedzi so we turned around and drove the S143 back as we wanted to drive via the S50. Again lot of red billed queleas



were lining along that road



and again it took us quite a while as Timon always stopped to take pictures.



Finally we were nearing the turn off into the S50 but we had to drive a bit slower as four elephant bulls had crossed the road in front of us and were now rushing away scaring up a lot of birds.



Normally this stretch of road until same reaches the Shingwedzi is always quiet but today we had luck as we spotted impalas



and a waterbuck family – We enjoyed a relaxed mom,



an active youngster



and a resting dad and on top the sun started to chase the clouds away and it got sunnier and consequently hotter.



Another lovely sighting were the many magpies we could spot in the bushes.



to be continued......

[Lisbeth]

You always have lots of nice birds. I love the white storks, who knows why

[Ratel]

Thanks for another installment Pumbaa. Wow that grass is incredible!

More awesome bird photos. My favourites are the bustard and White Storks. You had great encounters with these two species.

And the Zebra foal is simply adorable.

[Richprins]

Excellent, Pumbaa!

Interesting all round.