Africa Wild

And the drive continues in the rain.

All the trees had bling on them...
Wild flowers got their share of water as well...
Another wet one, a Little Bee-eater with ruffled feathers...
This Spurfowl was singing in the rain...
More weird wetness to follow...

Last batch for today.

Still wet and drizzling, this young Jackal tried to spin dry himself...
Two Green-winged Pytilia were drinking from a puddle in the road. As soon as I approached they flew in the trees, after a short wait one made a brief appearance...
At the entrance to one of the properties, the previous owner had handmade Elephant statues erected at the entrance. While I was approaching, I saw a huge Elephant bull walking towards me. He then veered off the road, roughly where I thought the statues were. I drove on to get a visual, and there he was, a massive bull in full blown musth. He was interacting with all the statues, touching them and rubbing up against them. Here is a shot of him and his new fake family...
After a while he realised that he wasn't going to get what he wants, as a bull in musth, from any of them. He then wandered off looking for real company...
That's it for today and tomorrow is back to work. Until next time...

Shame the fake elephants gave him no satisfaction

Love the bling .

the Bull incident is very interesting bet the artist would be happy to know that his creation was so lifelike

The raindrops on the leaves and flower

Odd - the elephant interacting with the statues

My fav is the Wild Foxglove with the droplets

Thanks so much, Sprocky,

as Always Incredible shots - For sure love all the birdies and plants

Lovely to see it a bit wet there

Very crisp shots, Sparky, especially the francolin!

Amazing ellie interaction...

Thank you very dankie...

The rain has departed and the heat and humidity sneaked right in behind it.

I had to go and check Phil's house on Thursday afternoon, after the rain, for any leakage into the house. All was fine and while I was outside, a Hippo left the water real early for its nightly forage...
Yesterday afternoon I spent a few more hours down there, enjoying a sundowner. There was not much movement, but this Waterbuck bull came right to the deck. Now, you all know that a few months ago we lost the dominant bull to the Lions. Well, this is the new chap on the block, also a great specimen and we think he has the same genes as his predecessor...
My drive this morning was not very productive regarding mammals, I did come across a smallish Elephant herd, but no photo opportunities. So mainly birds again, starting with a European Roller with his breakfast...
A Black-crowned Tchagra also waited for me to take a shot before flying off...
More in a minute...

While heading along one of the main roads, in the distance, I saw a Roller at a pile of Elephant dung. When I got closer it flew up into a tree. Then I realised that it didn't quite look like European Roller, when I looked closer I saw it was a Purple Roller...
Rounding a bend, I startled a young Waterbuck and his tick remover. The Oxpecker flew into a tree while the Waterbuck stared at me, as if I had done something wrong...
Another Red-billed Oxpecker in a tree...
Last shot for today, a beautiful Dusky Lark...
Until next time, keep safe and take care...