The Flutterlings of Africa

[Lisbeth]

Great to see cheetahs in Kruger and so close up

[Lisbeth]

Great to see cheetahs in Kruger and so close up

I have also noticed that you dad has grown older

[nan]

love the Cheetahs
the Boon... looking for... maybe pizza

S100 there is nothing... only dust on this road

lovely birds

[PJL]

The S100 can be amazing, but also just long and dusty when nothing shows up
However that's a really nice cheetah sighting - great that they came so close to you and well worth the wait

[Bushcraft]

The S100 has been rather quiet lately Unless it's just the long grass and the animals have to be in the road to see them

You guys have plenty patience to wait that long, but it was worth it to have a cheetah sighting like that

[Richprins]

Lovely baboon pic! Pic of the year!

Much better than cheetahs?



Maybe the S-100 got hammered a bit too much during the drought, so animals moved away after forage? But it is hit and miss!

[Pumbaa]

Brilliant light on your first two shots, Flutterby,

and great shot of the White winged widowbird at least you got to see a couple of Kruger lifers in that area

and for sure a more than fantastic cheetah sightings as well - Although it made game viewing harder the high grass looks far better than the bare ground as I remember that area from last year

[Flutterby]

Great to see cheetahs in Kruger and so close up

I have also noticed that you dad has grown older

Yes Lis, cheetah are always a treat! My dad is only 76 but he seems a lot older, not sure why he has aged so quickly...maybe living on his own?

love the Cheetahs
the Boon... looking for... maybe pizza

S100 there is nothing... only dust on this road

lovely birds

A boon eating pizza would be fun to watch! I agree about the S100...nothing to see!

The S100 can be amazing, but also just long and dusty when nothing shows up
However that's a really nice cheetah sighting - great that they came so close to you and well worth the wait

The frustrating thing about the S100 was that so many other people had had great sightings but we always seemed to be there at the wrong time! The cheetah sighting did make up a bit for the lack of sightings before.

The S100 has been rather quiet lately Unless it's just the long grass and the animals have to be in the road to see them

You guys have plenty patience to wait that long, but it was worth it to have a cheetah sighting like that

Ja BC, as everyone says, "right time, right place", but we just seemed to be in the wrong place for three days! The Brat has the patience of Job and would sit at a cheetah/leopard sighting all day if left to his own devices!

Lovely baboon pic! Pic of the year!

Much better than cheetahs?



Maybe the S-100 got hammered a bit too much during the drought, so animals moved away after forage? But it is hit and miss!

Glad you liked the boon but sorry, not better that cheetahs! Lots of other people had nice sightings on the S100 so the animals were around...just not for us!

Brilliant light on your first two shots, Flutterby,

and great shot of the White winged widowbird at least you got to see a couple of Kruger lifers in that area

and for sure a more than fantastic cheetah sightings as well - Although it made game viewing harder the high grass looks far better than the bare ground as I remember that area from last year

Thanks for your kind comments Pumbaa. The park does look great at the moment but it seems the best time to see lots of animals is when the park looks its worst!

[Flutterby]

Day 2, 22 April 2017, Satara

Back at camp I found this woodpecker near the shop. I think it's a Goldentailed which would be a first for us in Kruger.



After a couple of games of dominoes we were back in the car. Our afternoon drive was up the H4-1, onto the S39, then the S40 and back to camp on the H7. Mommo had decided he didn't feel like driving and the Brat eagerly offered to take the wheel, although we kept veering off to the side...he soon realised that my car couldn't actually steer itself and he would have to watch the road occasionally instead of keeping his eyes on the bush!



Like all the other wildies before us, we had to stop for the millions of Flutterlings.







The pics don't really convey the sheer number of birds in these flocks...will try to post a video.

Slightly bigger flutterlings.



The S39 was very quiet, and the S40 only produced a Sandgrouse and a jackal, which we only managed to get a video of.



Sunset over Girivana

© Bush Brat

Back at camp we started the normal evening routine which was interrupted by the arrival of the local honey badger.



While watching it we got chatting to our neighbour. After a while I realised I recognised him and asked "Are you Mike Goss?" To which he replied "Yes, are you Flutterby?" In 2014, we had been at Satara and started chatting to our neighbour - Mike Goss - who we then invited to the Skukuza meet. What a coincidence that 3 years later we would meet up with them in exactly the same way!!

Mommo and I with Mike and Trish.



After some reminiscing, Mike and Trish headed off to bed. About 10 minutes later the local AWC popped in to say hello.



At least we had a bit of excitement to end off a relatively quiet day.

[Lisbeth]

I wonder how come there are so many queleas this year Has it happened before?

Those big birds cannot even flutter

Strange that you happened to meet Mike Goss in that way