Tales of the Kgalagadi.

[Klipspringer]

Cute kitties

[Mel]

That's quite some minute cubs

I'm really happy to hear about Ikhaya's offspring. Hopefully she'll turn out to be like Miera... Lots of offspring and a regular presence in the riverbeds

[GavinW]

Great sightings Michele

[Lisbeth]

More tiny kitties even if they cannot beat the leopards

[Richprins]

Grand sighting, Michele!

The babies look fat!

[Michele Nel]

Thx for the comments everybody..hopefully some more soon. :)

[Pumbaa]

WoW Michele,

what incredible kitty cat sighting and shots You had such a luck with the cubs

[Michele Nel]

Thx Pumbaa.:)

[Michele Nel]

Thx again everybody for reading and commenting. Life has been a bit busy ..usual story but here is another little Tale. :)

As most of the long standing ( I almost said old ) forumites will know I am a keen birder. It is a passion I have not lost over the years. As much as I enjoy seeing them I enjoy photographing them. I love chasing little birds around camps . Far too often one says there are no birds around but if you really do concentrate on looking in every bush, on top of trees and a quick scan of the skies it is amazing how many birds one can tick off.
I am a list keeper :roll: …it’s just a game I play while out and about. :lol:
The number of species seen on this last trip 29th Aug - 16th Sept amounted to 83. I was amazed at that number as the summer migrants had not yet arrived. Not only do I keep a total list of species seen during the time spent in the park I also keep lists of each individual camp.
Here goes…

Twee Rivieren - three nights at beginning of trip and three nights at the end of trip - 28 species
Nossob - 6 nights plus one night after 2 nights at Gharagab - 26 species
Gharagab - 2 nights - 27 species
Mata Mata - 4 nights - 25 species.

There are always some exciting bird sightings waiting for me in the KTP. The most special of all on this trip must be the amazing amount of Barn Owls that I saw . On my first evening visit to the Nossob hide I saw 8 Barn Owls flitting around. I had neglected to take my camera ( mistake that will never happen again ) as I was tired and didn’t feel like changing lenses, finding beanbags etc . I just grabbed my binos and went off to the hide for a quick look. As I was watching the owls I noticed that one of them looked different to the others. I was a bit puzzled by it but it didn’t hang around for long. The next 5 nights I went down to the hide with camera, beanbag , binos , spotlight …everything. Sadly most evenings there were only 2-3 Barn Owls and they all looked exactly like a Barn Owl should. I decided I had imagined things, but seriously told myself off for not taking my camera with me on the first evening. The only other owls I saw in Nossob were a family of White-faced Owls. I heard a Pearl-spotted Owlet but I never did find it.

After 6 nights in Nossob we moved onto Gharagab for 2 nights and this is where the Owl magic truly happened.
We were sitting around our braai fire..Doug keeping an eye on the braai and I was keeping an eye on the waterhole. More and more Barn Owls were gathering around the waterhole. I counted 18 Owls . I only managed to get 13 of them in one photo ..the other 5 were perched in a tree a little way from the waterhole. As I was looking through the binos I was once again confused …there seemed to be some odd looking Barn Owls. I wondered if they were Marsh Owls but Marsh Owls do not occur in the KTP. :hmz: I worked out that there were at least 5 if not 6 owls that looked different . This time I had photos to back up my suppositions. When I returned to Cape Town I had my photos verified and I had indeed seen 6 Marsh Owls at Gharagab. The next evening I was ready with the camera again….sadly the owls did not return. Only two Barn Owls visited the waterhole the entire evening. This almost makes the previous evening’s sighting more special. The Kgalagadi is full of surprises. :) This is why we keep going back time and time again. :)
How many Marsh Owls do you see in the photo ?

[Pumbaa]

What amazing owl shots and sightings, Michele