What is the little creature on my tracker Bheki’s hand. Not the fly, the other one?
What does it eat and how does it hunt?
Let’s see who gets it right!
Boys fighting in the front yard!
This is how it looks when two boys are sparring in front of my house. It was not a serious fight between these two Cape Buffalo bulls and it ended a few seconds after I took the shot.
To see more of my Cape Buffalo images got to http://www.sperka.biz/sg12
Just beautiful …
A night-time portrait of a young Thanda Safari Lioness ..
Bird of the Day – African Paradise Flycatcher
What males will do to attract females 🙂 – The African Paradise Flycatcher males have a very long tail streamer to impress the ladies. This pictures were taken at Mkuze Game Reserve and Thanda Safari – Private Game Reserve, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa.
To view more of my African bird images go to http://www.sperka.biz/sgb
The African Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone viridis) is a common resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. The male is boldly colored in chestnut and black and the female is rather more drab. This bird feeds mainly on insects and is usually found in open forests and savannah habitats. The adult male African Paradise Flycatcher is about 17 cm long, but the very long tail streamers double this.
Bird of the Day – Wahlberg’s Eagle
As I am working on the re-organization of my image library I thought to start a series of blogs, which many of you might enjoy. I will present a ‘Bird of the Day’ as often as possible – might not be every day, but we will see how it goes 🙂
This very dark specimen and its mate have a nest near Thanda house. I took this shot trough my office window as the bird sat only a short distance away in the newly cut grass.
To view more of my Wahlberg’s Eagle images go to http://www.sperka.biz/sgb2
Wahlberg’s Eagles (Hieraaetus wahlbergi – named after the Swedish naturalist Johan August Wahlberg) are medium-sized raptors. They are about 53–61 cm (21–24″) in length with a wingspan of 130–146 cm (51–58″) and occur in many color variants from pale and light brown to almost black. They are bird of woodland, often found near water. Wahlberg’s Eagles hunt reptiles, small mammals, and birds.
Reflections
I love the reflections of the ripples in the water on the pelt of the lions.
For the photographers among you: This image was taken at very low light conditions (using a spotlight). It was taken freehand, 300mm, f5.6, eV-2.0, 1/60sec, ISO 6400.
Dominance
Thanda’s Dominant Male – A Portrait
A bloody affair …
When Lions feast on a fresh kill it is rather a bloody affair. This young Lion just got his first share of a Kudu kill.
A strong image showing the rough side of nature!
Double Release!
Removing a snake from a place where it should not be can be a tricky business. And if the snake is a Black Mambas then it gets extra exciting.
Yesterday, I caught the largest Black Mamba I have ever seen (see video 1). This beautiful specimen was rather calm during the capture. I released it this morning in a remote part of the reserve.
And then midday today I was called to catch another of these fast moving snakes. This one was more ‘feisty’ and was quite agitated during the capture and the release (see video 2).
But in the end everything went well and both snakes can establish their new homes far away from people and buildings 🙂
The picture credits for today go to Letishia Kleinschmidt and Jennie Pretorius. Thanks a lot. My favorite shot of today is Jennie’s picture of a ‘Black Mamba Selfie’ :-).
My favorite 2015 Lion image
If you followed my blog for a while you will know that I love to take animal portraits. Nevertheless my favorite Lion images for 2015 is a scenery image.
It was taken on Christmas Eve on Thanda Private Game Reserve. It is not a prefect photograph (with the slight lens/light distortions), but it just looks right!
Christian Sperka Photography | Custom Luxury Tours 