Evening Sun

At the end of a busy day at a “Mini Olympics Event” in one of the Zulu communities (I will post a few pictures of this event later) and an afternoon-“road-learning”-drive I got this shot of a male Cheetah in hunting mode in the evening sun.

Enjoy the picture!

Dreaming of Cattle :-)

When I was driving on the reserve today I saw my first lion since I started working at Thanda. The young lioness was sleeping on top of an old cattle loading station. I thought she was dreaming of cattle 🙂

I also got a beautiful shot of a Brown-hooded Kingfisher. (see below)

Enjoy the pictures!

Thanda 2012 Gallery

Quite a few of you have asked me if all the pictures I am publishing on my blog are available for purchase. The answer is yes. I have created a new gallery on my website: Thanda 2012 – Direct link: http://www.sperka.biz/thanda

It may sometimes take a few day (after the blog has been published), before the images will appear on the gallery.

If you live in the USA or in Europe you can order prints and other products directly online. They will be produced locally and sent directly to you (So you do not have to pay shipping cost from South Africa :-))

Next to the new Thanda 2012 gallery there are thousands of other animal images available on my site – http://www.sperka.biz

Feel free to contact me if you cannot find your favorite image or a specific species and I will make it available to you.

PS: Today I was again in Richards Bay and I did not take any animal pictures, so I have uploaded a picture I took last year  in July on Thanda (Two young male Lions). Enjoy the image!

A journey of Giraffe – From my “open air office”

Today to got my Land Rover Defender assigned to me, my real “open air office”. Thanda 3 is not a new Landi, but he has a lot of character 🙂

I took him for the first drive this afternoon (to start learning the roads) and I ran into a large group of Giraffe. Looking at the picture above it is no wonder that a group of Giraffe is called a Journey of Giraffe.

The two pictures below are of one of Giraffe in the evening sun and Thanda3 in front of Thanda House.

Enjoy the pictures!

Greetings after a day in the city!

When I returned this afternoon from Richards Bay, a city about 1.5 hours away from Thanda, a troop of Vervet Monkeys greeted me at Thanda House. One of them kept alarm-calling. He obviously did not trust me 🙂

A short while later a herd of Buffalo moved from East to West along the fence. When I got a bit closer to get some pictures they all focused on me for while and then lost interest and kept grasing and moving.

Tommorrow I will get my game viewing vehicle and I will start driving on the reserve learning the roads (and probably getting lost a few times in the process :-).

Good night!

Evening Bird Songs at Thanda Lodge

In my blog message on Friday I mentioned various birds around my Thanda Lodge room.

Here are four pictures I took that evening sitting by the small pool on my porch.

They are Pied Crows (top left), a White-brown Scrub Robin (top right), a Green-winged Pytilia (bottom left) and a Yellow-bellied Greenbul (bottom right). I hope I identified them correctly (I am still a bit shaky when it comes to birds 🙂

Good night from South Africa!

Feathery Spectrum!

I have not posted a bird picture for quite a while. So here are a few images of one of my favorite birds in South Africa.

Lilac-breaster Rollers have many colors of the spectrum in their plumage.

These pictures were taken in Phinda Private Game Reserve, the Timbavati Private Game Reserve and in Kruger National Park.

More about Lilac-breasted Rollers:
The Lilac-breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus) is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa. Usually found alone or in pairs, it perches conspicuously at the tops of trees, poles or other high vantage points from where it can spot insects, lizards, scorpions, snails, small birds and rodents moving about at ground level. It is the national bird of Botswana.

Picture of the Week 14 – The tree that shines from afar

[View all Pictures of the Week 2012]

This African Elephant is browsing in between Fever Trees on Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa.

In the Zulu language the Fever Tree is called umHlosinga (the tree that shines from afar). This beautiful acacia has a pale white bark and green foliage. It is one of the few trees where photosynthesis takes place in the bark. The yellow color on the Elephant’s skin is from rubbing against one of the trees.

Enjoy the picture!

The Tree That Shines From Afar ( Fever Tree – Acacia xanthophloea)

REMINDER – South Africa 100 – Invitation for tomorrow’s First Saturday Gallery Crawl

At my last event at the April First Saturday Gallery Crawl I will show one hundred of my best African wildlife images at the Arcade in downtown Nashville.

A reception with drinks and “nibbles” will be held from 2p.m. to 6.pm. for all of you receiving this invitation . The offical gallery crawl will start at 6p.m. and last until 9p.m.

When: Saturday, April 7, 2012 from 2p.m. to 9p.m.
Where: Christian Sperka Photography / Animal Art Photography Gallery at the Arcade

For more information go to https://christiansperka.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/south-africa-100-invitation/