CHRISTIAN SPERKA PHOTOGRAPHY – Page 134 – Christian Sperka Photography

2016-02-23

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

20141225 - CS3_8899 - E - 19

20141225 - CS3_8855 - E - 00

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.

2016-02-222016-02-21

Bird of the Day – Secretary Bird

One of my favorite birds of prey: The Secretary Bird. This picture was taken at Etosha National Park in Namibia.

To view more of my Secretary Bird images go to http://www.sperka.biz/sgb6

20110721 - CS1_6000 - E - 14

The Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is a very large bird of prey. Endemic to Africa, it is usually found in the open grasslands and savannah of the sub-Saharan region.

Unlike most birds of prey, the Secretary Bird is largely terrestrial, hunting its prey on foot. Adults hunt in pairs and sometimes as loose familial flocks, stalking through the habitat with long strides. Prey may consist of insects, small mammals, lizards, snakes, young birds, bird eggs, and sometimes also dead animals. The importance of snakes in the diet may have been exaggerated in the past, although they can be locally important and venomous species such as adders and cobras are regularly among the types of snake preyed upon.

It appears on the coats of arms of Sudan and South Africa.

2016-02-222016-02-21

Little one …

One of the little mammals – a Dwarf Mongoose! I took this picture in 2011 at Kruger National Park.

To view more of my Dwarf Mongoose images go to http://www.sperka.biz/sg11

20110630 - CS2_6420 - E - 05

The Dwarf Mongoose (Helogale parvula) is a small African carnivore belonging to the mongoose family (Herpestidae). It has a large pointed head, small ears, a long tail, short limbs, and long claws. It is much smaller than most other Mongoose species (18 to 28 cm, 210 to 350 grams) and it is Africa’s smallest carnivore. The soft fur is very variable in color, ranging from yellowish red to very dark brown.

2016-02-212016-02-21

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.

20160124 - CS1_8523 - E - 00

2016-02-14

For the Elephant lovers among you!

I have just uploaded 159 African Elephant images taken between 2002 and 2016. Have a look at www.sperka.biz/sg10

This is another new species gallery available online at http://www.sperka.biz/sg

Please contact me at info@sperka.com in case you are interested in publishing any of these images or if you would like to license any image for printing (for personal or commercial use).

2016-02-09

The Species Galleries (1)

My image library contain thousands of wildlife images, which I took since I started wildlife photography in 2002. Keeping these images organized and available for people to look at is not an easy task.

End of last year I started a project to categorize all these images in ‘species galleries‘ and also put them online. I am currently working on African Mammals, followed by Birds, Snakes, other Reptiles Insects and Plants. After Africa I am planning to work on images from species of other continents.

Have a look at the first ten of these galleries at www.sperka.biz/sg (African Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, African Wild Cat, Black Rhinoceros, White Rhinoceros, African Elephant, Caracal and Serval).

Please contact me at info@sperka.com in case you are interested in publishing any of these images or if you would like to license any image for printing (for personal or commercial use).

I will let you know once I upload new galleries. Stay tuned!

2016-01-22

Panthera’s Photo of the Month

Panthera is the only organization in the world devoted exclusively to the conservation of the world’s 38 wild cat species and their ecosystems. I work as one of their partner photographers since many years. This month they have selected one of my favorite Cheetah images as their photo of the month. Have a look at this month’s Panthera Newsletter.

2016-01-152016-01-15

Reflections

I love the reflections of the ripples in the water on the pelt of the lions.

20150826 - CS1_9779 - C

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.

2016-01-082016-01-08

Zulu tradition in the modern world!

A few weeks ago I was able to attend a modern day – traditional – Zulu wedding. These are pictures of the bride and the groom in their traditional attire and posture. Stay tuned for the full story …