Southern Madagascar is known for its spiny forests that grow in the dry soils of the region. The tree branches look like giant pipe cleaners and pretty much everything, including the tree trunks seem to have prickers and thorns. Living in this challenging environment is the Verreaux’s sifaka lemur, fully adapted to thrive amongst the spines. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/3.2 at 1/250th of a second.
African wild dogs are a specialty of our trips to Botswana. We don’t always see them, but chances are much higher than on our East African trips. On this particular afternoon in northern Botswana, we caught up to a pack of twenty or so wild dogs as they were winding down for the day. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 260mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second.
Here’s another of last weeks nighttime visitors to my backyard camera trap. These guys are always out and about throughout the year. That said, they only have a lifespan of between 2 to 4 years. Let’s hope he/she is enjoying every minute of it. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 20mmm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units.
A large flock of wild turkeys has been wandering around in our yard and back woods for the past few weeks. Occasionally, they walk past one of my camera traps. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 20mm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units.
I was only in Thailand for five nights back in 2016, but had some pretty good sightings, especially while camping in Kaeng Kratchen National Park on the Malay Peninsula. A few Malayan porcupines would come sniffing around the camp ground every night trying to see what they could find. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 500, f/8 at 1/100th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units.
I photographed this plumed basilisk on my second trip to Costa Rica back in 2007. These are the lizards famous for running across the surface of the water. Would love to go back and try again with modern technology and see if I can get that running shot. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/2.8 at 1/100th of a second.
Vulturine guineafowl are birds we usually see in Samburu National Reserve in north central Kenya. They spend most of their time on the ground, but will take to the air when necessary. They have some impressive plumage with the stripes, dots and streaks of blue and purple. They are guineafowl and not vultures, but those heads are certainly — as the name would suggest — vulturine. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 2200, f/4 at 1/640th of a second.
Waterbuck are one of the largest of the antelope species we see on our Kenyan trips. Only the males have horns. This mother and her calf were getting some late grazing in before the sun set on another day in the Masai Mara. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 12800, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.
Great curassows were regular visitors to the backyard of the jungle lodge I was staying at in Guyana. They usually showed up early in the morning and then again at the end of the day just before getting dark. This is the male. Females are more of a reddish color and lack the yellow beak. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens (at 24mm) ISO 8000, f/5.6 at 1/320th of a second.
Also known as the javelina or musk hog, this is a collared peccary, photographed quite a few years ago in Costa Rica. They are very widespread, from northern Argentina all the way up into Arizona and Texas. Nikon D200 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/80th of a second.