The hamerkop is a fairly common bird throughout much of Africa, but still a good find when you come across one. They get their name from the hammer-like shape of their head. They are generalists when it comes to diet, but prefer fish and amphibians and they can often be seen wading in flooded areas of the savanna. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 3200, f/4 at 1/200th of a second.
There are estimated to be about 425 species of lizard in the genus anolis — all distributed throughout the Americas, mostly in Central and South America. Although — as is often the case when it comes to species classification — there is some debate that many of them should be split into different genera, thus leaving about 45 true anolis species. Sometimes they get more than one name too. This one is the many scaled anole, but also goes by the Golfo-Dulce anole, native to the Golf of Dulce in southwestern Costa Rica. All very confusing. I just liked the way it popped its head into the spot of light. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/320th of a second.
I had some nice late-day light when this giant river otter swam past my boat in the Pantanal of Brazil. Unlike most other members of the mustelid family, these otters are highly social and live in large groups — sometimes as many as twenty individuals, although usually about eight or so. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens and 1.4 teleconverter (for 550mm) ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second.
When you’re a red-billed oxpecker, romance can happen anywhere. Including the back of a cape buffalo. Oxpeckers are actually a very common site on most big game in east Africa, including zebras, giraffes and impala. It’s sort of a blessing and a curse for the mammals. The oxpeckers have a voracious appetite for blood-engorged ticks and they will eat up to a 100 a day — a good thing. But they will also skip the middle man when the opportunity arises and peck directly at the buffalo’s blood, thus keeping open wounds from healing. This buffalo and his tenants were photographed in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/200th of a second.
The last six months have proven difficult to capture new photos to post. I became unemployed for the first time in fifteen years last month (if anyone has any leads for a trusted Executive Creative Director at either an ad agency or client side, please send them my way) and my wife is going into her sixth month battling a nasty form of Lyme Disease. Not exactly the time to be flying to the far corners of the globe. But there’s always my backyard. A close-in suburb of New York City, it’s certainly not a hotbed of wildlife activity. Most days it’s just the usual northern cardinals, tufted titmice and blue jays, but today this barred owl paid a visit. S(he) napped for the better part of the morning, but was eventually driven off by the constant circling of a red-tailed hawk. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 220mm) ISO 500, f/4 at 1/400th of a second.
This water hole wasn’t too far from the camp I was staying at in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. The first few days we had seen quite a few antelope species stopping for a drink, but then finally the big boys showed up. This guy filled up for quite awhile and as soon as he got up to leave, a second big-maned male walked up and took his spot. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/400th of a second.
Not that I have any complaints about our Eastern grays or American reds, but squirrels in other parts of the world can be pretty cool. This is the Malayan giant squirrel (also known as the black giant squirrel). S(he) was hanging around in a tree by my tent in Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand. They range throughout a good portion of Southeast Asia and live up to there name with a total body length — from nose to tip of tail — that can reach four feet. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second.
A Facebook friend recently posted about Zanzibar and it took me back nearly 20 years to when I visited the island. This was my first real wildlife trip. I had been traveling on the mainland of Tanzania for three weeks, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and then going on my very first safari. I ran out of film, of course, because that’s what you did on your first African safari before digital cameras. I remember buying some off-brand film from a local vendor in Stone Town in Zanzibar. The scan is bad (also about twenty years old) but I did what I could with the file to fix the strange color cast and grain and all that. As for the monkey, it’s an endangered Zanzibar red colobus monkey. They were quite habituated to people (one of the reasons they are endangered — along with the bigger problem of habitat loss). Nikon FM2 with Nikkor 85mm lens. No idea of the other camera settings.
Hummingbirds get some of the best names in nature. Like this here black-throated mango. This was one of the many hummingbirds that I was able to photograph at the Asa Wright Nature Center in the mountainous central region of Trinidad. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 500, f/10 at 1/250th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units.
It’s rare that I post a shot where you can’t see the animal’s face. In this instance, however, I think it works. A mother bear and her cub loading up on veggies, getting ready for the coming hibernation. I like that the cub looks like a round ball of fur with those two little ears protruding from the top. This is another one from my trip a year ago to Lake Clark National Park in Alaska. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 105mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1600th of a second.