Panama has a reputation for being one of the best birding destinations in the world. In the two times I’ve been there, I got a glimpse of just why. This image is from the highlands of El Valle — an orange-bellied trogon. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second.
Wikipedia tells me this of the masked palm civet — “When alarmed, the animal sprays a secretion from its anal gland against the predator. The spray is similar in function to that of a skunk.” I’m happy to report that I must not have “alarmed” this palm civet. Photographed while camping in Kaeng Krachan National Park in Thailand. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 210mm) ISO 400, f/18 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units.
It felt like a kangaroo day today. This field in Tasmania was full of eastern grey kangaroos, locally known as foresters. I was only at this national park in the far north for one night and thankfully the sky cooperated. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 800, f/6.3 at 1/60th of a second.
A female lion doing her best downward dog. This image was captured in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana, which proved to be a surprisingly good location for lion sightings. I, of course, wish I could have gotten a lower perspective, but not a good idea to get out of a safari vehicle with big cats present. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 250mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/2000th of a second.
The blue dacnis is also known as the turquoise honeycreeper, although it’s not really a honeycreeper. It’s a tanager found throughout much of Central America and the northern half of South America. This is the female. The male is more uniformly blue, or turquoise as the alternate name suggests. I photographed this one in Soberania National Park in Panama. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/8000th of a second.
While in Kenya, I was able to photograph two different species of dik-dik, Africa’s smallest antelope species. This is the Günther’s dik-dik. This species can be identified by the light-colored tuft of hair on the top of the head. The diminutive size of these antelope’s is always a bit surprising when spotting them moving through their grassland habitat. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second.
Hoatzin’s are pretty unique birds. They are pheasant-sized and live in much of northern South America, throughout the Amazon region. They are sometimes called the skunk bird or stinkbird because of the foul oder that comes from the fermentation of food in their digestive system. Another interesting fact is that chicks have claws on two of their wing digits. I photographed this hoatzin from a canoe while in the Bolivian Amazon. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second.
I’ve placed my camera trap in a new spot in our back woods which seems to be a highly travelled area for certain nighttime visitors. In addition to this coyote, a bear passed through shortly after early Monday morning. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 20mm lens, ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second.
I posted an image of this baby steenbok in the past, but it’s worth a re-post. Even as adults these African antelopes are pretty small, so as calves they are really tiny. For perspective, that’s not the entire width of the dirt road the steenbok is standing in. It’s just one of the two tire tracks that make up the single lane road. Photographed on safari in northern Botswana. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/640th of a second.
Guanacos are to llamas as horses are to donkeys. In other words they are the wild ancestors of their domesticated cousins. This is a young guanaco, photographed in the Patagonian wilds of Torres Del Paine National Park in southern Chile. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 500, f/4 at 1/4000th of a second.