One of the specialties of Samburu National Reserve in the north of Kenya is the gerenuk. They are always fun to see, especially when they rear back on those hind legs to get at higher vegetation. They are sometimes called giraffe-necked antelopes, and you can see why. I thought this female looked like she was playing the flute. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 360, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.
This was a classic Kenyan scene we stumbled upon in the Masai Mara — elephants, acacia trees, blue hills and a stormy afternoon sky. Nothing like it. Nikon D850 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 135mm) ISO 180, f/2.8 at 1/1000th of a second.
I mentioned in a previous post that we had great luck with aardwolves on our trip to Kenya this past summer. Going through my files again, I came across this image I liked of one running across the savanna in Samburu National Reserve. They are nocturnal, but we kept seeing them first thing in the morning, likely just before heading back to their burrows to rest for the remainder of the day. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 640, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second.
We saw these two lions stalking a group of giraffes (or as a group of giraffes is commonly called, a tower of giraffes). And where there are stalking lions, there are opportunistic carnivores hoping to get in on the action. You can see a black-backed jackal in-between the lions and the giraffes, anticipating the hunt. Nothing came of the encounter and the lions never made a charge, perhaps fearing the lethal hooves of the multiple healthy-looking giraffes. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 450, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.
Grey-headed kingfishers are widely disturbed in and around the African continent. This one was spotted on one of our game drives in Kenya, perched amidst the thorns of an acacia tree. We also had a few hanging around our tent in Samburu National Reserve. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 2800, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.
I got a few shots of this lion licking his paw, but liked this one best where you can really see the size of that thing with some visual reference (keeping in mind that male lions have enormous heads). Photographed on the Masai Mara of Kenya. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1600, f/5.6 at 1/125th of a second.
Yellow-necked spurfowl can be a relatively common sight while on a Kenyan safari. This one was putting on quite a performance atop a small bush in Samburu National Reserve. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 1000, f/5.6 at 1/160th of a second.
A lioness takes a late-day snooze, but keeps her eye on any interesting developments out on the savanna. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 500, f/5.6 at 1/800th of a second.
We saw two different species of dik dik while recently in Kenya. The Gunther’s dik dik and the Kirk’s. This is the latter. At least I think it is. They are very similar looking and can be hard to distinguish. Either way, I always love a setting where I can essentially blur everything out except for the subject. In this case, our low angle took care of the foreground, while the background distance and a relatively large aperture took care of the rest. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 280, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.
While on safari, a lot is made of the traditional Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo). There’s also the Little Five (lion ant, leopard tortoise, rhinoceros beetle, elephant shrew and buffalo weaver). And then there’s the “Ugly Five.” Rounding out a list that includes the warthog, vulture, wildebeest and hyena is this handsome guy, the marabou stork. I suppose it doesn’t help that marabou storks are patient scavengers and often seen hanging around garbage dumps. They are very large birds — among the largest in the world with a wingspan of 11 feet — and are nicknamed the Undertaker due to their resemblance to an old slumped figure wearing a cloak. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 500mm FP lens, ISO 450, f/5.6 at 1/640th of a second.
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