Recent Photos Gallery - January 2020

Happy New Year, all! Let's start the new decade with fresh eyes and a singular, stunning vista: the Sossusvlei Dunes of Namibia. It might look like a screensaver photograph, but it's a great place to bird, too, as our group discovered on our Namibia & Botswana tour with guide Terry Stevenson (who snapped this photo). Join us in the safari jeep for a vicarious spin around earth, our first for the year 2020!

As veterans of South African birding know (especially those who have looked for Red Lark on the red Koa Dunes), a lack of trees doesn't mean the birds are easy to find! Fortunately, this pretty Dune Lark at Sossusvlei didn't play hard to get. And another was resting in the shade of the vehicle after the group's hour-long search on foot! (Photo by local guide Tarry Butcher.)

These vocalizing Rueppell's Bustards at Sossusvlei also managed to blend well with their environment. Classed in genus Heterotetrax with Little Brown and Karoo bustards, Rueppell's are found only in Angola and Namibia (this subspecies, fitzsimonsi, is endemic to Namibia). (This photo and the series following by guide Terry Stevenson.)

The Tropic of Capricorn bisects Namibia and its two great deserts: the coastal Namib Desert (here) and the interior Kalahari Desert. "Namib" simply means "vast place" in Khoekhoegowab, a local language, and "kalahari" is from the Tswana word "kgalagadi," meaning "waterless place." The ability of the Quiver Tree to survive in an almost waterless landscape is remarkable. Near the site of this photo, the group lucked into the scarce Gray's Lark!

A night at the remote Erongo Wilderness Lodge provides an excellent chance to see the localized Hartlaub's Francolin, which lives among the granite formations (kopjes) of the the Erongo Mountains. The francolins call early in the morning here, in case one's alarm clock isn't working. This habitat also hosts Rosy-faced Lovebird, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Sabota Lark, the lovely Green-winged Pytilia, and the rare Herero Chat (which came through well!).

Another abundant inhabitant of the kopjes in these mountains is Rock Hyrax (distant relative of elephants), a favorite of Verreaux's Eagles. Other fancy mammals here are Kirk’s Dikdik and the odd Dassie Rat, the only member of the family Petromuridae. At night, Freckled Nightjars sometimes hunt the edges of the rock formations.

On the Namibia & Botswana tour, we travel by specialized safari 4x4 vehicles with pop-up tops for viewing and photography ...

....by small safari boat on the Okavango River and delta ...

...by a chartered airplane, to reach some truly wonderful places ...

...all arranged so that we can spend more time roughing it in the field! This plein-air lunch with elephants was a memorable way to ease into safari mode at Macatoo Camp, Botswana, in the heart of the Okavango.

At Macatoo, the African Bush Elephants are accustomed to the presence of people. To sit with them as they conduct their lives is the privilege of a lifetime. White Rhinoceros here was an unexpected bonus.

Lions roam the Okavango around Macatoo Camp as well, and observing them at close quarters requires the protection of a safari vehicle.

But this Lion had no difficulty settling in for a snooze quite near the group.

By contrast, this Leopard, resting and panting in the shade of a giant termite mound, kept a close watch on the group.

Local guide and driver Tarry Butcher did a remarkable job helping Terry with the up-to-the-minute bird spots, bringing in beauties like this Ross's Turaco day after day. In fact, this bird near Kapako, on the border with Angola, represents only the second record of the species for Namibia! (Photo by guide Tarry Butcher.)

A widespread species of the Old World but rather scarce in Namibia and uncommon in Botswana, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater breeds from Morocco to Kazakhstan and India. This one posed perfectly for a portrait. (Photo by guide Tarry Butcher.)

Tarry also managed a great photo of a full-tailed male African Paradise-Flycatcher, this one of subspecies plumbeiceps ('leaden-headed')...

... and this fine Martial Eagle, a widespread but vulnerable species that is Africa's largest eagle.

In addition to more widespread African species, the group connected well with more regional endemics, such as these Monteiro's Hornbills, a species found only in Namibia and adjacent southwestern Angola. (Photo by guide Tarry Butcher.)

Around Etosha National Park in Namibia, the water holes are famous for congregations of many species of mammal, including Black Rhinoceros. Our group managed to see five here, among many other highlights. (Photo by guide Tarry Butcher.)

For the first time, our group stayed at Drotsky's Cabins, right on the Cubango River in Botswana. This location is just a few miles south of the famous Caprivi Strip, a narrow finger of Namibia that extends eastward, giving Namibia access to the Zambezi River and terminating where Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana all meet. (This photo and the next two by guide Terry Stevenson.)

Drotsky's turned out to be a wonderful choice of accommodations. With the help of a local boatman, the group quickly saw two roosting Pel's Fishing-Owls, one of the Okavango's iconic birds.

The sometimes-tricky African Skimmer also made an appearance on that morning's boat trip...

...as did the ultra-shy White-backed Night-Heron! All three big specialties of the river by 9:20 a.m.! That must be some kind of record. (Photo by participant George Sims.)

A bird of open acacia forests, its range centered on Botswana, Rufous-cheeked Nightjar was cooperative in the cool evenings. (Photo by guide Tarry Butcher.)

We leave Africa with a beautiful Okavango sunset by Terry Stevenson. In 2020, Field Guides' fantastic Joe Grosel will be guiding this itinerary. We can't wait to see the images!

And we awake in a Netherlands forest on a brisk December morning, on the Holland: Dutch Masters & Waterfowl Spectacle tour with guides Godfried Schreur and Jay VanderGaast. (Photo by participant Mary Deutsche.)

The new Holland tour takes in the major museums and uses most mornings to appreciate the abundant green spaces, full of birds, all over the capital region. The Dutch environmental consciousness translates into careful attention to forest structure, and they preserve older, senescent trees that have cavities for wildlife, like this sleepy Tawny Owl. (Photo by participant Mary Deutsche.)

Vermeer's "Girl with Pearl Earring" is a fine way to brighten an afternoon! Godfried and Jay contend that the luminosity of the paintings of Rembrandt and Vermeer only comes through when one is face to face with the paintings themselves. (Photo by guide Godfried Schreur.)