Some More Big Critters

Maggie's South African adventure continues with a dentist's perspective of some hippos. People keep saying that hippos are one of the most dangerous species of African animals. I could not say from my own personal experience, but I was never reckless enough to crowd them. No doubt, Maggie also kept a respectful distance.

The last post featured a Black Rhino; these are a mother and calf White Rhino. They are even bigger than Black Rhinos, although generally milder in temperament.

A grazing elephant in good light. When I was in Africa, I feared elephants more than any other animal. They are so big, and easily annoyed.

I bet these are not house cat paw prints. The guide places his hand next to some Leopard spoor. Now things are getting exciting.

Night time is the right time for these big cats. This Leopard is feeding on a kill in a tree. Safe from lions and hyenas. I never got this close to a Leopard on either of my Africa trips. Boo-hoo.

Another good shot of a Leopard, showing the distinctive white patches on the back of it's ears.

This Leopard is so used to people that it acts like a zoo Leopard, as long as you stay in your vehicle.

Another cat displaying it's fine pearly whites for the benefit of the dentist, or maybe it's just hoping that someone will get out of the truck. Dinnertime.

The victim of a Leopard? No it's a Spotted Hyena sleeping outside it's den.

The sun is going down, so it's time to get up.

This hyena has a family.

Sundown in Africa. This is not quite the end of Maggie's journey. There are more felines to come, plus a few odds and ends. I can't wait to see what will come next.

Maggie gets Stomped, Gored, and Finally Eaten

Okay, the really dangerous animals are coming later. Maggie labels this skink as a Blue-tailed Skink. It may be, I would'nt know, but many species of skinks sport blue tails. Typically the really young skinks have neon blue tails that fade as the lizard ages. Many older adults lack any trace of blue on their tails. Some whiptails and other lizards also have bright blue tails.

Another species of skink. I believe that this is called a Rainbow Skink. Instead of a blue tail, this species has an orange tail.

Africa is home to an unusual group of beetles, the infamous dung beetles. This is a great photo of the beetle rolling along, don't you think?

Some locals came to visit Maggie in her bungalow. These Vervet Monkeys are obviously comfortable around people.

Some very elegant, Impala. They are extremely abundant in the protected areas of South Africa.

Two male Impala do a bit of jousting.

I love the warm light and dramatic patterns of this Zebra photo. 

Very impressive animals. These are male, Nyala. Females are very different, and also very beautiful. They are large antelopes.

The quintessential African scene. A Giraffe at sunrise. Way cool!

Wahlberg's Eagles are fairly common in SA. They tend to hunt smaller prey items than larger eagles.

See how big this Black Rhino is in comparison to the truck. Black Rhinos are generally more belligerent than White Rhinos. This one lived up to it's reputation.

Maggie shot this photo moments before the rhino charged.

More horns, tusks, claws, and teeth to come.

More of Maggie's African Birds

Africa is THE place to see great raptors. There are many different species of eagles, like this Long-crested Eagle in the photo above. Maggie got to see some some really good species; one that made me jealous, African Crowned Eagle.

Although this Little Bee-eater is the least colorful of the South African bee-eaters; it is my personal favorite of Maggie's bird photos.

European Bee-eaters are a species that has to be seen to be believed. Too bad this bird was in harsh light against a busy background. Still a beautiful sight.

Red-billed Hornbills are South Africa's smallest species of hornbill. They are generally not shy. This is another well composed photograph.

From South Africa's smallest hornbill to it's largest; Southern Ground Hornbill. Maggie says that they were nesting in this tree.

Mousebirds are one of the most delightful bird families to observe in my opinion. These Red-faced Mousebirds are far less abundant than Speckled Mousebirds. 

Although they don't have white faces, this is a family of White-faced Whistling Ducks. The parents appear to be very protective of their young. They should be; there are many, many predators that would love to feast upon the young. feast upon the parents too, for that matter.

Even a peaceful fisherman like this Yellow-billed Stork would not hesitate to snatch a baby duck, given half a chance.

Not too colorful, but elegant nevertheless. This is the famous, Grey Go-away Bird. They do tell you to go away, but I'm not sure that they really mean it. They often hang out near human habitation.

Another elegant bird, the Violet-backed Starling; also called, Plum-colored Starling. This is the male. Females are completely different, and strikingly marked with a green back, and heavy black streaks on their immaculate white breast.

 I'll post more photos from Maggie's trip when she sends me more photos, (hint, hint Maggie). In the meantime, Gary and Tom still have a few days left before their South Africa trip ends. Who knows how long it will be before they send me photos of their trip. They got charged by angry elephants three times.

Maggie Returns From Africa

Maggie, Tom, and Gary went to South Africa at the same time. The fact is that Maggie has never met Tom or Gary, and they went to to different parts of the country. I think that Tom and Gary are still there as I write this post. 

Tom, Gary, and Gary's brother Doug rented a car and have been visiting national parks like Kruger etc. Maggie on the other hand has been visiting game reserves like Phindi. I'm guessing that her lodging was more luxerious, and her game drives more structured than Gary & company. All I know is that she saw some amazing wildlife, including several things that really made me envious. She got good photos of this Black-chested Snake Eagle above.

And this great shot of what is usually a shy skulker, African Rail. They normally stay in thick, riparian vegetation.

Swainson's Francolins are basically the most common of the many species of South African Francolins, (grouse-like birds).

African Scops Owls are the equivalent of North American Screech Owls. Scops, and screech, are different names for the same mega-family of birds, although they tend to be placed into either Otus, or Megascops. There are other taxonomic names for oddball members of the same large family of small owls.

Everyone loves to see Southern Carmine Bee-eaters, especially when they are in prime breeding colors. These birds are a little past their breeding time. Incredibly colorful, nevertheless.

Helmeted Guineafowl have been widely domesticated. However, I have never seen a domestic version of this wild, Crested Guineafowl. They have really cool voices.

For some reason, Old World vulture populations have been plummeting. It is no longer so easy to see large numbers of vultures, like this White-backed Vulture. I guess that the world is changing too fast for these pre-historic relics to keep up.

Another pre-historic looking bird, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills are generally more common than vultures in much of South Africa.

Maggie captured this photo of a European Roller that in turn, just captured a large centipede. I posted a nearly identical photo of the same thing from my own trip to South Africa.

As you may have noticed, all of these photos are African birds. There are still more birds to come, as well as mammals and other stuff. I'll end this post with Maggie's shot of the incredible, Lilac-breasted Roller.

Back in the Saddle?

Several weeks ago I was flipping my way through old reference photo albums; hoping to find something to inspire a painting. As I have stated many times in the last year or so, I have been struggling through a serious creative drought. I just don't have much enthusiasm to paint.
I went out and got a real job, and tried to find some inner tranquility with the decision to abandon my life's main passion. This is not the first time that I tried to quit painting, but it is the most profound dearth of artistic desire I have ever experienced. Anyway, this photo of a Torrent Tyrannulet in Peru struck me as a potential subject for a modest painting. One minor quibble I had was the bird's lack of color. I felt that a tropical subject ought to be more colorful.

Since it was a type of flycatcher, I realized that I could use the same pose on a different species of flycatcher, like the above Ornate Flycatcher from the Ecuadorian cloud forest.

I have painted Ornate Flycatchers before, this was an 8x10" boring little painting that I eventually painted over. The birds are not so bad, but the setting of the painting is lame, especially the leaves. Ornate Flycatchers come in two forms, those with rufous tails from the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains, and the darker tailed birds from the west slope of the Andes. My photo is a west slope bird, while the above painting depicts east slope birds.

This is the painting that I have been working on for the last few weeks when I could find the time. It is an 11x14" acrylic on gessoboard, so far untitled.

The difference between this painting and others that I have tried to paint in many months is that this one felt so natural. I was almost back to my old self while I did this, mostly in just two days.

Do you remember this 8x10" Colima Pygmy Owl painting that I posted a few months ago. It was the first painting that I managed to complete since last summer sometime. The owl was passable, but I hated the setting it was in.

I struggled to come up with a better composition but ran out of enthusiasm with this version. Any better? No. Time will tell if I ever come back to it again.

I'll end this post with a last close-up of the Ornate Flycatcher that I completed today.