12th March 2008 : Big Game, Tiny Chicks & Wind Storms
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 10:36PM It is unbelievably HOT here at the moment. Yesterday we had a freak rain storm in the afternoon. There’s no accounting for the weather these days. This evening we had the most incredible winds you can imagine, blowing our chairs across the balcony as if they were made of tissue paper. The wind sent ripples racing upstream against the river current, creating a crazy confusion of patterns.
Last night we were serenaded by a leopard duet. For anyone who doesn’t know what a leopard sounds like, imagine cutting through a piece of wood with a hand-saw and the rasping noise it makes. That’s about as close as you get to the real thing. First one started, very close and loud, just over the other side of the river, rasping and gruff and then, ten minutes later, another one started – softer, not quite so deep and on our side of the river. We sat on our balcony in the darkness and listened to this awesome sound of the night.
Speaking of big beautiful cats, the day before we went to Nairobi recently, we came across a perfect set of lion tracks on our road. Ian put his hand next to one of the pug marks to give you an idea of the size of those paws…
We’ve had a lot of big game coming down to the river, as is evidences by the criss-cross of tracks on the beach…lots of elephant noise at night too, and buffaloes coming down to drink by day, alongside waterbuck, baboons, vervet monkeys (all the usual suspects). One buffalo came by in the morning the day before yesterday and just plonked himself down in the middle of the river to cool off. I don’t blame him. He obviously wasn’t too concerned about the crocodiles. After about 15 minutes of sitting in the river, he raised his cumbersome bulk and lumbered across the river to the far side. The water only reached up to his knees – that’s how low the river is at the moment.
Buffalo cooling off in the river
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Beach tracks...
A Waterbuck family
All the hippos have deserted Hippo Bend – I think with the river being so low, they’ve wandered a couple of hundred yards upstream to take refuge in the shade of the reeds. We still see a lot of hippo tracks on the beach each morning, and we hear them honking from time to time, so they can’t be too far away. The crocodiles are all around as usual – every once in a while we hear an almighty splash in the reeds opposite the house and a crocodile comes racing out. There are obviously some shenanigans going on between them which we don’t know about!
While we’re discussing reptiles, I saw a Rock Monitor in the undergrowth the other day, as I was returning from Mtito Andei. He’s fairly well camouflaged in the drying grass (above) but you may be able to see how he has a shorter snout than the Water Monitor we often see down at the river’s edge.
The land is really drying out so fast now (despite the odd unexpected rain shower). The Mtito River has been completely dry for weeks and weeks now, and the Little Serengeti looks dry and yellow, its grass sheared short by the mouths of many munching hippos. Compare this to what it looked like in December, here.
Looking upstream from the crossing into the park: the Mtito River completely dry...
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Looking down the dry Mtito riverbed
A dry-looking Little Serengeti
In my previous post, I mentioned the Speckled Pigeons which had been checking out our house. Guess what? They came back yesterday, and were nosing around on our roof. It would be wonderful if they decided to nest up there, or somewhere in one of the many nooks and crannies in our house. As coincidence would have it, the day after writing about the Carmine Bee-eaters, I got some better shots of them. They like to perch in the tall, spindly acacia thomasi trees on the river’s edge: the perfect vantage point for spotting insects which they swoop so elegantly to catch on the wing – a flash of scarlet and cyan. I snapped a photo of one with a Pied Wagtail and two Glossy Starlings - what a colourful collection!
A Carmine Bee-eater, two Glossy Starlings and a Pied Wagtail!
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Carmine Bee-eater on the lookout for insects...
And again...
The day before yesterday, at midday, I noticed there was a group of about twenty Black Storks down on the wide mudflats near Hippo Bend. These birds are quite rare and also extremely shy. With such a large flock of them on our stretch of river, I decided to nip down in the car and see if I could get a shot of them from a distance. Sadly, without even getting anywhere near the river’s edge, the car disturbed the whole flock and off they flew. I felt very disappointed because firstly I did not want to disturb them but underestimated how very shy they are, and secondly because I really did want a picture of them… There was one Yellow Billed Stork amongst them who didn’t even move a muscle when the others flew off, as if he was thinking, “What’s the matter guys – haven’t you heard a car engine before?”
The next morning however, a couple of Black Storks flew past the house (photo of one, above) – one landed right below the balcony but didn’t stay long – so hopefully they’ll be back again before long.
I had more luck (inadvertently) with the Helmeted Guineafowl which have been hanging around our well and water tanks near the river. I was walking down there in the afternoon, and heard an adult Guineafowl clucking and chirping, and then I saw the tiny chicks – about six of them – tiny bundles of stripey fluff with little red legs. How lovely to see these birds breeding on our land. Yesterday we saw some of the Guineafowl roosting in the delonix elata trees on the Little Serengeti – so perhaps this flock has decided to take up permanent residence here.
Helmeted Guineafowl parent...
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Helmeted Guineafowl chick...
and another...
I also saw the Crested Francolin chicks down near our gate, which my father mentioned a couple of days back. They’re almost half grown now, and were out of sight before I even had time to reach for my camera.
We're starting to see a lot of Sunbirds around again - at first I thought this strange, as there are no flowers here at the moment, but perhaps they - like the big game - are coming back to the riverine area, where at least there is some moisture to be had?
Can anyone help me identify this bird (below)? I saw it yesterday, sitting in the treetops, but I'm not quite sure what it is...I apologise for the fact that the light was not great at the time...any ideas anyone?
Ian has spent a couple of days battling with our water pump – the end result being we now have water in our pipes again, pumped directly from the river instead of from our well. It’s quite muddy but at least we can have a shower, which in this heat is a blessing! Fortunately we collect rainwater in underground tanks during the wet season, so we do have a clean source of drinking water.
Living “in the bush” certainly throws up challenges almost on a daily basis, but when we sit out on our balcony at the end of each day, with the river below us, and the animals coming and going at peace, it all becomes worthwhile. And every now and then, you get an extra treat: after Ian’s hard day struggling with our water system, this evening’s racing winds made our turbine spin like crazy, creating a steady 20 amp flow of clean, green, free (now that we’ve bought the turbine) power. Ian’s smug sense of satisfaction was palpable…
Does anyone else think Ian ought to change his shoes occasionally
when he's outdoors, or do you like the flip-flop tan mark?
More in Pictures:
More Buffalo Photos, plus Monitor Lizards and other animals from March 2008
More Pug Marks and other wild animal footprints...
More Bird Images from March
Kulafumbi through the Seasons...
People Pics: Living and Working Wild
Tanya
Reader Comments (6)
I love your descriptions of life in Kenya. You make me feel like I'm there... when really I'm sat in the UK and it's freezing cold outside. I spent time at Kariba in Zimbabwe, as friends of mine had a safari boat - elephants, lion, leopard patrolling the garden. I dream of being able to get back to Africa one day. May the wind blow your turbine for many hours tonight and give you lots of free power! Jane PS Maybe you can adapt the flip-flops Ian has to give him another pattern? :)
As a teenager, my father worked at Kariba - it was when they were building the dam, and he was involved with Operation Noah: the translocation of all the animals as the water started to flood the country. He also spent a year out in the bush, monitoring river levels as the water rose. He tells stories of how waterbuck and other antelope would get stranded on islands as the water rose, and at night, lions would swim out from the mainland, and hunt on the islands where their prey could not escape.My father and the other people on Operation Noah eventually helped to get hundreds of animals off the islands and over to the safety of the mainland...with a few scars to show for it, for of course the animals did not know they were being helped, and lashed out at them!
That's fascinating. I heard lots of stories about "Operation Noah" when I was there, and have watched programmes on it in the UK. I believe it was very controversial at the time, and many animals and people were displaced. When I was there in 1990 it was teaming with wildlife. However, I expect things are very different now.
After reading your profile I now realise that you went to school at Bryanston. I live no more than 10 mins away from the school. What a very small world.... Jane
Yes, I think that the construction of any big dam is always controversial (and rightly so - there are so many pros and cons involved)...These days I believe that many people think that building several smaller dams is better than one mega-dam...
What a VERY small world indeed...Kariba, Byanston, what next? :)
At least he doesn't have a safari boot mark! When I came to the UK after finishing school in Kenya I had to fake tan from my ankles down :)
Ha ha, Imogen - that made me laugh....I guess I should be grateful for small mercies as the thought of Ian putting fake tan on his ankles is....well....not what I would expect of him exactly!!