Lake Nakuru

Recent heavy rains had watered down the salinity of Lake Nakuru so there weren't as many flamingos as usual when we visited. But there was still plenty to see - including 19 white rhinos!!!

This salt-water lake in the heart of the great rift valley is usually pink with flamingos which feed on the algae in the salt water. Last time I visited some two and a half million formed a thick pink rim round the lake's edge.

But there were still a few thousand to see and the flamingos that were there brightened up our view.

The bird life at Lake Nakuru is always spectacular, this yellow billed stork was very handsome!

 And these pelicans were great to watch. 



But the abundance of white rhino is Nakuru national park's greatest achievement and the guests on my safari really enjoyed seeing them.

To read more about the safaris I run click here or on the link to the right of this post.

The Magic of the Masai Mara

I've just got home from leading a trip to Kenya. I knew things were going to go well when we spotted this leopard on the first day.

She had just killed when we saw her.

We returned the next morning and I photographed her in the morning light.

Every year I take a group of just 12 to see the spectacle of Kenya's wildebeest migration in the Masai Mara. I'll be posting more pictures of my latest trip over the next few days.
 Follow this link to learn more about the safaris.

Bird Life

What the big cats and vast herds of the Masai Mara have in stature, the birds make up for in colour and character. These little bee eaters were very entertaining to watch. They often hunt in pairs and then return to the same branch after catching insects on the wing.

A lilac-breasted roller.

And by far the ugliest bird in the Mara: the Marabou Stalk. What this bird lacks in looks it makes up for in character. For this shot I slowed the shutter speed down to one eigth of a second to blur the rapids of the Talek River behind.

These two were fighting over the intestines of a wildebeest!