Butterfly Hunter

When you are out on safari, one of the biggest pitfalls you can find yourself in is only chasing the "big" sightings and the iconic species, and moving past so many amazing moments of natural history that play themselves out every day in the bush. During the recent photographic safari I led to the Chobe river in Botswana for Wild Eye, we sat watching a herd of elephants drinking from the river one afternoon, when suddenly we noticed a commotion around the nose of the small photographic boat we were sitting in. The boat was banked just on the riverbank, and there were yellow butterflies fluttering all about. A couple of birds had taken an interest in these butterflies, and started hunting them down as they realised this was a quick and easy chance for a snack.

The Whitecrowned Plovers (or Whitecrowned Lapwings, as you please) were particularly entertaining - often striking a pose akin to those of hunting dogs (think Pointers, Golden Retrievers) as they assumed the pre-strike position. You can see it in the photo below...

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f5.6  |  1/1250 SS  |  ISO-140

click on the photo to display at optimal sharpness and resolution

Always keep your eyes open for the opportunities delivered by the smaller critters in the field!

Morkel Erasmus

PhotoShare: White-fronted Plover Chick

I thought it was about time for another PhotoShare. I should be able to get to a longer, more informative blog post sometime soon, but with a new baby in the house, you know how it goes!


This cute little white-fronted plover chick was the object of my photographic pursuit one summer morning on the South African west coast town of Dwarskersbos. Unlike the other coastlines of South Africa which are marked by cliffs, rocks, forests and dunes...the west coast is marked by miles and miles of stretching, smooth beaches.

I got down very low for this perspective of this elusive little bird. As you can see from its plumage, it blends in very well with this beach environment which is filled with scattered broken bits of shells. Every time I got close, the chick laid down and got lost to my eyes.

Until next time...


Morkel Erasmus