Recycling the Unattached

Posted on June 15, 2017 by Lisa Rest

Some of my original Zebra Finches from years past (the cleaner pot rack alone dates the photo)

I’m almost totally over the rhino-plus virus, well enough to get through what seemed like endless commitments. Now as my mind clears along with my sinuses, I am feeling remiss in keeping up with this commitment, so when I remembered this morning there is always an opportunity to fall back on those “Unattached” photographs that clog up my media library, I decided to select a few at random just for fun. A couple from the Galapagos, not so long ago, which reminds me I still have a couple days left from my trip I never covered…

Yellow Warbler – Galapagos – July 2016

Magnificent Frigatebird, Galapagos, July 2016

The three below are from a trip to East Africa in 2013.

Gray-Crowned Cranes, November, 2013, Tanzaniya

Burchell’s Zebra, November 2013

Pearl-Spotted Owlet, November 2013

The sunset below probably happened in Belize at Crooked Tree in March of 2014…I’ll be back with more recent endeavors soon.. Thanks for following my meanderings. I hope you enjoyed this little blast from the past.

Why Not Vultures?

Posted on January 27, 2015 by Lisa Rest

Lappet-Faced Vulture

I think vultures get a bad rap. They really perform a valuable service in nature. They do a much better job of recycling than we do.

In case you’re wondering why I am inspired to post about vultures, I am (1) waiting to find out whether I will want to share the video of the festival choir concert from last weekend, and (2) am also trying to figure out how to possibly convey what is going on with the home crowd (it grows, and changes daily!) through various types of media. But while trying to find time to figure all that out, I thought I’d share a few pictures looking back to my November 2013 East Africa trip, with these spiffy-looking vultures in particular.

African White-Backed Vulture

There were more vulture species on the list, but these were the only identified portraits I found recently.

White-Headed Vulture

Yes, those are storks in the photo below: they also showed up after a kill, with the vultures.

Nature takes care of itself. And us, if we let it.

In Search of Another Continent

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Lisa Rest

Wildebeest Migration, Serengeti

…if not another planet! We are experiencing rather horrible weather at the moment. I have been almost glad my car is at the shop so I don’t have to deal with it. But the prospect of walking in a deluge of thunder and anything from freezing rain to torrential downpours was not a fun option either. Watching for black ice underfoot, lest I tumble. Add the warning of heavy wind gusts until 3:00 p.m. today to yesterday’s flood warnings.

I saw a beautiful male White-Winged Scoter yesterday morning in the river outside the train station, but could not even bring myself to pull the point-and-shoot, which was all I dared pack in anticipation of the forecast, out of my backpack, because the next moment I was nearly blown over by a gust of wind. This morning when I arrived three WW Scoters flew by with five Red-Breasted Mergansers – nice to see even if they were gone in a split second.

Anyway, I’ve grown tired of the weather – today we are presently, at 34 degrees and whatever the wind, warmer than we will be for the next 6 days as temperatures steadily plummet again. I have retreated to the task of going through the East Africa trip pictures, and here are some from the day we left the Serengeti and traveled to Tarangire National Park.

Leopard Tortoise Migration 1-24-13 8802.jpg-2

Leopard Tortoises

Perhaps no surprises here but a reminder that color does exist somewhere.

Eastern Double-Collared Sunbird

There are so many species of eagle to worry about, and there are snake eagles and fish eagles and hawk eagles too… This Steppe Eagle was nice enough to pose. Please click on the photos for more detail.

Steppe Eagle

The Black-Breasted Snake Eagle below flew by close enough to identify later.

Black-Breasted Snake Eagle

So as not to leave out the magnificent mammals that were spectacular to see…never as many elephants to constitute a herd, but small groups nonetheless.

African Elephants

On the same day as the rest of these photographs, we were fortunate enough to see Cheetahs.

And in my desperation for color, I conclude this post with a Grey-Headed Kingfisher.

Grey-Headed Kingfisher

I’ll be back soon, weather (ha!) permitting.

From Leopards to Bustards

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Lisa Rest

I’ll probably still be going through pictures from Africa all year at this rate, if not for the rest of my life (or, as they say in legalese, “whichever first occurs”). I have two shorter trips coming up very soon and I am looking forward to them! But it’s still nice to go back in time…especially when I have not been able to venture out much through our arctic blast. (It’s official now, this is our coldest winter in 30 years.) I tried to visit the Chicago Portage today but it was closed. Enough said.

Back to the Serengeti.

Leopards are never easy to spot, often sleeping in trees during the day, but we got very lucky with this one.

And then after our quest for this exceptional predator, not far away we found two great land-bound birds, Kori and White-Bellied Bustards.

Kori Bustards

The long, soft feathery necks of the Kori Bustards must blend in perfectly with the tall dried grasses (click on the photo below to get a better view of the neck feathers). They hunt insects and small vertebrates.

Kori Bustard

The White-Bellied Bustard is considerably smaller.

White-Bellied Bustard

This bird appears to be an immature male.

More pictures await me from that day in the Serengeti, but none will be more emblematic than those of the Leopard.

Magic Tree

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Lisa Rest

Hildebrandt’s Starling

Every once in a while when out looking for birds, you find a Magic Tree that seems to be a magnet for several species. Such was the case with this acacia our group encountered on the Tanzania part of our trip while traveling from Ngorongoro to the Serengeti. Here are a few pictures of some of the more colorful species that came to this tree.

Vitelline Masked Weavers

The challenge in this situation is trying to decide which bird to focus on first since it’s impossible to photograph them all.

Beautiful Sunbird

I was quite a distance from the Beautiful Sunbird above, and it never emerged from behind the thorns for a good view. But later, the individual below was closer and a bit more visible.

Also beautiful, if more frequently seen, is the Scarlet-Chested Sunbird.

Scarlet-Chested Sunbird

Perhaps not in the same tree, but on the same day, the White-Browed Scrub Robin below gave me a nice look.

White-Browed Scrub Robin

And the magic continued yet another yellow weaver with black markings on its face to add to the collection. This is the Lesser Masked Weaver.

Lesser Masked Weaver

Hope you enjoy the short break from snowy scenes. 🙂

Meanwhile, Back at the Mac

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Lisa Rest

Grey Crowned Cranes

I’ve been struggling to fit in a blog post based on the current weather situation, but it’s the weather that prevents me from doing so, whether it’s train delays or just plain exhaustion from having to deal with it…

At the same time, my heart goes out to those on the other side of the planet who are dealing with the exact opposite – terrifyingly too hot, too dry.

For a moment, I’ve decided to look forward again by looking back at some more photos from the East Africa trip.

I came across a day in the Serengeti when we must have seen many Grey Crowned Cranes, and they are a delightful sight. There’s so much more going on with this bird than grey!

Maybe they do start to blend in a bit when the landscape is grey. But their crowns definitely contribute to their regal appearance.

Sweet Dreams

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Lisa Rest

Hippo and Yellow-Billed Oxpecker

Although the weather has dominated my thoughts and a lot of my actions all day (I spent probably a couple hours trying to dig out the vehicle, just because I know I will have to move it tomorrow – if it starts), I tried to make the best of the weekend yesterday by swimming before it became impossible to travel to the pool, stocking up on soup ingredients, and cooking comfort food.

Yellow-Billed Oxpecker

Sleep overtook me while going through pictures on the futon, but I managed to find these few whimsical images for a post. Maybe it was the images of sleeping hippos that did me in. I sometimes have zebra finches pecking at me instead of oxpeckers.

Those of you in the path of the arctic blast, stay safe and warm and think warm thoughts.

Goldbird Variations

Why Birds Sing in Key with Music, or how I finally put perfect pitch to use.

Tag Archives: East Africa