Il Kiliani: Bird watching and Oh the Lions...

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The day started off unpredictable. We were supposed to have a picnic breakfast out in the wilderness. These breakfasts are always a smorgasbord of a dozen or more items that have been carefully prepared by the kitchen staff. Boo Hoo. The wife was sick or had a reaction to the malaria pills. It turned out she was not drinking enough water. I can understand the need for R &R but I did not come all this way to spend in a camp, but out side the camp. I liked being the prey. I decided to do a bird watching tour with a senior Maasai named Wilson, who jumped at the chance to go out with me. As knowledge goes, Wilson has an abundance of this. He was able to do bird calling, and point out to me the various varieties of bird, that normally you wouldn't notice. We, as well came across a Hydrex. This is a little nocturnal mammal that lived in the hollow of a tree. It poked its head out and was very shy. I think it has had some close calls with nature, especially big cats, because every sound it made it would cringe back into its hollow. As I was looking around I spotted a pair of Owls sitting not more than 10 yards away silently staring at us. Eyes are everywhere. You never know who is looking at what. I heard a bleat and found a little lost kid goat panicking and running this way and that looking for its mom. I remember thinking that the little kid had a short life if it kept that up. Just walking we saw Herons standing erect. As we approached off they flew. Click. Click. Click.. I was able to see a bat hanging upside down in an Acadia tree. Wilson, my guide had a hand book and was able to refer to all the birds I saw. Since it was a lazy day, We started our sun downer game drive, a 4hr tour, at 4PM. Just a lot of the standard sightings that we would normally see but off in a distance.

Last day at this camp and it better be good. As much as I enjoyed yesterday, did not want a repeat. Finally the picnic breakfast was rescheduled. Hurrah .5:30 wake up as usual. Lots seen before the breakfast. Hyenas, Gazelles frolicking around, and amazing Lion perched regally on a termite hill. Came across an Eagle and a Vulture sitting together on a tree top. As we went from one area to the other time passed slowly. I remember looking at my watch and seeing that it was only 8:30 AM. It seemed we were out and about for much longer. It is my experience that when you are focused on something you are doing that time flies. For some reason this was not the case on these game drives. Go figure. I was glad that the time felt like it slowed. I love the long days that seem to go on and on. Breakfast time popped up and we were treated to a prepared lunch box. Not disappointed at all. We stopped by the Mara River overlooking a wide part of the water, and our guides knowing that we were going to get out of the Land Cruiser, asked us to stay inside while they scouted the area for Rhinos and Hippos, and any other threatening wild life. We stepped out and the scene was spectacular. Across the river right away I saw these two monstrous crocs that seemed that they were 20 plus feet long. One had its mouth open cooling itself. In the foreground there were Hippos popping up and down in the water like Wack-a-moles in a arcade game.It was funny watching them bob. Hippos make these low grunts. When one Hippo starts , it cascades into a chorus of grunting Hippos and it sounds very baritone.To describe it better I would say it sounded hollow and it vibrated up to us from below. At a closer look in the water there were more crocs laying around the opposite bank. Obviously they were full from the last migration and they seemed satiated and well fed. There is no way these Crocs could get that big if food wasn't plentiful. Speaking of food, we attracted some Guinea Foil to our breakfast. At least six of them were staring at us waiting for some scraps so our guide played a game by holding up the food just a little higher than what they could reach and they were jumping up and down like a ping pong ball trying to nab the food. Boing , Boing, Boing. I walked along the shore abit from above and spotted a mangy old Croc on this side of the river. I zoomed in with my camera and was able to capture a some what close up of it from the side. I was called back and was told not to wander away like that again. oooooopps! Its easy for me to get tunnel vision when I am shooting with the camera. We finally packed up and headed along the Mara river shore and came across a Hippo cow and her baby swimming. They were coming to shore! As they emerged from the water there skin was a dark grey but pinkish in some places. I was told that actually Hippos skin is sensitive and that is why the stay in the water for long periods of time. Lighting was perfect for some dramatic shots. I caught the cow with its jaws wide open. Its amazing that they can open their jaws that wide. The yawn kept getting wider and wider. Being at the top of a river bank allowed us to view the habits of the Hippos in safety. The baby Hippo was comical. Its little legs were clumsy with all that weight and just watching it waddling around made it a worth while view. We left the area for some rest.

Best game drive yet. I think today I took close to 2000 pics. The other two decided to stay in. So I went out on my own again. I will not miss an opportunity for a drive no matter what. Right away I met a mom Giraffe and her month old.They were mixed in with the Wilde beasts and Zebras. Caught a Pumba mired in some mud and it looked like she couldn't get out fast enough. They seem to be extremely skittish around the vehicles but this huge one did not have a choice but to be there. It was literally caught with its pants down. Ha ha. We were again lucky and came upon a pride of 10 Lions. We followed a female down to a stream where it was going to drink. I was able to take a reflection in the water of her lapping it up. After she was satiated, we followed her back up to the pride.

As we left the scene the opportunities for viewing wild life continued. Next up were the Vultures. A pair of them perched on the tallest branch scanning around for prey. Came across a baby Jackel lying outside its den sunning itself. Finally capped off the day with a sunset. Actually a double header because of the cloud cover i was able to get two different viewings with vistas that included Wilde Beasts in the fore ground. The end to a picture perfect game drive.

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