Wattled Crains of Duba Plains

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Located in the northern panhandle of the Okavango Delta is Duba Plains Camp. An intimate 6 tented camp nestled on the edge of a floodplain, teh camp is set amongst a lovely grove of Ebony, fig and mangosteen trees. With a lovely fire place, deck and swimming pool, this camp is perfectly located for a host of wildlife encounters.

Apart from the very exciting lion / buffalo encounters that Duba Plains is famous for, its their bird life that is just spectacular. Duba Island is predominatly a wetland with lots of water and plenty on swampy areas and little lagoons. Because of this, an abundance of different birds species frequent the area, however it was the beautiful Wattled Cranes (Grus carunculatus) that caught my eye.

Today, Wattled Cranes are listed "endangered" and are becoming more difficult to see in their natural habitat. It was my first game drive that we came across a group 16 cranes quietly wading in a swampy area looking for food. The way they walk, their colouration, their elegance is breathtaking. It is common for them to wade in shallow water whilts feeding, but dont try get too close to them, they will fly away.

Over the four days that I was at Duba Plains during November, I followed this particular group as they moved around the small island in search of food. One time I was in luck. As they flew over-head and landed to my left, my camera was ready. I got a few shots of them coming in to land. Not often you can get this close to these magnificent birds

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