10,000 Birds

JANUARY 12, 2024

On my 21-day Kenyan safaris we reckoned to find around 600 species of birds and around 60 mammals, both impressive totals. We also saw a leopard, but it was the A to Z that sticks in the mind. Incidentally, encounters with both aardvarks and zorillas are rare – it’s much easier to see lions and leopards.

Fur 176

Fur Bulgaria Otters Estonia 176

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 11, 2012

They are not necessarily the biggest African animals, but represented those that were considered a real hunter’s worthy prey or “game” – the African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Black Rhinoceros, Leopard and king of the jungle, the Lion (which of course doesn’t inhabit jungle but savanna!).

Buffalo 195

Buffalo Rhinoceros Elephants Leopards 195

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2015

Its great diversity of habitats hosts an incredible bird count of over 900 species, including Africa’s 2nd highest list of endemics and near-endemics (after South Africa). Recent publicity about these remarkable tribes has resulted in tourists wanting to experience this wild land and its attractions for themselves. Yellow-billed Stork.

Ethiopia 235

Ethiopia Sudan Leopards Birds 235

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 1, 2011

So much so that the two species are placed within their own family, Chaetopidae. The species is insectivorous and nests amongst the scree and boulders on the steep mountain slopes. Even leopards still live here and occasionally terrorize the African Penguin colony at nearby Betty’s Bay.

South Africa 236

South Africa Penguins Birds Africa 236

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

There wasn’t much around, and aside from a lifer Yellow-bellied Bulbul the two most impressive species were heard not seen – a Blue-headed Pitta an a Banded Kingfisher. This is the place, after all, that people see Sunda Clouded Leopards! The highlight again happened before we left the camp, a family of Crested Firebacks.

Lemurs 158

Lemurs Family Rhinoceros Fish 158

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 11, 2011

This country boasts over 1,000 bird species, vast wildernesses, a superb network of protected areas, the greatest concentration of large game and predators on the planet, excellent lodges and friendly people. The Baobab-studded woodlands and wetlands of the park harbor over 550 bird species and they sure come thick and fast!

Tanzania 209

Tanzania Africa Stud Leopards 209

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2016

I was planning a trip to South Africa, I had about five days to fill, I wanted to get a bunch of desert species (particularly the Springbok – not a bird) in a way that wasn’t too hard to reach from Johannesburg. Leopards are also awesome and I saw two at Madikwe. And lo, it was good. Madikwe has perhaps too many elephants.

South Africa 141

South Africa Leopards Giraffes Africa 141