It’s been a long dry spell for me since my last adventure, but looking forward to getting back into the wild soon. I’ll be leading a tour to Kenya and Uganda in early January. The Uganda portion of the trip will be primarily for gorillas, but you never know when you might encounter a chimpanzee as well. This was taken on my last trip to Uganda, in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Nikon D700 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/320th of a second.

The African fish eagle is an impressive bird. So much so, that it’s the national bird of four countries — Namibia, South Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe. I photographed this one in Uganda. It was perched along a river in Queen Elizabeth National Park, throwing its head backward as it cried out. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/3200th of a second.

Of the many antelope species in Africa, the bushbuck — by my estimation at least — has some of the most impressive ears. I encountered this one in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 270mm) ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/200th of a second.

Africa is full of different species of antelope. To the Ugandan’s, however, the kob is special among them. It’s the national animal and appears on the coat of arms. This image of a winking male kob was one of my first award winners about ten years ago. Searching my site tonight, I realized that I never posted it to the photo of the day, so here it is. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/100th of a second.

These two warthogs appeared to be trying to out ugly each other. Actually, I think warthogs are quite elegant in all their hairy-faced glory and these two were most likely just having a bit of a territorial dispute. They were photographed in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park. Nikon D300 with Nikkor (200-400mm lens) at 270mm, ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/250th of a second.

Long-crested eagles — aptly named for the long crest that extends backward from the top of their heads — are found throughout much of sub-Sahara Africa. I photographed this one in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. They are opportunistic hunters although their favorite prey by far is rodents. Unlike many other raptors that scan the ground as they fly above, long-crested eagles are known as “sit and wait” hunters as they will patiently wait for food to come to them. It would appear that this guy is doing just that.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/400th of as second

The grey-cheeked mangabey is an old world monkey that lives in the forests of central Africa. I encountered this one in Kibale National Park in Uganda, the eastern edge of its range. They resemble baboons, but if you look at this guy’s face, you’ll see they also resemble the Grinch.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 800, f/5 at 1/200th of a second

The marabou stork isn’t going to win any beauty contests. But… they’re still kind of cool looking in a Mad Magazine “Spy Vs Spy” kind of way. Sometimes they are called the undertaker bird because of their black, cloak-like feathers on their backs. They are very large and like to hang out near human habitation, especially where there is plenty of delicious garbage to forage on. They live in much of sub-Sahara Africa. This one was photographed in Uganda at Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/5.6 at 1/200th of a second

A few weeks ago I posted a male “silverback” mountain gorilla. Here’s a mother and her baby from that same troop, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 155mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/200th of a second