Birds in Chobe National Park

July 21, 2018. As we drove around Chobe National Park, we saw lots of birds, many unknown to this non-birdwatcher. Thanks to help from Joyce DeHaan, whose husband Eddie also took lots of bird pictures on this trip, here are photos with identifiers (in the order that I took them throughout the day).

Pearl spotted owl

Lilac breasted roller

Red-billed spur fowl

Southern carmine bee eater

African fish eagle

Hammerkop

Saddle-billed stork

Red-billed hornbill

Blacksmith lapwing

Reed cormorants and African darters (with long necks)

African openbill

African fish eagle...

... a moment later

Mongoose, Monkeys, and a Tree

July 21, 2018. Some miscellaneous sightings on today's game drive in Chobe National Park.

A male baboon as we were leaving camp in the morning.

A mongoose spotted in the bush.

A vervet monkey who stole a small quiche from one of the kids, as we ate lunch at tables in a picnic area. It then retreated up a tree, where it scouted opportunities for more food grabs.

Elephants do a number on the bark of trees as they rub against them and pull down leaves. This tree has a very pretty textured surface as a result.

Elephant Interactions

July 21, 2018. We spent a good chunk of our game drive today just sitting quietly in our Land Cruisers, observing the behavior of elephants as they interacted on the banks of the Chobe River.

This female seemed suspicious of us. She eventually walked up to the front of our Land Cruiser (the one with the adults, not the kids), put her head on the hood, and gave a substantial nudge. Fortunately there was no damage. Having established her primacy in the situation, she walked with the others into the bush.

Crocs and Hippos

July 21, 2018. It always produces a little frisson to see crocodiles and hippos, even if they're far away on the banks or in the water of the Chobe River, and not doing much of anything. Our prehistoric mind realizes that things could change rapidly.

Lion Sisters

July 21, 2018. We had gone a good fraction of the day before we saw this rather large female lion lying quietly in a clearing in the bush, yawning and looking bored. And then in a few minutes she was joined by another. They greeted each other fondly at some length - probably they were sisters and suckling cubs - and then set off together to get a drink and survey another bit of territory.

Warthogs

July 21, 2018. Warthogs are hoofed mammals (ungulates) and therefore should have been included in yesterday's post. But they're so distinctive, so entertainingly ugly, that I feel they deserve their own post.

Hoofed Animals in Chobe National Park

July 21, 2018. Today was our last day in Botswana. Tomorrow we will fly to Livingstone, Zambia to view Victoria Falls. So today we had a big, all-day game drive, and I took lots of pictures of lots of animals (including a few human ones). Arranging them for this blog has perplexed me, so I've finally decided on a (roughly) biological order among posts, starting with ungulates (hoofed mammals) for today. But within each post, the arrangement is chronological, reflecting the order in which we came upon them during the day.

Curved parallel patterns on the brown kudus and the brown road

Pensive giraffe

Zebras seem to aggregate differently here than on the Serengeti.

Zebra colt

It's nice to see Cape buffalos being relaxed rather than hostile.

If you look closely, this kudu is putting up with a LOT of flies.

These giraffes remind me of models in a Vogue spread.

Zebras at the Chobe River as evening falls.