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Alaskan Birding Trip – Epilogue

It has been almost 24 years since the journey yet as I write this it seems like only yesterday. All that I remembered comes rushing back like the fast moving glacial streams. The experience we all shared together will always be with us and in our memories.

I can still see all that I told you about: such vivid pictures that no camera could ever capture. There are no words that can adequately describe the Alaska I saw. It is a land of gross hyperbole.  A land of adjectives and metaphors and still not enough to paint the picture. When I close my eyes and relive what I have seen and felt it is only then that I can in some small way understand this land.

On a day in Denali we climbed a ridge near the Savage River. Higher and higher we climbed and the wind became stronger, Finally near the top I stood alone high on this ravine catching the full force of nature’s breath. With arms outstretched and eyes closed tightly I wished, oh how I wished I could fly. To soar with eagles and ride the thermals, to sail in the wind. To be free!

"With arms outstretched and eyes closed tightly I wished, oh how I wished I could fly. To soar with eagles and ride the thermals, to sail in the wind. To be free! " photo of hiker by Paxson Woelber

“With arms outstretched and eyes closed tightly I wished, oh how I wished I could fly. To soar with eagles and ride the thermals, to sail in the wind. To be free! ” photo of hiker by Paxson Woelber

I remember standing on the cliffs on St. Paul. It wasn’t simply about the birds flying, the seals bellowing, and the foxes scampering over the land. The pyramid of life was there. From the oceans where it began to the cliff top where in us life has evolved to its highest end. In this intricate web of life we are all equals. We are not only related but need and depend on one another in order to sustain life itself. Let us never forget this bond.

As in all my trips I view my trip to Alaska as a privilege. A special privilege that makes me appreciate what has been given to me. The gift of seeing life as Mother Nature intended it to be. The beauty of the land and its flora and fauna; the daily struggle of life and death; and finally the birth of those that will offer the same view to others for eons to come.

We are not only guests to nature’s theater, we have roles in all of the plays and all the acts. But remember we are only co-stars on this the stage of life. We must make sure the curtain never closes on this show. The Greatest Show on Earth.

You only make the journey once so do everything you can to make sure your journey is rewarding not only for you but those that you will meet on your journey. Live the journey now , for every doorway that opens is a destination to a new journey.

Never the end just the beginning.

Gerry Cooperman

Alaskan Birding Trip – Anchorage and Denali

We landed in Anchorage and guess what – no cars. Maybe because we didn’t create a fuss because we had come to expect these incidents and as if by magic four cars suddenly were available. We make it to Motel 6, have a well deserved dinner and  get a good night’s sleep for tomorrow it’s on the road to Denali.

North on Rte. 1 to Rte. 3 the four Subaru wagons head out on our final adventure. And we are on paved roads at last. Once outside the city limits the scenery changes rapidly. From an urban setting to wilderness is rapid indeed and I hope that urban sprawl has not overtaken this land in the last 24 years.

Denali (Mt. McKinley) means big one – an apt description. Rising 20,300 feet into the clouds it is the highest point in North America and stands guard over its domain. We were fortunate in our stay to have sunny skies so Denali was utterly breathtaking.

We stop at a shimmering lake as two Trumpeter Swans provide a genteel and serene moment. Cruising back and forth they swim as one; a study of beauty and grace. Like two dancers performing nature’s ballet. This picture is securely tucked away in my memory of the Alaskan experience.

Two Trumpeter Swans provided us an unforgettable ballet memory. photo by YellowstoneNPS

Two Trumpeter Swans provided us an unforgettable ballet memory. photo by YellowstoneNPS

Up the Parks Highway with Hawk Owl as our first objective. We weren’t successful but did find many “Evergreen Hawk Owls” , a hitherto unreported species, more then I care to remember. Eventually we found the real species and boy did we work for it.

We got to the park, purchased our tickets for tomorrow and took a ride out to Savage River. This is as far as you can go by car and gave us a glimpse of tomorrow. We had a herd of Dall Sheep come down to welcome us to their park.  We had two objectives for tomorrow and mapped out our strategy. We would be on school buses into the park and solicited good information regarding our targets. The point we would meet at was Marmot Rock taking the shuttle bus in two sections. We had a 6:30 AM bus to catch at the headquarters. Not a problem if someone else had been driving because I took my dumb decision-making pill that morning.

We left the motel with time to spare and as car four I was the last in line. On the way, our car and nobody else’s was stopped for the movement of construction equipment. As the minutes ticked away my common sense was disappearing as well and finally I could go. Off I went with a determination that blocked out intelligence as I sped right by the headquarters road. My passengers tactfully mentioned that we seemed to be driving longer than the practice run yesterday. No problem I said and then saw a mile marker that told me I missed the road. In the finest Boston tradition a U-turn on the highway was executed and I sped back. I pulled in an let my passengers off, parked the car and enjoyed the 200 yard dash with scope and backpack. We made it.

We were at Marmot Rock and began to spread out looking for our target. One of the group spotted a Gyrfalcon perched on a rock pinnacle. Then we discovered two , no three more. A family of Gyrs. Our excitement level was high. Then we found the Northern Wheatear foraging on the rocky hillside. That was the end of the birds so our attention switched to mammals. Moose, grizzly bear,and Dall sheep all had young they were tending to. Tomorrow’s stars of this wondrous place. Caribou, porcupines, marmots, and red foxes added to the menagerie. I especially enjoyed the fox as he nonchalantly strolled alongside the bus. A striking white-tipped tail on an otherwise rusty coloration. Then suddenly he pounced on something alongside the road. The kill was made and so continued the rhythm of life and death in Mother Nature’s realm.

The following day four of us decided to relocate the Gyrfalcon family. We found them quickly and scoped them for some time as they played. Soaring effortlessly then wheeling and turning knifing through the air with power and grace. Then play time was over and the young ones perched on a rock while the female began her hunt passing low over the terrain. The juveniles were watched over by the male and then they decide it was time to leave and off they went. Time to move on and get on a bus. We started walking and talking about our good fortune and little did we know the real excitement was about to begin.

As we were walking up the road we noticed the male high and off to our right. He suddenly banked and was in front headed our way. He then languidly flew over us inspecting these intruders on his land inspecting the trespassers and up he went behind a ridge. As he flew higher we then noticed the female had joined him. Then it happened. From out of nowhere a Golden Eagle was flying between the ridges. The two Gyrs rose as one and the male peeled off and headed for the eagle. With talons balled into a fist he hit the eagle like a lightning bolt. The eagle rolled right and in a split second the female now dove at the eagle’s head. Then a second eagle appeared and all they were trying to do now was escape. Flying as fast as their wings would allow.

Safe from intruders the Gyrs rose together as one. Masters of the sky, protectors of their domain. As a parting goodbye the female peeled off and repeated the male’s action by slowly flying over us not 10 feet above our heads. We had become accepted intruders this day in Polychrome Pass. Collectively we let out one gasp of breathless exhilaration. We had witnessed something that very few ever get to see. How fortunate we were indeed. This was our last day in Denali and what a day it was.

The Northern Three Toed Woodpecker breeds in North America, from northern Alaska, across Canada's boreal regions, through northern Saskatchewan, to north-central Labrador and Newfoundland. In Eurasia, south of tree line in Scandinavia and Siberia. Prefers coniferous forest and burntlands; less frequently mixed forest. Cavity nests generally placed in dead tree, usually conifer or aspen; sometimes nests in utility poles. photo by Superior National Forest
The Northern Three Toed Woodpecker breeds in North America, from northern Alaska, across Canada’s boreal regions, through northern Saskatchewan, to north-central Labrador and Newfoundland. In Eurasia, south of tree line in Scandinavia and Siberia. Prefers coniferous forest and burntlands; less frequently mixed forest. Cavity nests generally placed in dead tree, usually conifer or aspen; sometimes nests in utility poles. photo by Superior National Forest

The next day was overcast and with intermittent showers. We stopped at Carlo Creek birding in the mist and after an hour found our quarry: a Northern-three-toed Woodpecker, the quiet tapping denizen of the spruce woods. Seeing this bird made the day shine like the yellow crown that adorned his head. And on this note, our intrepid band of birders ended their Alaskan Adventure. 

BIG YEAR COUNTING IN A COUNTY

This article struck home as I go through a period of no new birds in my searches.  It’s mid-February, what do I expect in Vermont?  Hey, at least a Northern Hawk Owl, or a Snowy, or a Varied Thrush — all birds we’ve had in the past.  But this post, written by Lynn Barber on the ABA blog, gives me some comfort.  But not too much — she’s going to Honduras soon for a break.  I’m going out in the woods to cut more firewood but perhaps I’ll find some wandering bird — you never know.  Here’s Lynn’s fine post:

Surprise, surprise! Doing a county big year is a different thing than doing a state big year, and of course very different than an ABA big year. That is of course particularly true of a big year done in a county that is way up north, Pennington County in South Dakota. I’m not sure what the number of birds possible for a year is, because I do not have data on anyone else having done a big year in this county. I know, however, that the number of birds possible in one county, even a large county, in western South Dakota is much less than in all of the state, or in Texas, or in the ABA area.On January 1st this year, two of us doing a fairly intense big day in Pennington County found considerably more than half of the likely winter birds in the county. Most of the birds that may be somewhere in the county right now that I have not already seen this year are probably here year round. In other words, there seems to be very little need to go birding right now to try to find the birds that are around but that I have not yet seen.

The lure right now after finding most of the likely regular winter county birds is the hypothetical wandering bird. That’s what gets me out into the snow and wind, sometimes. The problem is that South Dakota is not likely to get many wandering birds in the winter. The wandering Pacific birds (Brambling for example) or wandering Atlantic birds (Northern Lapwing) or wandering Mexican birds (like Brown Jays or Crimson-collared Grosbeaks) are not likely going to wander as far as South Dakota. What I can hope for as winter hangs around for a few more months are winter birds that are sometimes found in nearby counties but not in this one. Examples include Gray-crowned Rosy-finches that are found in most winters one county to the west (on a mountain top) or Common Ravens that are rarely found in the state but one was found last year to the north and west of Pennington County, or Pinyon Jays that in theory could wander to this county from other Black Hills counties.

Or maybe I could do the unexpected and relax about birding. I find that staring out my home office window at our bird feeding areas, watching the over two dozen wintering American Tree Sparrows, and photographing them, including short videos, is very satisfying. Sometimes I even forget for days on end that I am doing a big year. In fact I’m beginning to suspect that there will be very little that will be big about this year. Oddly enough, that does not particularly bother me. Of course when spring migration approaches, all that may change. I just cannot imagine being non-frenetic during warbler time.

In the meantime, I’m heading for Honduras in a couple of weeks. This will be my first international birding trip since I got hooked on doing these big years. It’s not only that the big years drained all our funds away. They also did not allow me to look outside the U.S. Doing a county big year has given me freedom to expand my birding to non-big-year birding, and I can hardly wait!

American tree sparrow

One of the American Tree Sparrows in Lynn’s yard. photo by Lynn Barber

Note:  Lynn Barber is a noted birder who recently published Extreme Birder: One Woman’s Big Year

Alaskan Birding Trip – Part 3

THE PRIBILOFS
Our assault of the Pribilofs started as always with the plane ride. The incessant drone of the Lockheed L-188 four prop was a soothing sleep inducer. Mind you I didn’t need much inducing. I awoke to a gray overcast sky and realized that making a landing would be difficult at best. And guess what? With the pilot today it was impossible to say the least. We made three tries. The first time he got the wheels down but too far down  the runway so it was a touch and go landing. We had been flying for 2 1/2 hours and now had to head to Cold Bay in the Aleutians to refuel.
The incessant drone of the Lockheed L-188 four prop was a soothing sleep inducer - until landing time!

The incessant drone of the Lockheed L-188 four prop was a soothing sleep inducer – until landing time!

Back again to try and land. The second time was a no go from the start. On the third pass the runway and plane were in two different places. So it was back to Anchorage and we lost an entire day.  Now Reeve Air says that they will take care of getting us hotel rooms for all of us. Why did I not believe them and sure enough we arrived with no rooms. To say the scene became ugly would be an understatement. The frustration of being so close to such a special place and not getting there was making us madder. Finally we got rooms all over Anchorage and would meet back at the airport tomorrow morning. 
The plane was ready and as we boarded a stewardess from yesterday’s flight greeted us and told us that the “Cowboy” is flying today and he always lands. Why wasn’t he flying yesterday? We did get a break from yesterday’s flight. One of the passengers was from the company that controls most of St. Paul and he made sure that we had the best bird guide waiting for us when we landed and a van for crazed birders only.
Not ten minutes out we stop at a pool and Wood Sandpiper and Rock Sandpiper welcome us to the island. Back in the van for the bird cliffs are just ahead. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for and dreaming about. You can hear the noise and a smell the musky odor but you are not prepared for the sight that unfolds. Wheeling birds of all species are everywhere on the cliffs, in the air and underground nesting burrows. There has to be over one million birds.
I had a Horned Puffin like this one, a Crested Auklet, a Least Auklet, and a Red-faced Cormorant in my scope at the same time. photo by jsj17771

I had a Horned Puffin like this one, a Crested Auklet, a Least Auklet, and a Red-faced Cormorant in my scope at the same time. photo by jsj17771

I put my scope on the cliffs ahead and in view at the same time are Horned Puffin, Crested Auklet, Least Auklet, and Red-faced Cormorant. Flying around us almost at eye level are Parakeet Auklet, Tufted Puffin, Northern Fulmar, Red-legged Kittiwake,and Short-tailed Shearwater. At my feet flying into nest burrows are Common Murres. Swimming on the ocean are Steller’s Eider and as we walk back a Gray-crowned Rosy Finch makes an appearance. All the while two  Arctic  Foxes are cavorting over the meadow watching us. We cast aside yesterday’s frustrations, birds we’d seen in the days before, and just immersed ourselves in the unforgettable scene. I felt that I had become part of everything I saw and felt. It was magnificent.
This volcanic rock in the midst of a hostile sea is a special place for birders. photo by mazaletel

This volcanic rock in the midst of a hostile sea is a special place for birders. photo by mazaletel

We celebrated that night and again all the problems beforehand became distant memories. We had to leave tomorrow but being stuck here would not be that bad. So of course everything is perfect for flying. Clear skies no equipment issues and we leave this volcanic rock in the middle of a hostile sea. We gave thanks for the brief glimpse we all enjoyed.
Wheels up! On to Anchorage and Denali.

Alaskan Birding Journey — Part 1

Birders,
This is a tale of an Alaskan journey with Bill Drummond and stops in Nome, St. Paul, and Anchorage. It is my story of how it began, the stops, the impressions, and most of all the birds. Come join me on my journey.
PART 1 – GENESIS
And so it begins. Not in a spectacular fashion , indeed, just the opposite. It is June 1989 and I am sitting in the Northwest Terminal restaurant being glared at by a raspberry croissant whose very existence was about to end. The Coke fared better , only that it lasted longer, but it’s fate was also doomed. Power does have its advantages. Here sits King Gerry , conqueror of croissants and soda. Time to think about how I got to this point.
Bill Drummond had announced an Alaska trip and being a professional procrastinator I simply let it slide. When some of my friends said they were going I decided to call Bill and of course the trip was full. “You’re on the wait list” were Bill’s words of encouragement. Now I don’t know if birders are by nature superstitious, but I can tell you this one is and I convinced myself that if I said anything to anybody I would jinx my chance to get on the trip. Like it would really matter! I became so convinced of this that if I met Bill in the field I never mentioned Alaska. My lack of action was all that was to blame.
While birding at Newburyport one day Bill approached and said.”Gerry it’s close — you are number one on the list so be ready.” To those of you that have been in this position you know it is pure mental torture. I am so close and yet so far away? When will he call? Should I call him? Maybe, someday, and nowhere the answers. I had reached “birding trip limbo”
This is a semi-euphoric state that does nothing but heighten your pains of anxiety. I know I’m close but will it finally happen? The more I wish for an an answer, the more I create a subconscious rationalization of defeat. I found it was not possible to put aside my chance of success or failure. You hope for success but failure always rears its ugly head. Nothing is perfect in this life but the mere thought of not going to Alaska is more than I am willing to accept. So much inner conflict. There has to be a need for group or individual therapy for birders.
The holidays came and went and still no word. Arriving home this January day my daughter says.” There’s a note from a Mr. Drummond on the counter.” On a yellow post it was this message, ” Mr. Drummond called  – Alaska is on – call ASAP.” Now one might think that a man in his castle would now release all his inner emotions in some sort of primal scream of joy and incoherent babbling.
Quite the opposite. I called Bill and said,”Hey that’s great – count me in.” Bills response was ” Super!  glad to have you aboard. I’ll be sending the final itinerary shortly. I also haven’t worked out all the room assignments yet, would you mind rooming with me if necessary?” Hells Bells! I would have roomed with a moose if I had to. I had left bird limbo and had entered bird euphoria.
In just a few days, I was at the gate waiting for the announcement. Of course I was processed through in record time. Only when you’re in a hurry does everything go wrong. But do I really care? Of course not as I begin my very special journey. This morning Boston – tonight Anchorage – tomorrow Nome. Thank you Wright Brothers. My flight is announced and the real journey is about to begin.
When does a birder become aware that their birding cannot be complete without a trip to Alaska? photo by Seavamirum

When does a birder become aware that their birding cannot be complete without a trip to Alaska? photo by Seabamirum

The flight is Boston – Minneapolis – Anchorage. First leg is without incident. I should have known that my luck was going to be short lived. It appears that the airline overbooked the second leg and are trying to coax six people off the plane otherwise we stay grounded. The airlines negotiating process was tedious at best. The final offer was two free round trip tickets to anywhere in North America and $200 cash. The six also got dinner and a hotel for free. I was almost tempted but realized I had let greed be the temptress. I was on a birding trip and had to get to my destination.
At last with everything sorted out we began to board the plane. Boarding door shuts and we taxi down the runway for take off and finally are airborne. I let myself relax and reflect. When does a birder become aware that their birding cannot be complete without a trip to Alaska?  There are as many answers as there are birders. My reason was easy.When I had made birding my lifetime commitment, Alaska became my Mecca of North America. Reading all the books and seeing the pictures only fueled the flame. As I close my eyes and recall all the events prior to this moment I soon fall asleep. The plane droned northward.
“Ladies and gentlemen please fasten your seatbelts we are in our descent to Anchorage,” crackled over the intercom .  It was the most pleasant wake-up alarms I ever heard. Wheels on the ground, I’m in Alaska.
I arrived at 5:30 PM with a temperature of 65 under bright sunny skies. Shuttled over to the hotel, I expected to find the crew but have two messages waiting from Bill. I know this is not a good sign.  The first is to find another trip member and second and more ominous, “Meet me at the airport noon tomorrow and check to see what remains of United Flight 37.” If he sent the message all was not lost. So there was nothing to do but find the other person and have dinner.
Upon returning another message,” Do not fly to Nome without us; will eventually meet at the airport. Monitor through United Airlines.” After pleading with a supervisor I was told the plane was on the ground and would not leave until tomorrow maybe. They wouldn’t even tell me where it was. First call in the morning said there was no progress – the plane is still on the ground. What they didn’t tell me was it was preparing to depart. Next call confirmed plane was airborne.
We were waiting at the United terminal when it was announced that Flight 37 will arrive at the International Terminal since the plane is coming in from Canada. Engine trouble caused them to land in Saskatoon. Well the scene at Customs was pure bedlam as most passengers were coming with no passports and finally they waived through the entire flight. Finally we are all together and headed to gate B6 for our flight to Nome.
We board the plane, get airborne, wheels are up. Next stop Nome.
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My African Birding Safari

A guest post by Gerry Cooperman

I would like to share with you my journey to Africa. This is not a daily highlight reel of birds but rather a tale of an incredible land. Hopefully you will get there someday but if not enjoy the land through my eyes, my thoughts and impressions. We will talk about birds and mammals but mostly it is about the land and the symphony of life. We have all been to great places so why not share the adventure with others. These are bird journeys as well as life journeys for all to read and enjoy or hit the delete button. It is always your choice.

220px-Za-mapQuite to my surprise upon my retirement my wife bought me a birding safari to Zambia.  At first I thought it was a joke. Africa was always on my bucket list and now it was going to be a reality. The preparation begins.

What to do first? I checked with the hospital and found out all the shots I would need. I like to get the unpleasant stuff out of the way first. Now it was time to study. I selected Sinclair/Ryan “Birds of Africa” south of the Sahara.  All of a sudden I’m faced with families of birds that I have never heard of and felt overwhelmed. I asked a friend who has been and he said “Just learn the big birds, the guide will identify the rest.” So this became my strategy.

My trip was booked nine months in advance and time seemed to just evaporate. Now it was time to leave and this is the hardest part of the journey. With the time change I spent about 22 hours traveling. Boston-New York-Johannesburg-Lusaka-Malwe. Fortunately even with the excitement increasing at every transfer I was able to sleep and dream about what was to come.

Norman Carr Safaris were there to greet me and in no time were on our way to camp. Whenever I travel to another country I always pay attention to the children. They are the true spirit of any land. They were coming home from school in groups singing songs. Most waved as we drove by all with smiles on their faces. If you saw where they lived, for them to have this attitude says a lot about the future. After an hour ride we pulled into camp and I got to meet Willie. Willie was to be be my guide while at this camp. When he asked me if I want to go out, I was in his jeep before he changed his mind. I just left my bags on the ground.

This was a bird safari but seeing mammals was an added treat. As we left camp the jeep came to a sudden stop and in front of us was the most gorgeous giraffe I have ever seen – an adult male Thornycroft Giraffe. This is considered the most beautiful of the subspecies with its star and leaf shaped spots cascading downward to solid rust colored legs. This part of the Luangwa Wildlife Reserve (LWR) was created because of this giraffe.

The Brown Snake Eagle was one of the large birds I learned before departure. photo by dutchman_svh

The Brown Snake Eagle was one of the large birds I learned before departure. photo by dutchman_svh

I heard and saw birds flying around but Willie was the boss. On the way to the LWR he suddenly stopped and pointed to the top of a tree. Perched there a large bird. Willie asked me what it is and I said Brown Snake Eagle.  His reply was a simple “good call lad.”  I think I passed a test.

The only rule was “never stand up” with an animal nearby. We used the vehicle and the sound of the motor to confuse them and that kept them away. It’s an easy rule to follow.We picked up some small indigenous birds along the way and now we entered the LWR. It has a main road with dirt trails and then no trails;  in the time we were there Willie never took the same route. The vehicle could travel anywhere it had traction. There was a morning ride, back for lunch, out again back for dinner then a night ride. I was lucky in that we only had to cancel one afternoon/night trip because of weather.  And better yet I was the only person on the trip.

In addition to the wildlife my desire was to see a baobab tree. This is a most unique tree which is sometimes called the upside down tree since the limbs look like roots. It is also called the tree of life as it provides humans and animals with food and shelter. It can live several thousand years and is fireproof. When there is torrential rain it soaks up tons of water making it swell. It then is able to provide water in a severe drought. Some even grow over 90 feet tall. They stand as sentinels watching over the land, watching the daily struggle between life and death. This is the rhythm of Africa. Quiet during the day and alive with sound at night.

The baobab tree is a most unique tree which is sometimes called the upside down tree since the limbs look like roots. photo by Stig Nygaard

The baobab tree is a most unique tree which is sometimes called the upside down tree since the limbs look like roots. photo by Stig Nygaard

Birding in Africa has one great advantage. There are little to no leaves on the savannah trees, rather it is a series of dead snags. So when you see a White-tailed Eagle you see it completely. The Lilac-breasted Roller, probably the most photographed bird, sits on a bare branch with the sun shining down and you understand why he is so desired.

It's easy to understand why the Lilac-breasted Roller is one of Africa's most photographed birds. photo by hyper7pro

It’s easy to understand why the Lilac-breasted Roller is one of Africa’s most photographed birds. photo by hyper7pro

The first night drive we heard lions coughing and then came upon two lions walking down the road not more than 20 feet from the vehicle. Willie is an expert tracker and he knows the animals well. The lions were not hunting but soon would be and we decided to leave them be. On the way back we came around a bend and there were a hundred Cape Buffalo standing in the road. Willie asked me if I wanted to spend the night and I said if he was so was I. He shut off the engine and Cali shut off his light. Willie whispered that we can’t drive out fast enough if they charge so we’ll sit here. This is when I learned their secret. When he started up the truck and the light was put on their feet they dispersed. It took all of 5 minutes for over a hundred animals , most weighing almost a ton, to simply vanish into the grass.

The next day we were charged by an elephant. Ok it was a bluff charge but very impressive anyway. We came upon this lone young bull who was trumpeting. We parked across the road and the elephant started moving quickly and flapping his ears. Willie says “he’s going to do a bluff charge now don’t get excited.”  Who gets excited with an elephant who is about to charge? I do. But as he expected, the bull made two aggressive passes but kept his distance and then I was told he was only practicing. Playing or not there is something that makes your heart pound a little faster and that is a trumpeting elephant pacing back and forth with ears flapping wildly. Willie told me later that as long as his ears were flapping we were okay, if they went flat it would not be good. As we were driving back to camp a rare treat crossed the road. A civet, the largest of the small cats and very rarely seen in daylight. The animals were as exciting as the birds. As well they should be.

One group of birds I really enjoyed were the big plovers/lapwings that inhabited the wet part of the savannah. There are four species; Blacksmith, White-headed,Crowned, and Wattled. They were never idle – always flying short distances making their loud piercing calls. On top of that they are very striking when they take flight.

We were sitting on the back of the vehicle enjoying our morning break when Willie says “no sudden moves now there’s a Leopard coming in from the right.” The Leopard walked right past us and was confronted by three Impala. The male started snorting at the leopard defiantly. Willie explained that since he was strolling through the grass with his tail curled up he wasn’t hunting. An amazing confrontation of predator and prey. The next day we found the Leopard in his tree with a fresh Impala. The predators rule the land.

Mid week I was invited to the bush camp. We had to go with an armed ranger because we would be walking the land. The camp is about one hour upriver from the base camp. The journey was memorable. The Luangwa River is the Hippo capital of Africa and navigating the river we used the Hippos as guides. Because they walk and do not swim as long as the boat stayed in the middle we were safe. Everyone knows that Hippos kill more people in Africa than any other animal.

Moving up the river we came upon an 18-foot Crocodile. The guide estimated that it was the biggest he has seen on the river. When you see them you can understand how they have not changed over the eons. We had two memorable bird encounters.  The first was a Kingfisher that I had been looking for from day one. As we rounded a bend perched on a dead snag in the river was nothing short of a flying jewel. I had found the Malachite Kingfisher and there are no words or pictures that can capture the essence of its beauty lit by the sun. Next I was going to get the most spectacular bird of the entire trip.

We cruised into a mahogany stand that was flooded when the ranger said something in Zambian. We immediately beached the boat and started to look for what I hoped would be a bird. I still didn’t know what he saw. We were walking very slowly when a hand touched my shoulder and he said stop and pointed to a tree. There facing us was the Pel’s Fishing Owl. This huge ginger brown Owl was just watching us and when he had enough he displayed his massive wings as he flew away.

The Pel's Fishing Owl (Scotopelia peli) is a large species of owl in the Strigidae family. It feeds nocturnally on fish and frogs snatched from the surface of lakes and rivers. The species prefers slow moving rivers with large overhanging trees to roost and forage from. It nests in hollows and the forks of large trees. photo by sussexbirder

The Pel’s Fishing Owl (Scotopelia peli) is a large species of owl in the Strigidae family. It feeds nocturnally on fish and frogs snatched from the surface of lakes and rivers. The species prefers slow moving rivers with large overhanging trees to roost and forage from. It nests in hollows and the forks of large trees. photo by sussexbirder

One cannot go to Africa without coming away with a desire to return. This land talks to you every day with sound and fury,with life and death struggles. Daytime is for relaxing and nighttime the land roars with the sounds of the hunters. There is a constant energy force that you can sense. When we walked the bush you always had the feeling that something was close by. You didn’t walk with fear you walked with respect for their land. They were allowing me to enjoy their land because it does belong to all the creatures that inhabit the wild. It is our responsibility to see that it remains this way forever.