Well, hello there. I hope that you are well and have had yet another fabulous weekend. Here in the Luangwa the stories just keep on coming whether it be the return of the elephants which have been severely lacking in our daily lives over the last few months or the very strange appearance of a few brand-new baby impala.
However, this week we are putting our focus to the skies and sharing with you one of the joys and gifts we have here in the Luangwa which many arrive having little interest in but leave having never been disappointed by our avian friends. In our visit to Tena Tena and Nsefu this week we passed a game viewer and stopped to chat to the guests who had seen a big pride of lion as well as hyena but what took centre stage was the birds so here we are giving our focus to some of the overlooked entertainers of the Valley.
As well as the copious amounts of white fronted bee-eaters which are lining the banks while they wait for their chicks to hatch before vacating their homes and making space for the carmines which should be in in a couple of months. Grey headed herons seem to be absolutely everywhere whether it be just chilling out in a dead tree or perusing the banks of the river for any opportunity.
Then we move on to the bigger birds and sparrow hawk that was seen coming down and grabbing a squirrel before ferociously flapping away with its dinner. And just moments later a martial eagle swooping down and killed a monitor then flew off with it.
The juvenile martial is causing chaos as it tries to keep itself full and was seen attacking some banded mongooses. All the mongooses rallied up against the martial and it gave up and flew away but was not fazed by this and later moved on to harassing the guinea fowl.
Coming down to Nkwali we have a wonderful team of giant kingfishers chilling out at Robin’s Bridge and the pel’s fishing owl has been seen several times at Luangwa Safari House which is always a huge treat. Whilst on the subject of Luangwa Safari House we have popped the hide in at the end of the deck and the guests are making full use of it, managing to get down to foot level with the elephants as they come down to drink which is altogether a totally unique experience.
In other animal news, well as mentioned a few weeks ago, the tree hyrax family at Tena Tena is doing exceptionally well and their little tamarind tree is a must on the game drive loop as they really are super cute as they poke their heads out of their respective holes. We can’t resist each time we head up to the camps and I think that my camera is mostly filled with photos of the little guys. But take a look – who can blame me…
The elephants are slowly returning and whilst Kiki only saw three elephant bottoms last week in the whole week, they have started to cross in front of Nsefu and there is certainly more sign of them as you drive through the bush. It’s really strange not seeing them every day and we shall certainly not take them for granted after this hiatus.
Other than that, everything else shall wait until next week. So, for now, all that remains is for me to bid you a very fond farewell and have a fabulous week ahead with plenty of smiles and laughter and don’t forget to look after one another.
