Tanzania - 2020 - Part 2

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Young newborn elephant in Tarangire National Park, Feb. 2020
Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera with 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO lens @ 40mm
1/400 sec at f/5.6, ISO 320

More photos from the photo safari led by Raymond Barlow (link). We saw multiple herds with lots of young elephants in the Tarangire National Park located in the Manyara Region of Tanzania. The elephants seemed to be thriving there.

Click on each image to see a slightly larger version.

Young elephants frolicking in a pool in Tarangire National Park, Feb. 2020
Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera with 300mm f/4 PRO lens
1/640 sec at f/4 ISO 250

Part of the herd entering a pool in Tarangire National Park to take a bath, Feb. 2020
Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera with 300mm f/4 PRO lens
1/1600 sec at f/4 ISO 500

Red-billed Hornbill, Feb. 2020
Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera with 300mm f/4 PRO lens and 1.4x teleconverter
1/2500 sec at f/9 ISO 4000

The family of birds called hornbills (Bucerotidae) have a long, down-curved bill which is brightly colored in some species. Red-billed Hornbills are commonly seen in the wildlife parks of Tanzania. They nest in natural tree cavities. During incubation, the female lays 3-6 eggs in the tree hole. She protects her young against intruders by building a wall across the opening of her nest. The wall is made with a plaster of mud, droppings and food remains. She creates a narrow vertical slit, so she can be fed by the male. When the oldest chick reaches 21 to 22 days of age, the female breaks the wall and exits. The chicks reseal the entrance using their droppings and food remains. The young remain in the nest for another one and half months, being fed by both parents. Source

Superb Starling, Feb. 2020
Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera with 300mm f/4 PRO lens and 1.4x teleconverter
1/1250 sec at f/5.6 ISO 500

The brilliantly colored Superb Starlings are very common in Tanzania. Adults have black heads.The upper breast, wings, back and tail are iridescent blue-to-green. The belly is red-orange. The undertail coverts and the wing linings are white. The bill is black. Irises are whitish. Legs and feet are black.

Superb Starling, Feb. 2020
Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera with 300mm f/4 PRO lens and 1.4x teleconverter
1/1250 sec at f/5.6 ISO 500

Superb Starling, Feb. 2020
Olympus OM-D E-M1X camera with 300mm f/4 PRO lens and 1.4x teleconverter
1/1250 sec at f/5.6 ISO 400

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David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.