The Birdman of Botswana (and Zambia)

A funny thing happened in the middle of Botswana. Mr. Deep got really into birds. Over the course of the trip he became more and more excited about photographing birds, talking to the guides about birds and even borrowing and reading the guide's books about birds. At Jacana Camp, I was supportive of this new found interest as birds were a large part of what we were seeing given all of the water. And there were many colorful and beautiful birds to be seen. But when we got to Zambia the obsession continued.  So much so that on our last boat cruise on the Zambezi, when I found out that other guests would be joining us for the first time, I had to gently remind Mr. Deep that not everyone wants to sit and photograph each bird spotted for 20 minutes. But, it turns out my speech was unnecessary as the other guests were just as into birds as Mr. Deep. 

The bird man in action

Fish Eagle

Wattled Crane

Reed Cormorant

African Spoonbills

Spur-Winged Goose

Male and female Fish Eagle

African Black Crake

Saddle Billed Stork

Little Egret

Rosy-Throated Longclaw

Lilac Breasted Roller

Swallow Tailed Bee-Eater

I haven't met many birders in my life but I am positive that Mr. Deep is not typical. I imagine birders to be gentle people who go out at sunrise after doing a bit of light yoga. They lie on the ground or sit in a tree for hours drinking herbal tea from a thermos. They wear Birkenstock sandals. They patiently wait for birds to appear. I also imagine that birders have other friends who are birders and they probably talk for hours about birds, "remember when we saw those blue footed boobies in Galapagos?" And real birders are not saying this because they just think it's funny to say the word boobie. They are truly interested in birds. Mr. Deep is nothing like this except for that his interest in birds is genuine. Yes, he would get up early to photograph wildlife but he would drink coffee and not tea. And although he's seen over fifty Grateful Dead concerts he would never wear Birkenstocks. But perhaps the most notable difference is that Mr. Deep has a very unique way of speaking to the birds he is photographing. Saying things like "f-ing fly you f-er" or "turn around you f-ing bastard" or "stay still f-er!"  

Even though I've known Mr. Deep for over twenty years he continues to amaze. I found myself thinking "who is this man?" when he jumped up from the bar (at least that part remains consistent) and screamed "there he is! The Pied Kingfisher." 

Giant Kingfisher eating a fish

The creation of this blog post was not easy as Mr. Deep wanted to be very involved. I appreciate his help in identifying the birds for the photos BUT, he spent most of Saturday afternoon second guessing my photo selection and I was summoned upstairs to his computer room no less than eight times so he could "make an appeal" for additional photos to be added to the post. He did get some great photos though and many (but much to his dismay not all) are included in this post. 

Goliath Heron

Malachite Kingfisher

Copper Tailed Coucal

African Darter

Egyptian Goose

African Skimmer

Egyptian Geese

Egyptian Goose

Black-Winged Stilt

White-Fronted Bee-Eater

Grey Loerie

Juvenile African Finfoot

Marabou Stork

African Open-Billed Stork

Pied Kingfishers (one happy as he has a fish)

Pied Kingfishers

Water Thick-Knee

Bee-Eaters

Bee-Eater

Half-Collared Kingfisher

Baby Brown-Hooded Kingfisher

Mangrove Kingfisher (could be a Brown-headed as well) with insect

Red Hornbill 

Jacana Adventures

I'm finally getting back to sharing stories and photos from our recent trip to Botswana. While at Jacana Camp, we didn't see any lions or leopards. It wasn't for lack of trying. Bee took us on several land safaris where we searched and searched for a leopard and her cubs but the brush was very thick and we never saw her. Although I bet she was eyeing us the whole time.

Here's some of what we did see during our water and land safaris.

In addition to riding around in the safari vehicle and cruising on the boat we took part in a few other activities. Mr. Deep was keen (by the way keen is a great word that I am going to work into my vocabulary) to go fishing. Specifically he wanted to try to catch a tiger fish, a predatory fish best known for its large teeth. Geoff told him that there didn't seem to be as many tiger fish in the area as in year's past and that maybe people were fishing with nets further upstream but Mr. Deep wanted to give it a try anyway. He and Bee tried for several hours and although there were a few bites no tiger fish were caught. I tried fishing for a while too but then I got bored with it and instead focused on practicing my photography skills.

We also went out in the mokoros, African canoes. Mr. Deep and I rode in a canoe with a guide named Joshua while Bee piloted his own and kept a lookout for wildlife. The guides stand up and they steer and propel the mokoros using a huge pole. Mr. Deep sat in the front of the mokoro and I sat behind him. I was loving the ride. It was very peaceful and I enjoyed gliding through the reeds and hearing the sound of the water lapping on the side of the boat. But I noticed that Mr. Deep was fidgeting which was messing with my zen so finally I asked him what was going on. Apparently the person sitting in front of the mokoro acts as a human windscreen/net collecting every bug as the boat moves along. Mr. Deep said at one point he actually watched a spider begin to spin a web between his two boots. I felt badly that he wasn't enjoying the experience so I offered to switch spots with him. He assured me that I "didn't want any part of" what was happening in the front of the boat and so I remained in the back. Sometimes it's good to be the wife. 

During the mokoro trip we got out and walked around on a few uninhabited islands.

Standing in a baobab tree

Playing with a hippo skull