BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY IN AFRICA

Ornithology and bird photography in the game parks of Africa present a challenge for those who are on a short visit.  Most safari tours, unless especially dedicated to observing and photographing birds, will invariably only stop for a quick look before moving off in search of more "exotic" (in the minds of some) species like lions and cheetahs.  This makes safari-vehicle photography difficult if not impossible, relegating your images to lucky grab shots.  If you are participating in a standard sort of wildlife safari, and are interested in pursuing avian interests, try to select a trip that might visit some of the locations listed below.

My technique for doing bird photography was almost exclusively to use the vehicle as a blind.  A long lens (600 or 800mm) was mounted on a tripod jammed between the seat and the door of a rental car.  I have used both low (Volkswagen beetles in the old days) and high (microbus or Land Rover type) vehicles.  The latter allows you to see better, but the former offers a better angle (i.e. not looking down) for ground or wading birds.  Traveling in a rental car allows you to orchestrate your own schedule and sit and wait at a particularly good location that has been scouted out.  Examples are a perch next to a waterhole, or a good feeding pond that is the right depth for a certain species.  I would always try and find a track that goes very close to water, then drive very slowly along it.  Mid-day, while not great for observing mammals, isn't bad for birds, and such tracks at this time of day can have little traffic to disturb the animals - all the tour buses will be back for the big buffet lunches at the game lodge.  So I spent many delightful hours waiting or slowly circling swamps, sitting at waterholes, or cruising along the edge of  rivers to both spot species that might be too far away to photograph, but also to observe behavior and image those within range.

Some good locations:

Lake Nakuru Kenya.   The tracks approach the lake in several places, depending on its level.

Enkongo Narok Swamp, Amboseli National Park, Kenya.  This is my favorite area.  Birds under Kilimanjaro!  A dusty and over-touristed place, but most people are chasing around looking for lions, so bird-photography is quite easy to do with few interruptions.  The roads go quite close to the swamps, are a little less dusty than on the pans, and often attract big game as well.

Mkuzi Game Park, South Africa.  There are permanent hides set up here at waterholes that attract a large number of birds during the peak of the dry season in July.  A long telephoto, or a 300mm with a good 1.4X or 2X converter is needed.

Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.  A fantastic bird park.  In some locations the tracks are close enough to the pans (waterholes) to permit photography of larger species.  Dom and Dopi pans were particularly good.

Etosha Pan National Park, Namibia.  This is also a fantastic bird park, as well as one of the greatest big-game parks in Africa.  It is especially good in August and September.  The pan (waterhole) at Kalkheuwel has perhaps the closest approach track and is very good.

Along the Khwai river, Okavango, Botswana.  I never had much luck photographing from a canoe, though that is a great way to experience riverine Africa!  Here the tracks follow rivers that fluctuate in level, particularly in July - September when they rise, and later when they fall.  You may be fortunate to observe a feeding frenzy as fish are trapped in a lagoon. 

Numerous parks have lodges that set up feeders and waterbaths.  These can be very good for the patient observer.