Jamie is our guide this morning with Wiam on camera.
She is bundled up with a beanie and scarf.
Sam is our second guide and he has David on camera.
We also have James doing a bush walk with Bryan on camera and Stefan will be off in the distance providing security.
Jamie heard Tingana calling during the night. Gijima has been in the area as well and might be looking to take over some territory.
James has misplaced his stick from earlier so has picked up another one but he really misses his "real" stick.
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| James has a new stick |
He is jogging trying to warm up.
Showing us some grasses.
Click Link Below To View Video
And we see a spider web on the guinea grass.
He takes us over to see horn remnants from an Nyala.
Notice how the skull has been completely eaten. Probably Hyenas ate it clean.
And we pop over to the back of Jamie's vehicle now
And look what we see
No. These are not Francolins.
These are Double Banded Sanded Grouse.
These ground dwelling birds rely on Cryptic Camouflage. Male is on the left and female on the right.
Over to Sam who has located some interesting tracks
Hippo Tracks
Another key sign that these are Hippo tracks is the dung beside the tracks. Hippos spray their dung.
Below is a pic from Sam's book showing clearly the 4 fingers that enable to be able to distinguish a set of Hippo tracks
Over to James who is having microphone issues.. He looks really impressed with this technology
And over to Sam with a most breathtaking Sunrise
Click Link Below To View Video
Over to Jamie who is slightly disappointed in the tracks as they are not Leopard tracks but are Hyena tracks.
Gijima has been through. Tingana who is slightly bigger had been roaring his dominance in the night and had also scent marked according to reports. Tingana tracks show him pacing up and down the cut line.
Over to James with some very tall Giraffes
James now exclaims that his stick is ridiculous and he has tossed it aside.. He will find another one.
He is off now to show us some lovely Giraffe Urine
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| Bubbly Giraffe Urine |
Oh my! James has found something that fell off of the Giraffe!!
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| Engorged Tick |
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| Fat Tick |
Click Link Below To View Video
James found us the cutest little fellow
A small Squirrel who has made his home in a hole in this tree branch
This Squirrel has the perfect place to live. Jame's says his home is like Beverly Hills.
Over to Jamie briefly who has expanded her search. There are leopard tracks which look to have moved north into Buffleshoek. She is checking all along the crests and ridges.
Oh Quick! Over to James.
He has a Butterfly
This butterfly has his wings closed because it is still quite chilly out. The Butterfly is waiting for the hemolymph to warm up so the hydraulics will allow his wings to open up. He is about 1/2 inch long.
And James has also picked up a Merulla nut
The flesh of this Merulla nut has been completely eaten out by a rodent. The nut is very difficult to crack open unless you are a squirrel
Over to Sam who has a bird we need to identify
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| African Dusty Flycatcher |
It is an African Dusty Flycatcher
Jamie is with some Elephants.
The little one attempts to push over a slender tree. Push! Push!
Click Link Below To View Video
Did you know that Elephants get 6 sets of Molars?
Click Link Below To View Video
Over to James
He has climbed a tree to get a better look around
Sam has some Steenbok (which in Africaan means Stone) because they stand still like a stone so prey does not see them
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| Male Steenbok |
We are now on the open plains of Cheetah Plains that we have BIRDS BIRDS BIRDS
First we see a Blacksmith Plover
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| Blacksmith Plover |
And then a Crowned Lapwing
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| Crowned Lapwing |
and last but not least is the Ring Necked Dove
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| Ring Necked Dove |
Over to Jamie who has the largest Warthog she has ever seen.
This gigantic warthog stayed deep in the brush so a clear pic was unable to get.
Jamie estimates this Warthog weight to be approximately 100 kg.
Even the most stoic of large Leopards would most likely not attempt to kill this Warthog. Fighting a hog of this size comes with a very high risk of injury to the Leopard because of the massive size of it's tusks The bottom ones are razor sharp.
The Warthog is incredibly fast and extremely powerful.
Over to James who solves a puzzle
We see Cloris seeds.
Some have little seeds on them and yet some do not.
What has happened to them?
James will show us
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| EMPTY HUSKS ALL IN A PILE |
We see Empty husks in a pile.
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| There is the culprit |
There is an ANT hole. The ants have carefully removed the seeds from their tiny husks and carried the seeds into their hole for safe keeping.
Over to Jamie who has spotted a pair of Hawk Eagles who are very busy constructing their nest.
These Hawks should have eggs within the next 2 months.
Click Link Below To View Video
Over to James who has a spider for us.
This is a Mercury Orb Spider James calls this spider "A Pilfering Wretch" because this isn't even this web and he is stealing this fly from the true owner of this web.
Click Link Below To View Video
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| Golden Orb Spider |
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| Golden Orb Spider in Web |
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| Exo skeletons |
Over to Sam who has a Hamerkop
Click Link Below To View Video
Back with Jamie as she comes across a very large male Kudo
This male Kudu is majestic. Such Strength.
And over to James who has the most interesting Log Hunter!
This is an African Stripe Skink. (Trachylepsis Striata Subsp. Striata)
It has a long tail, charcoal flank with 2 distinct white stripes running down each side of its back.
Over to Jamie who has a Track that we must attempt to identify as to what caused this.
Look closely
This is a fresh track.
It is not a porcupine.
While we think about it.. lets pop over to Sam
White Backed Vulture
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| White Backed Vulture |
Click On Link Below To View Video
We also see a Cape Glossy Starling
Back over to James who has located yet another spider for us.
This one is a Garden Orb Web Spider
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| Garden Orb Web Spider |
Click Link Below To View Video
See the pedipalps and the fangs?
Amazing dexterity as she holds onto the silk
And just before we say goodbye to this Sunrise Safari. Let's find out what the answer to Jamie's tracking puzzle was.
Remember what we saw?
This track was caused by pieces of Grass. The type of grass is called Herringbone Grass.
It has been bent over with the wind. The wind has been blowing it backwards and forwards resulting in this sweeping like track
(SO COOL JAMIE)
Jamie says goodbye for everyone with one last glimpse into the wonders that are here in South Africa.
A snake Skin
Jamie takes snake skins and leaves them in her personal vehicle (car) as a deterrent to car thieves.
Bye for now Everyone
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