The color ball shot along the watercourse, disappearing in the reeds. It was small, maybe baseball-sized. Our boatman slowed the wooden canoe to a crawl, and we drifted along the ten-foot-high papyrus reeds. The narrow channel was our avenue into the interior of Mabamba Swamp, a spectacular wetland along the edge of Lake Victoria. We’d … Read more
In 1980, we organized a Birds of the World course while I was in graduate school. The goal was to survey birds’ taxonomic orders and families and learn about their ecology, behaviors, and distribution. Glen Woolfenden, our major professor, had a moderately good skin collection at the University of South Florida, and to see more … Read more
The Nile crocodile had sprawled on the bank of the Rufiji River, enjoying the sun. Our guide turned off the boat’s motor, and we began to drift toward the monster. This crocodilian might have topped 12 feet, maybe 13, and had an enormous girth. Its slick hide seemed brand-new, with not a scratch or scar. … Read more
A blue, red, and black flash shot by the front of our vehicle, heading left into the shade of a large acacia. There, sitting about eight feet off the ground, was a pair of woodland kingfishers. Each had a black shoulder patch, a bright, almost neon-blue back, wing tips, and tail—a large red bill projected … Read more
The trail climbed gently through a second-growth rainforest. Everything smelled damp even though it hadn’t rained for a while. The tree leaves were a light shade of green, with a hard texture that made them last. Lichens and mosses clung to branches. We’d come to Maromizaha Protected Area near Andasibe to see what might be … Read more
Our boat guide said “Purple,” but I couldn’t understand his pronunciation. I asked three times, and it always sounded like he was saying something that started with a “C” and had a bunch of letters. I thought I knew all the wading bird species we might see at Mabamba Swamp, but I couldn’t pull something … Read more
Our open cruiser bumped and tossed on the dirt track in Nyerere National Park. It was my last afternoon in Tanzania, and early the next day, I’d be flying a puddle jumper back to the capital. No one else had wanted to go out, so I had the excellent young guide to myself. He eased … Read more
The termite mound glistened in the late afternoon sun. Sand silica caught the rays, making it look as if thousands of diamonds had been embedded by those insects in their home’s exterior. We were climbing a dirt road through scrub savannah, heading for our next stay at Lake Mburo National Park, having just started our … Read more
The yellow, extra-large eyes of the Verreaux’s sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) seemed to peer right through me. The baby clung tightly to its mother’s back; the adult looked more out over my head and maybe at one of my friends. But the young one glared right at me. Their coats were white, except for black muzzles, … Read more
I like to make a calendar for my family and friends. It is a chance to showcase my photographs around a particular theme and share the wonders of the natural world. It is a chance to look hard at what I’d captured, trying to pull out the very best. A calendar limits me to thirteen … Read more