The Gray-headed Kingfisher is quite common in the areas of Kenya that I have visited. In my experience, it is the most common kingfisher; not sure if that is a fact or not, but seems to be from my observations.

It's much less people shy than our belted kingfisher here in the US making them a tad easier to photograph.

This handsome guy was hanging around Lentorre Lodge late in the afternoon.

Tags:   Africa Birds Gray-headed Kingfisher Lentorre Sony Sony A1 Safari Kenya Coth5+

© All Rights Reserved

The Red-and-yellow barbet ranges over most of Kenya, thru Tanzania and into Somalia and Ethiopia.

This pair was part of a small group of a dozen or more birds.

They were not very approachable and would fly off anytime we got near.

So we had to settle for some long shots and heavy crops.

I find them quite beautiful with their red and yellow colors complimented by the black and white.

This was taken on a game drive at Lentorre Lodge.

Tags:   Africa Birds Red-and-Yellow Barbet Songbirds Lentorre Game Drive Coth5+

© All Rights Reserved

This was taken at Lentorre Lodge in Kenya, near the Tanzania border.

I have never seen a Caracal before as they are nocturnal and quite secretive. Occasionally they are seen at dawn or dusk but my understanding is that this is quite a rare experience.

They occur over much of East and South Africa and west thru Ethiopia, South Sudan, Nigeria all the way over to Senegal. Their range also extends into the Middle East.

This shot was taken at an elaborate hide/blind at Lentorre Lodge. I can't say enough good things about the staff and owners at Lentorre.

Our main motivation for visiting Lentorre was for the hide and night photography. Obviously these man made watering holes are more effective when it is very dry. September and October are prime times; we were there last week of August. We figured one week out would be fine.

But of course they had much more rain than usual so the hide was a bit slow.

On our second day, we drove by another of their lodges, 17 KM/45 minutes away, and they pointed out where they were building a new hide at that lodge and mentioned it would be completed in a week.

It turns out the owners put every available person on competing the hide and they had it ready for us the next day. Paint was still wet!

So we spent two nights at the new hide, which was in a much drier area. They went to a tremendous amount of effort to give us that opportunity. It was very much appreciated.

This shot was taken on the first night at our lodge.

Tags:   Africa Caracal Kenya Mammals Safari Sony Sony A1 Sony 200-600 Water

© All Rights Reserved

This is another shot of a caracal coming to a water hole; shot from a blind/hide.

The hide at Lentorre Lodge has pretty sophisticated lighting. Here you can see the backlighting in action.

Tags:   Africa Caracal Kenya Mammals Lentorre Water Cats

© All Rights Reserved

Lentorre Lodge in Kenya is most known for its very sophisticated hide with elaborate lighting.

However, they also have two simple outdoor bird blinds. Here one of the staff is spreading seed along the edge of the water hole to attract the birds.

Tags:   Africa Kenya Massai People Lentorre

© All Rights Reserved