If I say Masai Mara, you’ll say Big Five. Right? But did you know that the Mara is also the ultimate abode of birds? Hundreds of these feathered beauties dot the landscape like specs on a canvass. Marvellous is stopping short of giving them their due! Spanning the spectrum of the rainbow, you would see giant blacks, greys and whites, with small and daring splashes of various hues of blues and lilacs, with bright sunshine yellow and gold at times showing their presence through the wild.
Witnessing this feathered spectacle up close is quite another matter. We encountered a truly staggering variety during our time there. Our days were filled with sightings of the Grey Headed Kingfisher, Little Bea Eater, Lilac Breasted Roller, Silver headed Shrike, Ugandan National Bird (Golden Crested Crane), Superb Starling, Long tailed Starling, Hamerkop, Maasai Ostrich, Ring Necked Dove, Vulture, Eagle, Egyptian Goose, Heron…the list was endless.
Egyptian Geese Heron
Long Tailed Starling Maasai Ostrich
It is sad that only a tiny fraction of these magnificent creatures have been captured here. What our camera lens simply could not freeze in time was that sheer explosion of resplendent colours the moment they take flight! It is a sudden, chaotic riot of turquoise, deep gold, sparkling white and jet black that leaves one quite dazed. We realised that, ultimately, our own eyes are the best cameras and the heart is the most reliable memory card one could ever hope for!
It is particularly tricky with the Vultures and Eagles though, as they often stay at such a height, it’s a challenge to capture them. These masters of the sky possess a sharp, piercing gaze that seems to look right through you from their lofty perches. While the ground birds are happy to pose, the raptors require a level of patience that few of us truly possess. Their sheer wingspan and the effortless way they catch the wind is something that no still image can ever fully do justice to.
