#BirdOfTheDay #ruffledfeathers. A Little Egret shakes off a rainy day in the breeding colony at Godikwe Lagoon in Botswana. #birds #birdphotography

#BirdOfTheDay #blue no2. White Winged Fairy wren. These guys are sometimes so blue that I take down the saturation and contrast because otherwise I get accused of faking things.

#BirdOfTheDay theme is #blue. Kind of screams out for some fairy wrens! This is a Splendid Fairywren.

A black and white photo of a whit egret suspended in mid-air apparently running over some foliage.

It was very #greyday so I went mono for this shot of an egret hop-flying over some bush to steal someone else's twig. #BirdOfTheDay #birds #birdphotography

My favourite thing about African Jacanas - the FEET! #birds #birdphotography #jacana #africawildlife

A Woodland Kingfisher in full display - they were rather agitated due to a large water monitor that was snoozing in the tree. (Okavango Delta, Botswana) #birds #birdphotography

Nothing more exhilarating for a birder than having something as lovely as this fly alongside your vehicle - allowing plenty of time to fire off some shots - Carmine Bee-eater, Botswana #birds #birdphotography

Lilac breasted roller, Gomoti Plains, Botswana #birds #birdphotography

A young Verreaux's Eagle Owl having a miserable time in the rain whilst its parents were away (probably sensibly sheltered somewhere). #birds #birdphotography

A male splendid fairywren in eclipse plumage. This means that the brilliant blue colouring has become a little mottled and subtle, instead of a matt almost plastic blue he is now multiple shades.

As the breeding season recedes the male Splendid Fairy Wrens lose some of their colouring - I actually think they're often MORE attractive in eclipse colours as the bright blue can be a bit overwhelming. #birds #birdphotography

A portrait of a giraffe with a red billed oxpecker waddling in comical fashion between the short horns.

One of the most interesting characters found in the African bush. Plus a giraffe. Red Billed oxpecker #birds #birdphotography

A leopard lounging on a branch but with head up and looking directly at the camera.

The absolute classic leopard pose - on a tree, sprawled comfortably - gazing at the camera - it's only taken me 5 trips to Africa to get this one.....#leopard #nature #africa

A Shaft Tailed Whydah - they do a lovely aerial dance to dazzle the girls. (Kwando region, Botswana) #birds #birdphotography

2 dark smallish heron / egret type birds - the one on the left has black legs and bright yellow feet, the bird on the left is more grey and has yellow legs. The 2 birds are involved in a mid-air squabble.

Black Heron (left) v Slaty Egret (right) - this pose really shows off the different legs and feet - an identifying feature that can be a little hard to spot in normal life. #birds #birdphotography

I'm not quite sure about the logic of having a dust bath whilst it's currently raining - but this baby elephant was having such a good time throwing dirt on himself! #nature #elephant #africa

A young bee-eater, in flight - with a grasshopper just suspended in it's open beak - the grasshopper is now "head first" - the correct orientation to swallow!

I've seen bee-eaters "tossing" their prey before - but I've never managed to capture it in mid-flight! Same sequence as my previous photo, but now the bird quickly flicks the grass hopper into the air, catches it headfirst and swallowed it - all whilst still flying! #birds #birdphotography

A juvenile carmine bee-eater in flight - just about to catch a grasshopper

A juvenile carmine bee-eater - flying alongside our vehicle - gets lucky when this grasshopper hopped in front of it - which is the whole point of them hawking next to us as we drove #birds #birdphotography

A juvenile (pale colours) southern carmine bee-eater in flight with wings outstretched, flying very close and and quite slowly to enable an almost full frame shot. The background is dotted with blurred pink flowers.

Hands down best experience in Africa - the Carmine Bee-eaters have learnt to fly alongside vehicles to snatch up disturbed insects. A skilled driver can therefore crawl along whilst you have one of these fly alongside, only a metre or so away - so much fun to photograph! #birds #birdphotography

An adult Little Bee-eater with catch, the juvenile sits nearby hoping the dragon-fly is for it. #birds #birdphotography

And a ground hornbill on the ground. They have the most amazing eyelashes. And when they're a little worried they carry all the food, just in case you try to pinch their frogs. #birds #birdphotography

A lovely encounter with a juvenile and adult ground hornbill (in this case in a tree) #birds #birdphotography

A White Fronted Bee-eater on the banks of the Kwando River, Botswana. #birds #birdphotography

The other big attraction of Green Season - baby animals!! Here is a few days old zebra - they are able to run and jump and follow the herd immediately after birth. #naturephotography #zebra #africa

A Red Hornbill on a branch against a verdant green background.

A rather damp Red Hornbill. "Green Season" in Botswana is often avoided due to the rain - but (whilst it can rain) you get these amazing green backgrounds and shiny clean creatures. #birds #birdphotography #naturephotography

A vivid pale blue kingfisher with a red beak, grey face and black streaks through the eye and on its wings. It's sitting on a branch and the background is very dark - making the bright bird intensely visible.

There will be more of these ones! This is a Woodland Kingfisher - remarkable common - in fact you can hear their call in most riverine woodlands in Summer and astonishingly beautiful. #birds #birdphotography

A lioness walking towards the camera through some wet grass that is taller than her.

"green season" in Botswana has many pluses - what it lacks is ease of tracking big cats - grass above their heads, no bare earth to hold a print - but when you find them it is MAGIC! I love this lioness stalking through the wet grass. #lions #naturephotography #africa #nature

Burchell's starling, Okavango Delta. #birds #birdphotography

A juvenile Bateleur Eagle. #birds #birdphotography

Aren't they amazing - zero editing on this one other than crop and de-noise.

A male lion sitting side on. His head is up, sniffing the air and his mane and chin hairs are gloriously lit up by the late afternoon sun behind him, whilst the lion himself is almost completely in silhouette. There are little gold dots swirling around him - the flies also transformed from pest to small floating motes of gold dust.

A magnificent male lion just soaking up the setting sun in the Central Kalahari. I would like to pretend the dots are little flakes of gold swirling in the breeze, but they're actually flies attracted to the carrion on his breath. #nature #photography #africa