Greg du Toit
Feathered Friends
Colourful, happy, busy, beautiful, bright… birds make the world a better place. Dazzling us with splendid colours and possessing the one ability we wish we had, the power to fly; birds are avian butterflies dancing through the sky, and through our hearts. This collection of African bird photography is in celebration of birds.
As an African wildlife photographer I spend most of my time tracking down subjects that possess tooth and claw, but birds are my constant companions and delight. Wherever I go I look at birds and although I enjoy African bird photography, I don’t go anywhere without my binoculars. As colourful as birds are, I fear that the camera is unable to record their most colourful trait – their song! Bird calls are my favourite part of the bush, rich in melody and choirs of cheer beyond measure.
This GDT Authentic Africa gallery is solely devoted to our feathered friends and contains a selection of fine art bird prints; each communicating the colour and wonder of our avian companions. Each also hinting at the mystery of our feathered friends, perhaps God’s greatest invention. Enjoy this gallery of African bird photography and click on each to enlarge…
Bushveld Soliloquy - I have always said that the magic is in the small things. It's the smells and sounds of Africa that are the most captivating, and what would the bush be without its chickens?(Lebombo, South Africa)
Big Bird - Once upon a time there was a pelican called Big Bird. When I went swimming in Tanzania's Lake Tanganyika, Big Bird thought I was fishing and he would come help me. I loved this bird!
Flaming Arrows - A trio of greater flamingos and a pair of lesser (bottom of frame) pass over a wetland in the otherwise desolate Suguta Valley of Kenya's northern rift valley.
Pelican Mist - On the shore of Kenya's Lake Nakuru, a flock of pelicans preen in the mist. When I see one flying in from the back, I know that I am about to take one of my favourite photographs of all time.
Only one left in the large size but still available in medium
Pelican Duo - A misty morning with a pelican duo, seated on an island of grass in the lake and flamingos in the background (Kenya's Lake Nakuru).
Pelican Dream - Lying on the lake's shore, a pair of pelicans floated past. A further two, in the background, complete the dreamy scene (Kenya's Lake Nakuru).
Stork Impressions - The Great Rift Valley is synonymous with many famous lakes and Lake Nakuru in Kenya, is one such lake. Here you see a pelican and two feeding flamingoes, with an out of focus stork in the foreground - on a steamy morning in the tropics.
Beautiful Sunbird - Sitting in the water waiting for the lions, this little sunbird hopped down a fallen over branch, to quench its thirst (South Rift, Kenya).
Saddle-bill Pool - In the backwaters of Zimbabwe's Mana Pools a Saddle-billed Stork trawls her pool.
Spoonbill Drops - This spoonbill in Zambia's Kafue National Park had just swallowed its aquatic prey, the water drops still suspended in midair.
Hammerkop Rock - A Hammerkop sits on its favourite rock, beside a drying river pool in Tanzania's Ruaha National Park. The golden rays of the afternoon sun reflecting off the sand, the branches of a nearby bush casting inky shadows.
The Early Bird - These delightful little Three-banded Plovers are synonymous with waterholes in Africa. Here the early bird truly did get the worm (Mashatu, Botswana).
Helmeted Guineafowl - Guineafowl are as much a part of Africa as lion and zebra are. They are comical, wonderful, colourful, and crazy! Here I focused on the head and composed so that I had a guineafowl shadow in the background (Mashatu, Botswana).
Flamingo Reflections - Lake Magadi often has a pink tinge to it, due to the high soda content. Flamingos flew over the lake and I noticed their reflecting patterns on the surface. Instead of photographing the birds, I decided to photograph their reflections (Kenya).
The Pelican Forest 1 - Rising water levels on Kenya's Lake Nakuru have flooded the surrounding trees. By visiting the lake in different weather conditions and early in the morning, I captured the various colours and moods of what I call 'The Pelican Forest'.
The Pelican Forest 2 - Rising water levels on Kenya's Lake Nakuru have flooded the surrounding trees. By visiting the lake in different weather conditions and early in the morning, I captured the various colours and moods of what I call 'The Pelican Forest'.
The Pelican Forest 3 - Rising water levels on Kenya's Lake Nakuru have flooded the surrounding trees. By visiting the lake in different weather conditions and early in the morning, I captured the various colours and moods of what I call 'The Pelican Forest'.
Cloaked in Gold - A drying pool surrounded by tall grass, turned golden in the glow of dawn, and a Saddle-billed Stork quietly pacing in the shallows (Ruaha, Tanzania).
Guineafowl Running Late - Sitting in a hide in Kenya, I noticed guineafowls walking past me on their way to the waterhole. The last one was clearly late and in a great hurry (ol Donyo, Chyulu Hills).
Pink Precision - Like pink arrows, a mixed flock of flamingos (containing both of Africa's two species and a few juveniles) pass over a swamp as they head south over Kenya's Great Rift valley.
A Dash of Pink - A small flock of Greater Flamingos pass over the scorched earth below (Kenya's Suguta Valley).
Ngorongoro Ostrich - It was a rainy day in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater when this obliging ostrich allowed me to get quite close, rendering the background a pleasing green and blue hue.
A Stork's Pool - A female Saddle-billed stork fishes in the last light of day, her yellow eye illuminated by the sun, water drops sliding off her gigantic beak (Mana Pools, Zimbabwe).
Spoonbill Dawn - A spoonbill lifts its head while foraging and my camera records the beads of falling water (Kafue, Zambia).
A Spoonbill's Catch - As the Lufupa River in Zambia's Kafue National Park dries each year, pools form and spoonbills fish.
Bold Bustard - A Kori Bustard, the heaviest flying bird in the world, displays proudly in a field of wild flowers (Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania).
Bustard Bliss - A Kori Bustard forages for insects in the middle of a field of wild flowers on the floor of the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. Photographed on my Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti safari.
Flying Ostrich - Who said an Ostrich cannot fly? Actually they cannot fly in the conventional sense and they don't even possess a preening gland; there is no need to keep their feathers in good nick (Amboseli, Kenya).
Bee Eater - On the banks of the Zambezi River in Zambia, a colony of White-fronted Bee-eaters were busy catching bees. Positioning on the water in a boat, and shooting with the forest as a backdrop, the scene took on a surreal beauty.
Bush Parrot - One of my favourite visitors to the waterhole are these little bush parrots. They are fast flyers and getting this photo was much tougher than I thought it would be, but oh so worth it, to capture this beautiful bird (Meyer's Parrot, Mashatu Game Reserve, Botswana).
Woodland Kingfisher - A dazzle of blue, these kingfishers migrate and arrive in Southern Africa for the summer. A kingfisher that eats no fish and whose trill call always brings back fond memories of bushveld summers.
Fabulous and Flamboyant - A Lesser Flamingo steps out of the water, raising crimson wings and readying itself for take-off. The last rays of the day illuminate the fiery red secondary feathers and a blazing orange eye. Photographed on my very special Lake Bagoria flamingo photo safari (mobile camp set up and booked on request).
Buoyant Flamboyance - One collective noun (there are a few) for flamingoes is a 'flamboyance'. My subjects were paddling along buoyantly and hence they were a buoyant flamboyance! Photographed on one of my Northern Kenya 'Pink Africa' photo safaris.
Gliding Eagle - This is a photograph I dreamt of getting for many years. And many thousands of frames later, I finally got 'the shot' of a gliding Verreaux's Eagle (also known as the Black Eagle). Seen here soaring over the wild bush in Botswana's hinterland.
Skimmer On Fire - The sun had set a while ago, when the water quite suddenly turned a fiery red colour. A Skimmer appeared and for all intents and purposes the light had gone and this was not the time to take a photograph. Or so I thought (Selous, Tanzania).
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