The entrance sign to Aberdare National Park and a warning.
The vegetation along the park road is very dense but we soon find our first Cape Buffalo.
A few more miles of the park's road and we catch a glimpse of The Ark Lodge where we spend the night. The lodge was built in 1969 and gets its name from being shaped like Noah's Ark. The Ark is located next to a large watering hole and salt lick where game animals can be viewed from balconies.
We arrive at The Ark parking lot and walk on a suspended walkway to reach the lodge.
Our room at The Ark. Basic accommodations but does include an optional buzzer system which lets you know of nocturnal animal activity at the floodlit waterhole.
The view from our room. Two Cape Buffalo fighting at the salt lick.
On the ledge, outside our window, are two Red-rumped swallows (Cecropis daurica).
A sounder (group) of Forest Hogs at the watering hole. The Forest Hog is the largest of the eight species of wild pig and can weigh up to 600 pounds.
A Cape Buffalo at the watering hole.
A Cape Buffalo at the salt lick.
In the evening the lodge will put out food along the walkway to attract birds. Where there are bird feeders, there will be squirrels.
Food that falls off the feeding tray is quickly found by ground birds and animals.
Jackson's Francolin (Francolinus jacksoni)
This Suni knew the feeding schedule and was waiting in the bushes for a meal.
The Suni is a small antelope, similar to a Dik-Dik in size, that lives in dense underbrush.
Another ground-dweller waiting for a meal was this Genet.
Genets are small nocturnal cats that weigh 4 to 6 pounds.
Some of the birds that came to the feeder.
Cape Robin-Chat (Cossypha caffra)
Common Bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus)
Speckled Mousebird (Colius striatus)
Baglafecht Weaver (Ploceus baglafecht)
Common Bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus)
Baglafecht Weaver (Ploceus baglafecht)
No comments:
Post a Comment