Have you ever dreamed of a bird so astonishing? One that makes you drop your binoculars and gasp out loud – or worse, drive off the road in amazement. Luckily I wasn’t driving when this Southern Bald Ibis appeared. They are as spectacular as the stars and planets, although not nearly as numerous. SB Ibis roosts in communes on cliffs overlooking the Crocodile River at the Lowveld Botanical Garden. Unlike many of the remarkable birds I stalk, this species is pretty much always in the same place and easily photographed once you get over the shock of seeing it for the first time. They are (of course) on the vulnerable list – habitat loss, poisoning, and other human-caused fatalities are taking their toll. As you can see, some of these SB Ibis are banded and are being studied. We can hope for them.

Of the more difficult species to shoot (and I mean with a camera) are the Purple Turaco. Large and flashy, they spend their time high in the trees eating fruit. How does such a big bird whip through the branches so fast? And how do they know to hide behind a stick or stem when they see me coming? Purple Turaco possess a feature that no other bird on earth has. Besides the ubiquitous carotenoid and melanin feather pigments that are responsible for feather color in all birds, the Purple Turaco have two other pigments. So special are these pigments, they are named after the Turaco, “turacin” is a red pigment and “turacovedin” is a green pigment. Together the pigments give the bird an extraordinary and unmistakeable magenta color on their flight primary feathers. Should I be lucky enough to capture an image of this color I will consider it a lifetime achievement. Patience + persistence + proximity = luck

And on it goes. The elephant/baboon standoff at the water tank. The thousands of buffalo stirring the dust in the mopane. The lioness’ stalking prey in broad daylight amidst the cars. Hennie and Miempie, a couple we met back on the Wild Coast, and who invited us to visit them – a special afternoon. They remind me that there are so many people I would like to see again, and likely won’t. As with some birds that I would fall to my knees to glimpse just one more time, some people will have to remain a fond memory.