Eagles and Leopards

Leopards in the desert are always special. The leopard drag mark and tracks we found on the game count was not to be seen that afternoon...that is, not by me. One of the other rangers (guides) did see it, but it was far off, and his guests were not even sure that they saw it.

I went back by myself just before sunrise, without guests. There in the distance was the leopard! This was especially special to me, as I have never before seen a leopard in the Namib Sand Sea Dunes.

I have also had the good fortune to see a few nice raptors recently. There has been some interest in the Black Harriers we found, as there are no known breeding sites in Namibia, and some of ours appear to be juveniles. We will have to wait and see if a nest can be found.

I recently saw a beautiful pair of Verraux's Eagle (previously known as Black Eagle,) flying overhead. It's always a magic thing to see. (If you want a look at a photo of a Verraux's Eagle, look up Peregrine's Bird Blog. He gave me a really nice write up in his latest post.

Today I took guests for a walk to our Bushman's rock-art site. While we were at the site a bird suddenly came flying into the cave after little birds. It was a Booted Eagle! It did a few turns and came at the overhang again a couple times. It was just amazing. Perhaps the overhang was perfect for trapping little birds against the rock. We just watched in amazement.

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