May 2013 in Samburu, Kenya

It is a beautiful drive from the Kalama conservancy to the Samburu National Reserve, filled with interesting encounters. Among them, one of the most interesting was the sighting of an African Harrier Hawk hunting on a Black-capped Social Weavers’ colony. In the image the Harrier Hawk is hanging from one of the nests trying to grab the eggs or babies inside. It failed this time as it flew off empty handed, heavily mobbed by the Weavers. Further deep into the reserve, along the Ewaso Nyiro river, we had another wonderful encounter. We heard a loud commotion of Vervet Monkeys’ alarm calls. After patrolling the area we finally spotted the source of the uprest. A juvenile Leopard was playing on the branches of a Sausage tree, pausing occasionally to stare at us. It was beautiful to spend about an hour with this young female. We failed to find her mother unfortunately, but I am sure she is still in the area and I hope to catch up with her in the next safari in Samburu next week.