NOVEMBER 2006 – Countless Red-billed Quelea take a stop for a drink at the Moringa Waterhole in the Etosha National Park, Namibia. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
We had safely arrived at the Halali Restcamp in the Etosha National Park. After moving into our room we headed for the waterhole. Now, waterholes are always interesting places, even more so when the setting sun illuminates the scene. We sat down to watch the scene. There were no animals, and it was silent – just us and the faint natural sounds of the wilderness.
And then, all of a sudden, the silence was disturbed (in a positive way) by hundreds, if not thousands, of small birds. They gathered next to the waterhole, and by the minute more birds appeared and settled down on the nearby trees at first.
At first, they just sat there almost in silence. Every now and then they would start to fly in bigger flocks around and across the waterhole. Apparently, they wanted to drink some water, but were not brave enough to try it. Interesting and smart little birds.
The Red-billed Quelea can be found in bush, grassland, cultivation and savannah. Their flocks can contain hundreds of thousands and sometimes even millions of individuals – devastating cereal crops. That’s why farmers think that it is the greatest avian agricultural pest in the region. They can roost in such massive numbers that they actually break tree branches. Seeing them in massive numbers is a remarkable experience: the birds form into dense, highly synchronised flocks which look like clouds of smoke, and then, as the flock approaches you, the wing-beats sound is like a high wind.
They have very few natural enemies. One of them, however, is the crocodile. Crocodiles sit at the waterhole, waiting for the birds to start drinking, and then – SNAP! – two or three birds are gone. That explains why the birds are extremely cautious when sitting down for a drink!
I like this photo because it combines the motion blur of the flying birds with the almost static birds standing next to the waterhole waiting for their turn to get a drink. These, however, get a beautiful backlight.
An awesome shot. Here is another image of the scene that looks almost like a modern art painting created by nature.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date & Time | 29-NOV-2009, 18:59 |
| Location | Etosha National Park, Namibia |
| Camera | Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II |
| Lens | Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM |
| ISO | 200 |
| Exposure | 1/200 sec at f/5.6 |
| Digital Image Source Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, AdobeRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 4992 x 2995 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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