The Southern Ground Hornbill is on the Red List of Endangered Species so it’s always great to get a sighting of these birds.  It’s even better to hear them calling to each other as they make such a great distinctive sound - almost like a hollow drum that is being beaten.

This photograph was taken in the Madikwe Game Reserve, in the North-West Province of South Africa, while staying at Jaci’s Safari Lodge.  We had the most fantastic stay there and they catered wonderfully for my two younger daughters, aged 6 and 7 who were totally enthralled by all the wildlife that we saw there.  The ranger, Johan and the staff really knew how to appeal to the children’s senses while keeping the adults happy and well-fed!!

At this focal length and aperture the eyelashes were captured wonderfully and the grass back-drop out of depth-of-field worked wonderfully as a smooth background.

Additional EXIF Info:
Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Lens: Canon 400mm f/2.8 L IS USM
Shutter Speed: 1/8000s
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 400mm
ISO: 1600
Exposure Bias: Av(+0.33)
Notes: Full-Frame
Date Taken: Aug 15, 2011, 10:33:10 AM

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. Copyright Ian Weatherburn Photography.