Portraits of trees is another category of photography that I greatly admire. I love photographing trees, but find it too be much more challenging than I initially expected.

This photo is of a camel thorn tree in Botswana. I am fond of this photo because the tree, shaped by the prevailing winds of the Kalahari desert, resembles a carefully shaped bonsai.

The camel thorn tree, Vachellia erioloba (formerly Acacia erioloba), is a tree of the desert and arid regions of southern Africa. The name in English is a mistranslation of the Afrikaans name, Kameeldoring, which means giraffe thorn tree. It is a slow-growing tree adapted to harsh environments. Its taproot can extend as far as 60 metres to reach ground water deep beneath the desert sands.

Perched at the very top of the tree is a Pale Chanting Goshawk. The bird on the ground on the right of the picture is a Secretarybird.

I include below a photograph of a pair of Secretarybirds walking purposefully searching for prey. Both pictures were taken in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana

Weekly Photo Find Secretarybirds

Source: South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). 2005. Vachellia erioloba http://pza.sanbi.org/vachellia-erioloba

Posted by Carol

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