In my 4th installment of the “Migration” series, I learn that part of the process for making nature videos for YouTube is dealing with unpredictable weather. I also have a little fun shooting swallows when the sun comes out.

In this week’s video, I continue the search for migrating neo-tropical birds. I also share three methods for finding migrating birds.

In my second-ever YouTube video, I continue the search for migrating birds and share two helps apps that will help you find birds: eBird and Merlin.

Each year, millions of neo-tropical birds travel north from Central and South America each spring, offering photographers a short window to capture visiting birds.

In this video, join me as I attempt to find and photograph as many of these migrating species as possible!

On the final nature-oriented portion of the tour, we got to hang out on a rocky beach with wild African penguins. Despite being called “Jackass Penguins” by the locals (because they sound like donkeys), these penguins were actually very calm and friendly. We were able to get up close and personal with them and they did not seem to mind us at all.

Going into this trip, I predicted that Kruger National Park would be the highlight for me. In some ways, it was. After touring the park for the entire day, though, we were whisked away to another private reserve - a tent camp called Shinzela that would ultimately lead to an even more exciting experience. There, we would spend several days searching the reserve for wildlife on guided safaris. Like Kum Kula, the reserve shared an open border with Kruger, meaning that each game drive would provide us with a more intimate and targeted chance to see wildlife wandering in and out of the national park.

Kruger was something else. It was almost overwhelming - in a good way! There wasn't any downtime between sightings. The beats were faster - just animal after animal. Yet somehow, each encounter still brought the same sense of excitement. 

We flew into Johannesburg, and after a night of rest, we started our journey to Kruger National Park. Our guide opted for the scenic route, and we stopped several times throughout the six-hour journey to enjoy the rocky landscapes. One highlight was the Three Rondavels, a trio of peaks shaped like traditional huts:

This year was the start of what I’m sure will be one of my favorite annual traditions. Joelle and I set off to visit Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. This refuge is home to the last remaining wild population of Red Wolves on earth, and it is also home to the highest concentration of wild black bears on the east coast of the United States.

What can I say? I love Maine! Took a flight with Joelle up to Boston and then rode the train all the way into Portland, Maine. The trip was filled with sights, sounds, and beautiful photography. Then, we visited Acadia National Park.

Joelle and I had a wonderful time at Sylvan Heights Bird Park in Scotland Neck, NC. This fantastic aviary is home to hundreds of bird species from around the world! Separated by continent, each area contains an aviary to explore. It was refreshing to get out and photograph some unique species that aren't present where we live.

Wanting to try somewhere a little new, I headed solo over to Mason Neck State Park this week. After missing a shot of a fox (not pictured), I came across an area with boxes set up for swallows. There were tree swallows buzzing all about and were quite challenging to shoot. After this, on a hike in the woods, I spotted two lifers: an Ovenbird and a Wood Thrush! All-in-all and exciting and fun day!

Joelle and I set off on an adventure to a wonderful boardwalk in Northern Virginia called Neabsco Creek. I was especially dazzled by the number of swallows that were flying about, really putting the autofocus of my Nikon Z6ii to the test.