The usual early morning start, all belongings packed and stowed in the safari bus taking all day to reach the final stage of the trip - the Ndutu plains. So these photos were taken in the Serengeti before  reaching our destination.

First to show in the early morning light was a Long-crested Eagle in the grass looking for breakfast.

and a perched Marabou Stork drying out it's wings

and then posing for a close-up - somehow a bird that is difficult to like.

A short while later, we came across a small pack of Bat-eared Foxes, rather shy

but with patience finally allowing us to get close enough for a half-decent shot.

Perched in a tree was a Great Spotted Cuckoo

that came out into the open

before conveniently flying down to feed by the track side.

And then we came across a pair of Lions.

Our guide, Oliver thought something interesting was going to happen and after half-an-hour, he proved to be correct - Animal behaviorist 1 - Plebs 0!!!

and after well over an hour of more activity, the exhausted male decided to take a nap. The word 'Knackered' comed to mind!!!

With the light improving, we came across a lone Elephant in a very attractive setting worth a shot.

and then, for me, the highlight of the day - a small colony of Little Bee-eaters posing very nicely.

Moving on, we came a cross a pair of rather distant Straw-tailed Whydahs. I took loads of shots as the male was making advances to the female with little joy, but at least some shots were worth keeping, especially that it was a new species for me.

By now the light was beginning to fade so we headed for the Ndutu Safari Lodge, catching a herd of Wildbeest on the way.

The lodge was reasonably basic compared to the previous hotels but very well situated. Once again, walking from the room to the hotel needed to be accompanied by an armed guard as it was totally open to the bush with predators in sight. The next couple of days should be very interesting as heavy rains were forecast overnight.