Landing During Rush Hour

At Lake Nakuru, even a simple landing can resemble an attempt to find space at the world’s busiest airport. In the centre of the frame, a great white pelican approaches with its wings fully extended while dozens of other birds occupy almost every available piece of shoreline. I photographed this scene in Lake Nakuru National Park, within Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. The lake is best known for its spectacular flamingo gatherings, but its congregations of pelicans can be equally impressive. On this particular day, the pelicans completely dominated the foreground. What I like most about the photograph is the movement captured within a single moment: extended wings, lowered feet and a brief suspension just before touchdown. The scene appears chaotic, yet every bird seems to understand the rhythm of the colony. This is not a traditional portrait of an individual animal. It is a photograph of an entire community—crowded, noisy and surprisingly well organised. Rush hour in Africa may look different from the one we know from cities, but finding an available parking space appears to be a universal challenge.