Thursday, January 2, 2025

VISITS TO UDAWATTAKELE IN THE LAST WEEK OF 2024.

 I went to Kandy with my family in the last week of the year and had the opportunity to visit Udawattakele 3 times walking over 15 Km's in the process as well. Although the bird activity was not what I expected , managed to get some shots.

 Mountainous view from the view point


Indian black turtle
Spot winged thrush



Surprisingly this barking deer was quite oblivious to my presence



Newly named endemic Sri lanka shama


Tickell's blue flycatcher


Forest Wagtail
brown breasted  flycatcher
Yellow bulbul
Large billed leaf warbler

Endemic Greater Sri Lanka flameback





Monday, November 18, 2024

FIRST TRIP TO YALA IN 2024 AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR...................

 Surprisingly I made my first visit to Yala for this year in the 2nd week of November with 2 fellow photography friends and their wife's for a day trip and got the rare opportunity to photograph the illusive Shirkeer Malkoha after so many visits.


oriental skylark
asian green bee eater


pied cuckoo

Icing on the cake- The shirkeer maloha









Pintailed snipe
yellow wattled lapwing
barnswallows
brown breasted flycather
Changeable hawk eagle


Copper smith barbet
chestnut headed bee eater
Brown fish owl
 Getting this shot was quite an achievement I believe


malabar pied hornbill




brown shrike

male black headed shrike

Ominous looking wasp nest

blue tailed bee eater
little ringed plover
common redshank
roosting grey nightjar



sri lanka wood shrike



ruddy turnstone
lesser sand plover
A mongoose doing the honors

This elephant with must was walking in the open at a distance but turned back and charged all the way close to the jeep getting annoyed to the braking sound




quite an unusual sight of a green bee eater on a dead rabbit


We managed to see this leopard and were lucky to see some movements 








pigmy woodpecker
wooly necked stork
juvenile black crowned night heron
A crock lurking in water
common greenshank
Unfortunately we only saw a glimpse of this tusker as it made sure that we didn't get a proper look

female tree swift 
A closely knit family 
Eurasian hoopoe
A male aya weaver bird in action 


grey headed fish eagle
Brhamin kite

There  were more than a few calls right though our day safari and finally saw a few


Asian paradise flycatcher