A VERY RARE OPPORTUNITY : A FAILED LEOPARD ATTACK. . . . . . . .

PICTURES OF WILPATTU................................

I got a chance to go camping at Wilpattu in the 4th week of October 2013 for 2 days. Canon photo hub organized the trip and we had a great time.

PICTURESQUE..............

IN HARMONY .............



These two birds, the Little Egret and the Indian Cormorant were seen in the canal next to  Nawala/ Nugegoda walk about on a Sunday in September 2013 fishing  with great harmony. They were going up and down stream many times almost neck to neck for at least 15 minutes with great enthusiasm and one could not help but think of the virtue " THE TEAM WORK"  as they did just that.

DAMBULLA, MINNERIYA, TRINCOMALEE TRIP REPORT IN JULY 2013...............................

We started our trip from Colombo and arrived in Dambulla and climbed the famous DAMBULLA rock.

The water seeps from the rock and falls into this Bucket drop by drop and has been taking place for centuries.

The frescoes on the rock above are synonymous here.

The Entrance

The temple doors are closed at 10 30 am for the rituals.

Sigiriya rock seen from  Dambulla rock.

The Museum and the stupa done in  recent times.

The Kassapa Lions rock Hotel where we stayed the first day.

In the afternoon , we went to Minneriya national park and saw this Indian nightjar sleeping

A Malabar Pied Hornbill

A  red wattled lapwing with the eggs

BIRDS AND PHOTOS OF AUSTRIA...............................

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE.............................

VISITI TO MANNAR VIA WILPATTU......

I was able to go to Mannar in the last week of March 2013 via Wilpattu coupling up with some official work as well.

RAISING A FAMILY IS NOT EASY.......

These 2 Red Vented Bulbuls must have decided on having a family sometime in January 2013 and here is their story......

Red-vented bulbuls feed on fruits, petals of flowers,nectar, insects and occasionally geckos.
Red-vented bulbuls build their nests in bushes at a height of around 2–3 m (7–10 ft; two or three eggs is a typical clutch. Nests are occasionally built inside houses or in a hole in a mud bank.
They breed from June to September. The eggs are pale-pinkish with spots of darker red more dense at the broad end.They are capable of having multiple clutches in a year. Nests are small flat cups made of small twigs but sometimes making use of metal wires. The eggs hatch after about 14 days.Both parents feed the chicks and on feeding trips wait for the young to excrete, swallowing the faecal sacs produced.

----Selecting a place took some doing.

Finaly the place is selected and happened to be in our garden in Nugegoda.

............................................Building the nest---

Eggs were laid.

----Incubating the eggs...

The chicks were out in early February.

Watching from a distance and keeping alert.

Bringing food--

Feeding the young right through the day tirelessly.

Protecting from rain---

----when threatened

----And in the night..

Taking turns in bringing food...

Yes, there were 3 chicks..

On the 12th afternoon I got a call from home saying that 2 Greater Coucals were attacking the chicks.Initially they had hung clothes to distract and used a broom to chase them....

 ...When that had not worked, they had removed the nest from the tree and had put at the entrance of the  garage and I also went and we started to move it slowly towards the cabinet at the end of the garage .At one point I hastily took the nest and straight away put it inside the cabinet and may be the mother could not find the chicks and suddenly sprawlled on the ground and meuwed like a cat for over a minute. This realy moved us as it was again proved how the young is dear to the parents whether they are animals or otherwise.

 Again we moved them slowly and both adults came most of the time.

 From the first shelf .....

 we moved to the top one but  even after several visits the adults were  a little confused...

 so we moved the nest to the 2nd one and the adults came with heavy meals for the young.

 After around 5  in the evening no one came to stay with the chicks in the night for the first time.So we closed the door with a small opening and tied  with a string around the locks so that a cat or any predator will not be able to open. I got up at 5.15 am the following morning and waited.at 6.10 the 2 adults came to a tree near the house but did not come in. I had to put the vehicle out from the garage and then they started coming with the food.At last the chicks have opened their eyes. I HOPE THAT THEIR GROWTH rate will fast track and survive to fly.

13TH FEBRUARY..WITH EYES JUST OPENED.

Action on the 16TH SATURDAY