ANNUAL VISIT TO MANNAR VIA WILPATTU.....

 I went to Mannar with a fellow bird watcher / photographer friend in the 3rd week of March . We started on a Wednesday morning and stayed the night in Wilpattu and did 2 half day safaris first and proceed to Mannar on the 2nd day . after staying in a hotel for 2 nights covering Thalaimannar  twice, returned to Colombo on Saturday afternoon.

The highlight of the trip apart from seeing the Greater Flamingos been the main attraction, was the chance of seeing the knob billed ducks and much sort after pied- avocets and managed to photograph more than 40 species of birds , a Bear very closely and a Leopard as well.

Sunrise in Mannar

Sunset in Mannar

Gul billed tern

Pacific golden plover

Bar tailed godwit

Whisered tern

Changeable hawk eagle

Great thick-nee

Orange -breasted green pigeon

Sri Lanka Jungle fowl

Attracting a female

Jerdon's bushlark

Brown fish owl

Crested serpent eagle

Cleo the female leopard

Sri Lana grey hornbill

Brown capped babler

Indian paradise flycatcher

Coppersmith barbet

Malabar pied hornbill

Lesser crested tern

Caspian tern

Grey plover

Brown headed gul

Sanderling

entish plover

Greater Flemingos

Female pin tailed goose

Male

Eurasian spoonbill fishing

Very rare migrant - Avacet

Male Gargany

Eurasian cuelew

Black drongo nesting

Ashy crowned sparrow lark

Black backed gul

Black kite

Common tern

Taking off

Ruff

Knob billed duck

Grey francolin

Greater sand plover

Greater crested tern

Long tailed shrike

Yellow wattled lapwing

Eye contact

Blue tailed bee eater 

White bellied sea eagle