ROSY STARLING IN " DIYASARU UYANA"

I visited Diya saru Uyana  wetland situated along the japan friendship road in Jayawardenapura in the last weekend of 2108 after I  came to know that ROSY STARLING, a winter migrant coming from east Europe and UK  has come in a flock and I was lucky to photograph them and was able to to take some decent photos in general as well.

Sunrise

Reflection in the water

The starlings flew away around 6.30 am and did not turn up till around 7.40 am.

VISITING UDAWATTAKELE, KANDY

I was in Kandy on a weekend in December 2018 to attend an arms giving and got the opportunity to visit "UDAWATTAKELE " Sanctuary.

This is how the normal route looks like

 Migrant Forest Wagtail

 Barking Deer

White rumped Shama

 Hill Myna

 Tikell's  Blue Flycatcher

 Famous 'PUS WELA" trees

 Wild Pigs

 Indian Paradise Flycatcher

 A tortoise

 Brown Capped Babbler

AN OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFE TIME ; VISITING KENYA ON SAFARI

I finally managed to visit Kenya in the 3rd week of August 2018 . Although I was planning this for a few years, it did not materialize for different reasons but I was lucky to contact Ncar travels and was offered to go alone and join a group in Kenya through their ground agent and got a very attractive and competitive price.  Though there were a couple of glitches as always, those did not have any impact on the program of the tour which included 3 nights in the renowned Masai Mara and one night in Lake Nakuru. I was Able to see all big 5 in Mara and though did not exactly see the wilder beast migration for which you need some luck , I had the privilege of seeing a big population of WILDER BEAST  lining up and moving in unison towards the river in the  plains. As usual I was able to see quite a few white Rhinos and the domiciled Lesser  Flamingos in Nakuru.
The bottom line  was being able to get some decent photos  in one of the most sort after  wild life destinations in the world thus ticking off one in my bucket list.

The Masai Mara National Reserve is each year visited by thousands of tourists, who come here to watch the many different wildlife and bird life species in the reserve. The reserve is especially famous for the high amount of predators, such as lions and cheetah, and the 1.5 million wildebeest which migrate through the Mara and cross the crocodile infested Mara river.

The Masai Mara National Reserve as it appears today was established in 1961, and covers 1,510 sq km (583 sq miles.

When visiting the Masai Mara you are likely to see the famous Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo. Especially lions are common here, and have grown relatively accustomed to their two-legged visitors, which makes them easier to spot. The Mara Plains are teeming with wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, impala and Thomson's gazelle. Also cheetahs, hyenas and jackals are seen regularly in the reserve. In the Mara River large amounts of hippos and crocodiles are enjoying their lives - the crocodiles are especially happy in July and November when thousands of wildebeest migrate across the river causing a sumptuous feast for the hungry crocodiles. Bird life in Masai Mara are abundant and diverse. Species such as eagles, ostriches, storks and vultures are among the more than 50 different birds of prey.

This is the Mara entrance we used called Oloolaimutia





Lions were in abundance in Mara

Majestic,,...

Female Sooty  Chat

A Common Male Ostrich

Masai Giraffe

Saddled Billed Stork

Gathering of Wilder Beast

 Wilder Beast Migration on land moving towards the river......

The Great Rift Valley

A Thompsons Gazelle

A male GREATER kUDU

Impala