VISIT TO WILPATTU IN 2021...

 I went to Wilpattu all by myself in the month of November.

These two young boars came running towards the jeep as if to greet us and went under the vehicle. We had to start the engine for them to move..

Barn swallow on the ground

Great thicknee

A rare sight- Pigmy woodpecker 

The lone migrant- Osprey

Jerdon's bushlark

Bar tailed godwit

Pacific golden plover

Gotcha- Blue tailed  bee-eater

Changeable hawk eagle- giving that look 

Perfect landing

Serpent eagle

Sri Lanka jungle fowl ( male )

Barking deer

Malabar pied hornbill

Green bee-eater

Endemic blue mormon

Marsh sandpiper

That innocent look..

Oriental bush lark feeding the young

Clearing imaginative hurdles.....

White bellied sea eagle

Curlew sandpiper

The only elephant we saw , A glimpse only

Adjutant stork

This was an episode and a half... we were searching for a leopard the whole day was on the final route and when we came to a junction, The biggest male in the park NELUMVILA MALE  made his way like this from the opposite direction..

Came straight towards us 

...and moved from the side....

sat and relaxed for a while....

May be he sensed the prey close by, got up moved into the thicket nearby

This is the reason....

Crouched and waited just a few meters from us unperturbed..

But the alarm call came and he didn't have a choice but to move out..

Sambar

VISITI TO YALA AGAIN IN 2021...

 I went to Yala for a day trip with a friend of mine in the month of October..

Trying to lure a female

Pied cuckoo

White rumped shama

in a pensive mood

Brown fish owl

in harmony...

Barn swallows

Jutting out in camouflage

musical chairs ?

Sri Lanka wood srike

Malabar pied hornbills

...in flight

..in flight

somewhat rare - walking

We managed to see the fella drinking ....

One of the very few elephants we saw

Indian thicknee

pacific golden plover

Yellow wattled lapwing

much sort after mud bath for free...

Common redshank

Common greenshank

Barred button quail

Changeable hawk eagle

Crested tree- swift

A tusker but what had happened ??

This was real treat. the big fella was on a MADAN tree gulping down and was oblivious to our presence and went on an eating frenzy.

This was after a brief drizzle and rain. The cub was on a rock very close to us and went on drinking at its own pace before getting off.

Python

This one was rubbing against the tree...