TRIP TO WILPATTU....................

 I made another trip in a month to Wilpattu with a fellow wildlife photographer in the last week of September 2023. Although the original plan was to go to Yala, the inclement whether made us change plans at the last minute on the advise given by the driver and fortunately I managed to find a driver in Wilpattu . We left Colombo around 2.45 in the morning and after doing a full day safari, I was back at home around 10.45 in the night. It was a good trip considering the unpredictable whether everywhere these days  and though there was a shower around 3 for an hour or so, it did not hamper our photograph activity.

Endemic Sri LANKA grey Hornbill

Malabar pied hornbill

First time I saw a hornbill converting to a carnivore 

Female Jungle fowl

male

Whiskered turn

Juvenile white bellied sea eagle

Endemic and "near threatened " Sri Lanka painted lip lizard

Endemic Vermilion Forester

I just couldn't fathom as to how the driver spotted this  baby iguana whilst going at around 20kph

Jerdon's bushl ark

Green bee-eater

Brown fish owl

It took some effort and continuous clicking to get this shot

Migrant osprey

Changeable hawk eagle

This was by chance and only we saw "Chandu" an offspring of Nelum vila big boy 

Nelum vila big boy seated and enjoying the drizzle. It was lying in the thicket close by from around  8 in the morning till 3 in the afternoon and came to the open around 4 for a few minutes.

On our way to the entrance we saw this beautiful bear.

Emerald dove.

Lesser Adjutant stork