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

VISIT TO SINHARAJA RAIN FOREST : FIRST FOR 2025 .........

 I got the opportunity to visit Sinharaja in the 3rd week of February and went with a couple of friends.

Although we went with a new tracker, it was one of my most fruitful trips as far as the bird pictures I was able to photograph 11 endemic bird species.

Getting Endemic Red faced malkoha as clear as this was very special.

Endemic Ceylon crested drongo

Green garden liard

Endemic sri lanka spur foul

Illusive and endemic Sri Lanka scaly thrush

Endemic ceylon hill myna

Endemic white faced starling

Endemic sri lanka ashy headed laughing thrush

Endemic sri lanka lue magpie

Malabar Trogon

Frogmouth nesting 

 

Asian brown flycatcher

Endemic kangaroo lizard

bronze back tree snake

Endemic Sri Lanka wood pigeon

Endemic orange billed babbler

Endemic layards parakeet

Endemic hump - nosed lizard

Endemic sharp snouted shrub frog