Umbrella birding

For my second tour of the month of August to Sinharaja organized by the Eco team with 18 people from UK including many dead scaring children for leeches we started our nature walk on 26th morning with raining conditions compelled us to put on our umbrellas and rain coats. Not to mention the rain was continued until we end of our walk in the forest specially leaving a life long experience to the children because of the blood thirsty leeches.

Compared to other days the sightings were less but we were lucky to observe a feeding flock which includes most elusive Red faced Malkoha, Malabar Trogon, Sri Lanka Blue magpie, Crested drongo, Orange billed babblers etc. Some of the main highlights were the green pit viper we observed during the middle of the nature walk. Ultimately this gave me a different experience of birding with an umbrella instead of binocular, camera and field guides as usual.

Dreams are alive at Yala National Park

Undoubtedly all the wildlife enthusiasts dreaming to see a leopard in its natural habitats and Yala National Park keep these dreams alive by providing excellent opportunities to observe and photograph leopards in their own territory.



Joining the Safari camp organized by the Eco team at palatupana just outside the Yala National Park to host Mr. Paul, a British who works as a Team Leader for a Water Board Project in Kandy with his wife and son who are on their summer vacation I was privileged to have two safaris to the Yala national park on 28th and 29th of July one in the dusk and one in the morning.



Our first sighting of this giant carnivore was at dusk sitting under a Palu tree (a common fruit tree in the park) under very poor light conditions for about 10 minutes observation. The second sighting was on the morning safari which provided us an excellent opportunity to observe and photograph it while it was sitting on a rock. On the same safari we were fortunate to observe another leopard just few yards away from the main road inside the Yala Park.



Apart from this elusive leopard our highlights included herds of spotted deer, wild boar, jackal, black napped hare, water buffalo, sambar, mugger crocodiles, Asian elephants etc.
Sri Lanka Jungle Fowl, Malabar pied horn bill, Black crowned night heron, Lesser adjutant, spot billed pelican are some of the birding highlights.

Some Highlights of the Bundala National Park in July

Asian Elephants - Elephas maximus

Sunnyside Holiday Bungalow, Ella – A Place to Experience Your Holiday with a Difference

Sunnyside Holiday Bungalow is a tranquil location blessed with true Sri Lankan hospitality to indulge your holiday situated in Ella, the calm & sleepiest town in Sri Lanka with a height of 1041 Meters above the sea level. The unique concept of No Liquor, No smoking lets you to enjoy your holiday with a difference. Ella gap (stunning views), Horton plains (world’s end) the paradise for the nature lovers, Demodara nine arched bridge, Demodara loop the amazing creation of the Sri Lankan Railway tracks, Picturesque Rawana falls, Kenellan tea estate, Uvahalpewatte tea estate are within the close proximity to the Sunnyside Holiday Bungalow.



This simple retreat boasts of two triple rooms and a double room surrounded by lush vegetation including some indigenous plants and some of the fruit plants like rose apple, avocado, Mango, guava etc. All the rooms are carefully designed with basic amenities that requires for a peaceful holiday with the comfort of the natural breeze blowing through the windows. Get up to the rhythm of the early morning bird songs and if you are in a mood you can rise up for a nature walk through the misty bushes by counting number of bird species. Some of my recorded bird species are Sri Lanka Dull Blue Fly catcher, Sri Lanka Jungle Fowl, Sri Lanka Yellow fronted barbet’s,Sri Lanka Grey Horn bill, Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot, Hill myna, velvet fronted nuthatch, Shikra, Crested Serpent eagle, Dark fronted babblers, tawny bellied babblers, Emerald dove, Scarlet minivet, Pale billed flowerpecker, Grey tit etc.



Apart from bird species this property provides excellent opportunities to observe some of the animals like Giant squirrel, Fishing cat, Black napped hare, Mongoose and some of the butterfly species like Tawny coster, Blue Morman, Glassy Tiger, Common Jezebel, Common Sailor etc.



Arrays of Sri Lankan dishes followed by number of desserts are served prepared in a homely kitchen under the direct supervision of the property owners with extremely good hygienic conditions.




Undoubtedly the Sunnyside Holiday Bungalow ensures an unparalleled holiday experience with its naturally blessed calm & peaceful environment.

Address: Sunnyside Holiday Bungalow
Bandarawela Road
Ella

Telephone: 0094(0)575615011,0094(0)776239802

Website: www.sunnyside.go2lk.com

Reservation: sunnyside@go2lk.com

Rawana Falls - රාවණා ඇල්ල

Rawana falls is situated on Ella-Wellawaya road in the Uva province. The height of the waterfall is 1001 ft.

Demodara Railway Station - ෙදෙමා්දර ඳුමිරිය ස්ථානය

Demodara railway station is a wonderful design of architecture situated in the Badulla district of the Uva province in Sri Lanka in a distance of 172 miles (276.8 Kilometers) from Colombo with a height of 2990 ft. (911.61 Meters) from the sea level.


The lineman checks the track




The length of the Demodara tunnel which runs beneath the railway station is 1049 ft (320 meters). Construction of the tracks in this nature is known as “looping to loop” as per the idea of late Mr.D.J.Wimalasurendra who was the greatest Sri Lankan engineer to achieve the level difference by maintaining 1:44 which is maximum allowable gradient in Sri Lankan Railways.

A train arrives Demodara station



The first train arrived at Demodara was in the year of 1921.

Nine arched Bridge at Demodara

Warana Cave Temple - ඓතිහාසික වාරණ රඡමහා විහාරය

In 18th century King Walagamba built this temple enriches with ancient architecture. This ancient temple Situated in Warana, Aththanagalla in Gampaha district.

Elephants at Pinnawala

Who am i ?????

Honestly not an expert of identifying these pests... If somebody can identify this it’s greatly appreciated.