2018 January - Home & around

Photos Taken around our home garden in January 2018

YALA – 30th December 2017

A rather tragic experience at the Yala National Park…. Waiting in a long queue of safari jeeps from 5.00 a.m. in the morning to get a token… and getting token number # 168 (of the allotted 450 for the day) at around 6.00 a.m., we were finally able to enter the park around 7.00 p.m. Travelling from Palatupana to Patanangala through Buthawa… we experienced a technical fault in the jeep we were travelling. Therefore, for the rest of our journey was restricted to the heavily trafficked main trunk-road within the park.. Until we reached back to the Park entrance around 10.15 a.m

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Yet, we managed to spot nine Mammalian species such as the Toque Monkey, Grey Langur, Indian Grey Mongoose, Ruddy Mongoose, a herd of Asian Elephants, Wild Pigs, Water Buffalo, Spotted Deer and Sambar. We also saw a Mugger Crocodile and many bird species including a juvenile Hawk Eagle, a juvenile White-bellied Fish Eagle & a pair of Sri Lankan Jungle-fowl.

5.00 a.m. along the road to Yala ticketing office

waiting till the # number is called

Patience.... 

finally at the entrance... at 7.00 a.m.

Jungle-fowl (male)

Jungle-fowl (female)

Indian Grey Mongoose

Ruddy Mongoose

Buthawa Lake

the Jeep @ Patanangala

Orange-breasted Green Pigeon

Juvenile - White-bellied Fish Eagle

Juvenile- Changeable Hawk Eagle

Wild Pig

BUNDALA – 29th December 2017

A three-&-a-half hour birding Safari in-&-around the Bundala National Park… starting from the Weligatta junction (around 2.30 p.m.), going along the Embilla kalapuwa on the main road up to the Park entrance, and travelling along the edges of Embilla Kalapuwa, Malala Kalapuwa up to pathiraja Ulpotha, and then returning back to the park entrance (around 6.00 p.m.).

Spotting 53 different bird species along the way, apart from other wild life such as Mugger Crocodiles, Star Tortoise, Flap-shell Turtle, Grey Langurs, Toque Monkeys, Ruddy Mongoose, Asian Elephants, Wild Pigs & Spotted Deer.

our place of stay- in front of the Tissa lake

Flap-shell Turtle

Star Tortoise

Mugger Crocodile

Weligatta Junction

Lesser Adjutant

Watercock

Painted stork - juvenile

Painted Stork

Painted Stork - relaxing

Black-tailed Godwit

Eurasian Spoonbill

Grey Heron

Purple Heron

Grey Heron - with pray

the soil layer with sea-shells in which
the oldest Human skeleton of Sri Lanka
 (dated 123,000 BC) had been found

Safari Jeep - Dinesh - 0779 349 370

from Left; Aruna, Swarnathilaka, Jayampathi, Kumari,
 Kalyana, Mr. Sunil (wildlife tracker) & Dinesh (jeep Driver)