I was on board the overnight Heathrow to Colombo direct flight on the 27th Jan, returning 7th February. My aim was to see how a Learning Centre I am involved in is coming along, now based in a superb building in Pitiwella between Galle and Hikkadua.
I was really pleased to see so much progress and in meetings with Anoma, who oversees the day to day running of the centre, we planned for the next 2 years along with annual budgets, resources and what we need to do to improve the centre further.
I also got to meet students that offer lessons at the centre through a company called Travelteer. Great to chat with them and watch them in action with the youngsters. We also had a trip to a rainforest where they helped put up frog tree boxes to encourage tree frogs to breed in the pools of water that collect in these. I also Skyped an assembly from this forest to a school in Bishop's Stortford.
On my final day, Anoma and I visited Kanneliya Rainforest, some 2 hours drive from Galle. A new place for me.
I managed to get out for a spot of local birdwatching and also, on the Tuesday, went on a scooter inland where I found some good bird habitats for photography.
Photos from Kottawa Rainforest with Travelteer students
Birds from around the MindGarden Learning Centre
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| White bellied drongo |
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| Indian pond heron |
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| Little egret |
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| White bellied sea eagle |
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| Another drongo |
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| Spotted dove |
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| Drongo portrait |
Birds from the superb grounds of Jetwing Kurulubedda
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| Bathing Red vented bulbul |
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| Red vented bulbul |
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| Common mynah |
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| Oriental white eye |
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| Oriental white eye |
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| Female Jerdon's leadfbird |
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| Oriental white eye |
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| White browed bulbul |
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| Male purple rumped sunbird |
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| nest of Purple rumped sunbird |
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| Yet another Oriental white eye |
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| Jerdon's leafbird, male |
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| Spotted dove |
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| White rumped munia |
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Pale-billed flowerpecker
Birds from an inland scooter ride around Baddegama
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| Yellow billed babbler |
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| Yellow billed babbler |
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| Cattle egret |
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| Cattle egret |
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| Indian pond heron |
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| Red wattled lapwing |
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| Crested serpent eagle |
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| Gull billed tern |
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| Pied kingfisher |
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Crested serpent eagle
Birds of Kanneliya Rainforest.
Others were seen but not photographed
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| Little swift, used to be called white rumped swift |
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| Oriental magpie robin |
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| Sri Lankan grey hornbill |
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| Crested serpent eagle |
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| Crested serpent eagle |
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| Red vented bulbul nest building |
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Black headed bulbul
Butterflies
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| Common Palmfly |
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| Common grass yellow |
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| Blue species, possibly Small cupid or Lime Blue |
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| Same as above |
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| Common sailor |
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| As above, Common sailor |
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| Grey Pansy |
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| Tiny species, suspect Small cupid |
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| Rustic |
Dragonflies
Identifying these is recent for me, so suspected species here, awaiting confirmation from Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne
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| Variegated Flutterer |
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| Pied Parasol |
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| Blue Percher ? |
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| Crimson dropwing ? |
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| Same as above |
Reptiles
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| Water Monitor, about 8 foot long |
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| Water monitor swimming upstream |
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| Some species of tree snake |
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| same snake |
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| Land monitor |
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| Horned lizard |
Bird List (for a none birding Visit!!)
Place seen will, in many cases, be the first sighting)
Sri Lankan Spurfowl (Heard Kanneliya)
Indian peacock (Galle)
Black headed ibis (Southern Expressway)
Indian pond heron (Pitiwella)
Cattle egret (Pitiwella)
Great egret (Southern Expressway)
Little egret (Southern expressway)
Little cormorant (Negombo)
Indian cormorant (Negombo)
Brahminy kite (Pitiwella)
White bellied sea eagle (Pitiwella)
Shikra (Pitiwella)
Crested serpent eagle (Baddegama)
White breasted waterhen (Negombo)
Red wattled lapwing (Galle)
Gull billed tern (Pitiwella)
Great crested tern (Pitiwella)
Little tern (Pitiwella)
Spotted dove (Pitiwella)
Sri Lankan green pigeon (Pitiwella)
Rose ringed parakeet (Galle)
Layard's parakeet (Kottowa, heard)
Asian koel (Pitiwella)
Greater coucal (Galle)
Little swift (Kanneliya)
Indian swiftlet (Galle)
Blue tailed bee-eater (Galle)
Chestnut headed bee-eater (Kottawa en route)
White throated kingfisher (Pitiwella)
Pied kingfisher (Baddegama)
Brown headed barbet (Galle)
Sri Lankan hornbill (Kottawa)
Lesser Goldenback (Galle)
Jerdon's Leafbird (Galle)
Black hooded oriole (Galle)
House crow (Pitiwella)
Large billed crow (Kottawa en route)
Barn swallow (Pitiwella)
White bellied drongo (Galle)
Sri Lankan drongo (Kanneliya)
Forest wagtail (Kanneliya)
Black capped bulbul (Kanneliya)
Red vented bulbul (Pitiwella)
White browed bulbul (Galle)
Common tailorbird (Pitiwella)
Asian paradise flycatcher (Galle)
Yellow billed babbler (Pitiwella)
Common mynah (Pitiwella)
Spot winged thrush (Kanneliya)
Oriental Magpie robin (Kanneliya)
Brown breasted flycatcher (aKanneliya)
Pale billed flowerpecker (Galle)
Loten's sunbird (Pitiwella)
Purple rumped sunbird (Pitiwella)
Oriental white-eye (Galle)
White rumped munia ( Galle)
Scaly breasted munia (Galle)
