Its been the usual round of early mornings and days filled with photographing. Its hard to keep up with looking at pictures and posting but I am trying hard!
I had a great day on Friday. I sat in a hide which I had made over-looking the river where I had placed a stick to hopefully entice Kingfisher to land which wasn't all that difficult to achieve success apart from having to sit for a couple of hours quietly in the 30 degree heat. It was a few minutes before the first bird flew in and I hadn't realised until I got back to my accommodation that it was going to give me some great shots. I saw it fly in towards me then settle on the fence where I couldn't see it, then within seconds it landed on a young palm tree growing out of the water. It was looking for food and I think it would have been successful but for a boat which disturbed it.
This bird had a noticeably muddy beak and mud on the plumage and also the feet a sure sign that it had been tussling with something in the mud rather than diving in the water to feed.
You can clearly see the mud in the beak on this photo. Then once this one had departed I sat for an age, full of expectation having already proved that my camo was working. Then a Kingfisher flew in to land on the perch very close to me and as I shuffled myself in to a good position to fire the camera's shutter, the cover fell off me and the bird was disturbed, a disappointment. After another wait a Water Monitor Lizard swam towards me and climbed out on the the shore. I could n't see it but after no more than a minute it appeared only 6 feet from me. I wasn't sure if I was safe but it was tasting the air with its massive tongue which whipped in and out and then it sensed my presence and slid quietly back in to the water to swim away agin, quite a good encounter.
So then Saturday arrived and we went to the fish market at Nogombo which in the past had been good for diving terns that "work" of the beach for the white bait that everyone, both bird and fisherman is so keen to get hold of. Their was a huge flock of the pretty Whiskered Tern which is the commonest Tern species here in Sri Lanka. I had some good success and ooh lots of photos, most I have yet to look at properly but I have picked a couple out to post .
The Indian House Crow is not what you would call a nice bird really but I do like to photograph birds in flight and here was a great opportunity as there were literally hundreds feeding on anything that they could get their grubby beaks on.
This is all for now but I have so great pictures from a fruit feeding station that we have set up…….. heres a taste, a Red-vented Bulbul.
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