Sunday 18 February 2024

Oak Beauty

 


The back garden is usually void of moths from late November to the end of March. I put the trap out on suitable nights hoping for a catch but am always disappointed come the morning. This year was the same until Friday morning.

A Common Plume on the wall near the trap was a good sign but an Oak Beauty on the outside of the trap was a real find. Not only my earliest garden catch of the year since I started mothing but also a first for the garden. It's not a particularly rare moth but it is scarce where I live, near the coast and with few trees around.


Oak Beauty - Biston strataria


A great start to the year and some encouragement to get the trap out more often.

Sunday 11 February 2024

Sri Lanka 1 - Habarana

 


Another of our touring holidays, this time two weeks in Sri Lanka. Our holidays are all very similar, a lot of travelling, a lot of places to visit and explore and if I am lucky, a bit of time to do some birding. I would see more on a dedicated birding trip with the use of professional guides but I think the sense of achievement is greater when you find your own birds.

I had four locations where I could spend some time birding and there were a few other brief opportunities at various other points we stopped off at. That gives me four blogs, The  Habarana area, Kandy, Queen Victoria Park in Nuwara Eliya, and the National Parks at Udawalawe and Yala.


So Habarana, we stayed at the Habarana Village by Cinnamon and you could see from the map, before we went, that it was going to be good for birding. A village complex set in a large green area, along side a lake, with its own butterfly trail. The lake is artificial, part of a complex system of tanks and canals that collect and redistributes surface water across the dryer parts of the island. Much of the system was built around 2000 years ago and is still working today. However, renovation is also taking place, as global warming starts to put the agricultural system under stress and the importance of these resources becomes more recognised.

We stayed for two nights and that gave me some time for birding. A couple of hours before breakfast and an afternoon when Sue went off to explore a local village. There were some good birds about, hearing them was easy but actually seeing them and then getting a photograph was hard work. Most of the island is covered in lush green vegetation with trees and bushes providing dense cover for the birds.


Asian Koel - Eudynamys scolopaceus


Some of the birds are spectacular and top of my wish list was the Indian Paradise-Flycatcher. Fortunately they are fairly common and I saw many of them during the holiday although none that would pose willingly in front of the camera.


Indian Paradise-Flycatcher (Sri Lanka) - Terpsiphone paradisi ssp. ceylonensis


These two were around the hotel grounds. I thought initially that I had photographed a male and female but reading up on them later it looks like two males The first ssp ceylonensis is the local breeding resident, with the second, ssp paradisi a winter migrant. The females of both look similar to ssp ceylonensis but have paler throats.



Indian Paradise-Flycatcher - Terpsiphone paradisi ssp. paradisi



Black-hooded Oriole - Oriolus xanthornus



Brahminy Kite - Haliastur indus


The Common Kingfisher from back home in the UK.



Common Kingfisher - Alcedo atthis


And a much less common Kingfisher, the Stork-billed.



Stork-billed Kingfisher - Pelargopsis capensis



Darter - Anhinga melanogaster



Great Egret - Casmerodius albus



House Crow - Corvus splendens



Malabar Pied Hornbill - Anthracoceros coronatus


I also had a fly over of  a Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill which is endemic to the island. Unfortunately flying away from me by the time I got the camera onto it. A missed opportunity but at least the views were good and there were no doubts on the sighting. Pale grey and white and no casque on the beak.



There were good numbers of the smaller birds in the bushes around the lake but they were not easy to photograph.


Two pictures of Sunbirds, the first looks like a female Loten's. No supercilium, light yellow and white underside and although not visible in this picture it had white in the underside tail feathers. The second is a Purple-rumped Sunbird.



Loten's Sunbird - Nectarinia lotenia



Purple-rumped Sunbird - Nectarinia zeylonica


The Red-vented Bulbul, one of the more common birds and found all over the island.



Red-vented Bulbul - Pycnonotus cafer


Two of the three Munia species found on the island. The third, the Black-throated is rare and has a limited distribution.



Scaly-breasted Munia - Lonchura punctulata



Black-headed Munia - Lonchura malacca


A poor picture of the Sri Lanka Green Pigeon but worth including as many consider it as endemic having split it from the pompadour green pigeon complex.



Sri Lanka Green Pigeon - Treron (pompadora) pompadora



Indian White-eye - Zosterops palpebrosus



Sri Lanka Woodshrike - Tephrodornis (pondicereanus) affinis


And one final picture, hand held at 1/20 sec, on a 420mm lens, well after dusk and deep in the  undergrowth. It's just amazing what modern cameras can do.



Orange-headed Thrush - Zootherea citrina


There were a few other birds seen but the pictures were not worth publishing. Poor record shot quality only. It was a pity to move on. I could easily have spent a few more days exploring the area.


Perhaps one final picture. It looks like a Carpenter Bee - Xylacopa, probably the Slender-scaped Carpenter Bee - Xylacopa tenuiscapa but there are around 500 bees in the genus so I could be wrong. I just wish I had the macro lens with me!



Blue Cader Bee - Xylocopa agg




Sri Lanka 2 - Kandy

 


Kandy, the old capital of the ancient kings. It is home to sacred landmarks, landscaped gardens, and cultural museums. It may not seem to be an obvious place for birding but I had great hopes. The hotel we stayed at was set on the Mahaweli Ganga, the main river in the area; we had a visit planned to the Botanical Gardens, e-bird list 151 species. There was the Kandy Lake, in the centre of the city and next to the Temple of the Tooth that we would also be visiting, e-bird list 113 species. If all that failed there was also the Royal Forest Park Udawatta Kele another notable birding area just a few minutes from the city centre with an e-bird list of 184 species.


It didn't quite work out as I had planned. We had a lot packed into our two days there. I didn't have time to visit the lake although I could see birds around it as we went by on the coach. The visit to the Botanic Gardens was a waste of time as far as the birding went. I saw two or three birds and heard a couple more but with the visit in the middle of the day, the heat was oppressive and there was very little moving.

The only bird I photographed at the gardens was this Little Cormorant.


Little Cormorant - Microcarbo niger


The main birding interest was around the hotel and along the river.



Black Eagle - Ictinaetus malayensis




Brahminy Kite - Haliastur indus



Indian Pond Heron - Ardeola grayii



Red-vented Bulbul - Pycnonotus cafer



Common Myna - Acridotheres tristis



Red-wattled Lapwing - Vanellus indicus


A couple more shots of Kingfishers.



Stork-billed Kingfisher - Pelargopsis capensis




White-throated Kingfisher - Halycon smyrnensis



White-bellied Sea Eagle - Haliaeetus leucogaster



White-bellied Sea Eagle - Haliaeetus leucogaster


A massive crop but I couldn't resist including the Brown-headed Barbet below.



Brown-headed Barbet - Megalaima zeylanica



Yellow-billed Babbler - Chrysomma sinense




I had a fly over of another bird of prey. I am reasonably confident that it is an Oriental Honey Buzzard. A good bird given that I have still not had close views of a Honey Buzzard back in the UK.

Oriental Honey-Buzzard - Pernis ptilorhynchus




A bit disappointing as I had expected more from the Botanic Gardens and at least a bit of time around the Kandy Lake. I had not realised how quiet the birdlife gets around midday. The periods after dawn and before dusk are even more important in these hot countries.