In August, 2012 I guided a five-day abridged version of my Absolute Birding tour. It was with Ron and Ben Barkley, a farther son duo from the U.S.A. Ben is a student at the prestigious Cornell Lab of Ornithology and was keener birder of the two. Our focus was on the endemic birds of Sri Lanka and other resident species ...

The regular migrant Indian Pitta is back in my garden. I maintain a woody patch in my backyard to host it. And it accepts my invitation every year. In addition to the allocated one, it frequents a new patch this season. It is 25-feet from my room in the front yard! This new patch is roughly 400 sq.ft in ...

I guided Yumiko Hatori from Japan in September. It was a two-day natural history tour to Sinharaja. Not familar with Japanese names, when I went to pick up, I expected a bloke. But, Yumi turned out to be very much a girl. She was on a solo backpacking trip. And this tour was done at the begining of her Sri ...

20 February to 5 March, 2012, saw me guiding a 15-day wildlife tour with John and Kate Holland, from England. Both were keen birders, and this was their first visit to Sri Lanka. Kate sported the latest Swarovski SLC 42 HD binoculars, which were superb in clarity. A birthday gift from John, it was on its first overseas trip. Our ...

I got a spanking new copy of the newly published Cuckoos of the World for free! Authored by Johannes Erritzoe, Clive F Mann, Frederik Brammer and Richard A Fuller, and publised by Christopher Helm, it describes all 144 species of the bird family Cuculidae including cuckoos, malkohas, couas, coucals, roadrunners and other species in exceptional detail. This includes accurate range ...

Somewhere in the lowland wet zone, I spotted this Sri Lanka Bay Owl from a moving vehicle! That was during an Absolute Birding tour that I guided in the second half of January, 2012 for Mark Yates, Gary Thonburn (both from the U.K.) and Brendon Ryan from South Africa. We were returning to our accommodation 'empty-handed' after specially going ...

I am happy to share the news of a sight record of a vagrant bird species to Sri Lanka—the Yellow-rumped Flycatcher Ficedula zanthopygia. I saw it on 3 January, 2012, at Tanamalwila, in the sylvan interiors of southeastern Sri Lanka on the tour that I am currently guiding with Hans Veltman and Irene ter Horst from the Netherlands. My visitors ...

I am back after guiding my first birding tour for the winter tour season of '2011/'2012. It was a 14-day Absolute Birding tour with Brice and Gail Wells from Perth, Australia from 1–14 November, 2011. Brice, at 78, became the oldest birder to survive my Absolute Birding tour. Our final tally of birds stood at 231 species. We saw all ...

22–29 October, 2011 saw me guiding my first "Leopards and Scrabble" tour. It was with Diane Lofthouse from Sydney, Australia. The trip centred around Yala National Park—the celebrated wildlife hotspot in South East Sri Lanka. Diane had turned 70 just days before the trip. And seeing a Leopard in the wild I was told was on top of her ...

22–29 October, 2011 saw me guiding my first "Leopards and Scrabble" tour. It was with Diane Lofthouse from Sydney, Australia. The trip centred around Yala National Park—the celebrated wildlife hotspot in South East Sri Lanka. Diane had turned 70 just days before the trip. And seeing a Leopard in the wild I was told was on top of her ...

The Scarlet Basker has got to be one of the easiest dragonflies to photograph. That is, if you're willing to put the hard hours in baking sun. Midday is when it is mostly at its element. The male above was shot in a quarry just 250 metres as a crow dragonfly flies from my garden. The owners of the ...

The Scarlet Basker has got to be one of the most easiest dragonflies to photograph. That is, if you're willing to put the hard hours in baking sun. Midday is when it is mostly at its element. The male above was shot in a quarry just 250 metres as a crow dragonfly flies from my garden. The owners there ...

I am back after guiding several trips. One of them was a two-day trip to Sinharaja rain forest from 28–29 August. It was with Dr. Jane Rosegrant, who is the outgoing country director of VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) in Sri Lanka. An American married to a Scot, Jane holds a PhD in Human Ecology from the University of Edinburgh. ...

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This primate moment happened last month at the Hakgala Botanical Gardens. I was guiding Prof. Aiden Foy and Mrs. Hilary Foy from Australia. Seeing a troop of Toque Macaques marching along, I stood ground at a spot that I thought they may pass. The troop were quite disciplined in that they kept to a pavement designated for walkers. Expecting ...

This primate moment happened last month at the Hakgala Botanical Gardens. I was guiding Prof. Aiden Foy and Mrs. Hilary Foy from Australia. Seeing a troop of Toque Macaques marching along, I stood ground at a spot that I thought they may pass. The troop were quite disciplined in that they kept to a pavement designated for walkers. Expecting ...

I am back after guiding several trips. One of them was a two-day trip to Sinharaja rain forest from 28–29 August. It was with Dr. Jane Rosegrant, who is the outgoing country director of VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas) in Sri Lanka. An American married to a Scot, Jane holds a PhD in Human Ecology from the University of Edinburgh. ...

This Purple-rumped Sunbird male comes regularly to sit outside my room's window. After doing so, it would deliver a low, rhythmic call for a while. (That's when I go to grab my camera.) Soon, it would start a fight with its own reflection. It does this by pecking at the window while hovering. This would go on and on ...