Sri Lanka Jungle Fowl Gallus lafayetti Just into a good read “Why did the CHICKEN cross the world?” by Andrew Lawler ….it is so strange that we who are interested in birds seem to have just forgotten the most closely associated bird in our everyday life…..There are 20 Billion chickens living in our planet at any given time. The closest ...
The countdown beginsThe long waited re-union named the Mother of all Re-unions; the Golden Jubilee of the Class of 66 of the then St Thomas’ Preparatory School in Bandarawela [STPSB] is just a month away. On the 7thof July 2016 the first member arrives in the country. Dulip Nilaweera also known as ‘Tonto’ both at school and at home, who ...
The conventional birdwatching is related to a science of identifying unknown birds in the field. Most books on the techniques of bird watching to beginners did convey this scientific approach to identify birds in the field. However with the advancement of the digital camera the theme for identifying new or unknown birds in the field is no longer in practice. ...
I was invited to contribute to the commemorative souvenior of S Thomas' College Gurutalawa on its completion of 75 as a special academic institution in this country.Much of the material here is gleaned from the book published on the First Fifty Years in 1992 and as recorded by Mr. O. E. J. de Soyza. The writer has documented much of ...
It was just after the Spring break in 2017 and we are invited by Linda; my daughter’s friend to spend a weekend with them in Panora in Iowa. The weather was still in a more wintery spring with heavy overcast skies but a rain free weekend is predicted. We arrive late Friday evening in remote rural Panora in the state ...
Vesak in 2013 was observed with a pilgrimage to distant Somawathiya. Vesak in 2014 also fell amidst a long line of holidays but the enthusiasm to go places was not to be. Nevertheless an opportunity to fulfil a childhood wanting of mine, to visit the Kathaluwe Purwarama Temple in Ahangama was fulfilled. This yearning being linked to a school time ...
E 01 – Sri Lanka’s first ever express way from Kottawa in Colombo to Matara in the southern province was partially commissioned up to Galle, a main city in the south of Sri Lanka on 27th November 2011.To me and many other Galle wallahs employed in Colombo, home is now an hours drive away. This is the most welcome happening ...
The planet earth that we live in has had drastic changes to its profile and the climate from time to time due to natural disasters, changing weather patterns and very recently by acts of man. Development related to Civil Engineering activities for economic growth, housing and energy use have impacted the earth very much in the past century than from ...
It’s a Saturday morning in the month of July and I'm still in bed at home in Galle; a township deep down in the south of Sri Lanka…listening to the morning melody of the birds in the garden calling me out of bed… they all seem to say; ‘gone are the rains and sunny days are back.’ This year the ...
I am in Badulla waiting for a call from my daughter to pick her at the University. I get the call but she says her submissions are getting extended and we will need to stay overnight instead; I have a day to spend in Badulla. I need to find a way to kill time. I have already visited Diyaluma Falls, ...
The elephant is the largest terrestrial animal on earth and being herbivores it requires the largest area as habitat and a substantial volume of fodder, over 150 kilograms on a daily basis. They are of two species; the African elephant [Loxodonta africana] which is restricted to the African continent and the Asian elephant [Elephas maximus] confined to the South ...
Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka [FOGSL] is completing 40 years of Conservation for the Birds and People in 2016/2017 . This achievement was commemorated with the BirdLife Asia Council and the BirdLife International Global Council meeting up in Sri Lanka. A highlight of these events was the Bird Fair at the Thalawathugoda Wetland Sanctuary on Sunday the 20th November ...
Now that the Maestro Amaradewa is no more having bid farewell to the nation that is to continue mourning for a few more days………let me put here our feelings and encounters from the time of the first announcement of him being hospitalized.It was Thursday 3rd Nov 2016, morning and I am leaving to Hambantota having put up at my home ...
Man’s primitive means of communication was the human voice. Various sounds at various intensity levels may have been adopted to communicate, depending on the distance of the receiver. Beyond the distance of hearing; a symbolic note on leaf or papyrus hand delivered, would have fulfilled the need…. This is thought to be the inception of language. When the distance ...
Bridges generally span waterways providing pass-over links to roadways. But this particular bridge in Fort Kearney in Nebraska built over the river Platte River is to nowhere, but to watch cranes. The Sandhill Crane stopover here on its back migration from Mexico and Texas to Canada and Alaska. Central American FlywayThe arrival of the Sandhill cranes and millions of other ...
Sri Lanka Jungle Fowl Gallus lafayetti Just into a good read “Why did the CHICKEN cross the world?” by Andrew Lawler ….it is so strange that we who are interested in birds seem to have just forgotten the most closely associated bird in our everyday life…..There are 20 Billion chickens living in our planet at any given time. The closest ...
Sri Lanka is home for 10 native bamboo species and 7 introduced bamboo species. This is as per a research done by Soderstrom and Ellis 1998. The chart below gives the science of them.Native and Introduced Bamboo Species in Sri LankaSource: Soderstrom and Ellis 1998 Species Local Name Native * Arundinaria densifolia1 Bata * A. debilis Bata * A. scandens ...
If there is any hobby, a pastime that has been attracting people in a big way other than for competitive sports…... it is said to be for birdwatching. While this stands true in most countries, it is also sad to note that many personalities who have been in to big time birdwatching and account for a large list of birds ...
St Thomas’ Preparatory School, Bandarawela [STPSB] in the 1960’s was definitely the only fee levying school that conducted classes from the Kindergarten to Standard Five in the Province of Uva in Ceylon then.Established in 1942 by Mr. W T Keble it has come a long way excelling both in academia and sport. I was fortunate to have passed through this ...
Planet Earth has three significant swells in North America. The Rocky and Sierra Nevada in the West with the Appalachian Range in the East.RockiesOf them the Rockies being the larger and the bolder is wide and stretches covering much of Canada’s British Colombia [BC]; spanning from Alaska to the border of Central American. They are noted to contain the highest ...
