An extended long weekend approached us and I had made no plans. But my good friend Riaz suggested we do Mannar for one final time as the season is coming to an end and there were still many birds and photographs which I wanted. So we planned to book Four Tees Rest for 3 nights. This would be the longest ...

I have been wanting to visit Mannar during the dry season even since we went there in December during the rains. Despite all the rainy and cloudy weather we had some great sightings of Flamingoes and crab plovers. The light was terrible and hence the photographs were not that great. I was determined to get some great pictures this time ...

This is the first blog post for the New Year. I apologize for not writing anything sooner, but I have been quite busy the last few weeks. I was going few weeks on end in Colombo and was wanting a quick Jungle fix. I spoke to my good friend Raveendra and decided to do a weekend in Wilpattu. As this ...

I had been planning a trip to Mannar for a very long time. I didn't go there during the season for January and February when there were many flamingoes and regreted missing this amazing sighting. I made arrangements with my usual travel friends Riaz, Raveendra and Ganindu to go there during December. As usual the best place to stay in ...

I have been spending the last few weeks in Colombo. But this doesn't mean that I don't stop my passion for wildlife and photography. Most weekend mornings are spent at Thalangama Tank. This man made lake is a haven for countless birds. I was very keen to photograph the occasional Black and Cinnamon Bitterns found there as well as the ...

Hello everyone. Its been a long time since I wrote my last blogpost. The reason being that I haven't been travelling a lot lately. Mainly due to weather and also commitments at home at office. But there is an encounter recently which was unbelievably fantastic and amazing that I had to share it with you all.I was on a day ...

Its been quite awhile since I posted a trip report. Most of my posts have been articles written for magazines and newspapers. I have been wanting to see Loris for quite some time, and the best known place is at Vil Uyana in Sigiriya. This luxurious hotel plays host to a well organized loris watching tour. The subspecies seen in ...

One of the best and most memorable leopard sightings in my life would be with Eye One of Wilpattu.Known by this name due to the blue haze on its right eye, this female leopard was first sighted with her brother in 2010, this unique characteristic makes her easy to identify. The cause of this unique feature could be a cataract ...

I am sitting in wait in a tropical rainforest, hoping to find a jewel, a tiny ball of color known as the oriental dwarf kingfisher a.k.a the three toed kingfisher. This is a small, red and yellow kingfisher, averaging 13 cm (5.1 in) in length, yellow under parts with glowing bluish-black upper parts. This is a widespread resident of lowland ...

Wading across deep mud among the mangroves of Vankalai, I was searching for the perfect place to settle down for the sunrise. Reaching the water’s edge I found the ideal spot among the bushes and mangroves where I could lay still without being seen for hours on end. Content with my chosen hide I had to lie still in expectation ...

There are many people nowadays who are into wildlife and photographing wildlife. It is good to see more and more people coming to appreciate the beauty of mother nature. When I was a kid only myself and a handful were really interested about this. I would encourage everyone to observe, travel and appreciate what mother nature has given us in ...

My love and passion for the wild tuskers of our land runs deep within my veins. Seeing a tusker in the wild is a sight to behold, when he steps out of the forest canopy and into the sunlight, he strides along the plains like a colossus showing absolute confidence and dominance over all before him. The female elephants rumble ...

The highlands of Sri Lanka hold a special mystery. The cold sweeping cloud forests envelop an ancient land which is a stark contrast to the dry zone scrub jungles of the lowlands. Long ago the entire hills of the region were covered in jungle, where vast arrays of wildlife including elephant and bear roamed. The British colonials cleared most of ...

Having a particular interest in endemic birds which are found only in Sri Lanka, I was particularly interested in photographing the elusive and rare Sri Lanka Spur Fowl. This shy bird has hardly been photographed and when I heard of a sighting I was determined to find them. A member of the pheasant family this bird is endemic to the ...

Seeing a leopard in the wild is a rare occurrence, and getting a really good quality sighting is even rarer. Getting the best sighting involves some work from your part as well. Patience being the main virtue, one need to be adapt in the waiting game. The chances of getting lucky are 50/50, but when you do get sightings it ...

The sloth bear, is an often misunderstood animal. Despite being sighted in both Yala and Wilpattu National Parks in the recent times very little study has been carried out its behavior. The jungle folk would recall the bear as one of the most dangerous animals to encounter while on foot. Many Veddas and villagers near the jungles have horrific scars ...

The good old land monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or “thalagoya” is an animal treated with much indifference. Most suburban households in Sri Lanka have these critters walking about their garden or sunbathing on their roofs. I find these resilient lizards very interesting as not only do they do us a service by eating the rats and snakes in our area, but ...

Dear Readers, I apologize for the sudden removal of my posts. There have been some issues with regards to conservation which I needed to address and for which I needed to take some drastic action. I will attempt not to disclose some sensitive locations in future as it seems to bring some unwanted finger pointing which is unwarranted in my ...

I have been planning a trip to Galgamuwa for quite some time.I am desperately trying to find the big tusker I encountered last year in the vicinity. The last time I couldn't get such great pictures as the light was very low when he turned up. I am hoping that I can get some stunning shots of this majestic giant ...

I have been planning on doing a worshop for beginners on wildlife photography for some time, and finally I managed to do something about it. I planned for a program in August where I will take 4-5 persons out into the jungle and teach them how to effectively take wildlife photographs. I was very keen to pass my knowledge to ...