Saturday 23 August 2008

Hornbills and Redbolts

The second day trip that I did with Steve was joined by one of his trip mates, Robin. Our first point of call was Bodhinagala forest reserve, which is a small secondary rain forest comprising of 283 ha. It was just 40 minutes from the Blue Water Hotel, Wadduwa, where Steve was based. We followed this with dragonfly walk at a local wetland.

Here are some of our trip highlights.

Variable Flutterer Rhyothemis variegata variegata female

Variable Flutterer
Sri Lanka Rock Frog Nannophrys ceylonensis

Sri Lanka Rock Frog Spine-legged Redbolt Rhodothemis rufa male

Spine-legged Redbolt Leopard Phalanta phalantha

Leopard Buddhist monks at Bodhinagala thanks to whom the forest has been spared from logging.

Buddhist monks Green Skimmer Orthetrum sabina sabina

Green Skimmer Asian Groundling Brachythemis contaminata female

Asian Groundling female Oriental Scarlet aka. Scarlet Skimmer Crocothemis servilia servilia male

Oriental Scarlet male
We also found two more dragonflies in the form of Wall’s Grappletail and Pied Parasol.

Birding highlights: Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill (lots), Yellow-browed Bulbul, Black-capped Bulbul, Sri Lanka Crested Drongo, Black-naped Monarch, Indian Swiftlet, Sri Lanka Swallow, Crested Treeswift, Green Imperil Imperiel Pigeon, Pied Kingfisher, Sri Lanka Green Pigeon, Blue-winged Leafbird, Layard’s Parakeet, Oriental White-eye, Orange Minivet & Dark-fronted Babbler.
A Green-billed Coucal was heard and we didn’t bother as we had exceptional views of it at Sinharaja.
Our mammal highlights included Toque Macaque and Giant Squirrel.

Related posts: Steve in the fast lane

8 comments:

mboi said...

amila, maybe you could link those locations to google maps so visitors from overseas can get a good look. they've updated a lot of sat pics on sl now, you can get a real nice view. ive been looking at areas in the north and east that hav been locked away for 25+ years because of the conflict and if the war comes to an end any time soon, those places will be amazing to visit.

e.g. look at iranativu islands with the reef, shallows, sea-grass beds. there prob some amazing wildlife (e.g. dugongs) here that u cant see anywhere else.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Mannar+Sri+Lanka&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=88.197716,76.992188&ie=UTF8&t=h&ll=9.285501,79.998348&spn=0.003801,0.004828&z=18&iwloc=addr

Redzlan aka Tabib said...

Wah! five species of Dragonfly in stunning colour!

The 'flutter' is the best, not seen at my backyard here.

That 'rock frog' surely very good at camouflage.

Amila Salgado said...

Thanks Mboi,
I will explore this. At the moment I am trying to find ways to reduce the time in front of the computer!

Hi Tabib,
Glad you liked them. The V. Flutterer is common in my home garden. The rock frog was my top highlight of the trip as I saw it after a long time. Its genus is endemic and one of its related species is sadly one of the 21 amphbians that are considered as extinct since their discovery in the colonial era of natural history explorations in the 19th century.

GG said...

oh wow that frog! talk about camoflouge! I wish I had that ability..to blend in to the background, that would come quite handy :)

bobbie said...

That rock frog is all but invisible!

The dragonflies are so gorgeous! I just love them. I still have not been successful in photographing any here. Very frustrating. They are just too fast for me.

Amila Salgado said...

Hi Sasani,
Glad you liked it.
You wish you had the ability to blend like that ? Too late..you have taken the wrong evolutionary path.

Hi Bobbie,
I am happy you like them.
As for dragons, keep trying and you will succeed. I remember giving you some tips. Read them and try again!

oldcrow61 said...

The Butterflies and Dragons are fantastic. And the rock frog, goodness, you'd hardly know he was there. What wonderful things you get to see.

Amila Salgado said...

Thanks OC!
That is a high-profile frog in Sri Lanka. It is quite flat and usually lives inside moist rock crevices/under rocks with moisture during the day time. Its tadpoles are found on moist rock surfaces as opposed to pools of water or flowing water.

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