Trees of Life

These amazing trees were captured in Mathugama area. Hope you can identify those peculiar objects hanging from the palms.

I have not seen so many 'wadu kurulu' (Baya Weaver) nests in one place. A closer view is shown here. It appeared that this community has lived here for a long period of time as I saw some of the older nests on the ground.

Sunbird Gaze

These birds on the telephone wire were gazing at a particular object for sometime. Later, I got to know that there was a rat snake on the other side of the lane.

Yala National Park

Yala is a small area in the south east coast of Sri Lanka . The name ‘Yala’ is well-known as Sri Lanka’s most famous and the second largest national park (Ruhunu National Park) is given the same name. In fact Yala is a part of the park itself.

Yala is situated about 300 km from Colombo . The park is about 1000 square kilometers and it spreads in three districts (Hambanthota, Monaragala and Ampara) belong to three provinces.

The southern part is known as Block 1 and it is the more popular section. The entry point to this section is situated at Palatupana. Nimalawa sanctuary is situated adjacent to this entry point. Western and Northern Parts, belong to Uva Province, are comprised of Yala Blocks 3, 4 and 5. Kataragama and Katagamuwa sanctuaries are situated in the west, adjacent to the park. The eastern part of Yala, belongs to Eastern Province is now known as Kumana National Park. This was recently opened to the public after many years of isolation due to security reasons.

Yala is more famous for its fauna than flora. Elephant, leopard and bear sightings are regarded as prized ones while deer, crocodiles, wild boar and wild buffalos are quite common sights. It is also a paradise for birders.

Yala is situated in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. The jungle is mostly made of dry monsoon forests, thorny forests and grasslands. Among the larger varieties, Palu trees are quite common. This area gets water from two main rivers (Kumbukkan Oya and Menik Ganga), but those also run dry during dry seasons. A few tanks in the park keep all the animals alive during dry periods. One prominent tank is Butawa Wewa, which is known as the last water resource that remains even during heavy draughts.

Yala is famous for its historical significance as well. Quite a few ancient ruins are scattered in these areas and some are yet to be discovered. There are a few prominent temples situated within this park. Sithul Pahuwa is the most famous temple which is situated on top of a rocky outcrop. There are a few more rocky outcrops in the park and some of the more prominent ones are Akasa Chethiya (Elephant Rock), Jamburagala and Pimburagala.

The Indian Ocean is the southern boundary of Yala and it has some of the most beautiful and unique beaches in Sri Lanka like, Patanangala, Kumana and Minihagalkanda.

Yala is one of the must-go-places in Sri Lanka and I shall bring more about this place soon.

This post was selected for Kottu Section of week end news paper, The Sunday Leader.

Sinharaja

Sinharaja Forest Reserve is one of the last remaining virgin rainforests in the world. Due to its significance, UNESCO has designated this forest reserve as a Biosphere Reserve as well as a World Heritage Site.

This majestic rainforest is situated in the South West of Sri Lanka within Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces. There are many entry points to this forest and the closest to Colombo is Kudawa village via Weddagala. The distance to Kudawa is about 125km from Colombo. The other main entry points are Pitadeniya via Deniyaya and Morningside via Sooriyakanda.

This primeval forest is home to many flora and fauna and most are indigenous to this area. It is quite popular for endemic species of butterflies, amphibians, reptiles and birds. Also you can see larger animals like sambhurs and leopards. The majority of the trees are tall, gigantic ones between the heights of 35 – 40m. And some trees like the Giant Nawada Tree are closer to 50m in height.

The forest receives 4000 – 5000mm of rainfall every year and it is a primary source for many rivers and tributaries. Koskulana Ganga and Gin Ganga are some of them. There are some dazzling waterfalls also in this forest like Neluwa and Doovili Ella. This hilly reserve area has a few medium level peaks which provide excellent vantage points for explorers. Hinipitigala, Mulawella, Sinhagala and Kosgulana are some of them.

The best period to visit the forest is between December - April and August - September.

The above picture was taken from one of the highest peaks within the range known as Mulawella (about 760m).

I will bring more about this amazing place very soon. Till then, please visit following sites to learn more about Sinharaja.

• www.sinharaja.net
• www.sinharaja.4t.com
• UNESCO Biosphere Reserves
• UNESCO World Heritage sites

This post was selected for Kottu Section of week end news paper, The Sunday Leader.

Udawaththa Kele

This is a wonderful forest reserve situated within the city of Kandy. It is located in a hill just behind the famous Temple of the Tooth (Dalada Maligawa).

The forest area is nicely kept and there are many walkways across it. This reserve is a sanctuary for bird lovers and there are many varieties of flowers also can be seen. The view of the city from here is very charming and you can even see the picturesque Hanthana Mountain too as shown in the picture above.

I have attached more pictures here and you can find detailed information about Udawaththa Kele in this link.

Water Lilies Galore

This picture and a few more here were captured at Anawilundawa (Annaiwilundawa) bird sanctuary. The water surface is completely covered with water lilies and other plants.

I would like to reiterate exact comments made by Gallicissa in one of my earlier posts regarding this area for the interest of all the readers. Thanks Amila for sharing these important facts.

‘This (Annaiwilundawa) is excellent for birding especially during Nov-April when migrants supplement resident birds. It was designated as RAMSAR wetland due to its avi-faunal richness. It is one of the three RAMSAR wetlands in Sri Lanka. The other RAMSAR wetlands are Bundala and Madhu Ganga Sanctuary.

The area is good for butterfly and dragonfly enthusiasts and there are enough interesting things for a keen naturalist to spend a whole day here.’

I would love to go there when the water lilies are in full bloom.

Anawilundawa

This interesting scenery was seen at a place called Anawilundawa in the Puttalam District. You can reach here via Colombo – Puttalam Road. A traveler had to turn towards the sea side after Baththulu Oya.

This area is connected to Mundal Lagoon South of Puttalam. It is a marshy area but very scenic in its own unique way. The watery landscape is full of different types of water lilies like Olu and Manel. The land is generally grassy but lots of thick forest patches can be seen.

It is a great place for bird watchers and to my knowledge, Anawilundawa is already identified as a bird sanctuary.

The Maiden Flight

This little bird was seen on his (Let’s call it ’he’) maiden flight from his nest. In fact I had the chance of seeing the little bird from the time he was fed daily by his parents.

The nest was found inside a house in Pepiliyana and the parents selected this unique place as it was totally protected from rain and other natural adversities. There was a kitul tree planted inside the house and the parent birds have built the nest long time ago. This is either the third or fourth batch of children.

I think they belong to the humming bird category (Peni kurulla). I hope Our Birder would be able to enlighten me on the exact type.

It was great watching the daily labors of the bird mother to feed the little one. The father too visited there quite a few times. By the time the bird came out of the nest he was as big as the mother if not bigger.

After some initial struggle he managed to fly away and join his new world!