Pied Kingfisher - Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) - Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

I hadn't photographed a Pied Kingfisher until my last trip to Arugam Bay in July. I came across a pair of them hunting along a small waterway on the side of the road. They were making short flights out over the water and hovering for a while and returning to their perch on a telephone wire. Fortunately for me, they hovered for long enough for me to take a few photographs.

More inside.

 Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) - Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

Pied Kingfishers range from sub-Saharan Africa across to west Asia. The species found in Sri Lanka is considered to be a sub-species named leucomelanura. They are about 17cm in length and are white with a black mask. The males have a narrow second breast band while females have a broken breast band. The photographs above are of a male. It hunts by hovering over water to locate prey and then diving bill first to capture fish. 

Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) - Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

These photographs were taken with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. The conditions were not ideal as the clouds were a very bright background for these flight shots. I also had to push the ISO up to be able to shoot photographs of the birds in flight. I'm hoping to get some better shots in the future but they are not too bad for a first effort.

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Paddyfield Pippit - Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

Paddyfield Pippit (Anthus rufulus) - Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

The Paddyfield Pippit, a small passerine, is a common bird found in scrub, grassland and cultivated areas through Asia. I photographed these birds while driving to the Kudumbigala Monastery in July. It's a relatively plain looking bird with a streaked grey and brown body. However, measuring in at around the 15cm mark, it is large for a Pippit.

More photographs inside.

Paddyfield Pippit (Anthus rufulus) - Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

Richards Pippit and Blyths Pippit are similar in appearance to this species and differentiating them can be difficult in the winter month when they migrate into the area. 6 subspecies have been identified. The Paddyfiled Pippit is smaller, weaker in flight and has a shorter tail. 

Paddyfield Pippit (Anthus rufulus) - Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

This species breeds throughout the year, mainly in the dry season, and may have two or more broods in a year. The nest is built on the ground under a slightly prominent area which could be a push or a tuft of grass. A clutch usually consists of 3 - 4 eggs which are greenish in colour. When disturbed near the nest the parents may feign injury to distract predators.

Paddyfield Pippit (Anthus rufulus) - Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

I came across these birds by the side of the road and photographed them from the car. I used the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens for all these photographs.

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Black-winged Stilts - Yala, Sri Lanka

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) - Yala, Sri Lanka

Black-winged stilts are common waders found in most Sri Lankan tanks. Their distinct red legs and black wings make identification straightforward. I hadn't actually photographed this species before our last trip to Yala and was quite keen to get a few shots of them in flight.

More photographs inside.

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) - Yala, Sri Lanka

We stayed at a house outside the park during our time in Yala. Just before leaving for Colombo, I walked down to the bottom of the garden and found a number of Black-winged Stilts in the tank adjacent to the property. The photographs on this post were shot during the 30 minutes I spent at the tank.

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) - Yala, Sri Lanka

Males of this species are said to have a black back with a greenish gloss while female's backs have a brown hue. Immature birds are grey in colour  instead of black and have a sandy hue on their wings. The Black-winged Stilt belongs to the avocet family and mainly feed on insects and crustaceans.

Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) - Yala, Sri Lanka

These photographs were taken with the canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. If I were to take these shots again, I would probably get lower down to the ground and shoot at a similar level to the birds as they fly past.






  

Scarlet Basker - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

Scarlet Basker (Urothemis signata signata) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

The Scarlet Basker is one of the easiest Dragonflies to identify in Sri Lanka. The male, pictured above, is a bright red colour which borders on being gaudy. They can be seen around most tanks (a tank is a man made lake).  I have photographed them on a number of occasions in the past. This post contains photographs I shot on our last trip to Sri Lanka.

More photographs inside.

Scarlet Basker (Urothemis signata signata) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

In terms of appearance the female, photographed above, is a bit easier on the eye. It is yellow in colour and looks completely different to the male. Early starts paid off with these shots as the dragonflies were sluggish and allowed me to photograph them from quite close.

Scarlet Basker (Urothemis signata signata) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

When time permits, I would like to attempt to photograph dragonflies with a macro lens and probably the extension tubes. I think the Scarlet Basker would be a good species to target for this, purely based on my luck to date.

Scarlet Basker (Urothemis signata signata) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

The difficulty in using a macro lens to photograph dragonflies would be handling the external light sources. I don't have a macro lighting kit or a ring flash (yet) so I use my speed lights handheld. I try not to use a tripod as setting it up may disturb the dragonfly.

Scarlet Basker (Urothemis signata signata) - Thalangama, Sri Lanka

These photographs were taken with the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. I didn't have to use additional lighting as there was sufficient natural light when these photographs were taken.

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Superb Fairy-Wren - Sandy Hollow, Australia

Superb Fairy-Wren (Malurus cyaneus) - Sandy Hollow, Australia

I have uploaded a couple of photographs of the Superb Fairy-Wren previously but thought I'd share a few more recent shots of the male of this species on this post. Again, the photographs were taken over a weekend spent on a friends farm in Sandy Hollow in the northern reaches of the Hunter Valley in New South Wales.

More photographs inside.

Superb Fairy-Wren (Malurus cyaneus) - Sandy Hollow, Australia

As with most Wrens, the Super Fairy Wren doesn't sit still for long. They spend their time hopping from branch to branch foraging in the undergrowth. Photographing these birds takes a fair bit of patience as you need to wait for them to appear in the open. Then you have to try and focus on the bird before it disappears again.

Superb Fairy-Wren (Malurus cyaneus) - Sandy Hollow, Australia

I used AI Focus to track the birds while they moved about feeding. As soon as they stepped out into the open I hit the shutter release to take the photograph. It does sounds a lot easier than it actually was! The main issue I experienced while photographing these birds was focusing. As the camera would sometimes focus on the leaf litter or on a stray leaf. I couldn't pre-focus as the birds were unpredictable.

Superb Fairy-Wren (Malurus cyaneus) - Sandy Hollow, Australia

All the photographs on this post were taken with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens. A tripod wasn't use as the light was strong enough to use a quick shutter release.

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