More Leopards - Sri Lanka

Leopard - Yala, Sri Lanka

I've still got a number of photographs of Leopard taken in Sri Lanka which I have not had a chance to share until now. The photograph above was our ninth and last sighting of a Leopard in Yala. We saw it on the further side of an open plain near the entrance to the park. We watched it for about ten or fifteen minutes while it walked over, crossed the road and disappeared into the undergrowth.

More photographs inside.

Leopard - Yala, Sri Lanka

Unfortunately when we came across this Leopard it was late in the evening and the light wasn't great. I had to push up the ISO to around 640 for this one but in hindsight I should have pushed it up further. Although this would have added to the "noise" I would have been able to use a faster shutter speed.

Leopard Cub - Yala, Sri Lanka

The photograph was taken during the sighting at Karaw Gas Wala. The cub seemed a bit reluctant to cross the road with a couple of jeeps being parked nearby. However, it did work up the courage to cross the road and I was able to take a number of photographs of it in the open.

Leopard - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

This was the first Leopard we saw when we drove into the Wilpattu National Park. It was only about 5 minutes away from the main gate in an area which "didn't have too many animals". It was a good start to a three hour drive in the park.

All these photographs were taken with the 100-400mm lens and the Canon 7D. The ISO had to be pushed up to around 400 or more as the light wasn't the best.

Leopards - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

Leopard - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

On our last trip to Sri Lanka we were able to visit Wipattu while we were staying in Anuradhapura. Due to time constraints we were able to do just one drive in the park. However, we were quite lucky as we atually managed to see 3 Leopards in the park.

More photographs after the jump.

 Leopard - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

The first sighting was just five minutes after we entered the park. We had just picked up the tracker from the office and headed into the park when we saw the first Leopard just off the road. We had actually driven past him before we realised and had to reverse back to where he was. He wasn't too bothered with us and was happy to sit in the shade and be photographed. We had been there for about five minutes when a tractor approached and spooked the Leopard.

Leopard - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

The second sighting was a mother and a cub who were playing on the road when we saw them. Unfortunately they were some distance away and we had to be cautious when we approached. Our driver wasn't very experienced and he stopped a relatively long way from the Leopards making photography almost impossible. By the time we were close enough to the Leopards to photograph them, the cub had moved away.

Leopard - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

A few minutes later the mother moved off to the right hand side of the road. The cub saw her move and followed her. It was still in a playful mood and I was fortunate to photograph it running across the road and jumping on its mothers back. The two moved into the undergrowth and were there for sometime before they disappeared into the jungle.

Leopard - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

The photograph above is of the mother when she was about 10 meters away.

All the photographs on this post were taken with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens.

Emerald Dove - Sri Lanka

Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

Of all the pigeons found in Sri Lanka, the Emerald Dove is easily the most striking. It's brilliant green wings and red beak and feet make identification easy. It's a shy bird and as a result, although common,  is rarely seen. On my last trip to Sri Lanka I photographed this species in Sinharaja as well as in Wilpattu.

More photographs inside.

 Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

The sighting in Sinharaja was the best in terms of photography. We had just walked in through the gate and around the first corner of the main road when we saw a male Emerald Dove (males have a white patch on their shoulder) walking towards us. I was expecting it to stop briefly and then disappear into the undergrowth on the side of the road but fortunately this was not the case. The bird just walked straight at us and I was able to fire off a number of frames as it approached. It continued until it was well beyond where we were standing before it took flight.

Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

I was also surprised to see a number of them in Wilpattu. They were foraging along the edge of almost every road we drove on and took flight as the vehicle approached. They were probably on the road as they are not used to vehicles driving in the park (the park had been closed to visitors for years and opened up very recently). Most of them flew into the forest and disappeared into the undergrowth pretty quickly. One of them flew up and perched on a branch by the side of the road and allowed me to take the second shot on this post.

 

 Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) - Sinharaja, Sri Lanka

Both Wilpattu and Sinharaja are have a thick canopy and very little direct sunlight gets through. As a result, to get decent photographs of these birds I had to jack up the ISO. In Sinharaja I had to use an ISO of about 2000. All photographs on this post were taken with the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens.

Crested Serpent Eagle - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela spilogaster) - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

The Serpent Eagle is one of the more common birds of prey found in Sri Lanka. Although it is found across tropical Asia, the Sri Lankan subspecies is endemic. In total, 21 subspecies of the Serpent Eagle have been identified across its range.

More photographs after the jump.

 Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela spilogaster) - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

On my last trip to Sri Lanka in July, I saw the Serpent Eagle in Kandy, Arugam Bay and Wilpattu. The sighting in Wilpattu was the best in terms of photography as we were around 10 meters away from the Eagle. We came across it while driving down a road which had thick undergrowth on either side. The bird was perched on a branch that was about 10 feet off the ground and overhanging the road.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela spilogaster) - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

Fortunately for us, it was not spooked by the approaching vehicle and was content to watch us as we drove up and stopped almost under the tree. I was able to photograph it while leaning out of the jeep window. We spent about 10-15 minutes with the eagle before driving off right under its perch. When we came back about half an hour later, we were surprised to see it still on the same perch.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela spilogaster) - Wilpattu, Sri Lanka

All these photographs were taken with the Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens.