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02-09-09, 01:07 PM
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Sri Lanka
Thought I'd post a few pics up of Sri Lanka I'm sure Indunil will fill us in on the details, we loved the place it is a great place to visit for all enviroments, Rain Forest, Dry Zones, Temperate Zones everything you could wish to see in one island.
Sorry but the pics are scans of 35mm film not very good quality. First is Sigirya Fort a kind of mini Ayres Rock but with a ruined palace on top. The steps up to it would have Health & Safety pullin there hair out. Each of those steps is only about 12" wide and just wedged in the rock face.  There is a moat around the whole site which had good numbers of Common Kingfisher and Stork-billed Kingfisher, the trees around were full of Monkeys and Giant Squirrel. 
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02-09-09, 03:06 PM
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Interesting images Merlin and yes I'm sure Indunil will be keen to supply more info
 ......those steps look horrendous tho!!!!!!
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03-09-09, 06:11 AM
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The Legend of Sigiriya
(Sigiriya Meanning in English Lion Rock) According to the Mahavamsa (which book include Historical data), there was once a king calleed, Kasyapa, the son of King Dhatusena. Kasyapa murdered his father by walling him alive and then usurping the throne which rightfully belonged to his elder brother Mogallana. Mogallana escaped Kasyapa's assassination attempt by fleeing to India. In India Mogallana raised an army with the intention of returning and retaking the throne of Sri Lanka. Knowing that Mogallana will return one day, Kasyapa built his palace on the summit of Sigiriya Rock as a fortress as well as a pleasure palace. In AD 495, eighteen years afer Kasyapa seized power, Mogallana returned and declared war. At the heat of the battle, Kasyapa's elephant turned aside sensing a hidden swamp. His army though he was retreating, so they backed away, leaving him stranded. Rather than be captured, Kasyapa committed suicide by turning his sword on himself (legend said he beheaded himself). Moggallana returned the capital to Anuradapura and Sigiriya reverted into a monastery complex. The irony of this story is that had King Kassyapa remained within the high walls of Sigiriya Rock, Mogallana would have never been able to defeat him. Some people believe that the years of waiting for an invasion had driven Kassyapa over the edge, or that Kasyapa developed a guilty consoncience over what he had done and wanted to fight his brother on an equal level. Alternative stories have the primary builder of the palace at Sigiriya Rock as King Dhatusena, with Kasyapa finishing the work in honour of his father. Another story have Kasyapa as a playboy king, with Sigiriya Rock being his pleasure palace. Still, Kasyapa's fate was nowhere less tragic. In some versions, he was assassinated by a concubine, in another he cut his own throat when isolated in his final battle. The History Of Sigiriya Sigiriya Rock may have been in use since prehistoric times. It was already a rock-shelter monastery from about the 3rd century BC. The caves within it were prepared and donated by devotees. Later King Kasyapa built the garden and palace around it. After King Kasyapa died, Sigiriya reverted to monastic use up till the 14th century, when it was finally abandoned, and was only rediscovered in 1907 by British Explorer John Still. More reading Sigiriya Sigiriya.org: Sigiriya the 'Mount of Remembrance' Sigiriya - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Sigiriya birding Check List Lesser Whistling-duck Dendrocygna javanica Cotton Pygmy-goose Nettapus coromandelianus Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus Black-crowned Night-heron Nycticorax nycticorax Indian Pond-heron Ardeola grayii Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis Grey Heron Ardea cinerea Purple Heron Ardea purpurea Great Egret Casmerodius albus Intermediate Egret Mesophoyx intermedia Little Egret Egretta garzetta Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis Peregrine Falcon (F. p. peregrinator) Falco peregrinus peregrinator Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus Crested Serpent-eagle Spilornis cheela Shikra Accipiter badius Black Eagle Ictinaetus malayensis White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus Pheasant-tailed Jacana Hydrophasianus chirurgus Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybrida Spotted Dove Stigmatopelia (Streptopelia) chinensis Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica Orange-breasted Green-pigeon Treron bicinctus Pompadour Green-pigeon Treron pompadora Green Imperial-pigeon Ducula aenea Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri Drongo Cuckoo Surniculus lugubris Blue-faced Malkoha Phaenicophaeus viridirostris Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis Indian Nightjar Caprimulgus asiaticus Asian Palm-swift Cypsiurus balasiensis Little Swift Apus affinis Crested Treeswift Hemiprocne coronata Stork-billed Kingfisher Pelargopsis (Halcyon) capensis White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis Blue-eared Kingfisher Alcedo meninting Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis Little Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus Chestnut-headed Bee-eater Merops leschenaulti Sri Lanka Grey-hornbill Ocyceros gingalensis Brown-headed Barbet Megalaima zeylanica Crimson-fronted Barbet Megalaima rubricapillus Coppersmith Barbet Megalaima haemacephala Brown-capped Woodpecker Dendrocops nanus White-naped Woodpecker Chrysocolaptes festivus Common Iora Aegithina tiphia Common Woodshrike Tephrodornis pondicerianus Large Cuckooshrike Coracina macei Black-headed Cuckooshrike Coracina melanoptera Small Minivet Pericrocotus cinnamomeus Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike Hemipus picatus Black-hooded Oriole Oriolus xanthornus White-bellied Drongo Dicrurus caerulescens Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (D. p. ceylonicus) Dicrurus paradiseus ceylonicus White-browed Fantail Rhipidura aureola Asian Paradise-flycatcher (T. p. paradisi) Terpsiphone paradisi paradisi Asian Paradise-flycatcher (T. p. ceylonicus) Terpsiphone paradisi ceylonicus House Crow Corvus splendens Jungle Crow Corvus levaillantii Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo daurica Oriental Skylark Alauda gulgula Grey-breasted Prinia Prinia hodgsonii Ashy Prinia Prinia socialis Plain Prinia Prinia inornata Black-crested Bulbul Pycnonotus melanicterus Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer White-browed Bulbul Pycnonotus luteolus Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius Clamorous Reed-warbler Acrocephalus stentoreus Brown-capped Babbler Pellorneum fuscocapillus Tawny-bellied Babbler Dumetia hyperythra Dark-fronted Babbler Rhopocichla atriceps Yellow-billed Babbler Turdoides affinis Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus Common Myna Acridotheres tristis Oriental Magpie-robin Copsychus saularis White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicatus Brown-breasted Flycatcher Muscicapa muttui Tickell's Blue-flycatcher Cyornis tickelliae Jerdon's Leafbird Chloropsis jerdoni Pale-billed Flowerpecker Dicaeum erythrorhynchos Purple-rumped Sunbird Nectarinia zeylonica Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica Long-billed Sunbird Nectarinia lotenia House Sparrow Passer domesticus White-rumped Munia Lonchura striata Scaly-breasted Munia Lonchura punctulata Paddyfield Pipit Anthus rufulus
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03-09-09, 08:24 AM
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Fascinating info Indunil and a great bird species list too,thanks!
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03-09-09, 09:41 AM
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Interesting pics, Merlin! Though the steps made my head go a bit giddy just looking at them!
Fascinating info, Indunil!
__________________
Judith. Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you. - Frank Lloyd Wright
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03-09-09, 11:07 AM
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Next stop is Kandalama Lake (Tank) and hotel an eco-hotel built by Geoffrey Bawa, this hotel has to seen to be believed. The vegitation has reclaimed every external surface. It is constructed into the hillside with wings coming off, the entire hotel is open to the jungle except the bedrooms, bar and dinning area, giving a feeling of a zoo in reverse (the wildlife sits on your balcony observing YOU), lizards stalk moths by the lights in the corridors at night and bats come whistling round the corners.
We really didn't allow enough time here in our whistle stop tour, we decided before we went to mix wildlife and culture (oh and our wedding) so we didn't do very much intense birding/wildlife apart from Yala National Park and Bundala Sanctuary, but really wish we had here. Some highlights were Grey-headed Fish Eagle and the beautiful Brahminy Kite fishing on the Lake plus watching a Tailorbird constructing it nest right beside us at breakfast. Perhaps Indunil would like to fill in the details. We'll just have to go back one day and fill in the gaps specially Horton Plains, Sinharaja Forest and a dozen more I could mention. 1st shot is from the bar terrace looking across one of the wings. 2nd shot is from the hills behind the hotel (middle foreground is the hotel covered in jungle).
__________________
Some people say I spend too much time staring in bushes for no apparent reason, and for the most part I have to agree My Website
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03-09-09, 12:41 PM
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You have lot of experience in Sri Lanka right,…. how many days you had being here? Yes that hotel is one of main Eco hotel here as well as world too, unmatchable Bawa creation…It’s situated Dambulla (DRY zone), when the Hotel Constructing, naturalist & farmers against the project
 but it’s did not stop but majority not expecting such a wonderful output. Because that lake is main water supply for cultivation, Naturalist estimate it will affect all farmers & village but reality is so wonderful, Now it’s the main eco hotel in Sri Lanka. beyond the lake wonderful hotel but you can see reptiles & amphibians inside the hotel as well as natural water come inside the hotel too, it’s real unmatchable experience any way, I hope you enjoyed Habarana Safari with Rural food, next time inform me before plan to come I will join with you too.
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03-09-09, 01:10 PM
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Quote:
__________________
Some people say I spend too much time staring in bushes for no apparent reason, and for the most part I have to agree My Website
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03-09-09, 07:03 PM
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Sri Lanka
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04-09-09, 09:17 AM
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It’s grate news for me as well as world wild wildlife naturalist,may be it’s first Hotel from Sri Lanka Comes to Birding.uk,Dambulla area is rich birding destination checklist of the area refer above, in addition to Habarana Elephant & leopard safari, Pita wawa (Bolder range) Birding site, specially primate visit are highlights of area.
See More Dambulla. Photos of Dambulla Sri Lanka Nalanda Gedige (The Middle point of the earth) - Sri Lanka Dambulla - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dambulla.com
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