5th March - Kumana National Park, Sri Lanka - Part Three

After leaving the Leopard we made our way around the trails, moving away from the other cars.  We headed for more water, stopping for this Cattle Egret on the back of a Water Buffalo

A shallow lake with Lotus and Lily pads had quite a bit of activity. Fo once some duck.  This is the only duck I have seen in Sri Lanka, the Lesser Whistling Duck.

A Purple Heron was hunting at the back of the lake, the long snake like neck recoiled as if to strike.

But then another Purple Heron arrived and they were clearly not prepared to share the lake and one was chased off.

In amongst the flooded grass a Pheasant-tailed Jacana.

There was a report of another Leopard, but another lengthy search did find anything.  We then drove around and came across another lake, but we were not here for the water and birds.  A Leopard had earlier killed a Water Buffalo calf and the mother had managed to chase the Leopard off, but unfortunately the calf was dead.  We sat close by in the vain hope the Leopard might return.  The Water Buffalo was out in the water and very soon we had to endure here pleading calls to an offspring that wasn't going to answer.  It was extremely sad to watch and listen to.  Needless to say the Leopard did not appear.

I had noticed a small bird that seemed to like to perch on a dried lump of elephant dung.  As we left we drove past and it turned out to be an Ashy Crowned Lark Sparrow.

Another Brahminy Kite surveying the open areas.

A Little Green Bee-eater by the side of the track.

It was now lunch time and we  headed to wards a look out point for lunch.  But a bull Elephant had beaten us to it and we couldn't get out of the car.  We eventually did and climbed the steps for a view over the wetlands.  Alongside the concrete tower were a pair of Blue-tailed Bee-eaters.

Leaving the concrete tower we came across the third Bee-eater found in Sri Lanka, the Chestnut-headed Bee-eater.  A pair settled on the ground and anting in the sunshine.

The bill open in the hot sun. 

Then flew to the shade and showing of the stunning colours of the Bee-eater.

Driving around the open water areas there were plenty of birds, this a Whiskered Tern.

A smart Little Stint, there were plenty of these delightful little waders.

The other "marsh tern", the White-winged Tern again in winter plumage.  This tern is also slightly smaller than the Whiskered Tern.

Another large gathering of Barn Swallows.

A Kentish Plover.

You will recall at the start of the holiday I photographed a Red-wattled Lapwing.  Since then they have been everywhere and I haven't bothered again.  But here was the "other" Lapwing, the Yellow-wattled Lapwing, this one a little rarer.

Our driver then picked out a Crested Serpent Eagle by the side of the track.  Similar to the Changeable Hawk Eagle, the difference is the yellow colouring around the bill and a banded tail.

We stopped near the dead calf once again, thankfully the mother had moved away, but there wasn't any sign of the Leopard.  I spent the time photographing this Pacific Golden Plover.

A Land Monitor on a rock.

Another sunbathing, anting Bee-eater, this time a Little Green Bee-eater.

This caused a lot of debate between the Sri Lankans in the car, they thought it was a duck, it is in fact the Little Grebe.

I had to work hard to see this even when pointed out, it is a Samba Deer, the largest deer in Sri Lanka.

The wetlands of Kumana are important for a small population of Black-necked Storks, we were lucky to find one.  These storks are found across India and South east Asia.

As our time was running down we stopped to watch a large gathering of Malabar Pied Hornbills.  They appeared to be feeding on the ground, dropping down to the grond from the tree tops.  There were at least a dozen birds, maybe more.

We were now on our way out of the park, but the driver stopped and pointed out a Hoopoe, dust bathing on the track.

We had another stop for a Leopard and I did manage a brief glimpse through the scrub.  The light was going and we were not looking forward to the ride out of the park.  Just before the offices there was a Black-naped Hare by the side of the track.

We set of out of the park, bouncing and bumping once again, the light was going and the speed was painful it was back to the kilometre posts and counting down to one!  This sign was a little ridiculous when you consider how fast we were going.

We reached tarmac and then the car, however halfway into the journey to the hotel, we realised that we had to turn back as we had forgotten the blue ice box that belonged to the hotel.

We got back to the hotel in the dark after an excellent day if exhausting.

5th March - Kumana National Par, Sri Lanka - Part Two

With just one car in front of us we were able to position ourselves to get excellent views of the Sri Lankan Leopard.  The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is a leopard subspecies native to Sri Lanka.  Since 2020, the Sri Lankan leopard has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as the population is estimated at less than 800 mature individuals, and is probably declining. 

If this had been Yala there would have been a scramble and fight, with exhaust fumes and constant chatter.  Here though it was calm and quiet.  We settled in and I waited for positions to change.  The Leopard seemed quite relaxed.

We were told that this was probably a young female.  The Sri Lankan leopard has possibly evolved to become a rather large leopard subspecies, because it is the apex predator in the country.

From the tree the leopard would have views of the Water Buffalo and the car below, maybe this is what caught her attention.

She then stood up and turned around, laying along another bough facing away from us.  Fortunately this did not last too long and she moved to another branch and we were able to move to get a really good view.

The back, hind leg hanging down with the tail.

Snoozing!

Alert!

And watching something, it wasn't clear what.

When she settled down once again I was distracted, a Sri Lankan Wood Shrike.

And up ahead of us a Changeable Hawk Eagle.

The Sri Lankan leopard is a solitary hunter, with the exception of females with young. Male's ranges typically overlap the smaller ranges of several females, as well as portions of the ranges of neighbouring males, although exclusive core areas are apparent. They are more active and prefer hunting at night, but are also somewhat active during dawn, dusk, and daytime hours. They do not usually store their kills in trees, perhaps because similarly-sized or larger carnivores are absent in Sri Lanka.

Alert once again.

An experiment with black and white.

Then some new activity, a yawn and we get to see the teeth.

The survival of the Sri Lankan leopard is primarily threatened by increasing habitat loss and fragmentation, together with an increasing risk of human-induced mortality. Leopards are killed by people either accidentally in wire snares set for other species, or as retaliation after livestock depredation (usually through poisoning the livestock carcass). They are also occasionally shot. Since 2010, over 90 leopards are known to have been killed by people in Sri Lanka.

More yawning.

And a stretch where the claws in the front paws are extended.

Some video.

Then she was up and moved towards the centre of the tree .

We waited and she appeared on the main trunk of the tree.

And jumped from the tree to the ground and started to walk away

More video as we followed

A quick drink and then it was as if it was following something.  The driver saw another Leopard

Again we followed.

Then it was off with a run and was last seen going into the scrub.

The driver seemed to feel it would re-appear, so we sat while the other cars pulled away.  There were a pair of Little Green Bee-eaters to keep us entertained.

But in the end we moved on as well.  An amazing experience and one that will not be forgotten for a long time.