2nd May - Lakenheath, Suffolk

This May Day Bank Holiday we were returning to Suffolk, a cottage almost on the beach at Thorpeness was our base,  We have spend several May days here, and enjoyed good weather in what is a beautiful part of the country.  The plan was an early start and an early arrival at a superb RSPB reserve at Lakenheath.  Back in the late eighties, when I was heavily into twitching and year listing, and based in Essex, this location was farmland and poplar copses famous for its Golden Orioles.  Today after the RSPB has taken over the land and returned it to a fen landscape the Poplar trees still remain, but unfortunately the Orioles are now extremely rare.  The work though put in by the RSPB to return this reserve to its natural landscape of reed beds and open water is nothing short of amazing.  Reeds planted by had now have developed into one of the largest reed beds in the UK, and with it the birds and animals that live in that environment.

Leaving the car park early we walked down the path towards New Fen with Reed and Sedge Warblers singing from the reed beds on either side of the path, and away in the distance a Cuckoo was calling.  We stopped at the watch point on New Fen and looked out across the reed beds.

Apart from this lone Mute Swan that probably had a mate on a nest nearby, there was very little to see.  In comparison the songs of the warblers rang out, and ewvery so often the low sonic boom of a bittern, deep within the reed beds.

We walked on and came across the new Mere hide built and installed this winter.  the weather was not good, the dark clouds were rolling over us, and it looked like the possibility of a rain shower so we decided to check the new hide out.

 The beauty of arriving early meant we had the hide to ourselves, and as we entered a Cormorant was fishing in the mere, the light and reflections capturing it wonderfully

We watched it fish, and catch several fish, swallowing them quickly before it decided to fly away.  Ibn its place a lone Canada Goose took up its position in the lovely light and reflection.  Again it probably had a mate on a nest nearby and was taking the chance for some relaxation before the chores of parenthood kicked in.

In general it was quiet, the weather was quite cool, not conducive to a spring montage of activity.  A pair or Reed Bunting displayed, fed and sang from within and at the top of the Reeds.  The male being the most active.

As we watched the Reed Buntings a Water Rail scuttled across between the reed beds eluding the camera, something that was going to be a familiar story over the next few days.  The Reed Bunting activity was curtailed by a Marsh Harrier that came into view above the reeds.

But then disappeared from us, drifting across the reed bed and out of sight.  The light was constantly changing as the sun came out and then in, and dark clouds brought short sharp showers.  This change in light highlighting the reflections on the reed beds.

When the showers looked like they were going to give way to sunshine we left the hide and made our way to the look out across the large reed bed.  The sun unfortunately never really came out, but as we approached the watch point we were able to find a Reed Warbler that did show long enough for some photo opportunities

In addition there was a very loud Cetti's Warbler, and this Whitethrat that perched high on a bush to deliver it's song.

We hung around scanning the reeds in the hope that there might be a Hobby come over, or indeed one of the Cranes that were known to be in the area, but it didn't happen, and we had to be content with watching the adult coots feeding there young on the edge of the reeds

We made our way back to the car park, with very little else happening.  Marsh Harries flew over, Cuckoos called and Reed warblers sang, but it was quite cold, and not conducive to spring birding.

Our next destination was to be Thetford, and a walk around the River Ouse footpaths in the hope of seeing the otters there.  Our first port of call was a coffee shop, but after that we were not able to find any otters, so we headed to the cottage in Thorpeness.

After settling in we decided to explore.  The village pub was closed until 18.00, and in the distance we could see Aldeburgh, so we decided to walk there and see what the townm had to offer.  At first it was a shingle beach walk, but this turned into a grassy surface, and with the wind on our back we made good time.

Comming into Aldeburgh, the fishing boats and gulls increased

The fishing boats looking very picturesque on the beach.

The town itself was very "Suffolk" and we found a pub that served a lovely pint od Adnams "Ghost Ship".

The journey bvack was a different story, into a cold north easterly wind,but this only pushed us to do it in quick time.  A lovely pasta meal, and an early night and we were rready for another early start and the gems of Minsmere the next day

12th April - Mirissa to Colombo, Sri Lanka

This morning we set off for our final whale watch, the final chance to find the Blue Whale.  Like the previous days it was a warm sticky start, but unlike previous days there was an air of the end of term, due to the trip coming to an end, and our Sri Lankan guides all looking forward to the new year celebrations.  At the port thing were no different, guests arrived and waited expectantly, checking the latest sightings board, and hoping for success today.  The one thing that was different, the light, there was more cloud and therefore the fishing boats around the harbour were not as bright as on previous visits.

We set off on time and headed out into an ocean swell that was also a lot stronger than the last trip.  The Whiskered Terns flew alongside as set off, and these were replaced by the White-winged Blacks and Greater crested Terns.  The sun finally put in an appearance, and changed the look of the shore as we headed on.

Once again we took position on the top of the boat, practised now in the art of balancing, but always ready with the hand to grab a rail as the boat lurched into the waves.  It was very quiet, we could see other boats going off in all angles in the search, but there was nothing.  After about an hour od sailing and seeing not even a dolphin, the look outs got a little more excited.  Away in the distance there were some fishing boats and we were heading for them.  One of the look outs asked me to guess what whale there was.  I reeled off the ones I hoped for, and the conversation went something like this 

"Blue Whale?
"No!
Sperm Whale?
"No!
"Bryde's?
"No!
Then running out of suggestions I just said "Killer?" He smiled and said "yes", and it was at that point I knew we were not going to see Blue Whale on this trip.

Killer Whales or to give them their right name Orca, occur only a handful of times in the season, they are very rare in these waters, a bit like the Sperm Whales on the first day.  But when there are Orca the Blues disappear.  I was told stories by the lookouts of them seeing Orca attack the Blues, so you can understand why.

As we approached you could see the tall dorsal fin break the water., and as we got closer it was possible to see that there appeared to be three present, two adults and what looked to be a young calf.  The calf stayed close to what must have been it's mother, while the other, with a much taller dorsal fin could have been a young male.

Boats had arrived from nowhere, and there were also a group of small fishermen with lines dashing around the whales probably in the hope there were tuna too.  We followed the Orca from a distance but some of the boats went close as you can see from these pictures

The mother and calf seemed unconcerned through by the boats, but the other whale dived and swam off.  The family pair would move through the water at a shallow depth, breaking through the waves to breathe

The dorsal fin has distinctive marks, and it was this that makes me believe there were definitely three individuals.  At one point the adult swam across in front of the boat, and you could see the white markings on the side of the whale under the water.

Then it broke the water close to the boat.

By now their patience with the smaller fishing boats who were getting very close wore thin, and they started to take longer dives to get away from them.  As a result we decided to leave them, and went in pursuit of a large pod of Spinner Dolphins.

They swim very close together in groups that make up a super pod of, in this case at least 400 plus dolphins.  This behaviour attracts the attention of the sea birds, and at last I was able to get good views of a Bridled Tern as it joined the Greater Cresteds to look for any opportunity of food being served up by the dolphins.

The dolphins were everywhere, and each little group would have a different behaviour, some just breaking the water all together, but others leaping and spinning in the air.

Wonderfully entertaining to watch they were on every side of the boat.

It is said that the reason we have such an infinity with dolphins is because their mouths always look like they are smiling, and that they are always happy.  As you watched this pod iot definitely looked like they were enjoying themselves and were having a great time.

Finally we left the dolphins, and it was back to shore, and then back to the hotel.  We would be leaving at lunch-time for the journey to Colombo where we were staying for one night before out flight back to the UK the next day.

On the way we stopped at a Turtle Hatchery.  This is supposed to be a conservation effort, but it is hard to understand why it is necessary to keep young hatchlings in concrete pools, it really was a sad experience.  Yes some of the turtles were injured, but others looked fit, and could hear the sea and were rubbing their skin on the concrete edges in an effort to get out.

Another stop was Galle and the Dutch Fort.  It was hot and we all really wanted to just move on.  We walked the walls for awhile, and looked out across the bay.  It was very colonial, and with a lot of European influence as is to be expected.  We had a drink in one of the hotels that was straight out of the British Empire, and it had some interesting photographs from the turn of the twentieth century.

It was here we said goodbye to Sampath, and then we set off to our hotel to wait for the trip to end.

A wonderful ten days in a lovely country.  My expectation was of a country like India, but it wasn't, there is definitely a difference and we enjoyed it.  The wild life was spectacular, and it was a shame the images were lost, but we both have the memories, and they cannot be taken away.  Would we come back again?  yes we would, and hopefully to see that Blue Whale.  In total we saw 112 birds with over 40 new lifers for me.  There were 6 species of whale, and some incredible animals including the beautiful Leopard, and magnificent Elephants.

11th April - Yala National Park to Mirissa, Sri Lanka

The final drive set off again at 5.20, arriving at the centre as one of the first.  As we sat waiting for the permits, an Indian Nightjar flew past us, and then could be seen sitting in the middle of the road.  Was this to be a good sign?  The plan again was the same as before, back to where we had seen the Leopard before, however again the plan changed almost immediately.  Sampath received a call from his friend, we turned around and raced along a track which did nothing for all the bumps and bruises we had received all week.

As we came around a bend we could see only a few Jeeps in front of us, and in the open was a Leopard.  I watched as it got up and walked into the scrub and out of sight, but what I did not see immediately was the other Leopard sitting out in the open.  

Camera up, and plenty of shots, thankfully the SD card was full so I took it out and replaced it with a new one, this one was OK when I got home, so at last I have pictures of Leopard.

More vehicles arrived, and as usual they wanted to get the best positions, incredibly one person got out of the Jeep, and was talking on the phone.  The Leopard immediately turned its head towards the person.

These were two cubs, probably about nine months old, it listened to the man, and then looked around.

and then finally went to get up. 

But was clearly stiff after lying down, and went into some strange stretching positions

It wondered off in the direction of where its sibling had disappeared, but stopped just before the scrub, to turn around to look back, the man was still talking on his phone

It then seemed to pull a face that said "idiot" and then walked off to join the other one, out of sight.

What a beautiful animal, oozing with power and stealth.  Finally we had been treated to wonderful views of the Yala speciality, and with no problems over pushing and moving Jeeps.  The mood again changed and as we set off we really didn't care what else turned up, we had seen what we had hoped for.

We did continue though, and we came across another set of tracks in the sand by the side of the road.  Again there was leopard, and Sloth Bear, and you can see them both in this picture.

When you think bear you think of a large animal, so when I saw the bear prints I thought they were too small, but the Sloth Bear is in fact a small bear only about a metre long.

We followed the tracks and the road came around to an opening where there was a mongoose sitting on a rock.  It quickly went from view, but when it emerged again we could see it wasn't one of the commoner Ruddy Mongoose we had been seen, but a Stripe-necked Mongoose

It was foraging for food, digging into the sand with its muzzle, and muching on something it found.

Leaving the mongoose, we were in for some more excitement, the driver saw a leopard on our left, but as we came around the bend we came across another by the side of the road.  Startling it, it shot off quickly through the bushes.

A blur I know, and probably all a Spotted Deer sees before the lights go out, but a record.  The thought was these were two cubs also, and the one we startled was play stalking the other.  We waited to see if they showed.  As we sat there a Green Bee-eater perched alongside us.  Thankfully I photographed it, only to be told by Helen to be quiet.  I didn't take any more, so I only have one Bee-eater photograph from the trip, gorgeous

Once we realised that they were not going to appear we headed off, and came to the lake by the bungalow, and site we had visited before, and seen White-bellied and Grey -headed Fish Eagles.  There was always something going on during the last visit, and it was the same, thankfully today.

Firs up, by the side of the track was an Orange-bellied Green Pigeon.  This was a pigeon I wanted to watch, beautiful

On the other side of the lake were a pair of Brahminy Kites.  These kites are a common bird along the coast, and quite a widespread bird, as I have also seen them in north and Eastern Australia.

Wild Boar were drinking at he far side of the lake, with Cattle and Intermediate Egrets and an Indian Pond Heron feeding in the lotus and mud around them.

There was not much open water, the lake covered in lotus flowers and leaves.  On these Pheasant-tailed Jacanas scampered about.

A White-throated Kingfisher also sat patiently on one of the dead leaves.

We were on a raised bank over lookingthe lake, and in the bushes along side the bank a Baya Weaver Bird was in the process of building its nest.  A really complicated structure of grass and reeds.  You have to wonder how they go about starting it.

I successfully managed to capture an image of why the Pheasant-tailed Jacana is named.  Its long tail feathers streaming out behind it.

We moved up a little to the end of the track, taking us closer to the reeds and a little more open water.  A Purple Heron was stalking through the reeds in front of us.

and close by the more familiar Grey Heron was doing exactly the same.

Black-faced Langur Monkeys were running about on the shore, and a small party had come down to the water for a drink.  Clearly this is a dangerous exercise, because the monkeys were ever watchful, looking out for each other as the bent to drink.

They were joined by Spotted Deer, and as the deer came to drink, the monkeys would jump in surprise.  The deer are really beautiful, with delicate spots and a lovely black stripe down the back.

As I watched the monkeys I saw that they seemed to be drinking, and at the same time watching in the reflection of the water for movement.  This seemed to allow two to drink at the same time.  You can see the eyes of the monkey on the right looking into the water.

On the other side of the bank we picked up a Golden Jackal, gradually it made its way around the lake, coming quite close to us, and upsetting the monkeys and deer, although it did not seem to have any interest in them.

This monkey watched it from the safety of a nearby tree.

The alpha male monkey seemed to be occupied with some of the females that were drinking, but distractions resulted in him not succeeding in his quest.  We decided to leave, but as we back up a brightly coloured bird behind us was spotted and we stopped to enjoy a Small Minivet.

It was checking the ground beneath it for insects, and posed nicely for us.

We turned to leave, just stopping at the end of the path to see an Imperial Green Pigeon, another beauty, and the largest pigeon in Sri Lanka.

We stopped one more time by a small pool.  An Indian Darter was perched on a branch over the water.

We also wound our way past some more rocks that typify the landscape here in Yala, no leopard, but then I think we had done pretty well this morning.

It was back to the hotel, breakfast and pack before checking out as we were off back to Mirissa.  As we waited for the minibus, the Langur Monkeys around the pool were teasing and enjoying themselves.  Love this picture of the sunbathing monkeys.

Our journey took us back along the coast road we had travelled a few days earlier.  through the same towns and cities.  We stopped along the at  Hambantota first to admire the Lotus flowers on the lake.  The leaves and flowers are picked for food, and you could see the boats in amongst the plants.

The second stop was at a Fruit Bat colony.  Hundreds of Fruit Bats could be seen hanging in the trees, while every so often  some would fly between the trees.  You can see the fox shape of their heads that gives them an alternative name of flying fox, and the extended finger on the wing that they use to grip, and to clasp their wings around them as they hang for the trees.

In the trees you can see some of the bats cuddling young ones inside their closed wings.

Alongside the road you can see dead bats hanging from the power lines.  What happens is they hang down from one line, and then touch one beneath it creating a circuit, and electrocuting themselves.  Thankfully there are not too many.

We left the bats and continued to the hotel outside Mirissa where we checked in once again, and then headed back down to the pool and beach, where some concluded some major business.

The beach was as empty as before, this view reminded me of Tracy Island in Thunderbirds.  All that needed to happen was the palm trees fold back and Thunderbird Two take off!

We made the most of the daylight, staying outside to watch the sun set into the Indian Ocean.  The birds were Greater Crested Terns, attracted to the same fish the Stilt Fishermen were after.

The fishermen were of course on their stilts, whether fishing or not they created a lovely picture with the setting sun.

Tomorrow we have one more Whale Watch, our last chance to find the Blue Whale we had hoped for before we return home.  I am glad I have been able to post some photographs that show the beauty of this wonderful place.