Smooth Otter at Sungei Buloh

Meal followed by a sand bath. 

Smooth Otter at Sungei Buloh

Last Saturday, I observed this otter catching three large fishes one after another.  She did not eat the last one entierely, keeping part of it for a later meal.

Malaysian Plover

 Yoga on the beach. Male Malaysian Plover stretching at low tide. While Malaysian Plovers are residents of the region, sightings are rather uncommon.

 Female Malaysian Plover

 Male Malaysian Plover

St Andrew's Cathedral - Singapore

 

The sky was all white with haze and clouds, yet I had in mind to take some pictures today. So I headed to St Andrew's Cathedral for some indoor captures, just to find out that the apse was under renovation. Walking around, I still managed a few shots, handheld HDRs.

The leopards of Yala (2)

My favourite shots of the leopards.  

Water Buffalo - Yala National Park

After the elephants, wild water buffaloes are the second largest mammals found in the park.  

Mugger crocodile - Yala National Park

Mugger crocodiles can be found in large numbers, basking under the sun at all the waterholes within the park.

A jackal at dusk - Yala National Park

Jackals hunt alone as opposed to dogs who hunt in pack. Highly opportunistic and intelligent, jackals eat whatever is available with least effort. This includes all kind of vertebrates and invertebrates plus  fruits and some vegetables. They readily scavenge as well.

Grey langur

Grey langurs are quite common in Sri Lanka. They are often wrongfully called "black face monkey" by the locals.

Red and yellow lapwings

 Two red lapwings by a fresh water pond. 

Their cousin the yellow lapwing.

Sri Lanka national flower

The “Nil Mahanel” flower, botanically known as “Nympheae Stellata” was declared the National Flower of Sri Lanka on 26th February 1986. You can find it for sale at the entrance of important Buddhist temples where they are being placed on the different altars by the devotees.

Local surfers at Unawatuna

As the sun was disappearing over the horizon, some surfers were still playing among the waves.

The Fishermen of Matara

Bringing in the catch of the day for sale at the port. Every fish is weighted prior to be lifted into reefer container trucks. Fishes in these images are yellow fin and big eye tunas. 

Portrait of a fisherman. He paused and asked for a picture to be mailed to him.

Spotted deers at Yala

A herd of spotted deers is taking advantage of the shade of a large tree.

The leopards of Yala

Hard to spot and mostly nocturnal, the leopard is Sri Lanka's top predator. With approximately 35 leopards, Yala National Park has one of world densest leopard populations.

The Rankot Vihara dagoba - Polonnaruwa

The 54m tall Rankot Vihara dagoba is the largest in Polonnaruwa and the fourth largest in Sri Lanka. The dome consists of earth fill covered by a brick mantle and plaster.

Harvesting tea leaves - Sri Lanka

Tea plantation workers were brought in the mountain region of Sri Lanka from South India by the British. They are Tamils of Hindu religion while local Sinhalese are Buddhist.

They now all have Sri Lankese nationality and have been fully integrated as regular citizens.

Views from the fortifications of Galle

Children are learning to dive from a rock just off the walls of the fort city of Galle. Some with more expertise will dive from the fortifications for some money.

Another view from the fortifications of the city.

Ella Gap and Rawana Falls

Ella Gap is a Hindu pilgrimage site as it is believed that Sita (from the tale of Rama & Sita) was kept at the feet of these mountains after having been kidnapped from India by the then king of Sri Lanka.

Closeby are the Rawana Ella Falls, 19m tall here pictured at the beginning of the dry season.

Asian elephants - Portrait

The pregnancy of a mother elephant last 22 months. Image taken at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, Sri Lanka.

Asian elephants - Portraits

These images were taken at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, Sri Lanka.

Asian elephants - Sri Lanka

After a short travel break, this image taken during bath hours at the Pinnawatula Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka (click on the image for larger version).

The Mangrove Walk

The Mangrove Walk @ Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Muddy sting ray today

There are hundreds of monitor lizards roaming around Sungei Buloh. This particular one was going to have a muddy sting ray as a meal.

Oriental pied hornbill

The two Sungei Buloh resident oriental pied hornbills recently had two chicks. We can occasionally see them flying around the main park building. Here is the male, recognisable by its double bill.

Here is a female. 

A curious bird

The title says it all!

Another visit to the rookery

Chicks are not out yet. It seems that parents are still working on their nests.

Whimbrel

Most migratory birds have left the mangrove mud flats of Sungei Buloh to return to Northern lands after the winter. A flock of whimbrels seems to be have decided to stay over. It could either be juveniles, who are too young for nesting or just over-stayers.

Whimbrels look very much alike curlews. The simplest way to differentiate them is to compare the ratio of the length of the bill to the the size of the head. It would be 2:1 for the whimbrel and 3:1 for the curlew.

Refinery and ship - Pulau Bukom

While the waves do not look impressive, our boat was shaking so much that I had to use a shutter speed of 1/1000 to ensure that the image would be sharp. Lots of smoke. I do hope that it is mainly condensation...

The Anchor of a Tanker

Detail of a tanker off Pulau Bukom, Singapore.

Singapore Container Terminal

Back from Semakau Island, the ferry passes by the container port, an opportunity to catch some views from the sea.

Spotted Dove - Pasir Ris Park

After observing the herons, while walking back towards the car park, I stumbled upon this spotted dove, who decided not to fly off immediately when I slowly acquired the photographic target with the long lens... Not a great shot but it is my first picture of this bird.