A Rodent And Some Bugs...............

Hi, Remember the skink inside the compost bin from last post? There was another creature in one of my on-the- ground compost heaps too, a  mouse or a rat, and I don't know what species it is.

 This dragon was perched on  a forked stick I have erected to support my Winged bean plants. ID?

The Tropic Dart was on one of my yardlong bean plants.

Tropic Dart(Potanthus confucius)

Well, that was all I managed to bag this week. I know it's not much, but it will have to do. Stay tune, there might be more interesting stuff, with a bit of luck, around next Saturday. So long!

Camera Critters, Macro Monday

Compost Bin Occupant & Other Critters......

 



Posted for Camera Critters, Macro Monday, World Bird Wednesday.

Beautiful Spring!

Another great week, sunny, warm, interesting creatures everywhere! I've got so much to show you folks.

I'll start off with some birds I bagged during a walk through my birding patch. Below is a Green Bee-eater.

Green Bee-eater, Merops orientalis

This is a White-bellied Drongo.

White-bellied Drongo (Dicrurus caerulescens) 

 I captured this Indian Pond Heron on the way back

These beautiful bugs were abundant in the birding patch too. Any idea what they are?

Let's see what's been going on in the garden. A couple of Brown-headed Barbets  have nested again in the breadfruit tree.


Brown-headed Barbet (Megalaima zeylanica)

Black-hooded orioles have been very active too.



Black-hooded Oriole, Oriolus xanthornus

Last, but not least, a White-throated Kingfisher.


White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)

This iridescent green bug was on  a lime plant in the garden. Again, ID?

This cute little bug was on one of my been plants. I have absolutely no idea as to the ID of that either.

Well, so ends this week's Wild Sri Lanka episode, hope you folks would enjoy. I'm gonna go for another walk through the birding patch, leaving early in the morning tomorrow. Should I bag anything interesting, I'll post here on next Friday,  stay tuned!



Posted for Camera Critters, Macro Monday, World Bird Wednesday.

I Feel Good..!

Hello folks, how are you? This week has been the very opposite of the last, being sunny and hot. I was able to bag some really interesting critters to show you.





I'll start off with the birds. The tiny one you see below was completely new to me. Does any one know what that little bird is? 
   



















And here is a Red-vented bulbul perched on the TV antenna.

Red-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer)

This one is a female Asian Koel.


Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus )

A female Purple-rumped sunbird is in the bag too.


Purple-rumped Sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica)

This Boulenger's Bronzeback snake used to come to a   Citrus tree in the garden every day and lay still on a branch for hours, but it has been absent for two days now.


 Boulenger's BronzebackBronzeback,Dendrelaphis bifrenalis

This Oriental garden lizard was on the trunk of a mango tree in the garden next door.


Oriental Garden Lizard(Calotes versicolor)

I also photographed and filmed a millipede, a considerably  big specimen for this area.

This orb Weaver that I asw in the gardening was really small. Can any body provide me with the species name please?


Agriope sp

This Peacock Pansy was filmed in the garden today.




I didn't know that Weaver ants were such interesting creatures till  a local news paper published an article about them  recently. visit this link and see for yourself.

Weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina)

I saw a bug dragging a spider way too bigger, as I was working on one of my vegetable plants in the garden. I don't know weather the bug killed the spider or it just came across the carcass,    but I think the latter is more likely.



There are some caterpillars on my Winged bean plants . They don't do much damage to the plants, and I'm waiting to see what they develop in to.

Okay, that's about it, hope you would enjoy. Stay tuned, and wish me luck, I'll be posting again next Friday. Ciao!

Posted for Camera Critters, Macro Monday, World Bird Wednesday. 

Bother!

It's been raining like mad through out this week, so I couldn't take my cam out to do any good photography. To make things worse, my internet usage went over limit and the ISP has lowered the speed to 64kbs! But the speed will come up after 31st this month, so only a  few days more till things get back in full steam again. Sorry for not visiting your blogs this week, it's not really a  pleasant experience working online at such lower a connection speed. How ever, here's this wee butterfly I did manage to capture and some other photos out of my archives, which I believe I have   never posted before.

Plains Cupid (Euchrysops pandava)

Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

 Common Myna(Acridotheres tristis)

Posted for Macro Monday, Camera Critters, World Bird Wednesday.

I hope you guys are not bored by the Yellow-billed Babblers constantly appearing here. I really couldn't help showing this shot off. I think it turned out nice, what do you think?                                                              

Yellow-billed Babbler, Turdoides affinis

Here's a Jungle crow eating ripe jack fruit.  The population of this species seem to be declining, while the House Crow population is going up. Urbanization and increasing garbage dumps seem to have benefited the House Crow, and apparently Jungle Crows are not very good at competing with them.
  
Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)

This is a juvenile Land Monitor I photographed in the garden.

       Land Monitor (Varanus bengalensis)

This butterfly is a Common Palmfly.


Common Palmfly, Elymnias hypermnestra

My last picture for this week is a  wee spider I saw on a flower-baring ornamental in the garden. If any body could ID it for me, I'll be grateful.

Posted for Camera Critters, Macro Monday, World Bird Wednesday.