Last October 4, we landed at Leh airport, coming from Srinagar, Kashmir. We were very much looking forward to this after the hustle and bustle of Kashmir. The contrast could not be greater between these totally different states in India. The journey we have planned will take 11 days at this altitude, which varies between 3200 and 5600m above sea level. This is my first time visiting Ladakh, am somewhat familiar with the landscapes, nature and the people which is not very different from Tibet, which I visited earlier in my life.
We will therefore also visit the familiar places , on this visit and we start in Leh and the Leh valley, the trip continues to Alchi monastery, then Lamayuru , Sumour, Nubra, Pangong and other famous lakes, drive over high mountain passes, to end in Leh again. What stands out in this kind of country is the silence and vastness, the friendly people, probably in my experience the most friendly and quiet, shy people I have ever met. I won’t go into further detail here in this blog story, that will be for later, you have to make do with the images attached for now, they speak for themselves and give a little idea of what we experienced on this trip.

Adventures around the garden 1. 

Throughout time, I will regularly post on my website via this blog what species and varieties of plants, flowers, insects, butterflies, birds as well as other animals that visit the garden or nearby on an irregular basis In short the gardens in Sri Lanka are different from most European gardens, for the simple reason, that in the past the land has been used for vegetables and other necessities of life such as spices and plants for medicinal purposes as well as fruit-producing trees, only people with a large plot of land and a lot of money have taken English gardens as an example in time. 

It is not easy to maintain a garden properly, usually it is too dry or too wet, so specific plants and flowers naturally do well, some do not make it. From a photographic perspective, there is actually something going on every day, birds as in the rest of the world start early with busy activities collecting seeds or insects depending on the species. In recent times, I have been keeping track of how many species we got to visit here both migrants and permanent residents, the number is now 54. 

 All the pictures I have taken so far is just when observing in free space, no hide or other camouflage material or anything is used by me. I usually work with the OM 1 or E-M 1 MarkIII and the MZuiko 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS and the 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro with the M.ZUIKO Digital 2X teleconverter MC-20. 

This was a little update from my side. 

Common Kukri snake:

The Common Banded Kukri Snake (𝘖𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴/අරණි දත්කැටියා) also known as the Banded Kukri is a non venomous species of snake found in Sri Lanka.

Tawny Coster butterfly:

Tawny Coster  is a butterfly lives in all regions of Sri lanka and India. Even though the Tawny Coaster is a  slow moving butterfly, It is ignored by most of the predators like birds. Reason for that is it’s ability of secreting a smelly and unpleasant liquid for predators when threatened.

Rat snake:

The Oriental ratsnake (Ptyas mucosa) is a common non-venomous species of  colubrid snake  found in South and Southeast Asia. It is the second largest snake in Sri Lanka, after the Indian rock python. Rat snakes are diurnal, semi-arboreal and fast-moving. They eat a variety of prey and are frequently found in urban areas where rodents thrive.

Tickell’s blue fly-catcher:

Tickell’s blue fly-catcher (Cyornis tickelliae ) is a small  passerine bird in the flycatcher family. This is an insectivorous species which breeds in tropical Asia, from the Indian Subcontinent eastwards to Bangladesh and western Myanmar. The Indochinese blue flycatcher was formerly considered conspecific. They are blue on the upperparts and the throat and breast are rufous. They are found in dense scrub to forest habitats.

The name commemorates the British ornithologist Samuel Tickell who collected in India and Burma.

Bandarawela Poson Perahera 2023.

Poson, also known as Poson Poya, is an annual festival held by Sri Lankan Buddhists celebrating the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC. The festival is the most important Poya (full moon) holiday of the year and the second most important Buddhist holiday of the year, being surpassed in importance by Vesak. Poson is celebrated throughout the island. The festival is held in early June, coinciding with the June full moon.

This year was the second time after the Covid period that the Perahera was held in the month of June as usual. We visit this Poson Poya in Bandarawela city,
Both years I visited this exuberant spectacle. For the visitor who is not familiar with this phenomenon, it can seem confusing, the groups that pass by. You see elephants with a beautiful embroidered dress, one of them carries a sacred box in the procession, drummers accompany dance groups, vendors with anything and everything go through the streets. It does require patience from the spectator, the number of groups and elephants in this procession is such that it moves slowly, but that is part of this spectacle.