Larger Herons, Eurasian Bittern, and White Egrets
Still waiting to get lucky and capture image.
Photographed at Thalanga lake.
Photographed in dried up up part of the Siyambalankattuwa Lake.
Photographed in Kuchaveli.
Purple Heron
(කරවැල් කොකා)
Ardea purpurea
Images 1 and 2 from Kuchaveli in the extreme east of Sri Lanka where he was basking in the morning sun.
Extremely sensitive to human beings I am amazed by there size of the feet.
Image 5 from Diyasaru park, Thalawathugoda where it was hunting fish. Image 6 from Thalangama tank area.
Photographed at the small lake inside the Dehiwala Zoo
From Bundala National Park.
Photographed inside the Dehiwala Zoo watering hole.
Grey Heron
(අලු කොකා)
Ardea cinerea
First one seen in the waterhole inside the Dehiwala zoo.
Others are from the Bundala National Park.
Still waiting to get lucky and capture image.
Eurasian Bittern
(යුරැසියා පන්-කොකා)
Botaurus stellaris
Yet to capture image
Photographed at Diyawanna Oya.
Photographed at Diyawanna Oya.
Photographed in the outskirts of Matara.
Intermediate Egret / Median Egret
(සුදු මැදි-කොකා)
Egretta intermedia
Seen in the paddy fields around Malabe.
Photographed on a waterway near the Parliament.
Photographed at Bundala National Park.
Photographed on a waterway near the Parliament.
Great Egret / Large Egret
(මහ සුදු කොකා)
Egretta alba
This one is a constant visitor to the Diyawanna waterway at Baththaramulla. I have seen him many times while traveling on the road and finally decided to get down and take a picture using my point-and-shoot which I have kept in my vehicle most of the time.
The last image is from Bundala National Park where a big one was catching fish at the water's edge.
Photographed at Diyawanna Oya.
Photographed at Diyawanna Oya.
Photographed during river safari in Madu Ganga.
Little Egret
(පුන්චි ඇලි කොකා)
Egretta garzetta
Photographed first during 'Madu Ganga' river safari, this guy was perched atop a Prawn farm enclosure.
Next set of photographs from Diyawanna Oya area.
Photographed at Bundala National Park.
Photographed at the Talai Mannar beach.
Photographed at the Talai Mannar beach.
Western Reef Egret / Indian Reef Heron
(බටහිර පර ඇලි-කොකා)
Egretta gularis
The dark morph of a Western Reef Egret was first captured at the Talai Mannar beach. He was roaming around in the mud and garbage around the fishing huts in the beach.
I came across another in Bundala National Park on a later date.
Photographed in the outskirts of Colombo.
Photographed in the mashes surrounding Thalangama lake.
Photographed near my ancestral home in Galle.
Cattle Egret
(ගව කොකා)
Bubulcus coromandus
Seen in Galle next to my father's ancestral home. It has a beautiful orange tint which is its breeding plumage.
Image 2 and 3 are of an egret in non-breeding plumage.
Images 4 to 8 are from the Thalngama lake area where this beauty in breeding plumage put on a show for me.
Image 9 was taken on a gloomy day in Kuchchaveli.