Sri Lanka – West Coast Wildlife
On the next leg of our 2025 Sri Lanka visit, four of us with the excellent Ranil as driver and guide travelled up the west coast of the island, from Colombo to Jaffna, stopping at two notable wildlife spots along the way.
The first of these was the Anavilundawa bird sanctuary. This 3,500-acre wetland consists of a group of shallow cascading tanks, ranging from 12 to 50 hectares in extent, built around 1140 AD by King Parakramabahu the Great. We only stayed a short while, but there was much to see, and the first five shots of the album are from there.
The next day was a safari trip through Wilpattu National Park, the largest and one of the oldest national parks in Sri Lanka. It extends over an area of 1,300 sq km and is notable for its hundred-plus “Willus” — natural, sand-rimmed water basins or depressions that fill with rainwater. It has a wide range of bird and animal species, but is most famous for its leopard population. Although guides assure visitors that the place is stiff with leopards, in fact there are probably no more than 150 in the 1,350-acre reserve — on average, one per 9 sq km.
As is usual in these parks, if a leopard is seen, the word gets out and all the jeeps converge a respectful distance from the animal. We were lucky to catch a long-distance glimpse of ours, but thanks to the long reach of my zoom lens, I was able to get quite a decent shot of it, as well as of the other surprisingly diverse bird and mammal population.
Photographs in this album include: Serpent Eagle, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Grey Heron, Great Cormorant, Tern, Lesser Adjutant, Chital (Spotted Deer), Crested Hawk-Eagle, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Painted Stork, Indian Peacock, Sea Eagle, Green Forest Lizard, Great Egret, Leopard, Monitor Lizard, Sloth Bear, White-throated Kingfisher, and more.
▸ Technical data — all 27 images
| Image | Camera | Lens | FL | f/ | Shutter | ISO | GPS |
|---|
| Serpent Eagle | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 202mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000s | 4000 | 7.7056°N, 79.8103°E |
| Blue-tailed Bee-eater | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 280mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000s | 100 | 7.7056°N, 79.8103°E |
| Grey Heron | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 260mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000s | 80 | 7.7056°N, 79.8103°E |
| Great Cormorant | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 280mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000s | 125 | 7.7056°N, 79.8103°E |
| Tern | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 280mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000s | 320 | 8.4403°N, 80.0125°E |
| Lesser Adjutant (Stork) | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 260mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000s | 640 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| Chital (Spotted Deer) | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 90mm | f/4.0 | 1/50s | 320 | 8.4403°N, 80.0125°E |
| Crested Hawk-Eagle | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-20 | 400mm | f/5.6 | 1/640s | 100 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| White-bellied Sea Eagle | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 260mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000s | 500 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| Stork and Eagle | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 280mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000s | 500 | 8.4403°N, 80.0125°E |
| Overbooking at the Stork Hotel | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 260mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000s | 640 | 8.4403°N, 80.0125°E |
| Painted Stork | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-20 | 180mm | f/5.6 | 1/640s | 320 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| Indian Peacock | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-20 | 158mm | f/5.6 | 1/400s | 1250 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| Sea Eagle | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 280mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000s | 800 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| Green Forest Lizard | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 | 200mm | f/2.8 | 1/250s | 1250 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| Great Egret | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-20 | 372mm | f/5.6 | 1/2000s | 320 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| Indian Peacock (2) | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-20 | 200mm | f/5.6 | 1/100s | 160 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| Leopard | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-20 | 358mm | f/5.6 | 1/640s | 500 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| Monitor Lizard | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 280mm | f/4.0 | 1/50s | 320 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| Lesser Adjutant (Stork) (2) | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 260mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000s | 500 | 8.4403°N, 80.0125°E |
| Sloth Bear | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 | 144mm | f/2.8 | 1/125s | 1600 | 8.4403°N, 80.0125°E |
| Dried Leaves in the Lake | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-20 | 200mm | f/5.6 | 1/125s | 160 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| White-throated Kingfisher | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 280mm | f/4.0 | 1/1600s | 2500 | 8.4403°N, 80.0125°E |
| Painted Stork (2) | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 230mm | f/4.0 | 1/2000s | 2500 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| Crested Hawk-Eagle (2) | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-14 | 210mm | f/4.0 | 1/160s | 800 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| Lesser Adjutant | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-20 | 222mm | f/5.6 | 1/2000s | 1600 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
| Indian Peacock (3) | OM-1 Mark II | 50-200 + MC-20 | 254mm | f/5.6 | 1/125s | 2000 | 8.4397°N, 80.0686°E |
For camera settings, techniques and equipment used in shoots like this, see the Technique posts on mcaughtry.photo.
