2015 March 2-3: Our Resident Palm Squirrel is Mad

Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!

Our resident palm squirrel is mad.

Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!

I mean, really mad.

Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!

He has been making this noise since about 5am, right about the time the local mosque started calling its faithful to prayer.

Hayya'alas-ṣalāh

I'm not saying there is a connection. Our koel started calling about the same time, as he does every morning.

taLOOT taLOOT taLOOT taLOOT taLOOT taLOOT taLOOT

Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!

A new voice enters the fray...

WEEKa WEEKa WEEKa

Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!

A few cars pass by but something is missing from the usual morning noise of Cemetery Road. Ah! I have it - there are no construction sounds.

Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!

The dogs start barking.

Arf arf arf.         Arf.

And the crows begin their morning serenade.

Caaaw caaaw.   Caw caw caw.

taLOOT taLOOT taLOOT taLOOT taLOOT

Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp!

 taLOOT taLOOT taLOOT taLOOT taLOOT

Arf arf arf.         Arf.

WEEKa WEEKa WEEKa

The songbirds join in, and our myna imitates the dogs.

They all seem to be out of sorts this morning, probably due to the torrential rain last night.

Elanor and I had gone to our chapel for a movie night with our congregation. (If you have not seen the movie Baptists at Our BBQ, I highly recommend that you do!) There was a light mist in the air as we left, but by the time we got to Sebastian Road, it was raining. From Sebastian Road to Beach Road a light rain continued to fall. Unlike home, no one here moved. The streets were lined with people standing or sitting around in lawn chairs enjoying the cool rain after a brutally hot and humid day. So hot and humid that it was impossible to tell whether you were sweating or condensing.

By the time we turned down the street that takes us to the alley that takes us to our road, it was torrential. In an instant, the heavens let loose and the streets were flooded. Even inside our tuktuk with the curtains drawn, we were soaked.

By the time we got home, our yard was a lake, our patio stones flooded, our red clay tile roof streaming waterfalls.

We fell asleep to the thunderous crash of lightening, the calling of geckos, the screaming of bats.

Clang clang clang.

It appears the construction workers have returned, several hours later than usual. Normally they work through the cool of evening, into the wee hours of the morning, then begin again as the sun comes up, leaving during the hottest part of the afternoon.

The squirrel has stopped. His world is right again.

2015 Feb 19-25: The Weekly Wednesday Wildlife Report Vol 2

We have kids who follow our blog. Once a week we will be posting the wildlife that we have seen, just for them!

A coucal A grey heron flying by  The neighbour's dog And a dog catching a ride!  A myna A rock pigeon   A big yellow crab A cat in the leaves A heron An egret A boa constrictor! (and a cobra!) A pet monkey named Michael A tern This crow really liked me - I could have reached out and touched him! A baby crocodile Several cows A water monitor A ghost crab One dead fish - this is the fish mentioned in my post about crows. We also had one of these guys try to move in to our house - I chased him out of the spare bedroom where I found him busily making a nest out of the curtains. Boy, was he mad to have his new home taken from him! A black winged butterfly spent several hours in our house, but I didn't get a picture of it. Two dead cockroaches - thank goodness! Tonight we discovered that we have a new house guest - a gecko! This is good news - it means there won't be any bugs in our home! Finally, at the beach this afternoon, we were surrounded by thousands of tiny little fish, all scurrying to get away from the dozens of beautiful white and teal jellyfish. http://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g940979-d2639890-i87859090-Madu_River-Balapitiya_Southern_Province.html My birds this week: Lesser Whistling-Duck

Asian Openbill

Indian Cormorant

Little Cormorant

Oriental Darter

Yellow Bittern

Gray Heron

Purple Heron

Great Egret

Intermediate Egret

Little Egret

Cattle Egret

Indian Pond-Heron

Striated Heron

Eurasian Spoonbill

Shikra

Brahminy Kite

White-bellied Sea-Eagle

White-breasted Waterhen

Purple Swamphen

Eurasian Moorhen

Red-wattled Lapwing

Whiskered Tern

Rock Pigeon

Spotted Dove

Asian Koel

Greater Coucal

Indian Swiftlet

Stork-billed Kingfisher

White-throated Kingfisher

Blue-tailed Bee-eater

Indian Roller

Brown-headed Barbet

Crimson-backed Flameback

Rose-ringed Parakeet

White-bellied Drongo

House Crow

Large-billed Crow

Barn Swallow

Red-vented Bulbul

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Indian Robin

Oriental Magpie-Robin

Common Myna

Pale-billed Flowerpecker

Purple-rumped Sunbird

Long-billed Sunbird

Forest Wagtail

Steve and I are currently #10 on ebird.org for Sri Lanka 2015, and am #76 Sri Lanka All Time with a total of 53 species.

2015 February 12-18: The Weekly Wednesday Wildlife Report Vol 1

We have kids who follow our blog. Once a week we will be posting the wildlife that we have seen, just for them!

 Turtles and fence lizard at Lord's Restaurant in Negombo.

 This palm squirrel and babbler were chasing each other out of the vines covering this old house's roof behind our hotel.

 Water buffalo and sacred ibises near Chilaw.

A colony of hundreds of flying foxes near Chilaw...

and one dead one we found electrocuted on a wire near our hotel.

This one is especially for Dave. :)

The first insect I've been able to photograph -

a moth in our hotel hallway.

The friendly neighbourhood palm squirrel that hangs out at our hotel. We think he sleeps inside the ceiling - something about his size runs around in there right over heads each night!

Can you see the Ghost Crab?

Here's a hint...his legs are sort of reddish coloured.

Gecko.

Dogs on the beach.

Pamela's Bird Species:

Asian Openbill

Indian Cormorant

Spot-billed Pelican

Gray Heron

Great Egret

Intermediate Egret

Little Egret

Cattle Egret

Indian Pond-Heron

Black-headed Ibis    Male in foreground; female at back right.

Brahminy Kite

Purple Swamphen

Red-wattled Lapwing

Tern

Rock Pigeon

Asian Koel  2 males  female

Greater Coucal

White-throated Kingfisher

Green Bee-eater

Brown-headed Barbet

Rose-ringed Parakeet

White-bellied Drongo

House Crow

Large-billed Crow

Barn Swallow

Red-vented Bulbul

Yellow-billed Babbler

Asian Brown Flycatcher

Oriental Magpie-Robin

Common Myna

Pale-billed Flowerpecker

Purple-rumped Sunbird

Purple Sunbird

Long-billed Sunbird Steve's New Bird List: Asian Openbill Indian Cormorant Spot-billed Pelican Gray Heron Little Egret Cattle Egret Indian Pond-Heron Black-headed Ibis Brahminy Kite Purple Swamphen Red-wattled Lapwing Roseate Tern Rock Pigeon Asian Koel Greater Coucal Little Swift White-throated Kingfisher Green Bee-eater Brown-headed Barbet Crimson-backed Flameback Rose-ringed Parakeet White-bellied Drongo House Crow Large-billed Crow Barn Swallow Red-vented Bulbul Common Tailorbird Yellow-billed Babbler Asian Brown Flycatcher Oriental Magpie-Robin Common Myna Pale-billed Flowerpecker Purple-rumped Sunbird Long-billed Sunbird House Sparrow Incidentally, this puts Steve currently in #11 and myself as #10 in the Top 100 Sri Lankan birders in 2015, and Steve is currently #90 and I am #89 in the Top 100 All Time Sri Lankan Bird Watchers!