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Home sweet home
The two pics above are a couple of nests that I captured in two different angles. They were neatly glued to the ceiling of the entrance at Tantirimale's newest Shrine hall. My unc told me they belong to 'wehi lihini' (swallows), and that these nests were rare. Didn't see any birdies around the nest or in the vicinity.. and I fear they might have left cause of the rising temperatures.
We were almost toasted, baked, fried and BBQd alive.. due to the scorching sun which felt so near to us, thanks to the sheer height we climbed! but it was well worth the effort. *the views from the summit can't be explained in words, you've just got to be there to absorb it. will post some pics of it in my next posts*
See the big dark oval shaped blots on the branches of the trees? These are some nests I spot by fluke while taking pictures of Elayapattuwa's 'Siri Sambuddha Pancha Sathika Shrawaka Charikaramaya' (roughly translates to the "Temple of Lord Buddha and his 500 disciples on travel"). *this site is a newly built one and houses an amazing spectacle. its pics will be up in the nearest future*
Coming back to the birdies, from the chirps I heard, they might be related to the hummingbirds or sunbirds. These lil birdies were flying like micro MiG-27s and applying breaks and changing directions in midair like dragonflies! o__O
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Scouring for food
What greeted us as soon as we entered the premises of Sri Maha Bodhi was a bunch of birdies, pigeons, who were scanning the area for food. I was afraid to get near them thinking they might escape, but they completely ignored me and were busy searching for.. um.. whatever they were searching for... =D Notice the one on the far right wears a white head compared to the other two. It was my first time seeing a one with a white head up close.
The stairway ahead is the one that leads to the Sri Maha Bodhi tree. More pics of this sacred site will be coming up.. eventually.
Birds are some of the most fun creatures to watch. I have been learning to get better pictures of them because they are just so beautiful. I've only ever seen one hummingbird in my life, and I have a very bad picture of it.
ReplyDeleteNice pictures!
ReplyDeleteMy aunt (Punchi) place had a wehilihini kuduwa (Swallow nest) from the day her house was bulit. Now it is almost 14 years! It started like the way your photo shows but now it is quite big. It is now a bungalow size nest :)
She didn't want to break it even on the day she moved in. It is right there in the middle of the living room and we can see the swallows coming every day there. Some times a nuisance but she like it that way.
Elayapattuwa - Im quite interested about that place..Hope to see more pictures!
Thanks for your comments Ratty and K!
ReplyDelete@ Ratty: Yep, they sure are. Really? oh.. but that's ok. I'm sure you'll encounter lots of hummingbirds in future, during your lil adventures with Alice. ^__^
@ K: Wow.. that sounds like a birdie palace.. I totally wanna see a pic of that! =D And that was really nice of your punchi to keep the nest intact. Having a lil patch of nature right inside your home is a wonderful thing.. but sadly not many can or will afford it.
hehe.. I'm sure you'd definitely go there once you see the amazing spectacle.
Hi Harumi, I can totally understand that 'BBQ' feeling. Its excruciatingly HOT here too these days. :(
ReplyDeleteI love those historic sites up north, you must have had such an inspirational time traveling and visiting those placed. Back in 2005 my hubs and I went on a small tour around this location. It was fabulous, although I am not a Buddhist,... I have so much respect and patriotism for these places, and I feel so much admiration toward those hard working people... responsible for leaving behind such amazing history for us to appreciate.
Oh really? Is it normal for the season or you're experiencing a heatwave?
ReplyDeleteReally? that's so nice to hear. True.. nowadays lots of people visit these areas cuz of their historical and cultural values. I was surprised to see a group of Muslim or Malay ladies taking snaps in the premises of Ruwanweliseya. It was my first time seeing the local non-Buddhists out there. But it's a good sign for religious harmony.
Ya.. the works of ancient kings and artisans are truly amazing.. like the 3 great Stupas, Sigiriya Rock fortress and a lil ocean like Parakrma Samudra lake and vast elaborate irrigation systems throughout the dry zone. These are almost like dreams to the current generation.. hopefully we could follow in their foot steps.. some day.
Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts and experience MTC!
The first nests belong to a bird named Little Swift (House Swift) - sci.name: Apus affinis
ReplyDeleteSwifts despite their superficial resemblence to Swallows (wehilihini) are not closely related and they are placed in two different families altogether. Most locals hear lump them all as wehilihini, which is understandable as the average person cannot be too bothered!
What K has mentioned in the above comment sounds like a nest of a Swallow species (Hill Swallow or Red-rumped Swallow), which builds nests using clay inside houses (like a larger version of Builder wasp - 'kumbala' house).
We only have Sunbirds in SL and these nests look like belong to them.
I can see you new cam phone has opened your towards the many interesting things, birds inclusive. Great!
Disclaimer: Birds and bird watching can turn out to be addictive and expensive hobbies.
@ G: Thanks heaps for enlightening on their names and other facts!
ReplyDeleteI just looked up the Little Swift and I think I remember spotting birdies similar to them in many parts of the dry zone, especially perching on the power lines. Sadly I couldn't capture any of them with my cam, as the speed of the van was too high. -__-
Yep, even I thought they were related to swallows, cuz of their tail feathers taking the shape of caudal fin of fish.
I see.. yep, when I looked up about swallow nests, that's what the wiki said too. The one I saw at Tantirimale had more hay than clay, and there were lots of gray feathers jutting out from everywhere.
Oh really? there's a Sunbird nest in the big tree near the paddy fields here and there's a family in it too which I noticed just today! But this nest looks somewhat different from the ones I saw at Elayapattuwa. Maybe they borrowed this home from a feathered friend. =D
hehe.. very true.. =D
Birding can be addictive.. for sure. =D