My Birds Bucket of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a beautiful tropical island in the Indian Ocean with a myriad of endemic, resident and migrant bird species.
As an item on my bucket list of things to do before I die, I want to see each species of bird in Sri Lanka and take a picture of each of them. Nothing serious about this quest and I know it is such a tough quest to achieve but I hope the effort in finding each of these 459 or so species will be an awesome adventure.
My purpose is not to create a field guide for birds of Sri Lanka but to share my adventure and passion with the world. In that context, this site should not be used as a source for the study of Ornithology. Any identification which is difficult based on images is highlighted with an icon.
This site serves as the placeholder for each of the species' photographs and hopefully, it will have the complete set before my 'time' comes to an end.
Camera Used:
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Canon 70D and 90D DSLRs with EFS 100-400 IS II USM L Canon lens.
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Image Processing:
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Topaz DeNoise AI
Topaz Sharpen AI
Reference Books:
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A Field Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka by John Harrison.
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Birds of Sri Lanka by Deepal Warakagoda, Carol Inskipp, Tim Inskipp and Richard Grimmett.
The categorization of bird species follows the structure provided by 'A Field Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka by John Harrison' and the same structure is used throughout the site.
The birds' list is revised based on the 'Ceylon Bird Club' officially recognised birds' list. In my view, this is by far the more recognised list of birds in the country and thus it serves as the base for my tracking.
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Note that some images I captured early in the day are not of good quality as I didn't have the right gear. However, as this is a place to document my journey than a photo vault, I have kept them in place.
Nirmal Kumarasiri
It’s all about the adventure and appreciation of the majestic beauty of nature.
I have always been fascinated by the amazing creations of nature. From the smallest sub-atomic particle to the unimaginable size of the universe, our primitive minds cannot begin to comprehend the beauty and complexity of mother nature. Birds, in my opinion, epitomize this majesty. Originating from dinosaurs and evolving over millions of years, they soar above the clouds in all their colours and dynamic designs.
The quest to take a photograph of each species in Sri Lanka has thus far led me down super adventures. In life, this hobby is one thing that is able to get me out of bed enthusiastically at 5.30 in the morning.
Being married, I would not be able to enjoy this hobby without the support of my lovely wife and kids. They have been eagerly supporting my quest. I hope this will be one project that will identify who I ‘am and how I viewed the world around me. Once complete, hopefully, the portal will serve people who want to see birds of my land and appreciate the beauty of Sri Lanka I have seen through my lens.