Ian Lockwood

Striated heron (Butorides striata) in morning light on the edge of parliament lake.

Colombo’s wetlands, as especially the ones that surround Sri Lanka’s parliament in Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, continue to provide a fine place for birdwatching and ecological teaching and learning. This post highlights the Striated Heron (Butorides striata) which I have had the chance to photograph at Beddagana Wetland Park over the last month. The species is associated with wetlands and mangrove habits where it feeds on small aquatic and marine creatures. There are close similarities between the Striated Heron and the Green Heron (Butorides virescens) found across North America. The striated heron is not easily seen in our wetlands, but I have observed it more than the Cinnamon and Black Bitterns which are both found in similar wetland habitats. Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne lists it as “an uncommon resident”. Professor Kotagama categorizes the same species as the “Green-backed Heron” in his recently published Birds of Sri Lanka: An Illustrated Guide.

Lenny on an early morning birding and Odonata walk on the Beddagana walkway

The Striated Heron (Butorides striata) in the midst of a hunt. Taken from quite a distance (@50 meters) at Beddagana.

The Striated Heron (Butorides striata) photographed in March 2018.

The Striated Heron (Butorides striata) photographed in March 2018.

The Striated Heron (Butorides striata) photographed at Beddagana in August 2015, one of my first images with the 600mm f/4 lens-now my stalwart tool for bird photography.

REFERENCES

ARKive. “Striated heron (Butorides striata).” Web.

Kotagama, Sarath and Gamini Ratnavira. Birds of Sri Lanka: An Illustrated Guide. Colombo: Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka, 2017. Print.

Lockwood, Ian. “Teaching & Learning in Colombo’s Suburban Wetlands.” Ian Lockwood Blog. October 2016. Web.

Rasmussen, Pamela C. and John Anderson. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Volumes 1 &2, Second Edition. Washington DC: Smithsonian, 2012. Print.

Ryder, Craig. “The Growing Importance of Colombo’s Shrinking Wetlands.” Roar. 2 February 2018. Web.

Warakagoda. Deepal et. al.  Birds of Sri Lanka (Helm Field Guides). London: Helms Guides, 2012. Print.

Wijeyeratne, Gehan de Silva. A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka. Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2017. Print.