Be a Hero...

Being a hero is not something that can be achieved very easily.
But ofcourse I took a bold step today...
Yeah, became a volunteer blood donator. I always wanted to donate blood, but couldn't take that inaugural step.
Yesterday was the (14th of June) World Blood donor Day. So there is a special campaign going on in whole of Sri Lankan government hospitals to mark the event.
The Blood Donor system is a well functioning system in Sri Lanka where volunteer blood donors donate blood at regular intervals of four months. Every donor is registered & details of their illnesses, especially AIDS & Hepatitis B are tasted for in the donated blood & healthy donors are encouraged to donor regularly.
The aim of the National Blood Transfusion Service of Sri Lanka is to have all needed blood collected from volunteer donors.
At present patients undergoing routine surgeries are encouraged to get someone to volunteer to donate blood. This can be eliminated in the future. In Teaching Hospital - Kurunegala, where the National Thalassaemia Center is situated, so many units of blood are needed daily to be transfused to Thalassaemic children. All thee are collected from volunteer donors.
I am very happy to be able to be a donor & 'Blood saves lives...'

Also visit:

• WHO : World Blood Donor Day
• Official World Blood Donor Day website

Lethal Prayer - let this prayer be ignored...

When I returned to room after having dinner, I found an interesting creature in my room. It's a Praying Mantis, also called Praying Mantid, so called due to its positioning of fore limbs. Mantis means Prophet in Greek. But do not get misled by it's humble appearance. Its a carnivore.

It feeds on other mantises, Insects such as butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, flies & crickets. At the bottom of this post there is a link where you can see pictures of a mantis that has caught a hummingbird. It uses it's fore limbs equipped with razor sharp spines to deliver a fatal blow that will penetrate it's prey & it quickly bites the neck of the prey before starting to eat.
The one I saw was brownish in colour & they vary from Green to Pink & flower mantises are magnificently beautiful with flower like appearance. This is essential to it for it's survival as there are so many predators such as Birds & spiders that feed on them. Also Mantises use their camouflage to catch their prey, as unwary victims pass-by without noticing it.

The size ranges from 0.5 cm to 30cm in size. The specimen I found was a very small one, where I have taken a picture of it with a pen for size comparison.

The mantises are helpful in keeping the pest populations at control, but they eat friendly insects too without any discrimination.

Read more about Praying matises,

• Praying mantis (Wikepedia)
• Praying Mantis (Insecta Inspecta World)
• Praying Mantid Information
• Praying Mantis Makes Meal of a Hummer (with pictures)

Mount Lavinia Hotel

Almost one year ahead of our wedding day, we started to search for a venue for the occasion. It was a difficult task, as the venue should match all our requirements, including suitability to host a traditional wedding.
When I started to climb the stair case at Mount Lavinia Hotel, I knew this would be the ideal location for the big occasion, with its colonial architecture & picturesque surroundings.

Mount Lavinia Hotel celebrates its 200^th anniversary this year. There is an enchanting love story bound with this place. This mansion was built in 1806 by Sir Thomas Maitland, British governor of Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka). He had fallen in love with a local dancing girl, Lovina Aponsuwa, which had made him name the mansion Mount Lavinia, which later on was used to call the surrounding area itself.

Due to the nature of his state, governor could not marry this village lass. He had a secret passageway leading to her house well, which he would use to meet her frequently.

He remained a bachelor, when he left the country to England & remained so through out rest of his life.
This mansion was used by several Governors who came to office subsequently (Sir Edward Barnes, Sir Robert Brownrig & Sir Edward Paget) & was converted to a hotel in 1877 & stays so to this date.

Mt Lavinia Hotel also has a unique asset, Master Chef Pabilis, who is an expert on local, rare-to-find delicacies. Also they offer exquisite western & oriental cuisines.

Visit Mount Lavinia Hotel web site, read about its history here & click here for reservations

Photos uploaded with

The culprit

After the Bulbul family left the nest, I removed the tar sheets covering the nest. I thought the predator bird would return (see Tragedy...) if it saw the nest & I didn't had to wait long to get results. It came right to the nest & was searching all over.
It was a magnificent bird with grey-blue coloured body & was very fast. I only managed to capture it's photo after it flew away to a distant tree.

This was a Shikra ('kurulugoya' in sinhala). A magnificently beautiful bird.

The scientific name is Accipiter badius.

It's a bird of prey. It's a small bird with short broad wings & long tail. It's found in South Asia & sub-Saharan Africa. It's prey include lizards, dragonflies, small birds & mammals.

Further readings:

• Shikra (Wikipedia)
• Shikra - BirdLife Species Factsheet
• Shikra (nice picture - must see)

Also see my other post on Bulbul nest:

• New life...
• Red vented Bulbul
• Tragedy...
• Flying lessons

Images posted with

Flying lessons

Bulbul parent showing how to fly

Today was a special day & especially to the bulbul birdling. I could witness the first flight of the birdling.
The bulbul parents were bringing food near & would take it away compelling the birdling to come out of the nest & it jumped out of the nest readily. I always stayed around, as I did not wanted it to end in our cats stomach. It seems they didn't mind me sitting around. Even I examined the birdling for injuries few times when it fell from above during the process.
It was a nice thing to see. The parents brought food near it & flew away as birdling approached. Parents flapped wings to show the young one how to fly. Soon the small one started flapping wings & off it went few yards. I was amazed to see it & was very happy too. After few more flights, three of them flew away to distant.
Then only I felt sad, as I missed them...

It seems this brings an end to the 'Tale of the Bulbul family'
To read from the bigining please read,

• New life...
• Red vented Bulbul
• Tragedy...
  

• Parents bringing food near the birdling to force it out of th nest.

  Birdling on the ground, after it jumped out of the nest

  Rewards for getting out of the nest

  Here we go...

  Quick... can anybody tell me how to land???

  
  
  Images published with

Tragedy...

The fallen Bulbul birdling. The only survivor...

I was watching a cricket match when I heard the screams of the Bulbuls. I thought it was a cat who had attacked their nest & I went quickly to see whats happening. I saw a large bird fly away & it dropped something & it was one from the nest. I was there in time to save only one bulbul birdling.I returned it to the nest.

Other two birdlings were not to be seen. May be the predator bird had had them. I could not see the predator bird as it flew away. But it is sure to return. So I placed two tar-sheets over the nest & Bulbul parent could get into the nest from the side.

The Bulbul parents were watching from a distance. They did not return to the nest even at that nite. But next day morning it flew away as I came near the nest. During past few weeks the bulbul parents were so acoustemed to us, we could go near them without alarming them. But now because of this incidence they even seem to suspect us.

Birdling alone in nest (seen from below)

The only survived birdling in the nest, alone at night

Tar coat on top of the nest. Bulbul parent also seen coming out of the nest

Red vented Bulbul

	The scientific name is Pycnonotus cafer. It gets its name from the reddish area found at the vent. This can be seen very clearly in the lower photograph. Generally it is dark in colour with white breast & rump. It has a crest & called in Sri Lanka as 'Kondaya' meaning 'haired' because of it. They consume fruits (eg: plantain & papaya), insects, flower nectar, seeds & buds. They build a cup shaped nest where they lay 2 to 3 eggs. This is native to parts of Asia ranging from Pakistan, India & Sri Lanka to southwest China & also some pacific islands where it was introduced later. It had been nominated to be among '100 of worlds worst invaders'. Further readings: Ecology of Pycnonotus cafer Red-vented_Bulbul (Wikipedia) Hawaii Biological Survey's - Red-Vented Bulbul Red vented Bulbul (nice pictures!) also see my other post on Bulbul nest: New life...

New life...

	When I was getting ready to go to work today morning, I heard some noise & was amazed to see three birdlings huddled together in a small nest. I couldn't investigate further as I was getting late for work. On returning from work, first thing I did was to check the nest & it was of Red Vented Bulbul. The parents were busy feeding the hungry birdlings & they took turns in feeding them. The nest was well camouflaged among the grapevine leaves & before the Bulbul parents returned to the nest they would check the surrounding for a while. Initially they hesitated to come to nest when we were around , but eventually they got used to us & we were free to take close pictures of them. In the night on of the parents slept on top of the birdlings.
Three Bulbul birdlings
Bulbul parent returning from nest after feeding. The nest is in the bush of leaves just beyond the bird.
Red Vented Bulbul
Adult bird sleeping on top of birdlings in the night.

Glorious flower in the Garden

This is a bunch of Glori Lilies, also known as Flame Lily, Climbing lily & Gloriosa Lily, I found in our garden. This plant is a creeper & the tips of the leaves wrap around substrates. The scientific name is Gloriosa superba.
Even though the flowers are very beautiful, all parts of this flowering plant are toxic. The tubers are the most toxic part. The toxicity is mainly due to alkaloid Colchicine. The lethal dose varies from 6mg to 20mg.

The features of poisoning may develop 6hrs to 12hrs after ingestion. They include,

• Abdominal pain,
• Nausea & Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Bleeding manifestations (after 24hrs)
• Confusion, Convulsions & Coma
  

Management of the poisoning,

• Gastric Lavage,
• Multiple doses of Activated Charcoal,
• Correction of other complications such correcting dehydration & shock, correcting electrolyte imbalances
• Assisted ventilation if necessary
• Forced Diuresis within first 24hrs

(Reference: Ravindra Fernando (2002) Management of Poisoning, 2nd revised Ed. The National Poison Information Centre, NHSL, Colombo, pp 114-116.)


Some information on this plant can be found at,

• Poisonous Plants Gloriosa superba


• Detailed information on Gloriosa Lily

A detailed description of the poison Colchicine can be found at IPCS INCHEM

Puah had published a nice poem on this flower. Please read it too >> L'chaim"!: Temptation

WISH YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR, err just a second…

Happy New Year !
Originally uploaded by couleurs gm.

This year, the New Year was delayed by one second. This is called a leap second. Last time such a leap second was added to our calendar was only seven years ago. This is done in order to synchronise our normal calendar which is astronomically based & mean solar time. The normal civil time is kept by atomic clocks which are extremely precise.
The leap second can be positive or negative & can be adjusted on 30th June or 31st December mid night.
So I was expecting them to display 23:59:60 or something like that before it became 00:00:00 on TV. But I was disappointed as the clock went from 23:59:59 to 00:00:00 as usual.
I wonder whether they have at least corrected that second later on.

You can read about it further at,

• Wikipedia
• The Future of Leap Seconds
• 2006 Postponed by One (Leap) Second

Also there’s a freeware utility that can be downloaded to synchronise your PC with the atomic clock, Atomic Clock Sync.

Tsunami, never come again!!!

Tsunami Photos Tsunami027_jpg Originally uploaded by
Tsunami Photo/News Archive link to over 20,000 pho.
^ These girls were caught in the giant Tsunami waves when they had come to Galle bus stand to go for their Tution classes. Some survived the ordeal to tell the tale...

It has been one year since the Tsunami hit shores of ours & few other neighbouring countries. It was so massive & sudden catastrophe, all who were not affected, rushed to the help of those poor victims. The boundaries of race, religion, cast & others were so easily forgotten, that all of the Sri Lankans united in one voice to rebuild the nation.
So many lives were lost.
So much property destroyed.
One year has passed, still so much to be done.
The unity of the different races is fading...
The glow of war looming around in the air...
So many affected people still live in temporary shelters.
Still so much to be done....
...can we spend time wasting fighting, when we have so much to do???

May those who died in the tragedy attain nibbana or absolute goals according to their respective religions!!!

White Waters, here we come again...

Some last minute tips by Channa Kasun briefing us about the rocky ride ahead... White waters... here we come again... Refreshingly cold white water of the Kelani River Conquring the White Waters... facing the challenges with a smile... theres nothing to hold on to... almost through... OK it's done, where's the next? Hey theres the camera.. say cheese..

Well, when Rasika & Susantha said they want to have a very exciting time when they came home for this holiday , I couldn’t think of any thing else other than White Water Rafting. So here we go again… back to Kithulgala for White Water Rafting in the Kelani river. Also my cousine sister & her husband joined us. Kitulgala is situated about 80km from Colombo on the A7 road to Nuwara Eliya via Avissawell . We stayed at the Kithulgala Rest House as we did the last time. But we arranged the White Water Rafting with Rafters Retreat in advance. Rafters Retreat is situated just next to Kithulgala Rest House. It is a magnificent old mansion. Channa reviewed us on the finer details of the rocky ride. Then with Kasun we went to Yatiberiya, where the raft was launched, and again another 2hrs of adventure we got. There are 7 rapids ranging from grade 2 to 3 to be conquered & ideally suited for beginners as well. My wife did not join in the ride. But she was more than happy to capture the moments, which we felt really a necessity during the first time we did White Water Rafting. Channa was more than happy to help us in this deed. After dropping the raft & us at the place where we launched the raft, my wife was able to take pictures of our joyous ride from two places where the rapids could be seen from the banks.

Also see White Waters at Kitulgala

Ghost siting???

I got the above photo from a friend.
Those who are in the photo had taken it after they had had a BBQ & were about to leave. The person who printed the photos had seen somthing in the upeer left corner of the photo & enlarged it.
My friend thinks it's a ghost. One below is the enlarged photo of the ghost, if it is so.
What do you think. Could it be a ghost?
I managed to scan the photo. The streight lines on the photo are due to a fsult in the scanner.



< The enlarged portion of the upper left corner of the above photo