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

Tale of the Two Rods

Have you noticed the symbols used in relation to medicine?

Which of these is it?
< >

Actually the medical professionals also have been confused in the use of these two symbols.The staff entwining a single serpent –believed to be a rat snake species- is known as Rod of Asclepius.

Asclepius was the god of medicine & healing in the Greek mythology. He was the son of Coronis -a mortal- & Apollo -a Greek god-, brought up by Chiron -a centaur-, who thought him all his skills in Medicine. Zeus killed him with a thunder bolt. Many reasons are speculated for this killing, one reason being acceptance of money in return for resurrection. These have to be discussed separately.
Then realizing his importance Zeus made him immortal & placed in the sky as the Ophiuchus among the stars.

The other one is Caduceus of Hermes or Kerykeion of Mercury. It depicts a staff with wings with two snakes wrapped around it. Hermes is the Greek god of boundaries, of travelers, shepherds and cowherds, of orators, literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures and invention, of commerce in general, of the cunning of thieves, and the messenger from the gods to humans. Mercury is the Latin god of trade, profit and commerce.

Thus Rod of Asclepius is more relevant to be used as a symbol of Medicine rather the Caduceus or Kerykeion which is more connected with commerce. But Hermes also is connected with alchemy in the form of hermetic spells, which is a precursor of medicine

< Logo of British medical association



Logo of World Health Organisation >

Presidential Election of Sri Lanka - 2005

Presidential Election voting was wrapped-up at 4pm. Now it is time to watch for results. Unlike earlier occations, we have another new method to get updated results for Sri Lankan Presidential Polls. They are updated web pages.
The official goverment news page for Presidential Election of Sri Lanka is -click here-

There are other sites promising to give updated results of the 5th Presidential Election of Sri Lanka,
http://www.president2005.com/live/
http://www1.srilankanelections.com/index.php
http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/election_2005.jsp

The results of past Presidential Election of Sri Lanka can be found at -click here-

Wash your hands....

While we were attending to inducing anesthesia for the next patient, our Consultant Surgeon - Dr R D Yapa- popped a question to us as usual.
"Who discovered Antisepsis?". Chandaná was quick to answer "Joseph Lister...". We nodded in agreement. "No.. It's Semmelweis" & we've never heard of a 'Semmelweis' until now.

That's how I found about an ugly chapter in "The Art of Medicine".

Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (July 1, 1818 - August 13, 1865), was a Hungarian doctor who practiced under Klein, Professor of Obstetrics at Lying-in Hospial, Vienna.

He noticed that,

• the neonatal death rate due to Puerperal fever (childbirth fever) was 13% in his unit compared to 2% in the other unit in the same hospital
• his unit was managed by doctors & medical students & the other unit was managed by midwives
• his colleague Jakob Kolletschka died of similar symptoms after he cut his finger accidentally during a post mortem.
• women admitted with "street-births" (who had delivered in the streets) had lower fever rates compared to his unit's
• student doctors attended to autopsies & then to women in delivery

With these observations in 1847, he introduced a new rule that everybody must wash their hands with chlorinated lime before examining patients & later on added the instruments also to be washed. Death rate felt immediately to 2% which was comparable to the other ward.
The ugly chapter starts here. Semmelweis was not keen to report his findings to his superiors & was eventually dismeissed from his post by Prof. Klien. He returned to Hungary in 1850 & worked in St. Rochus Hospital in Pest.
He published his work in a book in 1861, "The aetiology, understanding and prevention of childbed fever" (Die Ätiologie, der Begriff und die Prophylaxis des Kindbettfiebers). It was accepted by Hungarian government, even though it was widely criticised by German speaking doctors in Vienna. Even Viennese Medical Journal editorial reminded its readers "It was time to stop the nonsense about the chlorine hand wash".
He suffered a nervous breakdown and was admitted to a insane assylum & died 2 weeks later.
Cause of his death is speculated to be due to infection he received from a wound during autopsy. But the real cause was found to be something else. He had become violent while in the assylum & was beaten by assylum personnel. He died due to injuries received, in a fortnight.
Only in 1867 Joseph Lister introduced Carbolic Acid spray for asepsis. The scientific growth in asepsis had been halted for 20 years.

I remembered, during a class in Microbiology when I was a medical student, the lecturer told, "Wash your hands, that's the single most important action to prevent infections"

Further readings:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis
• http://general-anaesthesia.com/images/ignaz-semmelweis.html
• http://www.np.edu.sg/~dept-bio/ssm/news/apr_jun99/ignaz.htm
• http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blantisceptics.htm
• http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi622.htm

White Waters at Kitulgala

It was another offweekend for us. As we figured out that me & my wife would not have another long weekend off for a while, we thought of going to Kithulgala for a change We just managed to book a room at Kitulgala Rest House, jam packed with honeymooners after the auspicious days full of weddings.When Thushara (Sister-in-law) got to know this she suggested "a trip to Kitulgala is nothing without White Water Rafting" - thanks sis
^ Raft for the bumpy ride	When we arrived @ Kithulgala Rest House, we had not made our minds yet to go on White Water Rafting. But after a chat with hotel manager, we thought of giving it a try in the Kelaniya River & our Hotel Manger was good enough to arrange it for us.
^ Final Check by Shiran & Wanasingha. Roshan in the distance	We were to do White Water Rafting with guys from Ceylon Adventure Sports (Pvt) Ltd. Mr.Wanasingha came over to the Rest house to pick us up. We went to their office at Batakitta.
^ Final check on the raft!!	Then along with the air filled rafts we went to the place where White Water Rafting starts, Yatiberiya. Still we were in two minds when we reached the waters edge. But now it was too late for us to turn about. Both of us couldn’t swim. But with life jackets worn, we were confident.
^ Shiran instructing us...	Shiran gave us the instructions on how to row, as only two of them came with us – Shiran & Roshan – we need to row as well. I was really worried that I had to give up my camera as it was not water proof.
^ "Right Forward...." commands Roshan	From here on… it was Wanasingha who was behind the lens. The rivers are graded according to rapids from grade 2 to 6. The Kelani River in which we are rafting was graded 2 – 3, ideal for beginners like us & has 7 rapids.

It didn’t take long for the water to run over our heads. I never imagined earlier that boats could travel under water as well J . But I missed a lot of snaps, as I couldn’t take my camera along.It was an unforgettable experience….

Other places for White Water Rafting in Sri Lanka are,

• Sitawaka river off Avissawella – Grade 3 to 4
• Kotmale river – near Hatton - Nuwara Eliya road – Grade 4 to 5
• Mahaweli River – from Ulapane and heads down to Gampola – Grade 2 to 5

Here are few links if you are interseted to do White Water Rafting in Sri Lanka, I found during my surfing...

• Travel Sri Lanka
• Boutique Sri Lanka
• Jetwing Eco holidays
• Rafters Retreat