Hiyare is a mini forest reserve at it’s center is a small man made lake which was used to supply water to the city of Galle. It was here that I spotted the Red Wattled Lapwing

A Red Wattled Lapwing at the Hiyare Conservation Center.

The spotted dove is taking a close look at my solar panels. I think this maybe of the hatchlings that came our of the nest in the roof. It has great plans for my solar power system.

The PV panels were supplied by Nawaloka Trading along with the apparatus on which it is mounted. It’s designed so that it can be rotated to track the sun. But right now it’s manual. A computerized tracking system with sophisticated mounts would cost a fortune – far more than the panels themselves which is expensive enough as it is. The mounts were fabricated in their workshop to keep the cost down.

Momma Bird with her babies.

Spotted Dove Hatchlings no more than a day or a two old. Catching sight of them turned out to be very difficult. The wooden rafter blocks them from view. And when mama bird is also in the nest they are completely obstructed. In fact I didn’t know the eggs had hatched until at least a day after the event.

The nest is a clumsy affair but the location has been chosen wisely. There are two shikras in the neighbourhood and hatchlings like this would be easy prey for them when the mother bird is away. But because this nest is almost inside the house the Shikras are likely to keep away. The same cannot be said about cats though. Yet this rafter is two high for our lazy cats to reach.