He is a birder and
researcher, with over 25 years experience in bird
watching alone. He is also undeniably one of the most
accomplished bird artists in the region. He has held
over half a dozen solo exhibitions in Sri Lanka and
exhibited his work at many international exhibitions.
Lester Perera is
well known among all those birds watchers and those
interested in nature. Perera has contributed immensely
to conservation in Sri Lanka as well as abroad and
annually donates his work to the Oriental Bird Club of
the UK, which is auctioned at the British Bird Watching
Fair Held in Leicestershire. The proceeds are used for
significant bird related conservation work of the
Oriental region.
He was invited by
the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) for
Art on the Wing 2005 exhibition, to display his work
along with the top most wildlife artists in Europe at
the Maclaurin Gallery in Scotland.
Perera’s talents as
an artist need no explanation. However Perera says that
his paintings are all ‘field experience’ and based on
careful observations and loads of field sketches and
notes.
Perera loved
animals from his young days and claims that his genes
may have played a greater role in determining what he is
today. Unlike most children in their early years he
spoke of Purdy’s, Holland And Holland, Remington’s,
point 22’s, 375 Magnums (reputed guns, manufacturers and
calibers) and fishing gear, part of his father’s and
grand father’s vocabulary and also due to the collection
of books and magazines such as Field And Stream,
he browsed as a kid.
He also had 15 plus
Beagles and a couple of other hound breeds (Harrier and
Fox). Throughout his childhood he had many wild and
domestic animals as pets often-orphaned ones fondly
nurtured back to healthy life on most occasions by him.
However a series of
three books titled Harmsworth Natural History,
which belonged to his grand father and subsequently to
his father, probably influenced him the most and as the
pictures in these three books were the earliest
pictures, he saw of wild life as a child.
His early years
were spent in the outstations of Sri Lanka where his
father worked as an agriculturist. Hunting during that
era was a favourite past time. He trotted behind his
father and his gun almost always and on occasion got
knocks on his head for not paying attention and heading
faster than his father and his gun, as his curiosity was
greater to see what the tonguing (Hounds Barking) dogs
were bringing out of the jungle. He had an enormous
passion for snakes during that time, and on occasion
carried them even to school.
Perera has worked
at the National Zoological Gardens in 1981 as a student
guide. After leaving St. Joseph’s College, he pioneered
sea turtle research and conservation work in Bundala for
the National Aquatic Resources Agency (NARA).
During his tenure
at NARA he also undertook work on cetaceans (whales and
dolphins) which he is still involved in with leading
Cetacean Biologist Anouk Illangakoon. During that time,
he was instrumental in adding a new species of beaked
whale the Blainville’s Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon
densirostris) to our waters. Along with Illangakoon and
foreign funding, he has pioneered research on pelagic
birds (seabirds) and cetaceans. The research paper was
presented at the Indian Ocean Cetacean Symposium held in
the Maldives in July.
He has also
authored and co-authored many articles pertaining to Sri
Lankan natural history, mostly his research findings.
Presently he and his close colleague Uditha Hettige are
researching on two species of critically endangered
endemic birds of Sri Lanka.
Today Perera has
become one of the leading naturalists in Sri Lanka and
in India. His adventures in India began in 2002, back
packing the Western Ghats of Kerala and Western Tamil
Nadu. Perera then began a new career in India which most
bird watchers only dream of today, by leading bird
watching research expeditions there.
The exhibition of
paintings Wild Wings will be held at the Lionel
Wendt Art Gallery (Harold Peiris) from August 7 to 9,
and will be open to the public from 9 am to 6 p.m.
The exhibition is
sponsored by the Bird and Wildlife Shop (Pvt) Ltd,
dealers of Pitta Products, Opticron, Swarovski and Kowa
birding optics in Sri Lanka.
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