This was the first trip that Maggie and I had taken by ourselves for some years, ever since I began to organise trips for the disabled birders association. We were looking forward to being able to please ourselves, go at our own pace and not make any of the numerous small compromises we all take when we travel as a group.

Moreover, it was planned to cater for our peculiarities; my poor mobility and Maggie's arachnophobia... it turned out that it needed lots of changes as we went along to meet these needs despite many emails and meetings over the course of a year. Nevertheless, we had a very enjoyable trip and managed to see over 200 birds including around two thirds of the endemics and the majority of the endemic subspecies - however, timing was against us as we had not realised we were not only travelling in advance of the mass migration but also on the cusp of the main Monsoon! We did see a few early migrants such as waders, Brown Shrike and some flycatchers but were at least a couple of weeks too early and dipped out on many birds we had hoped to see such as Indian Pitta, Indian Blue Robin, Kashmir Flycatcher and Orange-headed Thrush.

However, as the following shows, we did manage to see a good proportion of the endemic species and many of the endemic races that abound. 200+ species was, given my lack of mobility, pretty good and as more than a quarter of these were new to me we certainly feel we had a successful trip.

Sri Lanka is unusual in that it has not one but two monsoons. The north and east is affected by just one and is, therefore, the dry zone, but the south west quadrant is subjected to two monsoons and thoroughly deserves its designation as the wet zone. Most of the best birding spots are in the wet zone.

The infrastructure of the island is greatly improving but minor roads, especially those that suffer most inundation in the wet zone are often in a poor state of repair. For anything other than the major routes do not expect to exceed 30 MPH en route. So, given the terrain, topography and erosion even short distances take time to cover. In the wetter higher areas roadsides have to be constantly attended to as mud and rocks slide and slip. When you see a rock the size of a washing machine tumble down a hill without any apparent prompting it does bring home to you how difficult it is for a relatively poor nation to maintain good transport links. I have to say we were impressed with the health, education and transport systems supported by government as well as the very friendly nature of all the people we met.

We present this report as a guide for those who either cannot, or do not choose to, walk very far and those who like us have found that middle age calls for a bit more comfort than youth!

Diary

Day 1 – 08^th October 2007 - Arrival - Kithulgala

We spent the late afternoon birding in Kithulgala at Sisira's River Lodge... the grounds there hold special birds and we saw Black-backed Dwarf Kingfisher and heard Chestnut-backed Owlet as well as seeing Layard's and Hanging Parakeets to kick off our tally of endemics there was a strong supporting cast of Stork-billed Kingfisher, Hill Myna, White-bellied Drongo etc. Most birds were seen over the river or flying up and down - including the only Forest Wagtail of the trip. [Thanks to S M Amarakoon MD of the Lodge for his hospitality and his staff for trying to call in some of the special birds]

We spent the night at Kithugala Resthouse.

Day 2  – 09^th October 2007 - Kithulgala

We spent the early morning and late afternoon watching the Kithulgala Forest Reserve from our viewpoint at Sisira's River Lodge. Once more we heard but did not see the owlet and had more views of four species of kingfisher, both parrots, and heard but did not see Brown-capped Babbler. The morning was started with views of a tape-lured Green-billed Coucal and a party of Orange-billed Babbler, another highlight being a Besra preening for half an hour at the top of a palm. The highlight of the afternoon was a male Ceylon Junglefowl in the grounds.

We spent the night at Kithugala Resthouse and saw Loten's & Purple-Rumped Sunbird here and our only Purple Sunbird of the trip.

Day 3 – 10^th October 2007 - Kithulgala

Another day spent watching the forest from afar being physically incapable of the uphill trek into the reserve in search of the famed Serendib Scops-Owl.

However, we did manage both male and female Ceylon Junglefowl, Ceylon Green-Pigeon, Ceylon Hanging-Parrot, Layard's Parakeet, more views of Black-Backed Dwarf Kingfisher, Ceylon Swallow, Ceylon Grey Hornbill, Legge's Flowerpecker, Ceylon Hill-Myna and Ceylon Crested Drongo. Once more we heard but did not see Brown-capped Babbler - a species we heard on many more occasions but never got a glimpse of!

Overnight once more at Kithugala Resthouse.

Day 4 – 11^th October 2007 - Kithulgala - Ratnapura - Sinharaja

After breakfast we took the long drive to Sinharaja via Ratnapura, breaking the day by birding in the garden of Ratnaloka Tour Inn and having lunch there. This pleasant interlude turned up our only Lesser Yellow-nape of the trip as well as Greater Flameback, Small Minivet, Brown-backed Needletail, Changeable Hawk-Eagle and other commoner species.

The trip up into the high ground and through numerous tea plantations afforded many spectacular views in hills and valleys.

Having had a look at the Blue Magpie Eco-Lodge we spent the night at the Rock View Motel overlooking a deep cultivated valley with many babblers, Black-hooded Orioles and Little Green Bee-eaters.

Day 5 – 12^th October 2007 - Sinharaja

We left before first light for our excursion to Sinharaja World Heritage Wilderness Area. A 4x4 vehicle had been arranged for us so we could venture into those parts of the park where one might confidently predict the major endemics. However, the vehicle turned out to be a clapped out jeep with no doors... this was a problem because I have no movement in my spine... I am unable to 'ride' bumps and as the route was uphill [1 in 4 incline] on an incredibly rocky trail I had two choices, brace myself so as not to fall out of the vehicle and suffer constant pain, or fall out! It quickly became obvious that we were not destined to enter the park proper. So we returned to the large dining room at the Blue Magpie Lodge which overlooks a clearing. We spent the morning here seeing around 28 species including several new birds for the trip such as White-browed Bulbul, Black Eagle, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Crested Treeswift, Golden-fronted Leafbird, Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike, White-rumped Munia and early migrant Brown Shrike. It was good to be able to see a close nesting pair of Changeable Hawk Eagle too. Layard’s Striped Squirrels and Indian Palm Squirrels were also in evidence and, on leaving the park we also had good views of Purple-Faced Leaf Monkey.

We saw no point in returning to the same spot and staying frustrated by not being able to see the specialty birds so we decided to move on early to the dry zone. We spent the afternoon undertaking the long drive over and through the beautiful Sri Lankan scenery and through the edge of the Udawalawe National Park with its large tank sporting Spot-billed Pelicans and the only Great White Egret and Long-tailed Cormorants of the trip and Indian Elephants which gave us a brief photo-opportunity. Through the park every wire seemed to have Blue-tailed and Little Green Bee-eaters, Indian Rollers, Brown Shrike and other typical birds... but, it was not possible to stop and scope the tank.

Overnight stay in Priyankara Hotel Tissamaharama - our base for five days.

Day 6 – 13^th October 2007 - Tissamaharama

As we had longer than normal in the area we decided to have a slightly later start than normal and breakfasted before setting off for our first visit to the tanks and gardens, paddy fields and woodland of the area around 'Tissa'.

So we had time to scope the tanks and see Spot-Billed Pelican,  Black-Crowned Night-Heron, Lesser Whistling-Duck, Cotton Teal, Oriental Darter, Purple Heron, Brahminy Kite,  Stork-Billed Kingfisher and many of the common dry zone species.

We also birded around some urban areas and found some great birds in people's gardens including Indian Scops-Owl and Blue-faced Malkhoha.

Day 7 – 14^th October 2007 - Tissamaharama

The morning and evening was spent Birding around Tissamaharama wetlands which produced White-naped Woodpecker, Brown-headed Barbet, Clamorous Reed-Warbler, Baya and Streaked Weaver [most easily told apart by the shapes of their nests] and excellent views of hundreds of roosting Flying Foxes.

The afternoon session also produced no less than three Pied Crested [Jacobin] Cuckoos.

Day 8 – 15^th October 2007 - Tissamaharama

Before breakfast we set off for a jeep safari in Bundala National Park - the ride around in a high vehicle was one of the highlights of the tour as it afforded such good views and we also saw a lot of birds including a number of lifers.

Among the birds we saw were Painted Stork, Black-Winged Stilt, Great Thick-Knee, Yellow-wattled & Red-wattled Lapwing, Pacific Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Little-Ringed, Kentish, Mongolian & Greater Sand Plover, Marsh, Wood & Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Brahminy Starling, Plaintive Cuckoo, Sri Lanka Woodshrike, Indian Silverbill, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Booted Eagle, Shikra and Besra & etc..

We also had great views of Toque Monkey, Grey Langur, Golden Jackal, Mongooses, Elephant, Sambar, Spotted Deer and Water Buffalo.

In the evening we birded an area near Yala consisting of sandy fields, scrub and tanks and saw Jerdon's Bushlark, Ashy-Crowned Finch-Lark, Hoopoe, Great Thickknee, and, the target species, India Nightjar. We also had the most unexpected tick of the trip - Isabeline Wheatear.

Day 9 – 16^th October 2007 - Tissamaharama

At first light we were picked up at our hotel by one of the Yala guides in a high vehicle and made our way to our planned safari in Yala National Park.

This was the day the park was due to open for the season and when we arrived we found a number of other birding groups at the park entrance and an unusual number of soldiers. We quickly learned that there had been a LTTE attack on the army base which is in the part of the park not open to the public. Our disappointment at not being able to enter the park was nothing compared to the loss of life. Later we heard that during the course of the morning two of the guides had been wounded and a soldier died when their vehicle ran over an anti-personnel weapon. There is no question that the attack had been timed to disrupt tourism but also as clear was that there was never any threat to tourists. Despite the conflict still continuing in the northern and eastern parts of the country there is no targeting of foreign nationals and good advice should steer birders well clear of any problems.

We retained the vehicle and birded areas outside the park but still sufficiently wild to hold elephant, jackal and wild boar. Moreover, we saw some great birds and missed out very few of the birds on offer in the park proper.

We had Greater Sand Plover, Marsh, Wood, Terek & Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint,  Caspian, Lesser-Crested, Gull-Billed, Saunders’s & Little Tern,  Oriental Skylark, and many others.

Day 10 – 17^th October 2007 - Tissamaharama - Nuwara Eliya

After a leisurely breakfast we left for the long drive up to the highlands and Nuwara Eliya.

The route was being improved which meant quite a few hold-ups on the way but the beautiful countryside compensated for this. As we went up higher the weather became misty then wet and it steadily rained for the rest of the day with very low cloud precluding any hope of birding.

We checked in to the Galway Forest Lodge Nuwara Eliya. We were given a room on the third floor and we quickly followed the porter who carried our bags upstairs and I found myself totally out of breath. Nuwara Eliya is located at around 2250 meters above sea level and high enough for the air to have thinned a little. Newcomers need to take it a little slower than normal to start with. I have been at higher elevations before so was quite surprised to be affected, however marginally.

Day 11 – 18^th October 2007 - Nuwara Eliya

We had planned a trip to Horton Plains National Park but the day dawned as wet as the previous one and we were told that if it was raining where we were then Horton Plain was likely to be clad in mist. We debated as to what to do and decided that we would move on to Kandy at lunch time and use the morning to bird the local reserve as this was just 20 minutes from the hotel. We made our way there and whilst it never stopped raining it was tolerable when under the cover of the trees.

On our way into the reserve we saw a familiar bird - a Grey Wagtail on a culvert. We stopped at several places listening for birds and eventually picked up the call of a Sri Lanka Woodpigeon, which we managed to locate and watch high in a tree where it was soon joined by another. Moving on we picked up movement and could see a small group of  Sri Lanka White-Eyes moving through the tops of the trees and then a great view of a small party of Dark-fronted Babblers at eye level.

After our picnic breakfast among the dripping trees we lucked upon a wave of birds with Sri Lanka White-Eyes, a superb Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler, Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, a Sri Lanka Bush-Warbler, a Velvet-Fronted Nuthatch and a Dusky Blue Flycatcher.

No amount of searching turned up any thrushes or other goodies so we moved on to Victoria Park which is in the centre of town. Our [rather limited] walk around was not very productive but we did see more Grey Wagtails and Sri Lanka White-eyes and virtually tame Scaley-breasted Minias as well as some spectacular lizards.

After lunch we left the town for Kandy while looking for Hill Swallows, without luck, en route. However we did see our only Pied Bush Chat of the trip and a small group of Yellow-Eared Bulbuls.

We arrived in Kandy in the afternoon and decided to rest up in the Hotel Suisse.

Day 12 – 18^th October 2007 - Kandy

We started the day after an early breakfast birding in Royal Botanical Gardens in Peradeniya. Here we had good views of Alexandrine Parakeet, and brief views of Yellow-Fronted Barbet and Ceylon Small Barbets. There was a supporting cast of Edible-nest [Indian] Swiftlet, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Common & Stork-billed Kingfishers, and munias, white-eyes, minivets and other common species.

I spent the late afternoon sitting in the Hotel Gardens managing to find three barbet species in the same tree along with crows, mynas and Flying Foxes.

Day 13 – 20^th October 2007 - Kandy

In the morning we were unable to do any birding at Udawattakele Sanctuary as this would have meant more walking than I was up to so, instead, we went up into the hills above Kandy and birded amongst the tea plantations. This proved quite productive with Brown-capped Babbler once more heard but not seen, but good views of Greater Flameback [down to 4 feet], Orioles, Drongos etc. and the best view yet of Sri Lanka Hill Mynas. It was an enjoyable afternoon despite the persistent drizzle.

After lunch we made our way down the main highway to Colombo and the Airport Garden Hotel.

Day 14 – 21^st October 2007 - Kandy - 24th October

In our original plan we were due to fly on to Malaysia but unforeseen circumstances led us to re-arrange our flight home early. The earliest we could get the flights was for 24th October so, as we had ended our tour with Baurs, we spent most of the rest of the time enjoying the five star facilities of the Hotel with its lush gardens, managing to clock up around 40 species from our Bedroom Window!

I had arranged to meet up with another guide - Amila Salgado of Birdwing Nature Holidays - on 22nd and we drove an hour east of Katunayake through the incredible deluge of the onset of the monsoon proper to a new forest reserve, Horagolla National Park, the smallest National Park with a mere 13.362 hectares. Whilst this NP has no birds that cannot be found elsewhere it does have some of the endemics such as Spot-winged Thrush and is easy access and close enough to Colombo to do as a day trip.

When the rain eased just a little we venture 100 yards into the forest with umbrellas up fighting off the mosquitoes in the secondary forest. We saw just one bird, but, as it was a lifer, a Brown-breasted Flycatcher, I was happy. Whilst playing scrabble in the park building we did catch a glimpse of a Sri Lanka Giant Squirrel. It was also most interesting to see snails the size of apples crawling about the trails.

It does seem that the term 'eco-lodge' can often be used as an excuse for poor facilities trying to make a virtue out of the fact that there are no mains supplies etc. I totally support good conservation practices and ways of reducing the carbon footprint etc. but this most certainly does not mean that one has to have poor facilities.

Kithugala Resthouse

Kithulgala Rest House was used by the principle actors when making the film of The Bridge Over The River Kwai which was filmed here and the famous bridge built across the Kelani River before it was dramatically blasted at the end of the 1950s film. It is a small and unpretentious place with just half a dozen well-appointed air-conditioned rooms and a large restaurant which was well used by visitors and locals offering very good food at dinner accompanied by ice-cold Lion Beer, nice snack lunches and also an excellent breakfast served by friendly and attentive staff. The rooms were very clean and were completely accessible too. Of all the places we stayed this would pose least problems to wheelchair users there was a generously sized shower with no lips and sills and an accessible WC too. As can be seen there was a deep step up to the rooms from the garden but this could easily be ramped if needed.

Bird images ©Amila Salgado Birdwing Nature Holidays
 

Sri Lanka Birding Areas