Sri Lanka Trip Report 

Day 1 (20/1) First birds we saw just on sunrise were hundreds of House Crows flying over, and a few Cattle Egret in the woodland across the road. Nishantha (our driver) and Upali (our guide*) arrived to pick us up at 9am, and after traditional Sri Lankan spring hoppers for breakfast, we proceeded towards Habarana. We stopped at Pelvehera Tank (Tank is a man-made small lake) where we saw our first Pheasant-tailed Jacanas and other waterbirds.

Soon after we pulled up at ‘The Other Corner’ (TOC) which is a resort at Habarana, were treated to a lovely ‘Ayubowan’ greeting, and settled into our room. After lunch we explored the grounds and then went up to the bund wall that borders Habarana Lake. Some of the birds we saw were Orange-headed Thrush, Indian Pitta, Purple-rumped Sunbird, Indian Roller and an immature Shikra.

62 bird species today

Upali and I explored the bund wall alongside Habarana Lake, then we had a spicy Sri Lankan breakfast. Next we went to Sigiriya and walked the roads and track around the moat. Saw Drongo Cuckoo, Grey-bellied Cuckoo, White-throated and Stork-billed Kingfishers, Black-hooded Oriole, Shikra (a kind of goshawk), Hanuman Langur Monkey, Land and Water Monitors.

Upali gave me an overview of the use of Sigiriya Rock as a fort and palace for the renegade prince Kashyapa, who murdered his father and seized the kingship, reigning from 477 to 495 CE.  This is fascinating history and worth the extra time to climb the rock and see the paintings. As our focus was birdlife we declined the opportunity this time.

After lunch and afternoon siesta, back at TOC, Upali and I explored the bund wall again, and added several more species to the list including Baya Weaver, Malabar Pied Hornbill, White-rumped Shama, Paradise Flycatcher and a delightful group of four Tawny-bellied Babblers fidgeting as they settled down to roost for the night.

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Day 3 (22/1)

This morning we packed up and left for Kandy straight after breakfast. Despite rain on and off through the morning, we saw some birds along the way. A rice paddy yielded Little Ringed Plover and Wood Sandpiper, and at Kandalama Lake we saw Spot-billed Pelican and Grey Heron. Then we continued on to Kandy, where we had lunch overlooking the lake and the ‘Temple of the Tooth Relic’. 

After lunch we checked in to the lovely old, but well maintained, Suisse Hotel and then Upali and I searched for birds around the grounds and at the lake. We had close views of Black-crowned Night Heron, Indian and Little Cormorants and a Great Egret in the peak of breeding flush. We also visited the Royal Botanical Garden, Peradeniya. This magnificent garden holds a good amount of birdlife.

41 bird species today

Day 4 (23/1)

We checked out after a lovely buffet breakfast and visited the nearby Udawattakele Sanctuary.  On the way to Kitulgala, Upali spotted a Crested Serpent Eagle near a roadside tea shop, and we pulled over. Here we saw the eagle, as well as Common Tailorbird, Scarlet Minivet, Common Hill Myna and Sri Lankan Hill Myna. We had a cup of tea here before moving on. We arrived at Kitulgala for a late lunch, shared with our friends Kishan, Rahul and Thilini, from Darwin.

After lunch we birded around the grounds and had great views of Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill, Layard’s Parakeet and Lesser Goldenback (Woodpecker). We also went to a villager’s garden where a Chestnut-backed Owlet has its nest, but we didn’t see it, however, we did have great views of a Giant Squirrel.

61 bird species today

Day 5 (24/1)

When I got up at first light Upali and Kishan already had the scope on a Chestnut-backed Owlet, calling from the forest alongside the back lawn area of our hotel. We had great views but couldn’t get a good photo.

After breakfast we hired a small raft to cross the river to explore the beautiful Kitulgala Forest. We walked through a village and on up into the forest. We didn’t see a lot of birds but did have good views of a Black Eagle soaring, Pale-billed Flowerpecker and a Spot-winged Thrush foraging.

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Day 6 (25/1)

We arrived at our accommodation at the Blue Magpie Lodge and saw a good variety of birds around the grounds including Black Bulbul, Sri Lankan Hanging Parrot and Plum-headed Parakeet. Late in the afternoon we drive up to the ticketing office at Sinharaja Rainforest and had great views of the Sri Lankan Blue Magpie, Orange-billed Babblers, Layard’s Striped Squirrel and a pair of Otters!

58 bird species today

Day 7 (26/1)

We went early by jeep up to the Sinharaja Rainforest. Upali has a friendship with a family who have the elusive and endemic Sri Lankan Spurfowl come to their house. We were invited to go inside and wait at the kitchen/dining room window and eventually a pair of Spurfowl came to the back of the house and we had great views.

Also we saw and photographed Green-billed Coucal and the spectacular Red-faced Malkoha. We walked along the road through a mixture of tea plantations and forest and saw a Philippine Shrike, Indian Pitta, Crested Hawk Eagle and other birds. 

 

At the end of the days birding Kishan, Thilini and Rahul went back to Colombo, it was great to share four days of our tour with them.

 

Day 8 (27/1)

This morning Upali and I went by jeep before sunrise up to Sinharaja Rainforest and walked a different section of it. The most amazing sighting was a tiny Sri Lanka Frogmouth, not far off the track but well hidden in the jungle. Though it rained heavily for most of the morning, we managed to see some great birds including Malabar Trogan, Red-faced Malkoha, White-faced Starling and Dark-fronted Babbler. We also saw a troop of Purple-faced Leaf Monkeys. The endemic Sri Lanka Junglefowl was here too.

41 bird species today

Day 9 (28/1)

After breakfast and check out from the Blue Magpie Lodge, we started the three hour drive to Udawalawe. This area is famous for its elephants and there is an Elephant Orphanage in the town which focuses on rehabilitation of orphaned baby elephants.

 

At the orphanage, we were not only treated to the sight of young elephants of various ages coming to be fed, but a pair of Collared Scops Owls were in their day roost in a large tree on the compound.

After lunch and check in to our room at the Grand Udawalawe, Upali and I went to the Udawalawe National Park for a jeep safari.  

We saw plenty of Asian Elephants, some Golden Jackal, and Mugger Crocodiles. Birds included Spot-billed Pelican, Painted Stork, Montagu’s Harrier, Barred Button-quail, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Jerdon’s Bushlark, Marshall’s Iora and Rosy Starling.

68 bird species today

Day 10 (29/1)

We checked out of our hotel and did another jeep safari at Uda Walawe National Park. After great views of many of the same species plus some more like Black-winged Kite and Blue-faced Malkoha, we continued on to Tissamaharama. We stopped at a tank near Tissa and were surprised to see a White Wagtail in the grassy area, with various other wetland birds.

After checking in to the Hibiscus Garden Hotel we went to a nearby wetland and saw Black Bittern, Yellow Bittern, Spoonbill, Watercock, Common Moorhen and Common Coot. A young birdwatcher who knows Upali told us about a Brown Fish Owl nearby, so we followed him to the spot and there it was! There was also a pair of Malabar Pied Hornbills in another large tree nearby. From there we went to yet another local friend of Upali’s and he has a Jungle Owlet roost in his garden. Unfortunately, it was not there when we went but we saw a pair of brooding White-naped Woodpeckers change over at the nest. The nest is a small hollow in a coconut palm trunk. There were several hollows in the coconut trees here and some had Rose-ringed Parrots in them.

88 bird species today

Day 11 (30/1)

Today we had a rest for the first part of the day. In the afternoon we went back to Upali’s friends place and this time we saw the Jungle Owlet. We also had great views of Brown-headed Barbet and Asian Paradise Flycatcher.

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Day 12 (31/1)

We left early for a full day jeep safari at Yala National Park. First exciting event was a traffic jam where jeeps were crowded around the scene of a Reticulated Python devouring a deer. We continued on, all the time alert for signs of our number one target – Leopard!

We saw Grey Langur Monkeys and had confrontations with Toque Monkeys at lunch time. Also we saw several Ruddy Mongoose, Spotted Deer, Wild Boar and Water Buffalo. Unfortunately we dipped on leopard but did see some tracks.

 

We checked out a small wetland close to the shore where we saw Spotted Redshank and Common Redshank. There was the intriguing sight of elephant footprints through the shallow tidal inlet where the shorebirds were. Bird sightings included great views of Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Brahminy Starlings, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Malabar Pied Hornbill and Ashy-crowned Sparrow Lark.

82 bird species today

Day 13 (1/2)

We checked out early from the Hibiscus Garden Hotel and went to Bundala National Park, a small park on the coast and to the south west of Yala. In 1991 Bundala became the first area to be declared a Ramsar site in Sri Lanka. Here we had great views of shorebirds from a wetland viewing platform at the entrance to the park. Then we had the treat of seeing nine Greater Flamingos flying overhead. Amongst the dozens of Barn Swallows Upali pointed out two Sand Martins. We saw Collared Dove, Yellow Bittern, Richard’s Pipit, Paddyfield Pipit and Jerdon’s Leaf Warbler. There are salt pans used for salt production and from the bund walls we saw Oriental Skylark, Small Pratincole and Pied Kingfisher. Mammals at Bundala included Asian Elephant, Grey Langur and Toque Monkey.

From there we left sea level and climbed to Nuwara Eliya which is at 1868m. After lunch at the Ceybank Rest, Upali and I searched for birds in the nearby Victoriya Park gardens. At the gardens, we saw Forest Wagtail, Sri Lanka White-eye and had fantastic views of an Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher.

109 bird species today

Day 14 (2/2)

We left well before dawn for Horton Plains. This is a plateau, 2100-2300m high and home to many unique bird species, fantastic scenery, and is very cold! We saw Indian Blackbird, Whistling Thrush, Great Tit (SL subspecies) Dusky Blue Flycatcher, Wood Pigeon, Yellow-eared Bulbul, Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, and Sri Lanka Bush Warbler. Mammal species included Flame-backed Squirrel and Samba Deer. On our way back to Nuwara Eliya we stopped at a tea room for refreshments and saw a Rufous-bellied Eagle soaring overhead.

After lunch Upali and I went back to the gardens and saw Pied Thrush and Kashmir Flycatcher. We then went to another forest nearby where we had good views of Indian Blue Robin, Indian Black Bird, Dull Blue Flycatcher, Great Tit and Yellow-eared Bulbul. We also saw a Giant Squirrel.

37 bird species today

Day 15 (3/2)

Today is the last day of our tour and we started off with a latish 7.30am breakfast, checked out of our hotel and began the spectacular scenic descent from Nuwara Eliya to Kandy. We stopped at a location near a tunnel where we saw Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and further along we did a tour of a tea factory. The highlight here, in addition to the factory tour, was our only sighting of Hill Swallow. Hill Swallow is reliable at this tea factory and the reason Upali suggested this stop.

Today we 14 bird species today

We saw a total of 225 bird and 17 mammal species over the 15 days

Mike, Jenny and Upali on tour in Sri Lanka (photo copyright Mike Jarvis)

*BIO-Upali Ekanayake worked as a research officer for the Department of Zoology of the University of Peradeniya for some 30 years and trained further in terrestrial ecology and conservation, with special emphasis on birds, at the universities of Cambridge and Aberdeen, UK. Upali has carried out avifaunal and biodiversity surveys in various protected areas on the island and has written many scientific research papers. Upali has been leading bird tours since 1992, and has a comprehensive knowledge of Sri Lanka’s birds, mammals, butterflies and plants. He has been involved in training and assisting many up and coming bird guides in Sri Lanka, passing on his field skills, enthusiasm for avi-tourism, and passion for preserving the Sri Lankan environment. Jenny and I felt honoured to be shown Sri Lanka and its wildlife by him.

We dropped Upali off near his home at Kandy and Nishantha, our driver, took us to our accommodation at the Kingsbury in Colombo.