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This report covers my trip to Sri Lanka in November 2003 as part of a tour organised by
Naturetrek and their ground agents in
Sri Lanka,
Baurs Travel.
This trip was one of Naturetrek's bargain bird watching tours consisting of
only 10 days, one of which is spent travelling to and from the island.
However, the journey is well worth it and excellent value for the money. The
hotels were generally very comfortable and the food was of a good quality
and quantity.
The flight was with SriLankan Airlines from
Heathrow to Colombo via Male in the Maldives. Although nearly 12 hours
in duration, I was impressed with the quality of the cabin crew and
in-flight entertainment. The return flight was direct from Colombo to
Heathrow.
The island is famed for its 26
endemics species and this trips aim was to try and see as many of
them as possible. We were relatively successful with 22 of the species being seen and hearing three more.
On arrival in Colombo you are
immediately aware of the warmth compared to the cool climate of London and one of
the first problems you encounter when starting your birding is that
your binoculars are misted up because of the sudden change in
temperature. The weather throughout the trip was
warm with generally fine and sunny conditions in the mornings turning
to heavy rain most afternoons. Although the monsoon season was over, we
arrived in a period of inter-monsoonal showers so the weather was not unexpected. The temperature was around the 25-28 c level
throughout although it proved a little cooler in the hill country,
nevertheless it was still pleasantly warm.
On arrival in Colombo we met up
with each other for the first time including our leader for the
trip, Upali Ekanayake. Upali proved to be an excellent guide and
tour leader and was ably assisted by Chinthaka de Silva who was taking
part on his first tour. Both of them we found to be superb hosts.
Sri Lanka proved to be a wonderful country with magnificent scenery and full of smiling people who always seemed pleased to see you. However, just one small word of warning when walking
through the rain forests, leeches. They are common and
persistent and do get to you whether you are wearing leech proof socks
or not. Of the 14 of us on the trip only two remained leech
free. The leeches are initially small and almost wiry but they
do get onto your shoes/boots and make
their way onto any flesh they can get at, including through the thick
fibres of walking socks. They don't hurt but they do suck your
blood. However, a reasonably effective deterrent I found was to spray your shoes/boots and lower legs with
Deet. This did have some success as they tended to get off you as soon as they had detected the repellant on you. One useful tip to get them off your skin, once attached, is to use commercially
available wet moist tissues available for cleaning hands etc.
Apparently they don't like the chemicals on them and they can easily
be pulled off your clothing or skin.
ITINERARY
| 14th November |
Depart on
overnight flight to Colombo |
| 15th November |
Arrive in Colombo
and travel to Kitilgula |
| 16th November |
Kitilgula Forest
am, travel to Nuwara Eliyah pm and Victoria Park |
| 17th November |
Horton Plains am,
Galway Forest, Gregory's Lake and Victoria Park pm |
| 18th November |
Travel from Nuwara
Eliyah to Embilipytia via Surrey Tea Estate |
| 19th November |
Uda Walawe
National Park am, travel to Ratnaloke tour inn pm |
| 20th November |
Sinharaja Forest |
| 21st November |
Sinharaja Forest |
| 22nd November |
Ratnaloke inn,
Bodhingale Forest am, travel to Colombo pm via Musthuarjawela
marsh |
| 23rd November |
Airport garden
hotel early am, midday flight home to Heathrow |
SITE LIST
Colombo Airport
A good place to get to grips with Sri
Lanka's more common birds with such delights as White-breasted
Kingfisher, Purple-rumped Sunbird, Common Myna, House Crow and
Large-billed Crow all being abundant.
Kitilgula
A small
Government rest house situated in a delightful valley alongside a fast
flowing river. On the opposite side of the river to the rest
house is an area of rain forest that is alive with bird life.
Stork-billed Kingfishers hunt the river and the forest beyond is home
to many of the islands endemics. These include Chestnut-backed
Owlet, the endangered Green-billed Coucal, Sri Lankan Hanging Parrot
and Layard's Parakeet. The forest is certainly worth spending a
whole morning exploring as it is alive with bird life. However,
beware of the leeches, not particularly big but nevertheless they can be a
little bit of a nuisance.
Galway Forest
An area of preserved forest around the edge of
Nuwara Eliyah in the hill country. Sri Lanka's highest town at around 1900 metres in elevation,
it is situated in the heart of the islands tea industry. The
forest itself is worth exploring the edges of. Birds to be found
here include the endemic Bush Warbler, Pied Thrush, Kasmir Flycatcher,
Dull-blue Flycatcher and the Sri Lankan race of the Eurasian
Blackbird. This is distinctly different in colouration as it appears
almost charcoal compared to the glossy black that we are used
to. Perhaps a candidate for separate species status in the future ?
Gregory's Lake
A fairly large lake adjacent to the Galway Forest. It is well worth
checking the margins of the lake for Pintail Snipe, Red-wattled Lapwing and locustella warblers.
The lake itself is home to Little Grebe, Little Cormorant and numerous egrets.
Victoria Park
Situated in the centre of
Nuwara Eliyah, this delightfully maintained park has a mixture of
lawns, flower beds and a wooded stream passing though it. It's
main claim to fame is it's small flock of Pied Thrushes reputed to
spend the winter alongside the stream. We had some difficulty
finding just one but it was well worth the hunt for such a cracking
bird. As well as being home to numerous common species it is
also good for Indian Pitta.
Horton Plains
The home of the fabled
endemic Sri Lankan Whistling Thrush. At an altitude of around
2150 metres, this area is a mixture of woodland and grassland
savanna. We were unlucky with the Whistling Thrush only hearing
it as it passed us by but we were able to pick up on plenty of other
useful birds for the trip. We found a few Sri Lankan Wood
Pigeons here along with quite a few Scimitar-billed Babblers.
The grasslands were alive with Zitting Cisticolas and Pied
Bush-chats. Hill Swallows can also be found here, particularly
around the rest area car park prior to the beginning of the walk to
"Worlds end".
Surrey Estate Tea Plantation
The gardens surrounding
the managers house act as a magnet to many species of birds providing excellent
views of many species. Amongst the birds we found here were Indian Koel, Tickell's
Blue-Flyctacher, Ashy Prinia and Rufous-bellied Eagle. However, it is worth spending an
early morning here to get a fairly length list of species, unfortunately for us time was at a
premium and we had to move on but a good spot nevertheless.
Embilipytia
Situated in the dry zone part of the country, we were
based at a hotel on the shore of a large lake which was home to a large number of Whiskered
Terns and Egrets. Indeed the evening roost of Egrets opposite my room numbered several hundred
birds. Other birds present in the area included White-bellied Fish Eagle, Spot-billed Pelican, Stone Curlew,
Little, Great and Indian Cormorants. We visited a small marsh to the east of the hotel in the late afternoon
which was home to many more water birds including a large number of
Pheasant-tailed Jacanas and Purple Gallinules.
Uda Walawe National Park
Famed mainly for its large number of
Indian Elephants, this savanna parkland is probably the best place we
visited for raptors. Both species of Fish Eagle were present, along with
Black-shouldered Kite, Common Buzzard, Montagu's Harrier and so
on. A good place for Indian Peafowl as well, with nearly every
tree in the park being occupied in the early morning by the
magnificent males. Other birds that are abundant here are
Zitting Cisticola's, Ashy Prinias and Black-headed Munia.
Towards the centre of the park is a huge reservoir or "tank"
as they are called here. This was home, not surprisingly, to a
considerable number of water birds including Black-winged Stilt,
Painted Stork and numerous heron species. All in all, this park is an
absolute must for any birding trip.
Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Sinharaja is the
country's last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than
60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare.
There is much endemic wildlife, especially birds, but the reserve is
also home to over 50% of Sri Lanka's endemic species of mammals and
butterflies, as well as many kinds of insects, reptiles and rare
amphibians. Some of the bird species we found here were the wonderful
Sri Lankan Blue Magpie, White-faced Starling, Sri Lanka Myna and
Yellow-fronted Barbet. As with any rain forest, the secret of
birding here is to find a feeding flock and then pick out as many of the species as you can from
amongst them. Watch out also for the huge numbers of
leeches, they can be a real problem at times here. Bodhingala
Forest
A small forest but nevertheless worth checking out. Home to Malabar
Trogon and Sri Lankan Pied Hornbill. The highlight for us here though was the
tracking down of a pair of Sri Lankan Frogmouths allowing us cracking views of
the pair huddled together on a branch in broad daylight. Musthuarjawela
Marsh
This small marsh to the south of Colombo is alive with water birds, particularly Purple
Gallinules. Of course heron species are abundant and it was here
we got our only Yellow Bitterns of the trip. Other firsts for
the trip here included Common Moorhen and Glossy Ibis. The
latter species was a bird that was nearly extinct in Sri Lanka back in
1995.
SYSTEMATIC
LIST
| Little Grebe |
10 Gregory's Lake 17th, 50+
Embilipytia 18th |
| Spot-billed Pelican |
3 Embilipytia 18th, 30 Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Little Cormorant |
Frequent |
| Indian Cormorant |
1 Embilipytia 18th, 30 Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Great Cormorant |
1 Embilipytia 18th |
| Oriental Darter |
25 Uda Walawe 19th, 2 Colombo
22nd |
| Little Egret |
Freqeunt, Common Uda Walawe |
| Grey Heron |
1 Embilipytia 18th, 2 Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Purple Heron |
10+ Embilipytia 18th, 5 Uda
Walawe 19th, 6 Colombo 22nd |
| Great Egret |
1 Colombo 15th, 2 Embilipytia
8th, 2 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Intermediate Egret |
1 Embilipytia 18th, 4 Colombo
22nd |
| Cattle Egret |
Common |
| Indian Pond Heron |
Common |
| Yellow Bittern |
3 Colombo 22nd |
| Painted Stork |
50+ Uda Walawe 19th, 4 Colombo
22nd |
| Asian Openbill |
4 Colombo 15th, 2 Embilipytia
18th |
| Woolly-necked Stork |
3 Embilipytia 18th, 4 Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Lesser Adjutant |
10 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Glossy Ibis |
8 Colombo 22nd |
| Black-headed Ibis |
10 Colombo 15th, 10+
Embilipytia 18th, 8 Colombo 22nd |
| Eurasian Spoonbill |
9 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Lesser Whistling-duck |
6 Colombo 22nd |
| Oriental Honey-Buzzard |
Frequent |
| Black-winged Kite |
Frequent |
| Brahminy Kite |
Common around Colombo |
| White-bellied Fish Eagle |
1 Embilipytia 18th, 3 Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Grey-headed Fish Eagle |
2 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Crested Serpent Eagle |
Frequent |
| Montagu's Harrier |
1 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Shikra |
3 Embilipytia 18th, Singles
Uda Walawe 19th, Colombo 22nd |
| Besra |
2 Sinharaja 20th |
| Common Buzzard |
1 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Black Eagle |
1 Sinharaja 20th |
| Rufous-bellied Eagle |
Singles Nuwara Eliyah 16th,
Surrey Estate 18th, Uda Walawe 19th |
| Changeable Hawk-Eagle |
2 Embilipytia 18th, 3 Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Sri Lanka Spurfowl |
Heard Sinharaja 21st,
Bodhingale 22nd |
| Sri Lanka Junglefowl |
Singles Horton Plain 17th,
Sinharaja 20th, heard Nuwara Eliyah 18th, Sinharaja 21st |
| Indian Peafowl |
Common in the dry zone around
Uda Walawe |
| Barred Button-Quail |
1 Uda Walawe 19th |
| White-breasted Waterhen |
Frequent |
| Purple Swamphen |
10+ Embilipytia 18th, 10
Colombo 22nd |
| Common Moorhen |
8 Colombo 22nd |
| Pheasant-tailed Jacana |
1 Colombo 15th, 20+
Embilipytia 18th, 50+ Colombo 22nd |
| Little Ringed Plover |
Singles Embilipytia 18th, Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Red-wattled Lapwing |
Frequent near water |
| Pintail Snipe |
2 Gregory's Lake 17th |
| Whimbrel |
3 Colombo 22nd |
| Marsh Sandpiper |
4 Embillipytia 18th |
| Common Sandpiper |
2 Kitilgula 16th, Singles
Nuwara Eliyah 17th, Uda Walawe 19th |
| Black-winged Stilt |
2 Embilipytia 18th, 4 Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Eurasian Stone Curlew |
1 Embilipytia 18th |
| Gull-billed Tern |
2 Embilipytia 18th, 4 Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Lesser Crested Tern |
6 Colombo 22nd, 10+ Colombo
23rd |
| Little Tern |
1 Colombo 22nd |
| Whiskered Tern |
30+ Embilipytia 18th, 50+ Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon |
4 Horton Plains 17th, 4 Nuwara
Eliyah 18th |
| Feral Pigeon |
Common |
| Spotted Dove |
Common |
| Emerald Dove |
3 Kitilgula 16th, 2 Uda Walawe
19th, 2 Sinharaja |
| Orange-breasted Green Pigeon |
1 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Pompadour Green Pigeon |
1 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Green Imperial Pigeon |
2 Kitilgula 16th, 4 Sinharaja
20th, 50+ Sinharaja 21st |
| Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot |
5+ Kitilgula 16th, 20+
Sinharaja 21st, 4 Ratnaloke |
| Alexandrine Parakeet |
2 Embilipytia 18th, 1 Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Rose-ringed Parakeet |
Frequent |
| Plum-headed Parakeet |
20+ Uda Walawe 19th |
| Layard's Parakeet |
3 Kitilgula 16th, 20+
Sinharaja 21st |
| Grey-bellied Cuckoo |
1 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Asian Koel |
2 Surrey Estate 18th, 1 Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Sirkeer Malkoha |
2 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Red-faced Malkoha |
Heard Sinharaja 21st |
| Greater Coucal |
Frequent |
| Green-billed Coucal |
2 Kitilgula 16th, heard
Sinharaja 20-21st |
| Brown Wood Owl |
Heard Horton Plain 17th |
| Jungle Owlet |
Heard Embilipytia 19th |
| Chestnut-backed Owlet |
1 Kitilgula 16th, 3 Sinharaja
21st |
| Sri Lanka Frogmouth |
1 Sinharaja 21st, 2 Bodhingale
22nd |
| Indian Swiftlet |
Frequent |
| Brown-backed Needletail |
6 Sinharaja 20th |
| Asian Palm Swift |
10+ Kitilgula 16th, 10 Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Little Swift |
10 Colombo 15th, 4 Kitilgula
16th |
| Crested Tree-Swift |
2 Uda Walawe 19th, 3 Sinharaja
20th |
| Malabar Trogon |
1 Sinharaja 21st |
| Common Kingfisher |
2 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Stork-billed Kingfisher |
2 Kitilgula 16th |
| White-breasted Kingfisher |
Frequent |
| Pied Kingfisher |
1 Colombo 23rd |
| Little Green Bee-eater |
2 Embilipytia 18th, 10+ Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Blue-tailed Bee-eater |
Frequent |
| Chestnut-headed Bee-eater |
1 Kitilgula 16th, 5
Embilipytia 18th |
| Indian Roller |
3 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill |
1 Sinharaja 20th, 2 Sinharaja
21st, 2 Bodhingale 22nd |
| Malabar Pied Hornbill |
2 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Brown-headed Barbet |
2 Surrey Estate 18th, 1 Uda
Walawe 19th, 1 Ratnaloke 22nd |
| Yellow-fronted Barbet |
2 Sinharaja 20th, 4 Sinharaja
21st, 2 Bodhingale 22nd |
| Coppersmith Barbet |
1 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Brown-capped Woodpecker |
1 Ratnaloke 22nd |
| Yellow-crowned Woodpecker |
1 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Lesser Yellownape |
1 Kitilgula 16th, 1 Surrey
Estate 18th, heard Sinharaja 21st, 2 Ratnaloke 22nd |
| Black-rumped Flameback |
4 Kitilgula 16th, 1 Surrey
Estate 18th, 2 Ratnaloke 22nd |
| Greater Flameback |
Heard Nuwara Eliyah 17th |
| Indian Pitta |
3 Victoria Park 16th, 2
Victoria Park 17th, 1 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Rufous-winged Lark |
20+ Uda Walawe 19th |
| Barn Swallow |
Common |
| Hill Swallow |
10+ Horton Plains 17th |
| Red-rumped Swallow |
4 Ratnaloke 22nd |
| Brown Shrike |
Frequent |
| Black-hooded Oriole |
Frequent |
| White-bellied Drongo |
Frequent |
| Greater Racket-tailed Drongo |
2 Sinharaja 20th, 10 Sinharaja
21st |
| White-faced Starling |
2 Sinharaja 20th, 6 Sinharaja
21st |
| Common Myna |
Common |
| Sri Lanka Myna |
4 Sinharaja 21st |
| Sri Lanka Blue Magpie |
5 Sinharaja 20th, heard
Sinharaja 21st |
| House Crow |
Common |
| Large-billed Crow |
Common |
| Large Cuckoo-shrike |
Singles Kitilgula 16th, Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Black-headed Cuckoo-shrike |
1 Ratnaloke 22nd |
| Common Wood-shrike |
1 Ratnaloke 22nd |
| Small Minivet |
1 Uda Walawe 19th, 2 Ratnaloke
22nd |
| Scarlet Minivet |
Frequent |
| Common Iora |
4 Nuwara Eliyah 17th |
| Blue-winged Leafbird |
1 Surrey Estate 18th |
| Golden-fronted Leafbird |
4 Kitilgula 16th |
| Black-crested Bulbul |
1 Colombo 15th, 2 Kitilgula
16th, 1 Sinharaja 20th |
| Red-vented Bulbul |
Common |
| Yellow-eared Bulbul |
2 Kitilgula 16th, 10+ Horton
Plains 17th, 4 Sinharaja 21st |
| White-browed Bulbul |
1 Kitilgula 16th, 6 Sinharaja
20th, 1 Ratnaloke 22nd |
| Yellow-browed Bulbul |
1 Kitlgula 16th, 4 Sinharaja
20th |
| Black Bulbul |
3 Kitlgula 16th, 1 Sinharaja
21st |
| Brown-capped Babbler |
2 Kitilgula 16th |
| Indian Scimitar Babbler |
3 Horton Plains 17th, 2 Surrey
Estate 18th, heard Sinharaja 21st |
| Tawny-bellied Babbler |
2 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Dark-fronted Babbler |
2 Horton Plains 17th, 6
Sinharaja 20th, 2 Sinharaja 21st |
| Yellow-eyed Babbler |
3 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Orange-billed Babbler |
5 Kitilgula 16th, 20+
Sinharaja 21st |
| Yellow-billed Babbler |
Frequent |
| Ashy-headed Laughing-thrush |
6 Sinharaja 21st |
| Asian Brown Flycatcher |
1 Ratnaloke 22nd |
| Brown-breasted Flycatcher |
2 Sinharaja 20-21st, 1
Bodhingale 22nd |
| Kashmir Flycatcher |
3 Galway Forest 17th |
| Dull-blue Flycatcher |
1 Galway Forest 17th |
| Tickell's Blue Flycatcher |
Singles Surrey Estate 18th,
Ratnaloke 22nd |
| Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher |
1 Kitilgula 16th, 3 Horton
Plains 17th, 1 Surrey Estate 18th |
| White-browed Fantail |
Singles Uda Walawe 19th,
Ratnaloke 22nd |
| Black-naped Monarch |
2 Sinharaja 21st |
| Asian Paradise Flycatcher |
1 Sinharaja 20th, 2 Sinharaja
21st, 2 Bodhingale 22nd |
| Sri Lanka Bush-Warbler |
6+ Horton Plains and Galway
Forest 17th |
| Zitting Cicticola |
10+ Horton Plains 17th, 20+
Uda Walawe 19th |
| Jungle Prinia |
2 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Ashy Prinia |
2 Surrey Estate 18th, 50+ Uda
Walawe 19th |
| Plain Prinia |
2 Embilipytia 18th |
| Blyth's Reed Warbler |
1 Horton Plains 17th, 2 Uda
Walawe 19th, 8 Colombo 23rd |
| Common Tailorbird |
Singles Kitilgula 16th, Nuwara
Eliyah 17th |
| Green Warbler |
2 Kitilgula 16th, 50+ Horton
Plains 17th, 2 Sinharaja 20th |
| Large-billed Leaf Warbler |
1 Kitilgula 16th, 2 Nuwara
Eliyah 17th |
| Sri-Lanka Whistling-Thrush |
Heard Horton Plains 17th |
| Pied Thrush |
Singles Galway Forest &
Victoria Park 17th |
| Spot-winged Thrush |
1 Sinharaja 20th |
| Eurasian Blackbird |
2 Horton Plains 17th |
| Indian Blue Robin |
1 Kitilgula 16th, Heard Horton
Plains 17th |
| Oriental Magpie-Robin |
Frequent |
| White-rumped Shama |
1 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Indian Robin |
6 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Pied Bush Chat |
10+ Horton Plains 17th |
| Great Tit |
Frequent |
| Velvet-fronted Nuthatch |
2 Horton Plains 17th, Heard
Sinharaja 21st, 1 Ratnaloke 22nd |
| Forest Wagtail |
3 Kitilgula 16th, 1 Victoria
Park 17th |
| Grey Wagtail |
Common in hill country |
| Paddyfield Pipit |
2 Horton Plains 17th, 1
Embilipytia 18th, 2 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Blyth's Pipit |
6 Uda Walawe 19th |
| Thick-billed Flowerpecker |
2 Surrey Estate 18th |
| White-throated Flowerpecker |
1 Kitilgula 16th, 6 Sinharaja
20th, 2 Sinharaja 21st |
| Pale-billed Flowerpecker |
2 Horton Plains 17th, 2
Sinharaja 20th, 1 Sinharaja 21st |
| Purple-rumped Sunbird |
Frequent |
| Purple Sunbird |
2 Kitilgula 16th |
| Long-billed Sunbird |
Frequent |
| Sri Lanka White-eye |
20+ Horton plains 17th |
| Oriental White-eye |
2 Kitilgula 16th, 10 Surrey
Estate 18th |
| House Sparrow |
Frequent |
| White-throated Silverbill |
10 Uda Walawe 19th |
| White-rumped Munia |
4 Surrey Estate 18th |
| Black-throated Munia |
3 Horton Plains 17th |
| Scaly-breasted Munia |
2 Horton Plains 17th, 5 Nuwara
Eliyah 18th, 2 Ratnaloke 22nd |
| Black-headed Munia |
100+ Uda Walawe 19th |
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