Summary
Pdf with maps, images, and triplist.
Life as a non-rich birder wilted past the first quarter of 2019 due to reasons that involve masks and toilet paper shortages. Towards 2022, travel restrictions in Singapore started easing slightly for select countries and I finally had the chance to take a long overdue birding break in Sri Lanka with my fantastic group of friends.
Main Locations Birded
Kitulgala – Nuwara Eliya – Nilgala – Yala – Bundala – Sinharaja – Udawalawe – Seethawaka – Negombo
Itinerary
| 22 February | Arrive in Sri Lanka via Negombo at 2330 local time (4 pax) Drive from Negombo to Kitulgala through the night (~150 mins + ~30 mins jeep to accommodation), arrive ~0300 |
| 23 February | Birding Kitulgala |
| 24 February | Birding Kitulgala (half-day) Drive from Kitulgala to Nuwara Eliya (~180 mins) |
| 25 February | Birding Nuwara Eliya (Victoria Park, Pedro Scout Camp Road, Sri Lanka Whistling-thrush stakeout) |
| 26 February | Birding Nuwara Eliya (Victoria Park, morning) Drive from Nuwara Eliya to Bibile (~ 255 minutes, excluding a 2.5h stop at Surrey Bird Sanctuary enroute (avoid!)) |
| 27 February | Birding Nilgala |
| 28 February | Birding Nilgala (half-day) Drive from Bibile to Tissamaharama (~180 mins) |
| 1 March | Birding Yala National Park |
| 2 March | Birding Bundala National Park (half-day) Drive from Bundala to Sinharaja (~270 mins + 40 mins jeep to Martin’s Lodge) |
| 3 March | Birding Sinharaja (8 pax from here onwards) |
| 4 March | Birding Sinharaja |
| 5 March | Birding Sinharaja (half-day) Drive from Sinharaja to Udawalawe (~160 mins) |
| 6 March | Birding Udawalawe (half-day) Drive from Udawalawe to Nuwara Eliya (~240 mins) |
| 7 March | Birding Nuwara Eliya (Victoria Park, Pedro Scout Camp Road, afternoon ruined by heavy rain) |
| 8 March | Birding Horton Plains (half-day) Drive from Nuwara Eliya to Seethawaka (~240 mins) |
| 9 March | Birding Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanic Gardens (half-day) Drive from Seethawaka to Negombo (~120 mins) |
| 10 March | Birding Negombo Depart Sri Lanka |
Planning the trip
On one afternoon a bunch of us who yearned for proper birding decided that an overseas trip was warranted. Countries we could visit were severely limited due to health and safety regulations. Most available options places were either logistically inconvenient or out of season, so Sri Lanka, it was.
It was already February, so we had to plan our visit soon to nail the migrant targets (mainly Pied Thrush and Kashmir Flycatcher, with others including Large-billed Leaf Warbler, Indian Pitta etc). Yet we were restrained by a return date due to commitments. The combination of seasonality, constraints, and the impulsive nature of the trip made it difficult for all eight members in our group to participate in the full adventure. Our trip hence comprised two sections: the first four birders including myself birded Kitulgala, Nuwara Eliya, Nilgala, Yala and Bundala first, and we then all met up at Sinharaja and birded on to gobble up the Sri Lanka bird list. This explains why, if you read the itinerary, Nuwaya Eliya is featured twice.
Our plans past Sinharaja were impromptu: we did not book accommodations nor decide the itinerary beforehand as the number of days needed in the wet zone forest depended on our performance. We thankfully managed to settle Sinharaja in three days and could squeeze in the initially unplanned Udawalawe National Park. Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanic Gardens was a pot luck that paid off and our whole group managed to clean up all traditional endemics.
The total number of days spent for the full trip was way overboard for settling the traditional endemics, and one could probably clear them in ~5 days. Having said that, it was certainly refreshing to be abroad and, at least for me, explore a new biogeographic region.
The whole trip was planned in two rushed weeks, and it would have not been possible without the expertise shared through online reports. In particular I am grateful to Ferenc Domoki et al., Mark Smiles, Michael McCloy, Steve Keen, and Steve Popple. I thank my friend Keren for various advice and excellent recommendations. I additionally like to express my gratitude to Gary, Modithar, and Malika for advice and help with access to birding sites in Negombo.
In this document I attempt to focus on logistics as always. There’s not much about my birding experience worth writing about anyway. Private rates are withheld, so please contact me directly for such information. Opinions expressed are solely mine.
Baseline taxonomy follows IOC 11.2.
Field Guide used: Warakagoda, D., Inskipp, C., Inskipp, T., & Grimmett, R. (2012). Birds of Sri Lanka. Helm.
General Logistics
Transport
After comparing prices of various companies recommended in the above trip reports, we realised that the costs for renting a car and hiring a driver were comparable. We engaged Geeth Dantanarayana at our friend’s recommendation. With almost 15 years of experience under his belt as a tour driver, not only was his driving splendid, but he was also very well-connected across the country: he assisted us in settling the jeep tours for Yala, Bundala, and Udawalawe, helped arrange all our accommodations past Sinharaja, and knew the best places for food. We communicated our budget with him openly (University student level) and he brought us to the best places within reach. Not only that, 2/3 through our trip, Sri Lanka started entering one of its worst economic crisis since its independence and fuel ran short everywhere. We witnessed long lines at petrol stations, but Geeth was thankfully able to secure sufficient gasoline to complete our trip. It would have been a nightmare if we had to queue at the gas stations by ourselves. He also had no issues with late night/early morning schedules for birding purposes. I might sound over the top here, but he was really solid, and our trip would certainly not have been as smooth-sailing and successful without his services. I strongly recommend engaging him who is contactable at +94 71-five-six-nine-4661 (via call or WhatsApp) or geethkdh [at] gmail.com. We were on a van suitable for 9 pax (with sufficient space for 8 pax worth of luggage) but do enquire with him regarding other vehicles. We additionally hired a one-way 4-pax transport for those who joined from the second half of the trip, from Negombo airport to Sinharaja, from RentACar Sri Lanka.
For those who intend to self-drive, mixed advice are online. The following are my thoughts (though solely based on watching, and not from actually driving in the country, so take it with a pinch of salt). Self-driving will obviously depend on one’s experience but will likely be challenging for those only experienced with driving in orderly traffic and on good roads: if you are not confident of squeezing through two vehicles on a two-lane road, driving tens of kilometres of unpaved mountainous road, or reacting to sudden oncoming traffic, don’t do it. Otherwise, with proper vehicle sense and attention, it’s really fine. Just stay alert (as anybody behind a wheel should be) and be prepared for haphazard vehicles, sleeping dogs, elephants demanding food, etc.
I’m glad we opted to engage a driver, because while the drives themselves would have been alright, birding before and after would have been exhausting. Most roads we took meandered across valleys and our average speed was only about 30-40 km/h throughout the trip, except around Nilgala and Yala. The rides were surprisingly taxing even as a passenger. Also, Geeth, as mentioned earlier, was really beyond just a driverand did a superb job in securing us a fruitful trip.
Guide
We engaged a guide at Sinharaja (where access to the National Park is prohibited without one) and jeeps at Yala, Bundala and Udawalawe (where, likewise, access is otherwise prohibited). Specific details are below. The rest of the trip was primarily self-guided.
Weather and climate
The only major loss we had in terms of birding time was one night birding session at Kitulgala, a full afternoon at Nuwara Eliya, and about an hour to two in Sinharaja. Otherwise, we had rain on our first night at Bundala and during the drive to Seethawaka at night.
SIM Card
Multiple SIM card shops were open at the airport even though we reached near midnight. We diversified across Dialog Mobile Network and SLT Mobile. Connectivity was almost equal at most locations except 1) Bibile area, where Dialog Mobile Network had completely no network even in town; and 2) Sinharaja, where both had zero connectivity in the forest except at the building above Martin’s Lodge (GPS: 6.432483, 80.413949) that provided extremely sporadic network.
Accommodation and food
We tried to pre-book our accommodations online for pre-Sinharaja sections via Airbnb and booking.com but multiple lodges were unresponsive. We later learnt from Geeth that online booking is not widely used in Sri Lanka though many have their lodges registered.
We thankfully did not have to waste time searching for food as Geeth knew the best places to bring us to. I’ll list here those I enjoyed. Take note that many shops require a high level of spice tolerance.
22 – 24 February, Kitulgala
Riverlife Eco Resort hosted by Dananjaya
Booked via Airbnb. One room for four. Basic, but clean and comfortable. Friendly and responsive host. If visiting Kitulgala, I recommend this place. As per other trip reports, birding at Kitulgala is best on the southern side of the Kelani Ganga River. Our accommodation was on the “correct” side which allowed us to avoid river crossings but required a 30-minutes jeep ride from the main road when we first arrived (could be arranged beforehand even though we reached at 3 am). As there were no proper shops in the village on the southern side of the river, we requested all meals at the accommodation.
24 – 26 February, Nuwara Eliya
Royal Terrace Bungalow hosted by Champa
Booked via Airbnb. Two rooms of two. Clean accommodation, comfy bed, and hot shower. About 15 minutes-drive from Victoria Park. There was a steep ~50m slope to the accommodation that our van could not drive up, but at least the walk up and down was always in the company of playful stray dogs.
Various food options and supermarkets were available in and around the touristy Nuwara Eliya. Places we ate and I recommend include: Hela Bojun – Kotalaga (enroute Kitulgala to Nuwara Eliya, local “traditional food court” where we had our first local Sri Lankan snacks and tea); The Mount Front Nuwara Eliya (a little touristy, but within reasonable price range, pretty good choices of local food), Grashia Restaurant (great variety and delicious. Be careful not to order too many dishes even if you are in a group because portion sizes, especially for carbs, are massive) and Ambaal’s Pure Vegetarian Hotel (ranks in my top food experience in Sri Lanka and we even returned during our second visit to Nuwara Eliya. As shared in many online reviews, take note that the second and third floor are traps. If the menu does not look tattered, you will be paying over 500% the price depending on the order. The ground floor menu (non-trap) is also in English.)
26 – 28 February, Bibile (Nilgala)
Lake Side Gest Inn
Booked via booking.com. Two rooms of two. This was the most convenient location from Nilgala within our budget we could find online. We could instantly book a room via booking.com but struggled to get a response from a staff via email and had to contact them with our Sri Lankan SIM for confirmation. Very basic accommodation but friendly hosts, I recommend this place given that options near Nilgala are limited. Take note that it can get surprisingly cold at night if it rains. Almost all facilities advertised on booking.com did not exist, so make sure not to top up any additional cost.
Bibile is not a big town and we dined at Danusha Hotel and Bakery. Enroute Yala, we visited a small eatery at GPS: 7.045286,81.269360 (marvellous authentic experience. Pro-tip: get the sunny side up).
28 February – 1 March, Yala
Hotel Senora
Booked via booking.com. One room for four. Tissamaharama is a semi-touristy town and surely has better accommodation and homestay options. The jeep ride from town to the Kataragamuwa entrance of Yala National Park was ~30 minutes.
Food options were limited at night. We visited a small roadside store around GPS: 6.309655,81.300160. I have no idea if the shop is permanently located there, but the kotthu and shottis were enjoyable.
In town we visited SM Linen Care for laundry services. We passed them our laundry on our first evening and Geeth helped us collect it on the next afternoon. Prices were reasonable.
1 – 2 March, Bundala
Yala Wild Safari
Booked via booking.com. Two rooms of two. Do not stay here. In our whole Sri Lanka trip, there were only two places we encountered unpleasant people, with this accommodation being one of them. The owner’s first interaction with our group was with me, a male. Nothing of note then. Business smiles, and he left an okay impression. Next thing I found out after coming out of the toilet was him being shockingly rude to my two female friends over a simple misunderstanding that he himself created. The owner only toned down after my other male friend and I showed up. Yucks.
Nearby food options were closed by the time we wanted dinner because we wasted over 30 minutes dealing with nonsense, so we survived on instant food from the supermarket beside.
2 – 5 March, Sinharaja
Martin’s Lodge
Booked with the help of our guide for Sinharaja, Mr Sunil. Basic accommodation, and we booked four rooms of two. Three were clean and comfortable but one was in bad shape. We experienced hours of power cuts, though possibly due to the fuel shortage.
To access Martin’s Lodge, we had to take a ~40-minute jeep ride (arranged by Mr Sunil) from the village below. The jeep was able to squeeze up to ~5 pax behind, each with a suitcase and big backpack, and still had some space for big bottles of water and bags of snacks. Staying right inside the rainforest was kinda cool, I guess…?
There were no food options because we were in the middle of the forest, so we requested all our meals from the lodge. Water was available in a dispenser but came straight from the tap. We did not have any bowel issues at all but prepare bottled water if this information concerns you. Food was enjoyable.
5 – 6 March, Udawalawe
Butterfly Homestead
Booked with the help of Geeth. Four rooms of two. Value for money. Clean, comfy, has hot water, and pretty luxurious by my standards. 10-minutes jeep drive from Udawalawe. There were Indian Nightjars in the backyard at dusk that our host tried to show us, but the weather was poor and we only managed to hear them. Adjacent to the accommodation is a plantation that has wild elephants. Human-wildlife conflict is common according to locals, so do your best not to stroll around alone at night.
Food options were limited, so we ate at Jungle Edge, right beside our accommodation. Fruit juice was refreshing, carbs were okay, but all three varieties of soups we ordered were extremely salty.
6 – 8 March, Nuwara Eliya
Namadi Nest
Booked with the help of Geeth. Four rooms of two. Personally, the nicest accommodation we stayed throughout our trip. Our host even helped bring our clothes to a laundry service in town while we went birding. An afternoon in Nuwara Eliya was rained out and we spent time playing cards at the pleasantly arranged shared space with a splendid view of Nuwara Eliya.
8 – 9 March, Seethawaka
Hotel Ray’s
Super last-minute booking with the help of Geeth. Two rooms of two, one room for four. Acceptable for one night. Dirty.
We saw our first KFC in Sri Lanka here and it got people excited, so that was dinner. Enroute Negombo on our second day we dropped by a store at GPS: 6.941206,80.149762 for some curd and jaggery. My favourite dessert from the trip. Drop by if you have time.
9 – 10 March, Negombo
Olanro Negombo Hotel
Booked with the help of Geeth. Four rooms of two. Pricier than our other accommodations since it was our last night in the country, and we had excess LKRs.
Food options are endless in Negombo, but we visited Sri Ragavas Lagoon Restaurant for one dinner. Local price, enjoyable.
Birding
A quick summary for the unfamiliar birder who wish to skip the rest of this boring document: an itinerary comprising Sinharaja (wet zone forest), Nuwara Eliya (highlands), and anywhere with a decent chance of Sri Lanka Woodshrike (usually easier in the dry zone where we saw this species, and also at Seethawaka) is sufficient to clear the traditional endemics.
The Sri Lankan birding experience was, to be honest, much quieter than I thought it would be. Activity in the dry zone forests was fair due to the open habitat, but birds barely sang. The wet zone forests were very quiet, both sound and activity wise. Throughout the trip we witnessed many resident birds either busy building their nests or actively nesting, which perhaps contributed to the desolate birding and general lack of response. As with life, I can only blame myself for ever having any form of expectations, but at waterbird areas (all sites we visited requiring jeep tours) there was ample activity.
Our trip was so hastily planned we had no idea it was nesting season. If I could attempt to offer any advice – a very pompous one from just a single Sri Lankan trip – it would perhaps be to visit a couple of weeks before we did if the plan involves visiting late in the migratory season. I assume that some semblance of a dawn chorus would exist, with birds more responsive in general. But eh, what do I know. I might be completely wrong here.
Nevertheless, we managed to find all the traditionally recognised endemics, and I suppose it was nice to add over a hundred rows to my tiny excel sheet.
Kitulgala
We spent 1.5 days here. On day one we walked the village road to Makandawa Forest Reserve, birded the reserve (entrance fee 620LKR per pax), and walked back to our accommodation in the scorching sun to get lunch. After our meal and food coma we tried to hire a tuktuk to the reserve, but plans fell through, so we took a jeep instead (1400LKR for 4 pax), visited the reserve once more, and walked back in the dark.
The village road provided good introduction to Sri Lankan birding. Many common species were present and quickly we learned which to ignore. Although Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot was common by call and flybys throughout Sri Lanka, views here among the best. We observed a nest-building Shikra in a coconut tree and also our only proper views of Indian White-eyes of the trip.
The reserve was absolutely depressing. We spent majority of our time near a stream at GPS: 6.985665,80.403129 and sporadically tried to locate a vocal but skittish Chestnut-backed Owlet while hoping for something to appear in vain. Nothing ever did, apart from a trio of responsive Dark-fronted Babblers that provided consolation. Sri Lanka Bay Owl and Serendib Scops Owl are supposedly possible, but night birding plans were dashed because of thunder. A pair of Sri Lanka Frogmouths screamed twicewhile we rushed out and we successfully spot lit one.
Our second morning was spent birding the village road eastwards and was better. A Spot-winged Thrush and Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher around GPS: 6.990950, 80.415560 were among the highlights. Crucially, we met Mr. Wasantha who brought us to a tea plantation across his house where a responsive Chestnut-backed Owlet obligingly showed, and we tipped him a reasonable amount. We also tried sites but dipped the Green-billed Coucal. He can be contacted at +94 72-five-five-two-1972 contactable (no smartphone, so no WhatsApp) or directly at his house (which address he was comfortable sharing), GPS: 6.991006,80.415210.
Our main target in Kitulgala was the Chestnut-backed Owlet that, according to other trip reports, are easier here. They were indeed calling all over and we encountered more here than in 3 days in Sinharaja. We managed good views of one, and Kitulgala birding was okay, but had I known during the trip planning stage there was actually an active nest at Sinharaja during our visit, I would probably have chosen to skip this site. The trip could have been shortened or time better spent elsewhere like Mannar which we skipped due to inconvenience.
Nuwara Eliya
Most birding sites were in or near the town of Nuwara Eliya, except Horton Plains National Park that was about an hour drive away.
Victoria Park
Entrance fee was 400LKR per pax. Our main targets were the migratory Pied Thrush and Kashmir Flycatcher. The former was not as easy as we hoped. On our first visit we reached ~0700, walked multiple rounds around the entire park, but somehow failed to locate any. Only after four hours did one finally show for just a few seconds at a stream towards the northern end. Another pair was re-found after two hours, but also showed terribly, and improvement views were much desired. The next morning, we reached the park earlier at 0600 and things were completely different: the thrushes were very easy to locate by ear. We saw no less than four, with some males even singing sub-songs, mostly near a fruiting tree by the toilet at GPS: 6.969378, 80.769074. They were no longer vocal after ~0700 and pretty much vanished entirely afterwards.
We had more luck with Kashmir Flycatcher, with an immature male around GPS: 6.970553, 80.767761 and a first-year female around GPS: 6.967994, 80.768368. The male was only spontaneously vocal in the early mornings, though still responsive in the late morning.
Two responsive Indian Pittas were around but difficult to see given their preference for thickets. We managed to tease one out beside the Pied Thrush toilet. Two vocal Indian Blue Robins were also in the park and likewise difficult to see. One gave subpar views at GPS: 6.969629, 80.767686
Bird life was otherwise generally enjoyable. Nice additions included Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler, Sri Lanka White-eye, nesting Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, and a Green Sandpiper at the entrance pond. Victoria Park was well-manicured place filled with photo opportunities, but I have to admit the traffic noise and armies of leaf blowers nauseated me. My mic was completely useless here.
The hotdog stand at GPS: 6.969652, 80.768712 (opens ~1000) was a good brunch spot.
Pedro Scout Camp Road
We parked at GPS: 6.958651, 80.798091 and walked the road in hope for Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon and Sri Lanka Bush Warbler. Neither were around and the forest was devoid of life.
The landfill at GPS: 6.959206, 80.800406 had a handsome Legge’s Hawk-eagle and trash attracted Indian Blackbird, Dull-blue Flycatcher and Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher among others.
Sri Lanka Whistling-thrush stakeout
The stakeout was just a few metres down the slope behind a roadside vegetable stall at GPS: 6.93897, 80.80027. Following advice from previous trip reports we visited around 1500 and a confiding Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush showed almost immediately, unsolicited. We even watched it get rained on by rice from the stall owners. The path continued on for ~50m and led to a farm but had no other birds. Before leaving we tipped the stall owners.
Gallway’s Land National Park Entrance Road
We walked the entrance road of Gallway’s Land National Park to search for the Wood Pigeon and Bush Warbler but failed. This site was similar to Pedro Scout Camp Road in being completely silent. A pair of Alpine Swift circled above GPS: 6.968629, 80.777951 (only ones of the trip) and several Indian Blue Robins sang in the forest but did not show. Night birding produced nothing.
Surrey Bird Sanctuary
Enroute Nilgala, we made what was meant to be a quick stop at Surrey Bird Sanctuary to search for the apparently reliable Brown Wood-owl. The entrance fee was 500LKR per pax. We dipped the bird, which in itself is part and parcel of birding and alright, but I struggle to find positive things to say about the owner of this place. Elaborating won’t do me any good, so I’ll just leave it that the interactions we had were highly unpleasant, and that he joins the same list as the Yala Wild Safari owners.
Nilgala
Targets for Nilgala included Sri Lanka Woodshrike, White-rumped Shama, Painted Francolin, Jungle Bush Quail, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, and Jungle Owlet among others.
Nilgala Wildlife Office Access Road
Our initial plan was to bird the Nilgala Wildlife Office area (GPS: 7.19225488, 81.37526677) but because of the previous night’s rain, our 9-seater van was unable to traverse the muddy track. We could only drive about 3.5km in and birded our way out.
The dry forest was wet, and birds weren’t calling much, but activity felt alright in large part thanks to the open habitat. Quite soon we found the Sri Lanka Woodshrike, though only a total of three birds during our walk. Other nice additions included Thick-billed Flowerpecker, several Indian Paradise Flycatchers and Large-billed Leaf Warblers. All four prinias were present, with Grey-breasted and Ashy being more common than Jungle and Plain.Our only Large Cuckooshrike of the trip was here, and we heard Brown-capped Babblers but could not get them into view. A solitary and responsive Jungle Owlet showed decently. We somehow saw no Black nor Greater Racket-tailed Drongos.
At GPS: 7.242761, 81.352933 a pair of tiny ground birds crossed the road – they could either have been Barred Buttonquails or Jungle Bush Quails – but we failed to re-find them. There was not a sniff of the francolin, and all Trerons we saw were Sri Lankan.
“Village Trail”
We copied Domoki et al. and birded a village access trail from GPS: 7.238617, 81.317306 on our first evening and second morning. It seemed more productive than the Nilgala Access Road, though rain could have been a confounder.
Key additions included Plum-headed Parakeet (only ones of the trip), Marshall’s Iora, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, White-rumped Shama, Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, and a pair of Brown-capped Babblers beside a stream at GPS: 7.242242, 81.307889. We heard Fork-tailed Drongo-cuckoo, Banded Bay Cuckoo and Common Hawk Cuckoo but could not get any of these brood parasites into view.
Again, we only saw Sri Lanka Green Pigeons, and the francolin and bush quail were mythical. At dusk there were no nightjars nor owls, so we did not push through with night birding. It’s a pity because we were hoping to see the Oriental Scops Owl here.
Lake Side Gest Inn
At our accommodation we heard Jungle Owlet and Common Hawk Cuckoo in the mornings before departing. We also night birded the area twice. The first night was completely silent because it was after rain, but on the second night we found a very confiding Indian Scops Owl a stone’s throw from our beds. The adjacent forest had a pair of loud Spot-bellied Eagle-owls that we chased for almost three hours. My friends were able to get flight views of one while I was busy staring at an empty tree.
Yala and Bundala National Park area
Both Yala and Bundala National Park required jeeps. We engaged Lahiru Tours at Geeth’s recommendation for our full-day Yala and half-day Bundala Jeep. Our rides were arranged just one day in advance with no issues. Yala included lunch. Our jeep driver was fluent in English and reliable.
Debarawewa and Tissa Lake
After settling the logistics for our jeep tour, we visited Debarawera Lake in search for the White-naped Woodpecker. Effortless. Directions provided by other trip reports were spot on and a pair showed up in the sparse trees of GPS: 6.292108, 81.269385 around 1700.
Here we also met the famous “owl boy” that we read of in other reports, now a grown man, who monitors roosts of various owls in the area together with his group of friends. His menu apparently includes Brown Fish Owl, Barn Owl, Brown Hawk Owl, and Jungle Owlet. He apparently has a Facebook page (which I could not find) and can potentially be contacted through his Google Maps Page. We engaged him and got our Brown Fish Owl tick for a fee. He mentioned that he knew possible night sites for Spot-bellied Eagle-owl, but we didn’t try for it.
Afterwards we dropped by a known bat roost. Trees there were saturated with Indian Flying Foxes and the big flocks of waterbirds and humongous bats changing shift was quite a spectacle. I’m not doing a good job here describing how cool the place really was, so check it out if you’re in the area.
Yala National Park
Main targets included Black-necked Stork, Grey-bellied Cuckoo, Blue-faced and Sirkeer Malkoha among others. We entered from the Kataragamuwa Entrance, trusted our driver with directions, and stopped whenever necessary. Although the place was “crowded” in that we passed by many jeeps, given the park’s massive size our birding wasn’t particularly affected. Our driver – as with most drivers in Yala – was well connected and we made two twitches: first for a Leopard and second for the stork.
The Leopard twitch was disappointing. No less than 30 jeeps clogged the narrow path (with us contributing to the jam too, of course, so I don’t deserve to complain). Only after climbing out of the jeep could we see a motionless yellow spotted butt on a tree.
The Black-necked Stork was better (personally), and we had fantastic views of a solitary bird. It was so unmistakable and massive, and I felt stupid for scanning every single waterbird the entire morning. Their numbers in Yala depend on the guide you ask – two, four, eight. The main message is that they’re scarce. Many other waterbirds and waders were present throughout the park. Listing them out would be pointless, but Great Stone-curlew was cool. Our other highlight included a pair of sand bathing Barred Buttonquails that my friend miraculously spotted.
We found no cuckoos apart from Asian Koels.
Bundala National Park
Targets included Yellow-eyed Babbler, Indian Stone-curlew, Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark, the two Malkohas, and Yellow-crowned Woodpecker among others. Once again, we trusted our driver to bring us around, and we managed to nail the three bolded species. Many waders were present.
We also dropped by a salt pan outside the park for a short while (GPS: 6.136021, 81.132399) that yielded several (ubiquitous) waders and terns, as well as a Black Kite.
Sinharaja Forest Reserve
We engaged Mr. Sunil by contacting his son Sameera via WhatsApp at +94 71-four-three-six-8472 before heading to Sri Lanka. Once we arrived in Sri Lanka, we called Mr. Sunil at +94 71-zero-four-eight-4677 to confirm our booking. He guided us for three full days.
The entire forest was a leech spawning ground, so we also purchased leech socks from Mr. Sunil. Throughout our three days we checked our bodies almost every 15 minutes like demented air puppet dancers whenever in the forest. Never did we fail to find multiple attached to us.
I struggle to associate positive birding memories with Sinharaja and am just glad we cleared our targets. It’s better I just leave key species notes here than go into details.
Sri Lanka Spurfowl: seen well at a hide along the green trail. Precise coordinates of the hide withheld here. Heard every morning and evening but we never encountered an unbaited one.
Sri Lanka Frogmouth: we were brought to a day-roost in Sinharaja Forest Reserve, but also found one later during a night walk down the green trail. My friends spotted yet another while heading to the Top Lodge at night for a phone call.
Green-billed Coucal: heard multiple times, finally seen on day three at the village below.
Red-faced Malkoha: showed very horribly at the tea plantation trail on day one, and on day two just sufficiently during the Serendib Scops Owl hike.
Sri Lanka Bay Owl: heard just once at GPS: 6.438091,80.417453 when half of our group night-birded the green trail. Spent ~45 minutes on this bird but we never heard it again and gave up.
Chestnut-backed Owlet: heard at the top lodge and tea plantation trail, but unresponsive. Amazingly dipped it at an active nesting site in the village (coordinates withheld) on day two. Half the group finally saw it at the same place on day three. The other half of the group that had the chance to see it earlier in Kitulgala (myself included) prioritised lying down at a random road in the village instead.
Serendib Scops Owl: we were brought to almost a dozen supposed roosting sites in Sinharaja Forest Reserve but drew blank on all. On day two the plan was the search for it in the reserve again but thankfully, a local managed to find a roosting bird elsewhere. We walked several kilometres from Sinharaja, hiked a hill, and had views that could be jigsaw-puzzled into one bird. We also contributed quite well to local economy.
Malabar Trogon: a nesting bird found by my friend in Sinharaja Forest Reserve on day one. Another skittish bird encountered afterwards, also in the reserve.
Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill: encountered just once at the top lodge.
Crimson-backed Flameback: terrible flight views at the entrance of Sinharaja Forest Reserve on day one, and later a sufficient but obscured view when walking out.
Layard’s Parakeet: not rare by fly-bys. Seen decently once at the tea plantation trail.
Sri Lanka Blue Magpie: a few birds frequented Martin’s lodge and one was nesting at the top lodge. Another encountered along the purple trail on day three.
Brown-capped Babbler: brought to many hopeless sites. Finally had a responsive pair on our last day in the village.
Ashy-headed Laughingthrush: only one flock encountered just sufficiently on day one, right outside Martin’s lodge. Another encountered very poorly on day three along the purple trail.
Sri Lanka Hill Myna: quite common, very noisy, saw multiple times at various locations.
White-faced Starling: Seen just once, very far away in Sinharaja Forest Reserve.
Sri Lanka Thrush: Again, brought to almost a dozen supposedly reliable sites in Sinharaja Forest Reserve. Drew blank on all. Not even heard. Eventually my friend magically spotted one obscure bird perched on a branch. Our entire group finally saw everything except the face and bill of this bird.
Legge’s Flowerpecker: Seen just once near the top lodge, though not rare throughout by call.
Udawalawe National Park
We engaged Crocodile Safari Service Udawalawe (that I struggled to find a website for, but they can be contacted at +94 71 three-four-four 3333) at Geeth’s recommendation.
Here we had to split into two jeeps because of our group size, and the seats were slightly uncomfortable unlike our previous jeep tour. Like Yala and Bundala we trusted our drivers with directions, but the jeep driver assigned to my group (and apparently the other, too) could not understand English well. This resulted in a panicky moment where we had to play charades to get our driver to reverse while simultaneously trying to locate our first Blue-faced Malkoha. After this disarray we communicated with our driver the gestures for “front” and “back”, and things were thankfully smooth sailing thereafter.
The park was a pleasant change from Sinharaja: productive and enjoyable. Highlights included a flock of Rosy Starlings, two more Blue-faced Malkohas, and my friends from the other jeep spotted Sirkeer Malkoha and Grey-bellied Cuckoo that we thankfully twitched successfully. We later managed to find another female of the Cacomantis elsewhere. Yellow-crowned Woodpecker was also a long-awaited addition. We could alight our jeeps at a viewpoint along GPS: 6.468095, 80.937964 where many waterbirds and waders were present including a pair of nesting Woolly-necked Stork.
We failed to find the Sri Lanka Woodshrike at Udawalawe and hence dropped by some suitable habitat around GPS: 6.435292,80.855707, but our 30 minutes here produced nothing much.
Nuwara Eliya
After getting barbequed at Udawalawe we returned to the cool highlands, this time in a bigger group. The Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush still showed at the stakeout when we dropped-by on our first cloudy evening around 1730, though poorly.
Victoria Park
Pied Thrushes were again easy to locate before ~0700 and vanished thereafter. The Kashmir Flycatcher, Indian Pitta and Indian Blue Robin were still around, behaving the same way. At the Indian Blue Robin site, we additionally saw a skulking crake that was most likely Slaty-legged.
Horton Plains
Entrance fee of 3550LKR per pax. Vehicles could enter (good roads, no jeep required, and no problems with our 9-seater van). Our main targets here included, once again, Wood Pigeon, Bush Warbler, as well as Black-throated Munia.
We stopped at Arrenga Pool around 0630 and almost immediately saw a pair of mostly untickable Sri Lanka Wood Pigeons dart by. A short walk produced one perched well about 15 minutes later. This sprout of sightings initially gave me the impression that these fat glossy birds were abundant in Horton Plains and only sporadic in Nuwara Eliya, but they turned out to be our only sightings. We also found Sri Lanka Bush Warblers easily and likewise encountered multiple birds throughout the morning. Getting open views were tough but their calls were obvious, and this experience made me sceptical about the bulk of eBird reports around Nuwara Eliya town. A singing Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush also showed well by the road.
We walked from Arrenga Pool to the cafeteria (GPS: 6.8018047, 80.8074721; distance ~3.5km) and found many Zitting Cisticolas, Pied Bush Chats and Paddyfield Pipits along the open habitat. Barn and Hill Swallows and Indian Swiftlets were also present. Munias were all disappointing Tricoloured ones.
Pattipola Railway Station
In yet another attempt at Black-throated Munias we birded the Pattipola Railway Station area briefly (GPS: 6.8548659, 80.8311550). Apart from a bunch of Orange Minivets and Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrikes there was nothing much.
Seethawaka Wet Zone Botanic Gardens
After Nuwara Eliya, we only had one full birding day left, but one traditionally recognised endemic was still missing for the group: Sri Lanka Woodshrike. It was impractical for us to drive to the dry zone, and an eBird search showed that Seethawaka Wet Zone Forest Reserve – a location we could otherwise find no birding information about – had supposed sightings of this species. It was a huge gamble, and we decided to take it.
It paid off very well.
Within 15 minutes of arriving, we found a Sri Lanka Woodshrike at GPS: 6.893467, 80.171796 that sealed the list for everyone. There were later no less than two more in the park. Here we also found our only Ashy Woodswallow of the trip, and, after two weeks of eluding us, a juvenile Common Hawk-cuckoo. An unexpected Lesser Cuckoo at GPS: 6.891993, 80.169745 was a happy addition.
The parkland habitat was planted with various fruiting trees that gave us the best views of Crimson-fronted, Yellow-fronted and Brown-headed Barbets in our entire trip. Sri Lanka Swallows, Hill Swallows and Little Swifts mixed in with Indian Swiftlets also showed much better here.
Along the road to the viewpoint were Tickell’s Blue Flycatchers that, again, provided improvement views. Also present was an Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, and the elevated path gave great views of Large-billed Leaf Warblers too. There was ample suitable habitat for Black-throated Munia but there were no birds. I can only hope that the endemic taxon does not get split in the future but am pessimistic.
Seethawaka Wet Zone Forest Reserve was the most active birding site we visited excluding waterbird zones and, for once, an actually fun and exciting birding location. It did not harbour the crucial wet zone birds but might be worth some attention by future birders…or maybe not. Maybe we were just bad at finding our targets.
Negombo
We fortuitously bumped into Gary Allport, who happened to be one of our friends’ academic collaborators, at Sinharaja. With his and Modithar’s assistance we were connected with Mr. Malika who helped us access the otherwise restricted Kerawalapitiya Waste Disposal Plant for a short morning.
We watched a roost of over a thousand Barn Swallows, and among them found a single Sand Martin. A bunch of Eastern/Western Yellow Wagtails (likely all Eastern, and one confirmed by sonogram) walked around, and mixed in with them were Citrine Wagtails in various stages of plumage transition. Breeding plumaged ones looked like walking hard-boiled eggs, while those still in non-breeding allowed us to study differences from the Yellow Wagtails. Many waterbirds were around and while we failed to find our target Ruff, we had great views of Temminck’s and Little Stints, as well as Indian Stone-curlew, and two Common Ringed Plovers among others. On the way out we flushed a pair of Jacobin’s Cuckoo and at the marshes before the entrance (publicly accessible; GPS: 7.019058, 79.883983) were Pheasant-tailed Jacanas, Common Moorhens and Grey-headed Swamphens, as well as a single, obscured Clamorous Reed Warbler that did not want to sing for us. We also dropped by Gary’s Point in attempt at sea watching but failed miserably. A brief stop at a nearby road (GPS: 7.203919, 79.822329) produced several species of common terns, a nice breeding plumaged Indian Pond Heron,and two Western Reef Egrets that was the last addition to seal off our Sri Lanka birding adventure.
Okamoto Keita Sin 