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14 day Sri LankaGuide: TBA
Sri Lanka is a picturesque island situated in the southern tip of India and is home to 33 endemic species. Sri Lanka is a continental island, and has been connected to India for much of its geological past through episodes of lowered sea-level. Despite these land-bridge connections, faunal exchange between the rainforests found in Southern India and Sri Lanka, has been minimal. This lack of exchange of species is probably due to the inability of rainforest organisms to disperse though the interceding areas of dry lowlands. These dry lowlands are still dry today and receive only one major rainy season in comparison to the wet zone which with its two monsoons. This long insularity of Sri Lankan biota in a moist tropical environment has led to the emergence of a bewildering variety of endemic biodiversity. This is why south western Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats of southern India are jointly regarded as one of the globe’s 25 biodiversity hotspots. Furthermore, Sri Lanka is the western-most representative of Indo-Malayan Flora and its abundant birdlife shows many such affinities.
Our tour also offers plenty of wildlife viewing opportunities and is therefore also suitable for those with broader interests. The main focus however is on Sri Lanka’s abundant avi-fauna, including 33-plus endemics. The timing of our February tour during the northern winter, means that we enjoy the local residents amidst good numbers of migrants from further north. We aim to see 230-250 species of birds during this tour. Our August tour, at the end of the dry season, is excellent for mammals and other wildlife.
The itinerary covers a variety of habitat types, including lowland, monsoon and cloud forests, grasslands, coastal mudflats, imposing riverine woodland and forest. We do a fair bit of walking on our tour, particularly in the earlier stages as we search for endemics and mixed species flocks in different forest types. Our walks are gentle and slow-paced to enable us to spot and enjoy birds.
Accommodation and meals As far as possible we use accommodation at or very close to the key birding sites, to maximise the quality birding time. Our tour accommodation includes guest houses, game lodges, and star-class hotels. High quality dining complements the great birding on this tour with a fine mix of western and eastern delicacies from Sri Lankan rice and curry to international buffet dinners. Our breakfasts will be English-style but the more adventurous could try some of the local delights!
Detailed Itinerary (Endemics in bold) KITHULGALA
Day 01-02 Arrive in Bandaranaiyake International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka and transfer to the lush lowlands of Kithulgala for endemics and sub-continental specialties. Our overnight retreat in Kithulgala is a colonial Resthouse overlooking the Kelani River and the endemic rich Kelani Valley Forest reserve. This location was the setting for the the famous World War 2 movie – ‘The Bridge over the River Kwai.’ Birding: Black-capped Bulbul, Yellow-fronted Barbet, Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot, Layard’s Parakeet, Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill, Sri Lanka Green Pigeon, Green-billed Coucal, Chestnut-backed Owlet, Crimson-backed Flameback, Sri Lanka Crested Drongo, Brown-capped Babbler, Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler, Orange-billed Babbler, Serendib Scops Owl, Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Malabar Trogon, Brown-headed Barbet, Brown Hawk Owl, Southern Coucal, Black-backed Dwarf Kingfisher, Crested Serpent Eagle, Jerdon’s and Gold-fronted Leafbird, Dark-fronted Babbler, Orange Minivet, Square-tailed Black Bulbul, Lesser Hill Myna, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Indian Pitta, Forest Wagtail, Purple-rumped and Long-billed Sunbirds, Pale-billed Flowerpecker, Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Oriental White-eye, Lesser Yellownape, Rufous Woodpecker, Black-rumped Flameback, Asian Palm and House Swifts, Indian Swiftlet, Crested Treeswift, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Green Imperial Pigeon, Black Eagle and Rufous-bellied Hawk Eagle. Non-birding highlights: Dragonflies and Damselflies: Spine-tufted Skimmer, Pied Parasol, Black-tipped Flashwing, Asian Pintail, Yerbury’s Elf, and Shining Gossamerwing. Butterflies: Sri Lanka Birdwing, Clipper, Cruiser, Glad-eye Bushbrown, Plum Judy, Blue Bottle, Red Helan and Blue Mormon. Mammals: Grizzly Giant, Palm and Layard’s Squirrels.
SINHARAJA
Day 03-05 After this excellent introduction to the island’s avifauna, we drive to the Sinharaja World Heritage Reserve, which represents the largest expanse of lowland rainforest in Sri Lanka and the premier site for endemics. We will check into our rain forest accommodation for three nights; which is a family-run Guest-house that overlooks the virgin rain forest – just 200m from the forest’s main entrance. Birding: The highlight of birding in Sinharaja is to pick up on a mixed species bird flock, or bird party. These moving congregations of birds are also called bird waves and are a strategy adopted by birds to maximize feeding efficiency and to reduce the risk of predation. Studied since 1981, Sinharaja’s bird flocks are the world’s longest studied. On average, 12 species occur in the flocks comprising of 42 individuals. Orange-billed Babbler and Sri Lanka Crested Drongo are found in 92 % and 89 % of flocks respectively and they jointly form the ‘nuclear-species’ of the flock. Other highlights, include Red-faced Malkoha, Legge’s Flowerpecker, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Ashy-headed Laughingthrush, White-faced Starling, Sri Lanka Myna, Sri Lanka Spurfowl, Sri Lanka Junglefowl, Sri Lanka Scaly Thrush, Spot-winged Thrush, Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon, Sri Lanka Swallow, Hill Munia, Besra, Crested Hawk Eagle, Crested Goshawk, Black-naped Monarch, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Indian Cuckoo, Brown-backed Needletail, Alpine Swift and Red-winged Crested Cuckoo.
Non-birding highlights: Dragonflies: Asian Skimmer, Marsh Skimmer, Sapphire Flutterer, Wall’s Grappletail, Dark-glittering Threadtail, and Jungle Threadtail., Butterflies: Giant King Crow, Tawny Rajah, Red-spot Duke, Five-bar Swordtail, Great Eggfly, Rustic, Three-spot Grass Yellow, Tailed Jay, Blue Glassy Tiger, and Tree Nymph., Botany: Ant plant, 45m canopy giants such as Dipterocarps and Shoreas and Bamboo orchids. Mammals: Purple-faced Leaf Monkey, Slender Loris, Giant Squirrel, Layard’s Squirrel, and Dusky-striped Squirrel.
UDAWALAWE
Day 06 In the dry lowlands of Udawalawe National Park a totally different avi-fauna awaits us. We will first reach our cosy game lodge accommodation for two nights at Udawalawe for lunch. Soon, we will board ‘open topped’ safari jeep and into the National Park in search of its birding specials. The park’s habitat includes gallery forests, monsoon forests and water holes, grasslands, scrublands and woodlands. In addition to excellent dry zone birding, a visit to Udawalawe also presents a good opportunity to observe Asian Elephant, which are found in good numbers in the park.
Birding: Sri Lanka Woodshrike, Blue-faced and Sirkeer Malkohas, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Green Bee-eater, Coppersmith Barbet, Yellow-eyed and Tawny-bellied Babblers, Indian Robin, Brown Fish Owl, Rosy Starling, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Jungle Prinia, Baya and Streaked Weavers, Black-headed Munia, Indian Silverbill, Plum-headed Parakeet, Oriental Darter, Paddyfield and Blyth’s Pipits, Jerdon’s Bushlark, Oriental Skylark, Lesser Cuckoo, Grey-bellied Cuckoo, Orange-headed Thrush, Barred Buttonquail, ‘Indian’ Red-rumped Swallow, White, Yellow and Citrine Wagtails, Pied Kingfisher, Spot-billed Pelican, Wooly-necked Stork, Lesser Adjutant and Painted Stork, Pallid and Marsh Harriers, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Crested Hawk Eagle, Common Kestral, Black-shouldered Kite and Grey-headed Fish Eagle.
Non-birding highlights: Dragonflies: Variable Flutterer, Dancing Dropwing, Wandering Glider, Foggy-winged Twister, Scarlet Basker, Blue Percher, and Oriental Scarlet. Butterflies: Plain Tiger, Glassy Tiger, Pioneer, Crimson Rose, Common Rose, Lime Butterfly, Common Gull, Common Jezebel, Tawny Coster, Common Cerulean, Grey Pansy, Lemon Pansy, Peacock Pansy, Lemon Emigrant. Mammals: Asian Elephant, which is present in fair numbers in this park, Golden Jackal, Wild Boar, Wild Buffalo, Ruddy Mongoose, and Spotted Deer.
UDAWALAWE, Day two
Day 07 On our second day in Udawalawe we will combine several birding hotspots within the park where we can alight from our jeep to stretch our legs and to bird on foot. We will enjoy a relaxing midday break at our lodge between our morning and afternoon birding sessions.
Birding: Cotton Pygmy-goose, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Yellow and Black Bitterns, Purple Swamphen, Purple Heron, Painted Stork, Cotton Pygmy-goose, Watercock, ‘Western’ Black-tailed Gotwit, Black-winged Stilt, Pintail Snipe, Indian Pygmy Woodpecker, Ashy Woodswallow, White-naped Woodpecker, Jungle Owlet, Indian Scops Owl, White-rumped Shama, Stork-billed Kingfisher, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Indian Reed Warbler and Yellow-wattled Lapwing.
Non-birding highlights: Dragonflies: Common Bluetail, Painted Waxtail, Yellow Waxtail, Pruinosed Bloodtail, Sombre Lieutenant, Pink Skimmer, and Paddyfield Parasol., Butterflies: Common Pierrot, Red Pierrot, Metallic Cerulean, Tiny Grass Blue, and Common Lascar. Reptiles: Common and Green Garden Lizards, Land and Water Monitors and Mugger Crocodile.
Day 08 Today we drive up to the cooler hills of Nuwara Eliya where several montane endemics await us. En route, we will stop at the Ella Resthouse, which overlooks the spectacular Ella gap for lunch. After lunch, and still on our way to Nuwara Eliya, we will visit Surrey Estate - a privately-owned, well-wooded birding patch that holds the endemic Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon.
Thereafter, we continue our ascent further up to Nuwara Eliya (1,890-m), the famous hill station of Sri Lanka, popularly nicknamed ‘Little England’. Nuwara Eliya, still bears evidence of its colonial past with its English-style holiday homes, a racecourse, vegetable gardens, shooting ranges, brewery, flower gardens and a fine 18-hole golf course! As we ascend, vast stretches of tea gardens dominate the landscape – a cash crop introduced by the British and currently Sri Lanka’s third highest revenue earner. We will reach a patch close to our accommodation in time for the hopeful arrival of the ultra-secretive montane endemic - the Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush.
Finally, we will reach our cosy overnight retreat for two nights at Nuwara Eliya, which is patronized by bird watchers for many years. It overlooks the cloud forests of Mt. Pedro, which at 2,524m above sea-level is the tallest mountain in Sri Lanka. The drop in temperature (around 10-15 degrees centigrade) at Nuwara Eliya will necessitate sweaters although some of you may welcome this change coming from the warmer lowlands.
Birding: In the wetter highlands: Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush, Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon, Brown-capped Babbler, Black-throated Munia (potential split), Chestnut-headed Bee-Eater, Crested Hawk Eagle, Streak-throated Woodpecker, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Lesser Hill Myna, Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, Coppersmith Barber, Sri Lanka Small Barbet, Oriental White-eye and if lucky Brown Wood Owl.
NUWARA ELIYA Day 09 In the morning we will visit several local spots to bag the remaining montane targets. These include Victoria Park which is a fine urban park established in 1897 to commemorate the 60 th coronation jubilee of Queen Victoria. This should qualify as one of the best urban parks for birding judging by the swarms of overseas birders visiting it during late October – early April to bag several Western Himalayan migrants, which include Kashmir Flycatcher and Pied Thrush which according to the great Indian Ornithologist; Dr. Salim Ali winters almost exclusively in Sri Lanka. Another site top on our agenda is Hakgala Botanical Gardens. Hakgala gardens were founded by the British for the purpose of planting Cinchona to obtain Quinine for malarial victims in the 20 th century. Here we will look for the elusive Dull-blue Flycatcher and the potential split – the Black-throated Munia.
Day 10 An additional day in the highlands to look for any missing montane specials. In the evening, we will go out for dinner tonight to St Andrew’s Hotel, Nuwara Eliya to enjoy five-course fine dining at its best in Sri Lanka.
Birding: Sri Lanka Bush Warbler,Yellow-eared Bulbul, Dull-blue Flycatcher, Sri Lanka White-eye, Kashmir Flycatcher, Pied Thrush, Indian Blue Robin, Forest and Grey Wagtails, Great Tit, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, Sri Lanka Scaly Thrush, Jerdon’s Baza, Zitting Cisticola, Pied Bushchat, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, the newly spit Himalayan Buzzard and if our patience pays off - Slaty-legged Crake.
Non-birding highlights: Dragonflies: Triangle Skimmer, Red-veined Darter, Mammals: Sambar and Bear Monkey the montane race of the vegetarian Purple-faced Leaf Monkey of lowlands, Botany:: Dwarf Bamboo, endemic variety of Rhododendron, Reptiles: Rhino-horned Lizard, Black-lipped Lizard and Dwarf Chameleon.
KANDY Day 11 After an enjoyable birding breakfast,we will drive to Kandy (477m), Sri Lanka’s cultural epicentre. Age-old rituals continue today at Kandy’s Temple of the sacred Tooth Relic. Kandy was the last Sinhalese kingdom in Sri Lanka, which was ceded to the British in 1815. En route to Kandy we will stop at a tea factory to see the newly-split Hill Swallow, which nests inside the factory. Here, you could also optionally, get a guided tour of the factory to see the production process of the famous ‘ Ceylon tea’. After a good cuppa we will reach our accommodation, which overlooks Kandy city. In the afternoon we will explore the Royal Botanical Gardens to bag any more pending targets. This magnificent garden covers an area of 147 acres and is an absolute botanical paradise. We will also look for several special birds here including the Common Hawk Cuckoo. An enormous noisy colony of Giant Fruit bats is a marvel of nature at the gardens. In the evening, these is an optional visit to the historic Temple of Sacred Tooth Relic, which houses the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha.
Birding: Common Hawk Cuckoo, Sri Lanka Small Barbet, Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot, Sri Lanka Green Pigeon,Sri Lanka Swallow, Lesser Hill Myna, Orange Minivet, Alexandrine Parakeet and Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher.
Non-birding highlights: Dragonflies including Dawn Dropwing aka Crimson Dropwing, Spine-legged Redbolt, Blue Pursuer, Dingy Duskfly, Indian Duskhawker, Elusive Adjutant, Sri Lanka Forktail, Pale-faced Forestskimmer. Mammals: Giant Fruit Bat Botanical attractions include the Giant Jawa Fig, which covers an area of 1,600 sq.ft, Double coconut, Drunken Pine avenue, Cannon-ball tree and orchid house in the Royal Botanical Gardens.
SIGIRIYA Day 12 After breakfast we will explore a patch close to the hotel to search for any missing wet zone specials before exploring Kandy city on a brief cultural diversion. Thereafter, we will drive to the dry lowlands of Dambulla, and visit Sigiriya Sanctuary - an excellent birding site. There is an optional visit to the Sigiriya Rock Fortress in the afternoon. In the evening, we will also do a short night walk to look for a few night birds and mammals. Overnight stay at a cosy hotel at Dambulla.
Birding: Fork-tailed Drongo Cuckoo, Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, White-rumped Shama, Crimson-backed Flameback, Large Cuckoo-shrike, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Little Minivet, Jerdon’s Leafbird, White-browed Fantail,Brown Fish Owl, Black-backed Dwarf Kingfisher, Shaheen (local race of Peregrine), Orange-headed Thrush, Indian Pitta, Brown-capped Babbler, Sri Lanka Swallow, Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill, Sri Lanka Green Pigeon, Orange-breasted Pigeon and if luck is on our side Forest Eagle Owl.
Non-birding highlights : Mammals: Giant Grey Flying Squirrel, Toque Macaque and Slender Loris. Butterflies: Sri Lanka Tiger and Blue Admiral. Botanical highlights include the Giant Bamboo (the world’s fasted growing plant - growing 30 cm a day!)
KATUNAYAKE Day 13 In the morning we will explore the Sigiriya Sanctuary once more before driving to our final hotel close to the airport. Time permitting, we will fit in more tropical wetland birding en route including a RAMSAR wetland. After checking into our transit hotel just 5 minutes away from the airport, we will go out for our farewell dinner to a Chinese Restaurant, where we do our final checklists of the trip.
Birding: Wetlands: Western Reef Egret, Red-necked Phalarope, Small Pratincole, Little Heron, Garganey, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveller, Caspian, White-winged, Whiskered, Common, Large Crested and Lesser Crested and Little Terns, Indian Cormorant, Brown-headed Gull, Greater Flamingo, Great and Indian Thick-knees, Curlew, Marsh, Terek, Wood and Green Sandpipers, Temminck’s Stint, Lesser and Greater Sand Plovers, Little-ringed Plovers, Black-necked Stork, Common Hoopoe, Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark, Yellow-crowned Woodpecker and Ashy Drongo
Day 14 – Departure
Note on security Personal safety and security is an important issue for travellers particularly in countries like Sri Lanka. In the design of our tour, we have carefully considered information gathered in Sri Lanka together with the travel advice provided by the governments of the USA, the UK and Australia. Our tour excludes all the high-risk areas and we stay up to date with the security situation in Sri Lanka whilst on tour to maximise client safety. All clients should obtain necessary insurance to meet cancellation charges and other risks.
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Itinerary: Duration: 14 days Limit: 4-8 Date: 2009: August 1 to 14 2010: February 2 to 15 & August 1 to 14Start: Katunayake End: Katunayake Price: US$3155 per person sharing Single supplement: US$ 475 Price_Includes: Accommodation based on double/twin sharing basis with private facilities for 13 nights Transportation in a comfortable A/C vehicle All meals starting from dinner on day 01 to dinner on day 13 Sri Lanka bird and natural history checklist Entrances tickets and taxes Price_Excludes: Flights Insurance Tips ptional game drive to Yala on Day 09 Other personal expenses
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© 2008-2010 Birding Ecotours · www.birdingecotours.co.za was updated March 2010 |
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