|
|
Trip Report Sri Lanka 2003 Simon Plat, Maaike Poppinga |
|
|
|
Back home |  Previous |
Next |
24-02-2003: We arrived after a good but long flight
(Amsterdam-London-Abu Dhabi-Colombo) at the international Airport. It took us
no time from touch down to the back of Sunil’s car (great and good organised
arrival). All luggages arrived in good state. We arrived early in the day so
we still had the good part of the day to start working on our list. Sunil first
took us to a swamp called Bellanwila-Attidiya Sanctuary, but not before he showed
us a group of 5 Eurasian Thick-knees (Burhinus oedicnemus, Griel),
resting under some trees. It was only in the sanctuary that we realised the
hot and humid climate but that was soon forgotten when the first birds arrived,
notably Black Bittern (Dupetor flavicollis, Zwarte Roerdomp) and
the more common Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis, Chinese Woudaap).
Bellanwila-Attidiya Sanctuary is not essential but certainly a good starter.
We arrived around noon and had a good lunch
first. In the evening we had our first visit to Bodhinagala forest. We walked
the trail to the monastry and stalked a calling Chestnut-backed Owlet (Glaucidium
castanonotum, Bruinrugdwerguil) without success. Stayed until dark for
Frogmouths (not advisable), but no success.
25-02-2003: We started the morning in the Bodhinagala
forest. Again no success with a calling
Chestnut-backed Owlet. Brief sightings of a Ceylon Spurfowl (Galloperdix bicalcarata, Ceylondwergfasant) sitting in the shoulder
of the road and immediately flying off. Several birds were calling. Sunil traced
a calling Green-billed Coucal
(Centropus chlororhynchus, Ceylonspoorkoekoek) just below the temple
(see Finding the endemics and other targets). After some frustrating views two
birds showed very well, while calling to each other. We decided to skip the
Owlet since there’s another chance at Sinharaja.
We drove to the
Sinharaja region. A few kilometres before the park we changed cars: a 4-wheel
car with driver was waiting to take us to Martin’s place, close to the entrance
of Sinharaja National Park. There are two options to get to the park (about
3-3,5 km uphill): walking (2 km) and by 4WD. Since you have to take all
essentials (including water) with you, we decided to take the second and more
pricy option. A one-way ticket with a jeep costs R3500,-!
Martin’s place is the
closest option to the entrance of Sinharaja (only a few hundred m). It is a
rather primitive but great place where you can stay overnight (R1100,- per
night, bring your own food and water, Martin is willing to cook you a dinner
with your own food). Birding starts at Martin’s, since a good number of
specialties can be seen just from the balcony!
We arrived in the
afternoon and had our next endemic Layard's Parakeet (Psittacula calthropae, Smaragdparkiet)
flying in groups past the balcony. During the rest of the afternoon Layard’s
kept coming in small groups of up to 20 birds. Another endemic White-throated Flowerpecker (Dicaeum vincens, Ceylonese Honingvogel) was
found in between some showers during a short walk in the surroundings.
The first evening
meal, cooked by Martin and family was a real treat, great food! Did we buy all
that stuff? After that we thought to have the rest of the evening off, but
Sunil didn’t agree; he came to show me a Ceylon Frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger, Ceylonkikkerbek)
that was just discovered by his friend Thandula, who was also our bird guide
the next few days. It only took a few minutes to relocate the bird, just behind
the headquarters and we all had great views of a spotlighted perched bird while
raining gently. A great end of only our second day in Ceylon.
26-02-2003: After a short but good breakfast we entered the Sinharaja
park at around 7:00 o’clock (entrance fee: Rs575/- per person). There’s only
one track leading to a research station and the surroundings of that track is
full of birds. Feeding flocks are easy to find and with the help of Sunil and
later also Thandula we managed to find ALL target endemics in the first morning,
including great views of Ceylon Magpie (Urocissa ornata, Blauwe Kitta), just near
Martins Place, several Red-faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus
pyrrhocephalus, Roodwangmalkoha) also showing very well, another 3 Green-billed Coucals and our only Large-billed Leaf-Warbler (Phylloscopus magnirostris, Diksnavelfitis).
White-faced Starling
(Sturnus senex, Maskerspreeuw) was also very
cooperative with two birds low in the canopy (actually below the path) showing
very well. Probably the best bird was a juvenile Malayan Night-Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus, Indische Kwak) foraging
the forest floor just beside the path.
You can imagine we
had a very comfortable siesta! During the afternoon rest a Black Eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis, Indische Zwarte
Arend) soared the hills in front of Martin’s place, and again Layard's Parakeets.
We had another
excursion in the evening with mostly the same birds. A serious shower made us
flee the area for a moment but after that activity was up again. If it was not
for the great birding skills of Sunil and persistence of Sunil and Thandula, I
would never have got my eyes on the Scaly Thrush (Zoothera dauma imbricata, Goudlijster). It
took an hour of scanning and searching a small area behind the research station
before it made it’s appearance for only a split second. During our walk back,
wet but satisfied, the Malayan Night Heron stood in
the middle of the path showing extremely well. We had to chase it away to
pursue our way home. Another successful day on the island.
Since we were shaking on our legs and we ran
out of targets (what a delight!) we headed back to Martin’s place to start the
afternoon rest. Again lots of birds during the heat of day, including 5 (!) White-faced
Starlings in a small tree just below the balcony. In the afternoon I took
the liberty of a lone walk in the park, counting a feeding flock with up to 16
species, including several endemics, two species of Woodpecker and the
beautiful Malabar Trogon (Harpactes fasciatus fasciatus,
Malabartrogon). Sinharaja surely is a superb place for birding!
1-03-2003: Early morning start towards the entrance of the Uda
Walawe. Here we had our first confrontation with the complex billing structure
of some Sri Lankan National Parks. After quite some arrangements we had to pay
Rs4190/- to get into the park. This prices is comprised of: 2x entrée: Rs2650/-,
entrée for Sunil: Rs46/-, obligatory guide: Rs576/-, car entrance: Rs100/-,
Rs120/- for something we never found out what it was and finally some kind of
tax: Rs698/-. This is excluding the car (4-WD) that cost us an additional Rs1600/-.
Quite a price for a few hours in a not too inspiring park. Unfortunately the
driver was not a birder and drove pretty fast, chasing a dozen unidentified
Quails, and the guide was more a mammal kind of guy (preferably Elephants).
We found Malabar Pied-Hornbill (Anthracoceros
coronatus, Malabarneushoornvogel) and Sirkeer Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus leschenaultii, Indische Malkoha)
among some more common birds.
After lunch we headed
to Tissamaharama where Sunil directed us to a very nice hotel, some 2 km from
town. The hotel is called Vikum Lodge (Rs1500/- A/C, great food Rs250/-,
breakfast Rs225/-), with a relaxed atmosphere, a friendly hostess and a
breeding pair of Purple-rumped Sunbird (Nectarinia
zeylonica, Purperstuithoningzuiger) on the inner court of the hotel in a
potted plant. The direct vicinity of the hotel is also good for birding with Blue-faced Malkoha, Common Woodshrike (Tephrodornis
pondicerianus, Kleine Rupsklauwier) and Jungle Bush-Quail (Perdicula asiatica, Jungle-dwergpatrijs)
among more common birds.
2-03-2003: We started relatively late today (6:45), with a visit
to the Debera Wewa Tanks. These water bodies are relatively overgrown and consequently
they hold a large amount of water birds, including breeding colonies of Indian Cormorant (Phalacrocorax
fuscicollis, Indische Aalscholver) and Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger, Indische Dwergaalscholver),
at least 8 species of heron and a surprising large amount of Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus, Waterfazant), including
stunning breeding plumages. A White-bellied Fish-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster, Witbuikzeearend) tried
an attack on the cormorant colony and a Grey-headed Fish-Eagle (Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus, Grote Rivierarend)
was also present. 
In an attempt to get
a grip on our finance we decided to skip a visit to Bundala National Park.
Instead we visited Bundala Lewaya, being free from entrance costs. It’s waders
to look at here, including Yellow-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus
malabaricus, Malabarkievit) and Great Thick-knee (Esacus recurvirostris, Grote Griel). It can
get pretty hot around that area around noon!
At the end of the day
we visited the Debera Wewa Tank again for White-naped Woodpecker in the surrounding palm plantations, successfully!
3-03-2003: In the morning
we visited Ruhunu NP (Yala West), but before that we tried for nightjars near the entrance. Indian Nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus, Hindoe-nachtzwaluw)
showed well but Jerdon’s Nighjar (Caprimulgus
atripennis) was not cooperative at all! The park is rather expensive: entrance
Rs4000/-, 4-WD with driver Rs1900/-. It is not allowed to leave the car in these
parks and in Ruhunu it is not even allowed to drive with the roof off. Since
both me and Maaike are of typically Dutch length, this is not a comfortable
way of birding! Biggest dip without any doubt was Leopard! We found only a few
good birds, most notably three Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark (Eremopterix grisea, Grijskruinvinkleeuwerik)
flying over the beach where we were allowed to exit the vehicle.
In the afternoon Sunil took us to a turtle
beach somewhere near Tangalla. We had a few stops for waders with two Pintail
Snipe (Gallinago stenura, Stekelstaartsnip) along the road and large
groups of Rosy Starlings (Sturnus roseus, Roze Spreeuw), probably
flying to their roosting area’s. We must have seen far over 10.000 individuals
flying by! And we got our egg laying turtle, a Green Turtle, including about 25
Turtle spotting tourists gathering around the poor mother.
4-03-2003: One
of the major advantages of Sri Lanka
is that you never have to travel far to the next spot. This morning we headed
for the mountains: Nuwara Eliya with a successful pit stop at the Surres Tea
Estate near Welinada. This is a consistent spot for finding Brown Wood-Owl (Strix leptogrammica, Bruine Bosuil). We had great close distance
views before it left to another roosting spot. Here I had also my first and
only group of Tawny-bellied Babbler
(Dumetia hyperythra phillipsi, Roodbuiktimalia).
We arrived at our
hotel at noon (hotel Eden Hill: Rs1250/- per night – actually the worst hotel
we had and a huge difference to our hotel in Tissa). It was cloudy and
exceptionally cold at 2000 meter above sea level. In the afternoon we decided
to go for a stroll into town, this time without Sunil. The best birding spot of
Nuwara Eliya is the park in the middle of town called Victoria Park. Very small
but lots of good birds. We had another very successful moment with 8 stunning
males Pied Thrush in and around the stream, an Indian Blue Robin (Luscinia brunnea, Orange Nachtegaal), two Yellow-eared Bulbuls (Pycnonotus penicillatus,
Geelpluimbuulbuul), a Ceylon White-eye (Zosterops
ceylonensis, Ceylonese Brilvogel) and last but certainly not least a Kashmir Flycatcher, first year male. The next day a bird watching
gardener told me that two Kashmir Flycatchers were
present in the park that year.
5-03-2003: A
very early start (4:45) to get to Arrenga Pond, the best spot for finding Ceylon
Whistling-Thrush (Myiophonus blighi, Ceylonfluitlijster). The only
chance is at dawn, before sunrise and at dusk. The Arrenga Pond is about 45
minutes drive from Nuwara Eliya. We (even Sunil) were surprised that we weren’t
allowed to enter the area before 6 o’clock. So, despite Sunils attempts, we
had to wait for half an hour. While waiting Sunil was told that the authorities
of Horton Plains National Park were thinking of replacing the entrance to the
park to a spot before the Arrenga Pond. At the moment of our visit the entrance
was a few kilometres behind Arrenga Pond. Apparently a large number of birdwatchers
(including us) only visit Arrenga Pond, skipping Horton Plains because the pond
offers all the highland endemics, leaving no reason to continue to Horton Plains.
The authorities got somewhat frustrated by the fact that they miss the income
of these visiting birders (the entrance to Horton Plains is about € 20,- per
person).
It was still pretty dark when we arrived at the
Arrenga Pond. Soon the show started with a singing Whistling-thrush for a split
second in the open. But the next 30 minutes
was among the greatest of my birding experience: the Whistling-thrush
known for its extremely secretive behaviour showed remarkably well, singing
from several exposed branches around the pool, sometimes over a minute on the
same spot! Even for Sunil this was a unique experience, telling me that this
was the first time he was able to see the bright blue shoulders so well.
Suddenly I realised that finding all the endemics during this trip was within
reach, since this one definitely is the most tricky one.
In the same area we found Dull-blue Flycatcher
(Eumyias sordida, Ceylonvliegenvanger) and most of the birds I saw in
Victoria Park the day before. Next target was Ceylon Bush-Warbler (Bradypterus
palliseri, Ceylonese Struikzanger), it took about 45 minutes to locate a
bird beside the road about 500m back from the Arrenga Pond. This completed our
target list of this area, so off we went!
On the way back we tried several spots for Ceylon
Hill Munia (Lonchura kelaarti, Zwartkeelbronzemannetje). We
succeeded with 4 birds a few kilometres from the town Patipola. After just 10
days (half) of vacation I had only one endemic to go, and that was not even the
hardest…
6-03-2003: We
decided to make good use of our success and leave the Nuwara Eliya area day
earlier than planned. This day also was our birding-break-point: from now on
birding was set to a second plan, with the comfortable idea of the fact that
we found almost all the targets. Let’s have a look at the country now!
We visited a tea-plant on our way to Kandy. In
Kandy Sunil led us to another great hotel, McLeod hotel (Rs1250/- including
breakfast, lunch Rs250/-, dinner Rs375/-). This hotel is about 2 kilometre from
the city centre, beautifully situated in the hills. Our room and the balcony
had a great view over the town, the Temple of the Tooth and the lake. Highly
recommended. A shrubby area in the garden held a pair of Collared Scops-Owl
(Otus bakkamoena, Indische Dwergooruil), the owner knows where to find
them. Small groups of Alexandrine Parakeet (Psittacula eupatria,
Grote Alexanderparkiet) and Southern Hill Myna (Gracula
indica/religiosa, Zuidelijke Grote Beo) flew around the hotel.
In the afternoon we visited the lake and the
town. A Spot-billed Pelican was a resident of the lake and a White-bellied
Sea-eagle hunted the lake.
7-03-2003: One
of the better spots for birding around Kandy is the small park called UdaWattekale
(entrance: Rs575/-), adjacent to the town. The forest certainly is worth a visit,
though it held no new endemics for me. Highlight was an Indian Blue Robin
fouraging on the track. A Stork-billed Kingfisher (Pelargopsis capensis,
Ooievaarsbekijsvogel) did not show well around the ponds in the park. The endemic
subspecies of Greater Flameback (Chrysocolaptes lucidus stricklandi,
Grote Goudrugspecht) was also present. We also got our only sighting of White-rumped
Shama (Copsychus malabaricus leggei, Shamalijster), another endemic
subspecies in the park.
The rest of the day was reserved for a visit to
the town. In the afternoon we enjoyed some thunderstorms.
8-03-2003: Since
we came so far in finding the endemics it would be a shame to forget about the
last: Crimson-fronted (Ceylon Small) Barbet (Megalaima rubricapilla,
Roodkeelbaardvogel). The Royal Botanical Gardens near Kandy (entrance: Rs300/-
for foreigners, Rs20/- for residents) are
a good spot for finding it, and that proved true when we found two fouraging
birds. Most of this park is covered by Fruit Bats and their shit. Watch it:
slippery. This park can get rather crowded during the day.
We visited another, even more crowded place the
Temple of Tooth and the city centre again. The rest of the day we hung around
the hotel, reading books, drinking coffee and enjoying the view.
9-03-2003: The
owner woke us for telling that the Collared Scops Owls were present at
their regular roost near the hotel. After that we had a good breakfast and left
to Sigiriya. We had a nice excursion to a spice and herb plantation. In Sigiriya
we checked in to a hotel with old but nice cabanas in a lush garden (with Indian
Pitta present): Ancient Villa (Rs1500/- including breakfast, dinner Rs250/-).
The gardens are worth a look, with Blue-winged Leafbird (Chloropsis
cochinchinensis, Blauwvleugelbladvogel) and Thick-billed Flowerpecker
(Dicaeum agile, Dikbekhoningvogel) among more common birds.
In the afternoon we did a birding trip to the
Sigiriya Rock. We had only a glimpse of a flying Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher
(Ceyx erithacus, Jungle-dwergijsvogel) but had good views of a Orange-headed
Thrush (Zoothera citrina, Dama-lijster).
10-03-2003: A
good day for a climb up the 200 meter stairs to the top op Sigiriya (entrance
Rs1440/- per person). We started early, being the first to get on top. Two resident
Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus peregrinator, Slechtvalk),
of the subspecies called Shaheen showed well and a Blue Rock-Thrush
(Monticola solitarius, Blauwe Rotslijster) was present at the top. The
ruins and the view on top of this rock are great and certainly worth a visit!
It was only that we went down again when it got crowded with tourists, so an
early start is a good advise.
In the afternoon we tried for a lake that
should be close to our residence. Nevertheless it took quite some searching
before we found it. The only mentionable birds were a group of Cotton
Pygmy-geese (Nettapus coromandelianus, Coromandeleend) on the lake.
11-03-2003: After
breakfast we visited the caves of Dhambulla. Nice to see and again no tourists
around until we left. After that we decided to leave the area to a good beach
area. We had the Negombo area in mind but Sunil advised us to visit the beaches
of the Trincomalee area, the area that had just been reopened. Quite a drive,
a bit boring, and the surroundings of Trincomalee are rather depressing with
a lot of deserted and ruined villages and military activity everywhere. We stayed
in a hotel that reopened this year, Nilaveli Beach Hotel near Nilaveli (Rs1700/-
for a room, Rs2400/- including breakfast, lunch buffet Rs500/-). The hotel is
clean and well organised. The rooms are spacy and clean, only 100 meter from
the beach. Nice area to end a great birding trip.
12-03-2003: Our
last excursion was a try at the beach and lagoon area north of Nilaveli. Again
a lot of prove of the recent war. The area is pretty good for terns and waders
and when taking more time this might hold a good birding potency. We found no
special birds but still a hand full of birds new to the list, including the
only Brown-headed Gull (Larus brunnicephalus, Bruinkopmeeuw) of
the trip.
The rest of the day we spend reading, swimming
and getting a sunburn.
12-03-2003: Our
last day was a travel day, back to the other side of the island, but not before
we found my last new species of the trip: Streaked Weaver (Ploceus
manyar, Manyarwever), a group of about 10 birds in a swampy area between
Nilaveli and Trincomalee. Our last hotel was near the airport, Sirisevana Hotel
(Rs800/- for a room with fan). The next day we left early in the morning for
a big sit in several airplanes.
|
|
Back home | Previous |
Next |
