Trip Report Sri Lanka 2003

Simon Plat, Maaike Poppinga
Dates: 24-02-2003 till 13-03-2003
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Birding Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka proved to be a top birding destination. All different types of birdwatchers will be able to find their likings here. The island has 27 endemic species, 15 of these with an endangered status. Over 15 species are shared only with the southern parts of India. For the specialist, over 60 subspecies are endemic, of which several might be split in the near future. These numbers are, in relation to the size of the island and the accessibility, among the highest of any single island in the world. In comparison: the Galapagos archipelago has about 28 endemic species, scattered over several islands. And it doesn’t stop with the (near)endemics. Specialties that can be hard to find anywhere else, like Spot-billed Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis, Grijze Pelikaan), White-naped Woodpecker (Chrysocolaptes festivus tantus, Witnekspecht), Pied Thrush (Zoothera wardii, Eksterlijster), and last but certainly not least Kashmir Flycatcher (Ficedula subrubra, Kasjmirvliegenvanger) are all possibilities. So the genuine world twitcher will sooner or later have to visit Sri Lanka.
But there’s more. The small size and great infrastructure make it easy to cover all relevant spots within one or two weeks. Some areas are teeming with birds, some are hardly even explored (illustrated by the recently discovered Serendib Scops Owl (Otus pending publication) in 2001). The island is beautiful, lush green, very divers in terms of habitat and significantly cleaner and better organised than its neighbour India. Another great advantage is that hybrid vacations; combinations between birding and culture or twitching endangered birds while on a relaxed beach vacation are easily arranged. Locations like Sigiriya are a must, even for birders who found all the relevant birds elsewhere.
Recent political stabilisation make it possible to travel the whole country since mid 2003. Almost all regions are safe now, though you should always check the most recent information. A month after our departure in March 2003 the large Wilpattu National Park in the north reopened after being closed for years.
These developments had another consequence: in 2002, when we planned our trip it was hard to get a good and cheap ticket to Sri Lanka from the Netherlands. Half a year later several tour operators offered cheap charter flights and packages to Sri Lanka. By now it should be easy to find a (direct) flight from anywhere in Europe.

Over 460 bird species are recorded at this moment. About half of these are breeding residents. Apart from seabirds, with a peak season in the northern summer (May-October), most migratory birds visit Sri Lanka in northern winter (October-April). Consequently this is also the best time to visit Sri Lanka. Within this period the best time probably is February – March when a lot of local birds are starting their breeding season, being significantly more active.

Sri Lanka has a tropical climate with a wet and dry period, which differs significantly on various locations. The south-western part is the wettest. This is also where the restricted-ranges endemics are found. However the dry parts certainly offer good birding, including species that are only shared with southern India, like Blue-faced Malkoha (Phaenicophaeus viridirostris, Kleine Groensnavelmalkoha). The rains will rarely restrict you from birding (except of course in extreme situations like the summer of 2003).
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Strategy

While reading the available trip reports it appears easy to find all the endemics within a two weeks visit. Almost all of these birders hire local guides. Finding the endemics without local help is possible but a lot harder, especially when time is a limiting factor. So deciding whether or not to get local help is the first choice to make.
Local guiding can be very expensive, especially when birding alone or with a small group. The following companies have the most experienced professional guides:

Baurs (www.baurs.com – tourism@baurs.com)
Jetwing Travel (www.jetwingeco.com)

There’s one alternative and that’s the one we took, along with a lot of other birders before and after us. Baurs also has ‘bird watching drivers’. These drivers know a lot about birds and are determined to help you find the endemics and other targets. We had the (by now famous) driver Sunil Alwis and the fact that we not only found all the endemics (except for the new owl) but also a great number of other specialties prove the fact that Sunil is a good match for the professional guides, though a lot cheaper. There’s one small disadvantages that you might consider, when travelling with non-birding partners: Sunil is willing to interfere with your itinerary when it’s better for the birds! We had some small disagreements over our goals and places to visit, resulting in skipping a tourist destination with no bird potential, more or less against our will.
So for anybody deciding not to go totally on low budget I would advise to hire a car with driver and while you’re at it with Baurs, ask specifically for Sunil Alwis.
For those who like to try it on there own, I added a page specifically about finding the endemics and other targets.
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Books and readings

We used the following books and bird guides:

Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp (1999). Also covering Sri Lanka. Texts are limited and the order in which the birds are presented makes it hard to find the groups you’re looking for (I made my own index to groups). It also feels a bit overdone carrying over 1200 species when only ¼ can possibly be found. [ISBN: 0-7136-6304-9]
A field guide to the birds of Sri Lanka by John Harrison and Tim Worfolk (1999). Really the only bird guide you need, I bought it in Sri Lanka (cheap!).

Lonely Planet travel survival kit Sri Lanka – 6th edition (1996). We used the lonely planet during preparation and chose to take the Footprints (see below) with us. We came to the conclusion that the LP holds more information than the Footprints.
Footprint - Sri Lanka Handbook – 3rd edition (2000). The information is more accessible than the LP but it didn’t proof as valuable to us as the LP did in earlier travels.

I also used the following information:

A checklist of the birds of Sri Lanka by Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne and Deepal Warakagoda. Interesting but certainly not essential since most checklists can be downloaded from the internet. This checklist can be obtained from the Oriental Bird Club (www.orientalbirdclub.org) and probably also through Jetwing Eco Holidays (eco@jetwing.lk).
Oriental Bird Club Bulletin 26– Special Sri Lanka Issue (November 1997). Interesting for some background information on birds and birding in Sri Lanka but nothing that is essential to prepare a successful trip. This issue can be obtained from the Oriental Bird (www.orientalbirdclub.org).
A birdwatcher’s guide to Sri Lanka by Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne et al. I’m not sure whether this came as an appendix to the OBC bulletin no 26 or separately. But this is a must have. A lot of good birding spots (mostly in the southern part of the island) are explained and an itinerary is proposed for finding the endemics. Also relevant information on how to get there and accommodation. Probably also for sale at the Oriental Bird (www.orientalbirdclub.org).
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Prices

Prices change constantly but for a global idea I added the prices we paid for several different services. In Sri Lanka the currency is Rupees. During our stay Rs100/- was equal to about € 1,- (easy calculating).

Sri Lanka is in between the real cheap Asian countries like Thailand and the expensive western oriented countries like Kenya. A lot depends on how you like to travel around in luxury. We mostly let Sunil Alwis arrange our hotels, being somewhat in the midrange. Food is generally cheap. Only the entrances to some of the National Parks are pretty expensive. And the 4WD drive to Martins Place (about 3,5 km) is extremely expensive: $ 35,- one way.

To get an idea here are some of the prices we paid:
-) Hotels: in between Rs800/- and Rs2400/-. See Itinerary for more info on specific hotels.
-) Food: a meal was mostly between Rs100/- en Rs500/- per person.
-) Entrances to parks differ greatly between Rs1000/- and Rs4500/-, excluding the price of the obliged 4WD. Specific prices are mentioned at the site descriptions.
-) Embarkation fee: Rs1000/- per person
-)Car hire: we had a deal with Baurs for a car with driver. In total this cost us $ 635,-: $ 0.35 for each mile driven (we drove 1100 miles in total) and $ 12,- per day for the driver.
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Hotel advise

We had great experiences with some of the hotels we stayed in. Here’s more information on the hotels we definitely advise to future visitors:

Martin’s place: near the entrance of Sinharaja Man and Biosphere Reserve. Arrangements and bookings can be made by Baurs or by sending a telegram to the Veddagala Post Office on 045-5256. Advanced booking is advised. Price: Rs1100,-, food and water has to be taken by the visitor.

Vikum Lodge: Kataragama Road, Tissamaharama. T:P: 047-37585. Proprietor: Anura Kankanange. Price: Rs1500/- A/C.

Mc Leod Inn - Tourist Guest House: 65A, Rajapihilla Mawatha, Kandy. Proprietor: Ashan Senaratne. Price: Rs1250/- including breakfast.

The other hotels are mentioned in the itinerary.
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Relevant internet sites

Trip reports and web portals
< www.Eurobirding.com> Great portal to a huge amount of birding trip reports all over the world. Updated frequently with new reports.
<www.camacdonald.com/birding> Links do not always work but this site is a good start.
<www.birdtours.co.uk> This is a great site with a huge amount of trip reports. Certainly good to check while preparing the trip.
<www.fatbirder.com> Covering almost all countries of the world. Lot of information, lot of links.
<www.bsc-eoc.org/links/links.jsp> Over 18000 links to about all the worlds regions. Including information on numbers of species and endemics.
<www.crosswinds.net/~birdtrips/tripreports> This used to be one of the greatest sites to find trip reports. Still a lot of trip reports but no recent reports are added any more.

Background info
<www.joho.nl> Dutch site including good and relevant tips concerning safety and travelling in foreign countries. Worth checking and reading the tips on any country visiting.
<www.buza.nl> Dutch governmental site with recent information on safety issues, it is advised to check this site before arranging a trip.

Other sites
<www.orientalbirdclub.org> Might prove useful for general information. You can also buy trip reports and a special issue of their bulletin from the Oriental Bird Club.
<worldtwitch.virtualave.net> The gate to finding rare birds all around the world, including recent information.
<www.baurs.com – tourism@baurs.com> Baurs: provider of specialist bird trips and car rental including birdwatching drivers.
<www.jetwingeco.com> Jetwing Travel: the other large provider of specialist bird trips and professional bird guides.
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Downloads:

Download recent (2005) trip report of Ian Merril (including Serendip Scops Owl) (DOC - 92 kB)

Download total trip report Sri Lanka (DOC - 836 kB)

Download total trip report Sri Lanka (PDF - 431 kB)

Download triplist (XLS - 83 kB)

Download triplist (PDF - 137 kB)

Download checklist that can be used in the field (XLS - 103 kB)

Download checklist that can be used in the field (CSV - 33 kB)

Download checklist that can be used in the field (PDF - 88 kB)