A Date with The Feathered Kind

You have two sessions of birding arranged for you in the heart of the city. Early morning head over to the Thalangama tank and wetland. Here you have the opportunity to see species such as Black and Yellow Bitterns, Stork Billed and White throated King Fishers, Purple Coots, Water Hens, Little Grebes, Whistling Teals, Raptors, Stork’s and Herons. You head back to the hotel for breakfast and lunch, after which we head back out to the wetlands of Colombo in search of more birds and urban wildlife. Accommodation –

From the hustle and bustle of Colombo you make your way to what we can call the adventure capitol of the country Kithulgala. We check in for lunch in anticipation of a bird watching trek through the forest. “Kithulgala situated along the Kelani River is known for its adventure sports that are done along the Kelani River, such as white water rafting, Kayaking and abseiling. However the rainforest is home to a host of birds that includes endemics such as Yellow-fronted Barbet, Spot-winged Thrush, Sri Lanka Spurfowl, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie and Red-faced Malkoha”. You head out in the evening with your expert naturalist guide in search of these feathered marvels of the area. Be sure to look out other rare animals such as the Earless lizard. Accommodation –

In the morning you head out once again on a bird watching trek. In the evening you head out into the Kelani Valley Forest Reserve, which is a lowland tropical rainforest rich in endemic fauna and flora. The Kelani Valley Forest Reserve is ideal for any missed lowland endemics such as Sri Lanka Myna, Green- billed Coucal, Spot-winged Thrush, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Sri Lanka Spurfowl, Brown-capped Babbler and Red-faced Malkoha. Also look for Hill Mynah, Lesser Yellownape, Crested Drongo, Greater and Black-rumped Flamebacks, Black-capped Bulbul, Black Bulbul, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and Black Eagle. As the dusk falls look for the sub continental endemic Sri Lanka Frogmouth. Accommodation –

From Kithulgala your journey takes you to the misty hill of Nuwara Eliya. Step out of the hotel after breakfast and your guide will take you along the winding roads to the hill city of Nuwara Eliya. In the early evening head out on guided tour of the city and keep an eye out for the various species of birds that can be seen. Whilst you are here you visit the famous Victoria Park in which you find the rare winter migrants that come from the Himalayas. “Nuwara Eliya town and Victoria Park has been known for its hidden gems among the birding community, where the rear winter migrants come to escape the freezing temperatures. Himalayan migrants such as Kashmir Flycatcher, Pied Thrush Indian Pitta and Indian Blue Robin. Other highlights include Yellow-eared Bulbul, Sri Lanka Hill White-eye and Dull blue Flycatcher”. Accommodation –

An early morning awaits you as you head over to a magical place shroud in misty open plains in Horton Plains National park. You come to the park with a packed breakfast and roam around until lunch time keeping a keen eye out for the various birds and animals that make the park home. Head back to the hotel for a good lunch and quick rest as more highland birding awaits. “Horton Plains National park situated in the central highlands of the island goes above 2,000M in height and consists of Montane Grassland and Cloud Forest. The park is home to a wide variety of animals that include endemic birds such as the Yellow Eared Bulbul, Ceylon White Eye, Jungle Fowl, Arenga or Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush and migrants such Indian the Pitta and Indian Blue Robins”. In the evening your bird watching adventure takes you towards the Haggala Botanical Gardens. Even though the emphasis of the garden is for the flora it in turn creates an ideal habitat for birds and other small animals. You Naturalist guide will be on hand to not only show you the birds but also the smaller animals such as butterflies and dragonflies and also the myriad of plants found here. “Haggala Botanical Gardens is one out the 5 botanical gardens found in the island. Contiguous with the Haggala Strict Nature reserve makes the garden not only special with its flora but also the variety of avian life that can be seen here. It is a great place to see and photograph the Ceylon White eye”. You head back to the hotel for a well-deserved rest and dinner. Just before dinner sit down with your guide and go through the list of birds seen and compare the notes from bird guides to confirm the identification. Accommodation –

The day is reserved for exploring the wilds of Horton Plains National park. The Morning round will be kept as optional as you already have done a bit of walking around. However we do head back there in the evening and this time make sure also keep an eye out for the elusive leopard of Horton Plains National park. Accommodation –

After breakfast we hop on board our trusty transport and from the misty hill we make our way down to region known as Galoya and Galoya National park. Check in to your lodge from lunch and in the evening together with your naturalist head out in the general vicinity of the lodge to do some light birding. “Galoya National park was created to protect and serve as the main catchment area for the Senanayake Samudraya (a larger man made reservoir). The park also serves as a sanctuary for elephants and a variety of birds a few of which can only be seen in the area. Such as the Yellow Footed Green Pigeon and Painted Francolin. The area is also good birds such as Cuckoos, Quails and raptors. It is also known for its swimming elephants that traverse the reservoir in search of lush grass”. Accommodation –

An early morning departure see you take a boat as you traverse the waters of the Senanayaka Samudraya in search of water birds and if you are lucky you might come across a few elephants taking a swim. It’s back to the lodge for lunch and a rest. In the evening you head out into Galoya National park for more birding.

From the wilds of Galoya you make your way to dry zone jungles of Yala National park. Yala national park know for it high density of leopards is also a great place to tick off a wide variety of dry zone bird species. Your 1 st venture in to the park happen on this day after lunch in the early evening. “Yala National park situated on the southern coast of the island is home to highest density of leopards in the world. However to the avid birder the park is home to myriad of dry zone bird species such as little green and chestnut headed bee eaters, Alexandrine parakeets and endemics such as the Jungle fowl, grey hornbills and Ceylon shrikes”. Accommodation –

Venture back in to block 1 of Yala Natioanl Park for a spot of birding. After lunch your birding adventure takes you to Bundala National Park. “Bundala National Park a RAMSAR site as well as a UNESCO Biosphere reserve, serves as an important wetland and stop over point for a wide variety of winter migrant birds as well as a host of resident wetland and dry zone bird species”. Head back to the hotel where you will be treated to special dinner and cocktails, while together with your Naturalist guide and a birding expert will go through a presentation and an interactive session on birdlife in Sri Lanka. Accommodation –

The birding adventure is about to get more exiting as you leave the dry zone jungles of yala and head over to the magical Sinharaja Rain Forest a bird watchers paradise. You have covered the island in search of birds through a vast habitats and your final stop is the best of them all. Check in to the hotel for lunch and in the evening head out on the village tracks that run along the forest reserve in search of birds, especially the important endemics. “Located in the South west of the island, Sinharaja is one of the last remaining stretches of viable primary rain forest left in the country. More than 60% of the plants and 50% of the mammals and butterflies found in the area are endemic. Out of the 34 species of endemic birds of Sri Lanka 25 can be found here. This include the rare Red Faced Malkoha, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Ashy Headed Laughing Thrush and scares Sri Lankan Spur Fowl”. After you are rested and the sun has gone down head out on a small walk around the lodge premises with your guide in search of nocturnal birds such as owls and night jars and other small nocturnal animals. Accommodation –

A full day of birding in the area, with excursions to forest reserve itself to experience the atmosphere of a primary rain forest. You alternate between the tracks you have taken to cover as much ground as you can. We will also have a local bird guide from the area who will help us out with spotting birds, especially the ones that can be easily seen in the village rather than within the forest. Once you’re back at the lodge sit down with you naturalist guide and an expert to ID all the birds and sound that you saw in the rain forest. Accommodation –

You are almost at the end of your island birding adventure. You have one more session within the rainforest to try and tick off as many bird species that you can. Before we take to the road to head to our final stop of the tour. Your final stop brings you to the coastal town of Negombo. Accommodation –

You say you’re good byes to the island and take the flight back home. After 14 days of roaming the wilds of the island in search of birds, you would have covered a good number of species and quite a few pictures to take back home.