Sri Lanka - Island Paradise
Saturday 8th to Saturday 22nd March 2008
AA8026
Sri
Lanka offers a new and exciting wildlife experience in an enchanting
paradise setting. This teardrop-shaped island in the Indian Ocean boasts
many endemic birds from Chestnut-backed Owlet to Legge’s Flowerpecker,
and it has an excellent range of Southern Indian species, including
Malabar Trogon and Purple-rumped Sunbird. The recently discovered
Serendib Scops Owl, will also be a target of our observations. In
addition, there’s the tantalising possibility of migrants - waders from
Siberia, Pied Thrush from the Himalayas, or Indian Pitta. Our tour has
been planned to encompass a variety of Sri Lanka’s habitats, from the
high cloud forest to its beautiful coastline, and we have a real chance
of seeing some rare and beautiful specialities, with the added interest
of Elephant herds, elusive Leopards, Star Tortoises, colourful lizards
and a dazzling array of butterflies. Sri Lanka is simply a delightful
Island, which has a good infrastructure and therefore allows nature
lovers to experience prime habitats whilst, generally, still being able
to enjoy good accommodation.
A fantastic winter birding holiday in the warmth of a tropical island
paradise!
Days 1 & 2: The tour starts with a flight from London to Colombo,
where we arrive in the early morning of Day 2.
On arrival we will be met by our ground agents and then transfer to our
hotel. During the afternoon we’ll visit Talangama wetland, a good site
for Black Bittern, Yellow Bittern, Watercock and other waterbirds.
Overnight - Colombo
Days 3 & 4: On the morning of Day 3 we’ll drive to the lowland
rainforest of Bodhinagala. Amidst this forest haven is an exciting
avifauna, including a number of endemic species and we will endeavour to
find: Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill,
Yellow-fronted Barbet, Sri Lanka Hanging-Parrot and if lucky, the scarce
Green-billed Coucal. Moving on to another part of the wet zone and the
Sinharaja Rainforest (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), will present us
with the opportunity to experience a fine selection of colourful and
rare species. On Day 4 we’ll spend the whole day exploring this
wonderful rainforest, whose birdlife includes most of Sri Lanka’s
endemics. The marvellous array of species present, includes:
Chestnut-backed Owlet, Orange-billed Babbler, White-faced Starling,
Malabar Trogon, Red-faced Malkoha, Scaly Thrush, Ashy-headed
Laughingthrush, the secretive Sri Lanka Spurfowl and the striking Sri
Lanka Blue Magpie. We will also attempt to locate the recently
discovered Serendib Scops Owl
Overnights – near Sinharaja
Day 5: A further visit to Sinharaja before leaving for Udawalawe
National Park, which may reveal many Elephants with young, and a number
of dry zone birds including Orange-headed Thrush, Coppersmith Barbet,
Yellow-wattled Lapwing, Changeable Hawk-Eagle and Malabar Pied-Hornbill.
Overnight - Embilipitiya
Days 6 & 7: On Day 6 we’ll explore Bundala National Park where we
may find Red-necked Phalarope, Great Thick-knee and hundreds of Greater
Flamingos. Later, en route to Yala National Park, we’ll visit the
wetlands of Debarawewa, Weerawila and Pannegamuwa, in search of
Black-capped Kingfisher, White-naped Woodpecker and Clamorous Reed
Warbler. In the afternoon we take a game drive in Yala N P, which is
home to Leopard, Bear and Elephant, as well as Black-necked Stork,
Lesser Adjutant and Sirkeer Malkoha. On the morning of Day 7, along the
hotel’s nature trail, which winds through a mosaic of habitats of
coastal lagoons, mud flats and shrub jungle, we may see migrant Indian
Pitta, Great & Eurasian Thick-knees, White-rumped Shama, Rufous-winged
Bushlark, Jungle Prinia and Blyth’s Reed Warbler. At dusk there could be
Indian & Jerdon’s Nightjars.
Overnights - Yala NP
Days 8 & 9: On Day 8, morning birdwatching in the hotel nature
trail before we head up into the hills, where more endemics await us.
After checking into our hotel, we’ll pay a visit to Victoria Gardens to
look for Himalayan migrants, such as Kashmir Flycatcher, Pied Thrush,
India Pitta and Indian Blue Robin as well as Yellow-eared Bulbul and
Dull Blue-Flycatcher. We’ll also visit a nearby wetland for Pallas’s
Grasshopper Warbler, Black-throated Munia, Pied Bush Chat, Common &
Pintail Snipe. On Day 9 we pay a visit to the cloud forest of Horton
Plains National Park to look for the endangered Sri Lanka Whistling
Thrush and a host of other superb species. These include Jerdon’s Baza,
Sri Lanka Hill Munia, Sri Lanka Hill White-eye, Sri Lanka Woodpigeon and
Sri Lanka Bush Warbler.
Overnights - Nuwara Eliya
Day 10: We’ll depart after breakfast and explore Kelani Valley
Forest for a further look at lowland specialities such as Sri Lanka
Spurfowl, Green-billed Coucal and Dollarbird, and as the dusk falls,
we’ll look for Sri Lanka Frogmouth.
Overnight - Kithulgala
Day 11 & 12: Morning birding on the Rafter’s Retreat nature
trail, looking for Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher and Brown-capped Babbler.
En route to Elkaduwa, we visit the famous Temple of the Sacred Tooth
Relic, at Kandy (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). In the afternoon we’ll
search a nearby forest for Chestnut-backed Owlet and Brown Fish Owl.
During the morning of Day 12 we’ll visit Simpson’s Forest trail, looking
for raptors, montane migrants and endemics, including Mountain
Hawk-Eagle, Pied Thrush and Kashmir Flycatcher. We will also visit a
variety of other habitats, which may reveal Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush,
Sri Lanka Myna and Black-shouldered Kite, amongst many other species.
Overnight - Elkaduwa
Day 13: We then move on to Sigiriya, from
here, we’ll visit the ancient Sigiriya Rock Fortress, looking for the
scarce resident Blue-eared Kingfisher, and venture out after dusk to
watch for Spot-bellied Eagle Owl, Slender Loris and Jerdon’s Nightjar.
Sigiriya is also excellent for dry zone birding and our hotel’s nature
trails offer great birding and have a checklist of around 135 species.
Overnight – Sigiriya
Day 14: After further local birding, we’ll transfer to Negombo
for a farewell dinner.
Overnight - Negombo
Day 15: Depart early morning for return flight to the UK.