Itinerary:

Sri Lanka is a delightful island situated in the southern tip of India just 6 degrees north of the equator. A continental island, it had 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, had been minimal. This insularity is likely to have occurred due to the inability of rainforest organisms to disperse though intervening dry lowlands, which still remain dry, receiving only one major rainy season as opposed to wet zone, which receives two monsoons. As a result Sri Lankan wet zone species are believed to have become ‘trapped’ within it for longer period of time. Long insularity, lot of rain and year-round warm temperatures can mean one thing- a bewildering variety of endemic biodiversity! This explains why South Western Sri Lanka and Western Ghats of S. India are jointly regarded as one of the 25 bio-diversity hotspots. This is considering it has lost 70 % of its original habitats and yet containing 0.7 % of the world’s known vascular plants and 1.3 % of the known vertebrate animals endemic to it. Sri Lanka is the western-most representative of Indo-Malayan Flora and its abundant birdlife shows many such affinities.

This exciting bird watching holiday focuses on the country’s 33 plus endemics, sub-continental specialties & migrants in addition to its great diversity of wildlife. The tour is operated during the best period for birding (Nov-April) when the northern migrant birds supplement the island’s resident avifauna and is most likely to produce good numbers and great birding. We aim to see 230-250 species of birds during this tour.

With game drives to Sri Lanka’s top national parks; Udawalawe & Bundala, you will see plenty of wildlife on this holiday including Sri Lanka’s big three; Leopard, Elephant & Sloth Bear. Additionally you could also see many dragonflies and damselflies, butterflies, reptiles & botanical highlights. Therefore the tour is also ideal for birders with broader interests.

One of the key attributes of this holiday is its high-quality interpretive ornithological & natural history guiding by Amila Salgado who counts over 19 years field experience in the wilds of Sri Lanka. He holds an edge over most guides offered by most competitors by also being conversant in many other aspects of natural history such as mammals, amphibians, reptiles, dragonflies, butterflies, fish, botany & related disciplines such as ecology, biogeography, & behavioural ecology. He is also passionate & knowledgeable about the culture is also licensed to guide in all cultural sites in Sri Lanka, which makes him a jack-of-all-trades. Amila will be flexible to accommodate your needs whether you are a birder with interests in natural history, photography, digi-scoping, culture or even high-browed scrabble! He will be with you throughout the tour looking into every aspect of the tour personally.

Amila will be flexible to accommodate your needs whether you are a birder who is also a photographer, digi-scoper, culture enthusiast or a post-dinner scrabble player.

The itinerary covers a variety of habitat types, which include lowland rainforests, well-wooded gardens, lily-covered inland reservoirs, dry-country big game parks, grasslands, scrublands, monsoon forests, coastal mudflats, imposing riverine forests & misty cloud forests. As such the tour combines a variety of local avifaunal zones and ensures highly profitable birding. There will be plenty of walking in this holiday particularly in the lowland rainforests, where we will look for the endemics and mixed-species bird flocks during the initial period of the holiday.

Our walks will be slower paced to enable better opportunity to spot & enjoy birds. Almost 90% of our walks will be on flat or gently sloping terrain. Amila will carry his Kowa TSN 823 telescope during most birding walks & will scope the birds that stay long enough for better appreciation. This will be particularly helpful for those new to tropics or not wanting to lug a telescope along personally.

Typical birding day will include pre-breakfast birding to catch the early morning activity, breakfast, longer walk before lunch, midday break for lunch & to ‘recharge the batteries` followed by an afternoon walk when it is less warm, which will almost always continue till dusk to include some crepuscular birding. Some owling will be done on certain evenings.

In order to save up precious birding time, a variety of accommodation is used closer to the birding sites visited with the aim of keeping the drive time to a minimum and to make efficient use of the time for proper birding. These include a colonial resthouse, a family-run guest house & several 3-5 star hotels. High quality of dining experiences complement great birding in this excellent holiday with a great range from fine-dining style western meals to eastern delicacies including Sri Lankan rice and curry. Your breakfasts will be English-styled but the more adventurous could also try local delights such as hoppers, egg hoppers, string hoppers, milk rice, roti and pittu.

This tour is ideal for couples and small groups. This itinerary could be further customized to fit your special requirements. If you are a couple and have booked the tour privately, there will be no other participants joining you at stage. This will ensure that will receive 100 % attention of your tour guide; Amila Salgado. Please note that the prices mentioned for 3-5, & 6 persons are indicated if you want to invite in others from your side.

The Tour

Detailed Itinerary

KITHULGALA Day 01

Arrive in Bandaranaiyake International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka and transfer to the lush lowlands of Kithulgala for endemics & sub-continental specialties. A 2-hour drive is in prospect to reach our overnight retreat at Kithulgala Resthouse, which overlooks the Kelani River. This was the setting for the Hollywood blockbuster ‘Bridge of the river Kwai’ filmed here in the 50’s and the photographs of the actors & the impressive wooden bridge constructed & later blasted off for the film are on display in the restaurant area.

Target species: 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 & Gold-fronted Leafbird, Dark-fronted Babbler, Orange Minivet, Square-tailed Black Bulbul, Lesser Hill Myna, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Indian Pitta, Forest Wagtail, Purple-rumped & Long-billed Sunbirds, Pale-billed Flowerpecker, Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Oriental White-eye, Lesser Yellownape, Rufous Woodpecker, Black-rumped Flameback, Asian Palm & House Swifts, Indian Swiftlet, Crested Treeswift, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Tickell’s Blue Flycacther, Green Imperial Pigeon, Black Eagle & Rufous-bellied Hawk Eagle.

Non-birding highlights: Dragonflies and Damselflies: Spine-tufted Skimmer, Pied Parasol, Black-tipped Flashwing, Asian Pintail, Yerbury’s Elf, & Shining Gossamerwing. Butterflies: Sri Lanka Birdwing, Clipper, Cruiser, Glad-eye Bushbrown, Plum Judy, Blue Bottle, Red Helan & Blue Mormon. Mammals: Grizzly Giant, Palm & Layard’s Squirrels.

Overnight: Kithulgala Resthouse is situated in the lush lowlands of Kithulgala overlooking the picturesque Kelani River & bird-rich Kithulgala Forest Reserve. The comfortable rooms of this colonial ‘rest house’ provide a peaceful setting for resting after a long flight as it is situated along a stretch of Kelani River with no rapids. The amply furnished rooms come with a fan & ensuite bathroom with hot & cold water. This Resthouse is excellent for trying Sri Lankan meals such as rice and curry, string hoppers, but if it is too early for curry, you can also opt for western type meals.

KITHULGALA Day 02

Full day explore Kithulgala for lowland endemics & specialties with a midday break.

SINHARAJA Day 03

Drive to Sinharaja Rainforest for endemics. After this excellent introduction to the island’s avifauna, we will drive to Sinharaja World Heritage Site 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; Martin’s Simple Lodge, Sinharaja, which overlooks the virgin rain forest – just 200m from the forest’s main entrance.

Target species: Highlight of birding in Sinharaja is seeing mixed species bird flocks, which is a unique strategy adopted by birds in the tropics to maximize feeding efficiency and to reduce the risk of predation. Studied since 1981, Sinharaja’s bird flocks are the world’s longest studied bird flock. On average, 12 species occur in the flocks comprising of 42 individuals. Orange-billed Babbler and Sri Lanka Crested Drongo are found 92 % & 89 % respectively of the flocks and they jointly form the ‘nuclear-species’ of the flock. Other highlights will 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 & Red-winged Crested Cuckoo.

Non-birding highlights: Dragonflies: Asian Skimmer, Marsh Skimmer, Sapphire Flutterer, Wall’s Grappletail, Dark-glittering Threadtail, & 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, & Tree Nymph., Botany: Ant plant, 45m canopy giants such as Dipterocarps & Shoreas sp. & Bamboo orchid., Mammals: Purple-faced Leaf Monkey, Slender Loris, Giant Squirrel, Layard’s Squirrel, & Dusky-striped Squirrel.

Overnight: Martin’s Simple Lodge – This family guest house situated just 200 m from the park’s entrance is run by Martin Wijesinghe a local villager who had assisted many scientists for field work when scientific studies of Sinharaja were started in the 70’s & 80’s. Consequently he is blessed with an encyclopaedic knowledge of the fauna and flora of the forest, which he willingly shares. Martin has put up several rooms to accommodate guests and they provide rustic but nevertheless comfortable base for serious nature explorers who would like to stay close to the forest. Some of those rooms now come with hot water. His restaurant and balcony offers spectacular views of the primary forest. Martin provides tasty Sri Lankan meals cooked by a team of his daughters.

SINHARAJA Day 04-05

Full day birding in Sinharaja for lowland & peripheral patches for endemics/mixed species bird flocks.

UDAWALAWE Day 06

Morning explore several patches in the periphery of the reserve before driving to the dry lowlands of Udawalawe National Park where a totally different avi-fauna await us. We will first reach our cosy accommodation, Safari Village Hotel, Udawalawe for check in, lunch and a brief rest. ‘open topped’ safari jeep and drive up to our campsite inside the Udawalawe National Park, which lies by the side of the Walawe River under a stand of an imposing Dry Zone Riverine Forest. En route, we will be urged to make regular birding stops. We will explore this excellent national park comprising of open grasslands interspersed with shrubs & trees in open-topped safari jeeps in the afternoon.

Target species: Sri Lanka Woodshrike, Blue-faced & Sirkeer Malkohas, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Green Bee-eater, Coppersmith Barbet, Yellow-eyed & Tawny-bellied Babblers, Indian Robin, Brown Fish Owl, Rosy Starling, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Jungle Prinia, Baya & Streaked Weavers, Black-headed Munia, Indian Silverbill, Plum-headed Parakeet, Oriental Darter, Paddyfield & Blyth’s Pipits, Jerdon’s Bushlark, Oriental Skylark, Lesser Cuckoo, Grey-bellied Cuckoo, Orange-headed Thrush, Barred Buttonquail, ‘Indian’ Red-rumped Swallow, White, Yellow & Citrine Wagtails, Pied Kingfisher, Spot-billed Pelican, Wooly-necked Stork, Lesser Adjutant & Painted Stork, Pallid & Marsh Harriers, White-bellied Sea Eagle, Crested Hawk Eagle, Common Kestral, Black-shouldered Kite & Grey-headed Fish Eagle.

Non-birding highlights: Dragonflies: Variable Flutterer, Dancing Dropwing, Wandering Glider, Foggy-winged Twister, Scarlet Basker, Blue Percher, & 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, & Psyche., & Mammals: Asian Elephant, which is present in fair numbers in this park, Golden Jackal, Wild Boar, Wild Buffalo, Ruddy Mongoose, & Spotted Deer.

Overnight: Situated just 15 minutes from the entrance of Udawalawe Park, Safari Village Hotel is the perfect base to retreat after an enjoyable game drive. The hotel rooms come with fan, en suite bathroom with hot & cold water & private balcony. The mainly Chinese style meals will provide a welcome change from the Sri Lankan meals we have been having so far. The hotel’s well-wooded garden offers good birding.

TISSAMAHARAMA Day 07

Drive to Tissamaharama for wetland birds. En route pause at a local restaurant for lunch and some dry zone forest birding on foot. Thereafter we will proceed to Priyankara Hotel, Tissamaharama (aka Tissa!). for three nights. Late afternoon we will visit a combination of local wetlands in Tissa for waterbirds.

Target species: 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 & Yellow-wattled Lapwing.

Non-birding highlights: Dragonflies: Common Bluetail, Painted Waxtail, Yellow Waxtail, Pruinosed Bloodtail, Sombre Lieutenant, Pink Skimmer, & Paddyfield Parasol., Butterflies: Common Pierrot, Red Pierrot, Metallic Cerulean, Tiny Grass Blue, & Common Lascar. Reptiles: Common & Green Garden Lizards, Land & Water Monitors & Mugger Crocodile.

Overnight: Priyankara Hotel is a comfortable base to explore the bird-rich wetlands of Tissamaharama & Bundala National Park. The amply furnished A/C rooms come with ensuite bathroom with hot & cold water, fan & TV. The hotel offers excellent choice of food. The hotel has a well stocked bar. A pool will be available by summer 2007.

BUNDALA/YALA/TISSAMAHARAMA Day 08

Morning visit Bundala National Park, which is the first RAMSAR wetland in Sri Lanka comprising of large extents of dry forests & mud flats for shorebirds. Thereafter, we will retreat to our air-conditioned comforts of Priyankara Hotel for a midday break and to chill by the pool. After recharging our batteries, we will explore the wilderness expanse of Yala National Park. Yala comprise of a bewildering array of habitats including monsoon forests, scrub jungle, mud flats, lagoons, riverine forests, reed & lily covered inland fresh-water bodies, open grassy plains, inselberg, & rock outcrops. Consequently, these rich ecosystems harbour a rich diversity of wildlife, which makes Yala the premier National Park in Sri Lanka. Yala Block 1 comprising of 141 sq.km. has close to 40 individual Leopards identified by their unique facial spot patterns, which makes this area, a hotspot with probably the highest density of Leopards anywhere in the world. We will three exciting visits to this magnificent National park including this visit to explore

Target species: Western Reef Egret, Red-necked Phalarope, Small Pratincole, Little Heron, Garganey, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveller, Caspian, White-winged, Whiskered, Common, Large Crested & Lesser Crested & Little Terns, Indian Cormorant, Brown-headed Gull, Greater Flamingo, Great and Indian Thick-knees, Curlew, Marsh, Wood & Green Sandpipers, Lesser & Greater Sand Plovers, Little-ringed Plovers, Black-necked Stork, Common Hoopoe, Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark, Yellow-crowned Woodpecker & Ashy Drongo

Non-birding highlights: Mammals: Spotted deer, Wild buffalo, Wild Boar, Hanuman Langur, Toque Macaque, Stripe-necked & Ruddy Mongooses & Jackal. Reptiles: Mugger Crocodile.

YALA/TISSAMAHARAMA Day 09

Morning visit Yala National Park with packetted breakfasts. We will thereafter retreat to our air-conditioned comforts of Priyankara Hotel during the midday as the previous day. After lunch and rest, we will explore a combination of patches known to Amila to bag some high-value targets, which include the newly rediscovered breeding resident; Marshall’s Iora, which was recorded in a couple of birding tours led by Amila probably for the first on a Sri Lankan birding tour involving overseas bird watchers.

Target species: Same as Days 6-8.

NUWARA ELIYA Day 10

After breakfast, we will say goodbye to the friendly staff at Priyankara Hotel and drive up to the cooler hills of Nuwara Eliya where several montane endemics await us. En route, we will make several strategic stops for more high-value targets. These include Brown Wood Owl and the montane endemics; Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon & Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush. Thereafter, we will reach our cosy overnight retreat for two nights; Alpine Hotel, Nuwara Eliya.

Target species: Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush, Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon.

Overnight: Alpine Hotel is situated just 10 minutes walking distance from Victoria Park, which is a popular birding site in Nuwara Eliya. The well furnished hotel rooms offer a heater, TV & ensuite facilities. The hotel offers excellent food & friendly service.

NUWARA ELIYA Day 11

In the morning we will combine several of Amila’s ‘patches’ to bag the remaining montane targets. After a midday break for lunch and rest, we will explore Victoria Park which is a fine urban park established in 1897 to commemorate the 60th 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. In the evening, we will go out for dinner tonight to St Andrew’s Hotel, Nuwara Eliya to enjoy a five-course fine dining style dinner.

Target species: Sri Lanka Bush Warbler, Yellow-eared Bulbul, Dull-blue Flycatcher, Sri Lanka White-eye, Kashmir Flycatcher, Pied Thrush, Indian Blue Robin, Forest & 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, newly spit Himalayan Buzzard & the potential splits; Indian Blackbird & Black-throated Munia & if patient; Slaty-legged Crake.

Non-birding highlights: Dragonflies: Triangle Skimmer, Red-veined Darter,, Mammals: Sambar & 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 & Dwarf Chameleon.

KANDY Day 12

After an enjoyable birding breakfast, we will drive to Kandy (477m), the cultural-epicentre where age-old rituals continue at the 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 we will pause at a tea factory to see the newly-split Hill Swallow, which nests inside the factory. Here, we could also briefly get a free guided tour of the factory to see the production process of the famous ‘Ceylon tea’. After a good cuppa we will reach our accommodation; Hotel Suisse, Kandy. In the afternoon we will explore the ‘world heritage’ city of Kandy for a brief city tour. Thereafter we will explore one of Amila’s patches for birding in the afternoon to bag any missing targets. Those who are keen may also visit the historic Temple of Sacred Tooth Relic, which houses the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha for a cultural diversion before dinner and overnight stay.

Target species: Hill Swallow, Lesser Hill-myna, Rufous-bellied Hawk Eagle, Yellow-fronted Barbet, Layard’s Parakeet, Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler, Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon, Black-naped Monarch, White-browed Fantail, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Black Eagle, Crested Hawk Eagle, Besra, & Plum-headed Parakeet.

Overnight: Hotel Suisse is situated smack in the middle of the ‘World Heritage’ city of Kandy which is also the second largest one in Sri Lanka. The hotel was used as the Headquarters of the South East Asia Command under Lord Louis Mountbatten during the World War-2 but its actual history run to the 17th century! This three-star hotel comes with air-conditioned rooms with hot/cold water, large swimming pool, decent shopping arcade, large restaurant, & bar.

KATUNAYAKE Day 13

After breakfast we will visit 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 namely the potential split; Common Hawk Cuckoo. A noisy colony of Giant Fruit bats will be hard to ignore and we could see them in their thousands in several large trees closer to the river close by. It will be fun to see their constantly squabbling over landing rights. Thereafter, you will have time to optionally hunt for some bargains in Kandy before we make our way to our final accommodation of this tour; the luxurious Taj Airport Garden Hotel, which is a 5 star transit hotel just 10 minutes from the Airport. If time permits, en route, we will optionally visit Amila’s local patch and home garden for a cuppa and to see his local delights, which may include a few surprises. We will make our final log of the checklist before enjoying our farewell dinner in the hotel’s specialty Chinese restaurant. You will be transferred to the Airport later tonight or early hours of the following day for departure.

Target species: We will seek for improved views of the potential split; 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 & 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 such as Giant Fruit Bat aka Flying fox & botanical attractions including Giant Jawa Fig, which covers an area of 1,600 sq.ft, Double coconut, Drunken Pine avenue, Cannon-ball tree & orchid house in the Royal Botanical Gardens.

Overnight: Taj Airport Garden Hotel is a 5 star transit hotel situated just 10 minutes from the Bandaranaiyake International Airport and is our preferred retreat after a long flight. Standard rooms provide satellite television, safety lockers, e-mail and internet connections, 24 hour room service, a mini bar and in-house & laundry facilities. The hotel offers a 24-hour Coffee Shop, business centre & 2 restaurants which include a specialty Chinese one. The hotel gardens and a small wetland adjoining offers decent birding.

DEPARTURE Day 14

Departure.