Birds and Big Game Drives in Sri Lanka

Birds and Big Game Drives in Sri Lanka . Day 01: Colombo. Arrival in Sri Lanka and transfer to the Galle Face Hotel, Colombo, for one night.

Day 02: After breakfast leave for Jetwing Lighthouse, Galle for two nights. En route take a walk along the Dutch Fort (UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Day 03: Morning, drive with your naturalist to the Mirissa Fishery's Harbor and start your journey to the sea in a spacious and comfortable boat. Blue Whales in concentrations not seen elsewhere in the world would be the highlight of the day. A concentration of blue whales of this nature is something, which whale watchers can only dream about. During the migration, Blue whales are seen relatively close to shore, as the continental shelf is narrow to the South of Dondra. After seeing the blue whales, your naturalist will take you further out to sea look for sperm whales. Even sperm whales sometimes come within a few kilometers of shore.

DAY 04 Another visit to the sea with focus on Dolphins, on a lucky day you will have the treat of observing more than five hundred dolphins having a siesta. The long-snouted spinners are a treat to watch in action.

DAY 05 Transfer to Tangalle Bay Resorts, Tangalle for one night.

Visit the Turtle Conservation Project in Rekawa.

Day 06: Yala. After breakfast leave for Yala Village Hotel, Yala for three nights.

Jetwing Eco Holidays 1 "Specialists in Birding & Wildlife Travel” For the latest in bird sightings visit www.jetwingeco.com Yala National Park. Research on leopards in Yala Block 1 has shown it has one of the highest densities of leopards in the world. Yala is the best place in Asia to see leopards. Other large animals you may see include Elephant, Sloth Bear, Mugger Crocodile, Spotted Deer, Sambhur, Barking Deer, Wild Boar, Wild Buffalo, Jackal, Grey Langur and Mongoose.

Day 07: Yala NP. Morning and afternoon safari at Yala National Park.

DAY 08: Morning visit Bundala National Park in safari jeeps. Bundala is a fascinating wetland home for 150 species of winter migrant and resident birds. The park is accessed in safari jeeps. The highlight would be large flocks of Greater Flamingos, which could number upto a few hundred. Bundala is the only ‘Ramsar’ wetland of Sri Lanka. Among the larger water birds you could also see Lesser Adjutant, Painted Stork, Asian Openbill, Eurasian Spoonbill, Black-headed Ibis and Wooly-necked Stork. Waders that can be seen at Bundala include Pacific Golden, Lesser Sand and Greater Sand, Little Ringed, Kentish and Little Ringed Plovers, Little Stint, Marsh, Common, Wood and Green Sandpipers. You could also see the two odd-looking Eurasian Thick-knee and Great Thick-knee in addition to Eurasian Curlew, Black tailed Godwit, Common Snipe, Red-necked Phalarope, Pintail Snipe and Ruddy Turnstone. Afternoon visit Tissamaharama for the rare White-naped Woodpecker. Also visit Debarawewa and other close by tanks. We look for Watercock, Common Moorhen, Purple Swamphen, Asian Openbill and Spot-billed Pelican.

Day 09 : After breakfast leave for Rain Forest Edge Hotel/Boulder Garden , Sinharaja for three nights.

Day 10 & 11: Full day birding and trekking at Sinharaja Rainforest. (A UNESCO World Heritage Site) for lowland endemics and mixed species bird flocks. According a study of the mixed species bird on average 42 individual birds occur in the flocks, which makes this the world's largest mixed species bird flock. The mixed species Bird flock study of Sinharaja forest has been continuing since 1981 and is considered as the World's longest studied bird flock study. Birding highlights include Red-faced Malkoha, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, White-faced Starling and Scaly Thrush.

Day 12: After breakfast leave for St. Andrew’s Hotel, Nuwara Eliya for two nights.

Afternoon at leisure.

Day 13: Morning, visit Horton Plains National Park to see Cloud Forests and rare montane fauna, which include the endemic Rhino-horned Lizard, which was featured in Charles Darwin's monumental work on evolution, Bear Monkey, Giant Squirrel and Sambhur. Walk though the grasslands and Cloud Forests to a popular viewpoint know as World's End, which is an escapement with a 870 m drop. We also look for endemic birds Yellow-eared Bulbul and Sri Lanka Hill White-eye and Dull blue Flycatcher. Afternoon, visit Hakgala Botanical Gardens. Here we look for the highland races of Purple-faced Leaf Monkey and Toque Macaque. The Toques brim with self-confidence and may approach visitors!

Day 14: After breakfast proceed to Jetwing Sea Hotel, Negombo for one night.

Day 15: Transfer to the airport for departure

Contact details: Reisleider Stichting Vogelreizen Janus Verkerk 06-21253594 [email protected]

Jetwing Eco Holidays 2 "Specialists in Birding & Wildlife Travel” For the latest in bird sightings visit www.jetwingeco.com Jetwing Eco Holidays 3 "Specialists in Birding & Wildlife Travel” For the latest in bird sightings visit www.jetwingeco.com