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Sri Lanka: Island Endemics and More 2 – 13 November 2018

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Sri Lanka: Island Endemics and More 2 – 13 November 2018 SRI LANKA: ISLAND ENDEMICS AND MORE 2 – 13 NOVEMBER 2018 The endemic Chestnut-backed Owlet is one of our targets on this trip. www.birdingecotours.com [email protected] 2 | ITINERARY Sri Lanka: Island Endemics and More 2018 We usually find all Sri Lankan endemics on this tour. Sri Lanka is a picturesque island situated at the southern tip of India and home to 33 currently recognized endemic species. Sri Lanka is a continental island and had been connected to India for much of its geological past through episodes of lower sea level. Despite these land-bridge connections, faunal exchange between the rainforests found in Southern India and Sri Lanka has been minimal. This lack of exchange of species is probably due to the inability of rainforest organisms to disperse though the interceding areas of dry lowlands. These dry lowlands are still dry today and receive only one major rainy season, whereas Sri Lanka’s ‘wet zone’ experiences two annual monsoons. This long insularity of Sri Lankan biota in a moist tropical environment has led to the emergence of a bewildering variety of endemic biodiversity. This is why southwestern Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats of southern India are jointly regarded as one of the globe’s 34 biodiversity hotspots. Furthermore, Sri Lanka is the westernmost representative of Indo-Malayan flora, and its abundant birdlife also shows many such affinities. Our tour also offers plenty of wildlife viewing opportunities and is therefore also suitable for those with broader interests. The main focus, however, is on Sri Lanka’s abundant avifauna, including its 33 endemics. We aim to see 215-235 species of birds during this tour. We usually find all 33 Sri Lankan endemics, and so much more! The itinerary covers a variety of habitat types, including lowland, monsoon forests and cloudforests, grasslands, coastal mudflats, imposing riverine woodland, and forest. We do a fair bit of walking on our tour, particularly in the earlier stages, as we search for endemics and mixed-species flocks in different forest types. Our walks are gentle and slow-paced to enable us to spot and enjoy the birds. Accommodation As far as possible we use accommodation at or very close to the key birding sites to maximize quality birding time. Our tour accommodation includes guest houses, game lodges, and star-class hotels. Please note that the detailed itinerary below cannot be guaranteed as it is only a rough guide and can be changed (usually slightly) due to factors such as availability of accommodation, updated information on the state of accommodation, roads, or birding sites, the discretion of the guides and other factors. Itinerary (12 days, 11 nights) Day 1. Arrive in Sri Lanka and transfer to Kitulgala for two nights After your arrival in Sri Lanka, at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, we will soon set off on a three-hour journey to reach our first birding base, the lush lowlands of Kitulgala. The drive to Kitulgala will present a wonderful kaleidoscope of rural Sri Lanka with its verdant home gardens packed with jackfruit trees, coconut palms, and fishtail palms, scarecrows erected in paddy fields, houses newly built to ward off “evil eyes” of jealous onlookers, Buddhist temples with their egret-white stupas, small-scale vendors selling their king coconuts, ubiquitous tuk-tuks, billboards of national cricketers endorsing Coke, and aggressive ‘private busses’ blaring their obligatory Sinhala pop. www.birdingecotours.com [email protected] 3 | ITINERARY Sri Lanka: Island Endemics and More 2018 Roadside birding in Sri Lanka is refreshingly good. Blue-tailed Bee-eater, White-throated Kingfisher, White-bellied Drongo, Indian Roller, Sri Lanka Swallow, Scaly-breasted Munia, Brown Shrike, Indian Jungle Crow, Yellow-billed Babbler, Oriental Magpie Robin, and Ashy Woodswallow are often seen perched on wires. Though we will no doubt see them again and again, these wayside temptations will be hard to resist for some. The odd Crested Serpent Eagle and Changeable Hawk-Eagle, sentinels on posts, will almost certainly bring our vehicle to a halt. The more common waterbirds such as Red-wattled Lapwing, Indian Pond Heron, Eastern Cattle Egret, Intermediate Egret, Black-winged Stilt, and Asian Openbill will certainly not be ignored either. With all these leg-stretching stops it will be close to midday by the time we reach our overnight accommodation, nestled in a well-wooded garden and overlooking the Kelani River, the setting for the renowned 50’s Hollywood blockbuster, “The Bridge of the River Kwai”. After enjoying our first of many rice and curry lunches, we will commence our quest for the island’s endemics in the well-wooded garden of our lodge. The resonant call of Yellow- fronted Barbet is likely to demand our attention first – a common element in the soundscape of the wet Sri Lankan hinterland. The gregarious Orange-billed Babbler with its constant chattering will be easier to locate. A gem of a bird, Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot – with its specific name beryllinus named after beryl, a semi-precious stone found in Sri Lank – may require scope views to properly take in its scarlet forehead and rump patch against a greener body. Our night bird tally is likely to get ticking with the adorable Chestnut-backed Owlet at a stakeout. The well-wooded home-garden-type birding, combining several “patches”, will add a mouth- watering array of birds to our tally in the form of newly raised endemic Sri Lanka Swallow (perched views on wires), Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Square-tailed Bulbul, White- browed Bulbul, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Orange-billed Babbler, Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill, Golden-fronted Leafbird, Black-rumped Flameback, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Sri Lanka Hill Myna, Common Iora, Purple- rumped Sunbird, Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, Orange Minivet, Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Asian Brown Flycatcher, and perhaps Layard’s Parakeet, named after E. L. Layard, a 19th century British civil servant, who added an astonishing 136 species to Sri Lanka’s avian inventory. Scanning a particular tree, you may also get first glimpses of Sri Lanka Green Pigeon, which was formerly known as Pompadour Green Pigeon. At around 4.00 p.m. we will switch our focus to concentrate on this scarce Sri Lankan endemic, which, if bagged today, will ease off a lot of tension! This may require some discipline, but with patience it should cooperate. With all these we should easily have a tally of 50 or so birds for today, which will include a few goodies for sure. Overnight: Sisira’s River Lounge, Kitulgala http://sisirariverlounge.com/ Day 2. Full day birding in Kitulgala for lowland endemics and specialties Tea/coffee will be delivered to the rooms at 5:30 a.m. The Spot-winged Thrush may greet the new day with its rhythmic dawn chorus. And it may perhaps come hopping to find an easy meal at first light. The “pretty-dear” call, likely to be heard in the undergrowth, may betray a flock of Brown-capped Babbler, moving low. The Himalayan delight, Indian Pitta, might also be not too far, if you scan well. With more light of the day, the dawn chorus may peak with additional tunes of Green Warbler, Large-billed Leaf Warbler, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, and the above-mentioned thrush, with harsher greetings of Chestnut-backed Owlet. www.birdingecotours.com [email protected] 4 | ITINERARY Sri Lanka: Island Endemics and More 2018 Our morning’s birding will add a huge boost to our tally with the likes of Sri Lanka Drongo, Lesser Yellownape, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Black-naped Monarch, Black-capped Bulbul, Oriental White-eye, and Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill. The star bird of the day, however, perhaps is likely to be the diminutive Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher. Hopefully it may stay long enough to give us scope views to show its brilliant purple-shot orange and black plumage and vermilion beak and feet. At 7.30 a.m. we will break for breakfast. Thereafter, we will drive a short distance to cross the Kelani River, in a hand-paddled “dug-out canoe” fitted with an outrigger, to reach the Kitulgala rain forest in search of rarer gems. Foremost among these is the Serendib Scops Owl, discovered in 2001, and with an estimated population of only 200 - 250 birds in the wild. We will look for it at a day-roost. The ultra- secretive Sri Lanka Spurfowl may require patience, as it is highly wary of bipeds. Crimson- backed Flameback is also in this forest, and you may want to try for that too, as it can sometimes prove to be a pain! During the return journey we will pause at a patch to look for a roosting pair of Sri Lanka Frogmouth, which is a South India and Sri Lanka endemic. We will return to a slightly late lunch. In the late afternoon session, we will explore several patches in search of so-far missing specials. Overnight: Sisira’s River Lounge, Kitulgala Day 3. Drive to the endemic hotspot Sinharaja Rainforest for two nights After some early morning birding and breakfast we will drive to the amazing Sinharaja Forest Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which represents the largest expanse of lowland rainforest in Sri Lanka and the premier site for endemics. Under the euphemistic jargon “selective logging” this forest was subjected to clear-felling in what was the first mechanized logging project in Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1977, which was carried out by a Canadian logging company. The research following the halting of logging operations, due to public outrage, led to the recognition of its amazing wealth of biodiversity, and in 1988 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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