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BIRDING TRIP REPORT:

Sri Lanka: Udawalawa, Tissamaharama and Yala areas

26 January to 9 February 2019

By Stephen Burch, England

Udawalawa area and NP

Drive from Sinharaja
After 3 nights at Sinharaja it was time to head east into the supposed dry zone. We had something of a lie in, as our departure wasn't until 08:00 for our ∼3hr drive to Udawalawa. We had a few profitable short stops along the way, to see Black-headed Cuckoo Shrike and later Black Eagle. We also had a brief but conclusive view of the first of many wild Indian Peafowls (or more commonly known as Peacocks!).

Centauria Wild Hotel
On arrival in the Udawalawa area, we arrived in time for lunch at the Centauria Wild Hotel where we spent just one night. This large hotel was in contrast to the small hotels we had mainly been in previously. Its roof had a good viewing area over the adjacent NP. In great heat, there were Brahminy Kites and White-bellied Sea Eagles to be seen over the large lake, and also an elephant that seemed to be getting closer and closer to the electric fence that marks the boundary of the NP near to the hotel. More of this later. Also there were a few Crested Tree Swifts and House Swifts flying around the hotel rooftop briefly. Note the latter are also known as Little Swifts elsewhere in the world and were not a lifer for me.

Area of scrub adjacent to the Centauria Wild Hotel
Around 16:00 we walked out of the hotel for some birding in the scrubland adjacent to the hotel, and just over the road from the NP boundary. This proved to be a good area with several new passerine species, including Sri Lanka Woodshrike (which was the last of the endemics we needed to see). Other notables included the spectacular Coppersmith Barbet, Asian Koel, Marshal Iora, Common Iora, Small Minivet, Purple Sunbird, Grey-belied Cuckoo and White-browed Barbet. We also saw a Painted Stork over and a Yellow-wattled Lapwing. In fact we saw more new species here in less than 2 hours here than in the Sinharaja Rain Forest in more than double that time!

Coppersmith Barbet	Sri Lanka Woodshrike

Common Iora

However our birding was brought to a sudden and alarming end when our driver spotted the Elephant, we had seen earlier, not in the NP, but on our side of the road and very close to us! Dhammi was very worried by this and instructed us to make a quick dash for the nearest cover which turned out to be an area of trees and bushes just by the hotel. There then followed a hasty scramble to safety through an electric fence and up a rough, overgrown bank into the hotel grounds. It transpired that Dhammi was highly concerned that the Elephant would have charged us, but it probably didn't see us and in the event there was no harm done. Just some rather shaken birders, guide & driver! It later emerged that the Elephant had been making a habit of this, to raid the sugar plantations opposite to the NP, returning every night back to the NP of its own accord through a gap or weak point in the fence!

This episode didn't prevent us going for a successful after-dark hunt for Indian Nightjar along a track behind a nearby hotel - interrupted by some villagers returning from the fields wielding machetes etc who frightened off the Nightjar that was not seen again. Somewhat concerned us briefly as well!

Udawalawa NP
Another early start this morning saw us in a jeep for a half day NP game drive at 05:30. With a local driver, we were able to approach the NP entrance by a side road that effectively bypassed the big queue on the main road. It secured us almost pole position for when the NP opened at 06:00. At that time, it was still dark but that quickly changed. The first lifer to be seen in the gloom was an unspectacular Jerdon's Bush Lark, closely followed by Plum-headed Parakeet and Jungle Prinia.

Sunrise in Udawalawa NP. Note the Indian Pea Fowl in the right-hand tree!	Early morning Jerdon's Bush Lark

Jungle Prinia (click to enlarge)	Black winged Stilt (click to enlarge)

The jeep used for this game drive gave some better photo opportunities than we had so far encountered on this trip, as many of the birds seemed oblivious of the vehicle. This was particularly the case for the delightful Green Bee-Eaters that could be approached much more closely than when on foot.

Green Bee-Eater (click to enlarge)

Other lifers seen before breakfast included Jacobin Cuckoo, as well as many other birds already seen such as these Alexandrine Parakeets and a Greater Coucal. A spectacular Malabar Pied Hornbill followed.

Greater Coucal	Alexandrine Parakeet

We saw several Crested Hawk Eagles as well during the morning, with this one being most approachable in a tree by the vehicle tracks, which the jeeps had to stick to.

Crested Hawk Eagle

The main target of all the other jeeps was Elephants, of which we saw several, one at particularly close quarters.  But an Indian Elephant viewed close up from a jeep is much less worrisome than the one we encountered yesterday when on foot! This family party coming to water hole made for a nice group photo.

Indian Elephant group drinking - note the young one between the two adults!	Indian Elephant

By about 09:00, we had made it to a parking area by a large lake. This was good for lifers and waders. Both Indian Stone Curlew and Greater Thicknee were seen around the water's edge using Dhammi's 'scope. In the water were Indian Cormorant, Oriental Darter and a Spot-billed Pelican in front of us. There was also an Indian Roller on a dead tree in the water . Plenty of familiar and some less familiar waders were around such as Common Redshank, Lesser Sand Plover, Marsh Sandpiper and Greenshank. Over the far side was a Caspian Tern and nearer to there were Whiskered and Gull-billed Terns. A very productive spot for a quick breakfast, although none were close enough for worthwhile photos.

The after breakfast period wasn't as productive, but Dhammi's eagle eyes picked up a scarce Sirkeer Malkoha and an Orange-breasted Pigeon. There was also this Shikra on a bush quite close to the track and Crested Serpent Eagle in a tree by the track. 

Shikra	Crested Serpent Eagle

At one point this Blyth's Reed Warbler suddenly and uncharacteristically appeared almost out in the open at the top of a bush.

Blyth's Reed Warbler

Tissamaharama 

After our morning trip to the Udawalawa NP, we returned to the hotel for lunch and then set out for our next destination - Tissamaharama which took about 1hr. Totting up the trip list at this point, I found I was on about 126 lifers, i.e. just 7 short of my required total of 133 to bring my life list up to 2000. Was this achievable later today I wondered?

Shortly after we arrived at our next hotel for two nights, we were out again at around 16:00 for some local birding. Dhammi greeted us with the exciting news that his local owl boys had found two species roosting - a Jungle Owlet and a Brown Fish Owl (which had been the main objective of my trip to Turkey in 2015!). So off we went in the minibus which dropped us off outside a house, where the garden contained the roosting Jungle Owlet - could hardly have been more convenient! It showed quite well for a time, although I was hampered by condensation on my lens due to the high humidity - a problem I remembered encountering in Singapore en-route to Australia in 2017. 

Jungle Owlet

The Brown Fish Owl was somewhat less straightforward and our first viewing point from the side of a river gave only very obscured views of the bird in dense cover on the opposite of the water. However we then tried a different spot, by which time the bird had flown into a clearer position, albeit somewhat distant well up on the far bank.

Brown Fish Owl

After this, we walked slowly along a track that bordered a good marshy area, and the lifers kept on coming. First up were some distant Lesser Whistling Duck, closely followed by Black-headed Ibis, Yellow Bittern, a distant partial view of a Black Bittern (that we missed in Australia in 2017), then a Pheasant-tailed Jacana. Finally the last bird of the day was a Watercock, that according to my bird recording software brought up my 2000th bird (using the IOC taxonomy)!

So mission accomplished for this trip - with a couple of days to spare!

Yellow Bittern	Watercock - my 2000th species!

Yala National Park

Today was scheduled to comprise a full day's game drive in the Yala NP. This is probably Sri Lanka's most visited NP - with most wanting to see Leopard and Elephant. In advance, we hadn't quite realised what a full days game drive would mean. Unsurprisingly with hindsight, it involved an awful lot of driving around in a  jeep on bumpy tracks which became somewhat trying for me at times. In the event we cut the afternoon session short so we didn't stay for the full 12 hrs that the NP is open for (with a further hr each way to reach the place)! On the positive side, although the weather was generally dull with some rain around midday, we did see a reasonable number of lifers and, as with the day before, photo opps were better than the rest of the trip.

With the 1 hr drive from Yala NP from our hotel in Tissamaharama to Yala NP, this involved another early start (departure 05:00) to get to the chaotic NP entrance for opening at 06:00. As yesterday, it was still dark when we entered the park and so we experienced another sunrise, although it quickly clouded over.

Lesser Whistling Duck - at dawn (left) and later (right - click to enlarge)

Yala has plenty of wet areas which attract water birds and waders in good numbers and variety. Early on, we had close views of this Great Thick-knee. Other waders new for the list were Little Stint and Kentish Plover. A distant Lesser Adjutant Stork was the first lifer of the day.

Great Thick-knee (click to enlarge)	Lesser Sand Plover

In a rare sunny spell, we were fortunate to come across a reasonably close Painted Stork. An Asian Openbill was also seen considerably closer than previously on this trip.

Painted Stork (click to enlarge)	Asian Openbill (click to enlarge)

In the drier areas, we had a glimpse of a local but scarce specialty - the Blue faced Malkoah, a fleeting view of a White-rumped Sharma and also this nice pair of Barred Button Quail.

Blue faced Malkoah	Barred Button Quail (click to enlarge)

Also in the drier areas, Indian Peafowl are abundant in Yala, and so I tried to capture their exotic splendor from the jeep.

Indian Peafowl (click right to enlarge) Indian Peafowl displaying (click to enlarge)

Between 12:00 and 14:00 driving isn't permitted in the NP, and so those on half day safaris need to depart before 12:00, and the afternoon drives must start after 14:00. Those staying for the full day, like us, have a 2hr wait at a quite pleasant spot by a beach. Unfortunately it rained for a good proportion of this period. When it stopped, I tried a bit of self guided photography around the area, with limited success. The only keeper I got was of this relatively confiding Jungle Prinia. The Green Bee-eater I was also stalking was a lot less confiding than when we were in a jeep! The Brown Shrike below was another jeep shot.

Jungle Prinia  (click to enlarge)	Brown Shrike

The after lunch period, although shorter, was actually more productive and we picked up Blyth's Pipit, Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark and a super distant Grey-headed Fish Eagle. I also got photos of these spectacular birds, both quite close to the jeep:

Indian Roller in a brief sunny spell  (click to enlarge)	Malabar Pied Hornbill  (click to enlarge)

Well what of the Leopards that most visitors are after? The general problem with these is that once one is spotted the word soon gets round and a huge queue of jeeps forms with everyone impatient to get a view. Hence there can be long waits for brief glimpses. However in the morning, shortly after our breakfast stop, we were fortunate to be in the right place at the right time when one was spotted, so we didn't have a long wait to see it. However we didn't get too long once on it, not that it was doing anything other than sleeping, facing away from us. But at least most of it was showing!

Later on in the morning, we were very close to having seen one approach a water hole and be chased off by Water Buffalo into a tree. Unfortunately when we got there only a few minutes later, the Leopard was in the middle of the tree with the Water Buffalo standing around aggressively nearby. We than had a protracted wait, which did provide some relief from the seemingly endless bumping around on tracks, in the hope it would get out of the tree and come back to the water hole in front of us. It didn't. We then head to the lunch place before the midday curfew!

Other animals seen included Grey-naped Hare, Land Monitors and some large crocs! 

Sleeping Leopard!	Water Buffalo

A large croc!	Grey-naped Hare

Land Monitor

Accommodation Details

© All pictures copyright Stephen Burch