Sri
Lanka, 20 February - 2 March 2018.
Kitulgala Forest Reserve, Sinharaja World Heritage area, Uda
Walawe NP, Tissa area,
Yala NP, Surrey bird sanctuary, Nuwara Eliya, Horton Plains,
Kandy.
Participants; Amaryllis Rice and Ann
Esmas from USA.
Tour leaders; Stijn De Win and Sri Lankan guides.
Photo preview only. Full tour text will follow. View our
tour bird list here(PDF
file).
On our tour page we promote Sri Lanka as a world
top-destination for birding. While advertizing may be easy
it is with great pleasure we could confirm our claim with
this tour; All endemics were seen well, specialities
performed and we added a few very nice surprise sightings.
Wildlife viewing was superb with Sloth Bear and Leopard top
but I should also mention great food and scenery, friendly
people, good accommodation etc. I certainly don't want to
put this all on myself, many thanks go out to one of the
very best Sri Lankan guides available making this trip such
a smooth run. Yes I understand words are easily written;
With this page I can only hope you may enjoy some
photo-proof of what Sri Lanka has on offer!
good for us to realize how difficult they can be to find, get good views let alone photograph! However, last
minute, at Horton Plains we connected with this pair. Brilliant especially with the female of which
not many photos seem to be available on the net. And credit to our excellent Sri Lankan
guide for stopping in the middle of the day when we thought odds would be
low, to not give up and get these highly wanted birds to perform.
--Sri Lanka Feb. 2019; Only 3 places available--
Best Sloth Bear sighting ever! Photo not cropped just couldn't fit the beast with the birding lens.
These little Owls are usually easier to find at Kitulgala forest rather than at Sinharaja NP.
and a happy lucky shot of the endemic Crimson-fronted Barbet on top.
The Sri Lanka Blue Magpies of Sinharaja are always a favourite.
no less than a couple Golden Jackal at Udawalawe and a big male Leopard at Yala.
Quality sightings is what it is all about in SL, and it really helps to get some fine opportunity shots along.
Let me agree on the blue, then recommend closing the book and come and watch one in Udawalawe.
It's going to just sit, closeby and allowing for excellent photographic opportunities
all from the comfort of your jeep safari chair.
And don't these inhabitants fit? Bear Monkey, the highland race of the endemic
Purple-faced Leaf Monkey looks quite different from the 'vetulus' race found at Sinharaja FR.
And a fine contender for "best Bulbul" also lives in the highlands only; Yellow-eared Bulbul.
added to the endemics tally. However only 1 individual was friendly enough to allow for photo opportunities.
Dark-fronted Babbler at Sinharaja.Indian Blue Robin at Horton Plains. A male, singing.
Purple-rumped Sunbird, posing just a few meters away in the garden of the lodge at Sinharaja.
I usually end up using lots of vertical space but I'm grateful this bird allowed for a horizontal expression!
This is a Spot-billed Pelican. To view more "lucky shots" visit our Sri Lanka tour page
visit in the year 2000. This time I brought my camera to make a portrait of... I'm not sure, Wood Owl child/grandchild. Or could it be the same old bird in the same spot?
On the right another great performance of the usually elusive (oh well??) Green-billed Coucal.
And it doesn't stop there, we had more "accommodation sightings". From the roof of our hotel at
Udawalawe National Park we could enjoy this vagrant Rock Thrush which was a first for Sri Lanka!
quite happy with the photo result thanks to this individual posing for us. Mix of location, fieldcraft and luck!
Greater Sri Lanka Flameback, unlike the Lesser (Red-backed) these aren't always easy to find.
Another common name for this Woodpecker is Crimson-backed Flameback.
Third place; Eagle/Kingfisher (unidentified)
Distant second place Painted Stork (for their "plastic appearance perhaps")
First; An extraordinary creation of mother Nature available in the wild in Sri Lanka!
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