Sri Lanka:  February 1 to 14, 2009

with extension options available for additional
wildlife watching and cultural and historic sites in
Sri Lanka

with John Drummond as Trip Host
and Supurna Hettiarachchi as the Lead Bird Guide

Trip Description:  

The main trip will cover a wide range of habitats and a number of key
birding spots in Sri Lanka, including the Sinharaja Rainforest (a
UNESCO World Heritage Site), the Udawalawe National Park, Yala
National Park, Bundala National Park, and the cloud forests of the Horton
Plains National Park.  We have also added several spots (including
Victoria Garden and others) to maximize opportunities for Himilayan
migrants.  We will spend nearly two full days in the Kithulgala area at the
Kelani Valley Forest Reserve, as well.   We have special plans to look for
Serendib Scops-Owl and the nearly all of the 33 endemic bird species in
the country.  The participants can expect to see 225 to 250 species on
the trip, of which 33 are endemic species and another 35 species are
range restricted near endemics.  We will take some time to enjoy views
of a a number of mammals (including leopards, Asian Elephants, and
more).   

Please contact us to request an excellent bird checklist and  for the
trip and ask about other wildlife and naturalist resources.  
Your Host and Bird Guide:
  • Supurna Hettiarachchi (“Hetti”) is one of Sri Lanka’s best bird
    guides and one of the best overall naturalist guides in the
    country.  He is one of the few bird watchers in Sri Lanka with well
    over three hundred species on his Sri Lankan bird list. Hetti
    spends most of his free time photographing birds, butterflies and
    flora in his own garden.  By the time of our trip, Hetti will have been
    the lead professional guide on numerous birding and wildlife
    tours for nearly eight years. Hetti is a confident naturalist with his
    ability to identify birds, butterflies, dragonflies, mammals and
    other wildlife.  Hetti has handled a wide range of clients that
    include professional wildlife photographers, film crews and
    journalists.  The June 2006 issue of the Birdwatch Magazine has
    a feature on Sri Lanka birding, and Marianne Taylor, who wrote the
    article, traveled with Hetti.  Jon Ashworth, former Business
    Features editor for Times UK, has appointed Hetti as a trustee for
    the “Yala Fund” which Jon set up to help victims of tsunami in
    2004. Clients normally regard Hetti as a person who is friendly,
    humorous and reliable.  His ability to filter out the bird calls of
    species already seen on the trip and then to tune in on those that
    trip participants are about to see has been a popular attribute to
    his skills.  Bird watching trip participants also appreciate his
    shared enthusiasm each time they see a new bird species.  

  • The trip will be hosted by John Drummond.  John is approaching
    6,500 bird species on his world bird list and has birded in 25
    countries (including Sri Lanka) covering  6 continents.  John has
    been a leader, co-leader or has advanced a number of
    international trips covering Australia, Jamaica, Japan, Sri Lanka
    and Thailand.  I believe John keeps field marks for over 6,000
    species in his head.  When birding with John, you will find that he
    is spotting constantly and finds birds through holes in thick
    vegetation which you may have missed.  John has a Ph.D. in
    Inorganic Chemistry from Southampton University, England, has
    extensive field experience on a number of bird studies, and has
    spoken to a number of Audubon and other ornithological groups.
To learn about our other great trips, click here.

For information about the
the price of these services, click here.

For more information, contact us at 1-888-203-7464 or
by email at travel@nestlingtours.com.
Small Group Adult Trip to Sri Lanka:  February 1 to 14, 2009
Brief Itinerary

February 1, 2009:  Arrive in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the early morning; after
transfer birding at Talangama Wetlands and other locations.
Feb. 2 to Feb. 4:  Sinharaja Rainforest:  Several great days of
bird watching for lowland endemics and mixed species bird flocks (average of 42
individuals in each flock).
Feb. 5:  Embilipitiya and Udawalawe National Park for dry zone birds and
elephants.
Feb. 6:  After a morning of birding at Udawalwe National Park, we head for the
Yala area and will likely spend the afternoon at the Tissa Wetlands.
Feb. 7: Yala National Park for birding and wildlife watching (leopards and more).
Feb. 8:  Morning birding at Bundala National Park and the rest of the day at
other productive birding locations in the area
Feb. 9:  Additional birding in Yala area in the morning, and then head to
Nuwara Eliya to visit Victoria Park in the afternoon to maximize opportunities
for Himalayan migrants.
Feb. 10:  Visit Horton Plains National Park for birding in cloud forests and
mountains.
Feb. 11:   St. Andrew’s Wetland Reserve and Victoria Park and other local
birding spots.
Feb. 12:  Visit Victoria Park or other good locations in morning before
heading towards Kithulgala and the Kelani Valley Forest Reserve (lowland tropical
rainforest).
Feb. 13:  Kelani Valley Forest Reserve
Feb. 14:   Birding in morning at Kelani Valley Forest Reserve before heading
towards airport.  Transfers for international flights by late afternoon for
evening departures.  

Extension Options Available:  For those interested in extending the trip and to
focus on more cultural options and some additional wildlife and bird watching,
please let us know.  We can arrange for an extension to the Kandy Area and the
Hunas Falls Hotel and then Sigiriya.

See longer version of the itinerary (starting on this web page to the left and
slightly below) for more details.
Tickell's Blue Flycatcher near
Kelani Valley Forest Reserve.
Chestnut-backed Owlet
by J. Drummond.
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Sri Lanka Blue Magpie
Photo by J.
Drummond
Blue-tailed Bee-eater
Indian Peafowl
Red-wattled Lapwing
Photo by J. Drummond
Nestling Tour's Covey of Adults
Itinerary for Sri Lanka

Flight In:
  • Most bird watching participants will leave North American on
    Friday, January 30 in the afternoon or leave Europe (and other
    locations) on Saturday, January 31.
  • Most flights arrive in the morning at 7 AM and as late as 9 AM.
  • Please contact us before purchasing your flight to assure that you
    will not miss any excellent birding.

Sunday, February 1, 2009:  Arrive in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the early
morning; after transfer birding at Talangama Wetlands.  
  • After early flights in that morning or the day before, the group
    assembles in Colombo, Sri Lanka at the airport.
  • After leaving the airport, we will drive just a few hours to our hotel.  
    Birding begins from the airport, but our first real birding opportunity
    will begin that afternoon at the Talangama Wetlands.
  • The walk along Talangama wetlands should be good for
    numerous water birds, and this is a good location to see Black
    Bittern and Yellow Bittern. This location is also a fantastic
    opportunity to see the critically endangered, western race of the
    Purple-faced Leaf Monkey.
  • The beach may also prove to be productive for bird watching, if we
    have time after the wetlands.

Monday, February 2:  Sinharaja Rainforest:  Just after lunch, we start
three great days of bird watching for lowland endemics and mixed
species bird flocks (average of 42 individuals in each flock).  
  • Anyone willing to get up with John and Hetti will enjoy some early
    morning birding along the beach.  A few good finds might include
    Little Tern, Whiskered Tern, Little Stint and Wood Sandpiper.
  • After breakfast, we leave for the Sinharaja Rainforest (A UNESCO
    World Heritage Site).  This drive does take 3 to 4 hours.
  • Our lodge is right outside the gates of Sinharaja Rainforest; so,
    we will likely find some good birds over lunch.
  • After lunch, we begin our search for lowland endemics and mixed
    species bird flocks in the Sinharaja Rainforest.  According to
    numerous studies, these Sinharaja mixed species flocks contain
    42 individual birds on average, making them the largest mixed
    species bird flocks in the world. The large flocks will give great
    opportunities to see Yellow-billed Babbler, Greater Racket-tailed
    Drongo, Ashy-headed Laughingthrush, Sri Lanka Crested Drongo,
    and Sri Lanka Rufous Babbler.  Birding highlights include Red-
    faced Malkoha, and the stunning Sri Lanka Blue Magpie.

Full itinerary continued to the right of the Rose-ringed Parakeet below.
Photo by J. Drummond
Spot-winged Thrush
Photo by J. Drummond
Nestling Tour's Covey of Adults
Itinerary for Sri Lanka Continued

Tuesday and Wednesday, February 3 and 4:  Birding
Sinharaja Rainforest and surrounding area from early
morning until night.
  • Each day will start with a early morning bird walk
    with Hetti and John.  Numerous opportunities exist
    near the lodge as it is right next to the Sinharaja
    Rainforest.
  • After breakfast at the lodge, we will continue
    birding and wildlife watching in the Sinharaja
    Rainforest and surrounding areas throughout the
    day.
  • With Hetti’s help, we should find Malabar Trogon,
    Green-billed Coucal and White-faced Starling,
    Yellow-fronted Barbet, Layard’s Parakeet and
    numerous other endemics and beautiful species.
  • As we continue to search through the large
    Sinharaja flocks, we may find Dark-fronted
    Babbler, Black-naped Monarch and other
    interesting species.
  • Other species worth searching out in the area
    include Scaly Thrush, Spot-winged Thrush, Sri
    Lanka Spurfowl , and Legge's Flowerpecker.
  • Over the several evenings, we will try for Serendib
    Scops-Owl and Sri Lanka Frogmouth.
  • Though we will not find all of the endemics here,
    we will get a good start as nearly all can be found
    at Sinharaja.

Full itinerary continued below and underneath the Spot-
winged Thrush.
Photo by J. Drummond
Photo by J. Drummond
To find out how this trip can
fit into your 2009 bird
watching travel plans, just
call Nestling Tours at
1-888-203-7464 or email us
at travel@nestlingtours.com
and ask for more.  We will
gladly send you a full
printable itinerary if the web
version does not meet your
needs.
Nestling Tour's Covey of Adults
Itinerary for Sri Lanka Continued

Thursday, February 5:  After finishing at Sinjaraja in the early morning, head
for Embilipitya and Udawalawe National Park.
  • Everyone will be welcome to join John and Hetti for some early morning
    birding in the Sinjaraja area before breakfast.
  • After breakfast, we will drive about 3 hours to Embilipitya.
  • The rest of the day will provide a start to our introduction to the dry zone
    birds at Udawalawe National Park.  The habitat is much dryer and the
    avifauna will include many new species, such as Little Green Bee-eater,
    Malabar Pied Hornbill, Alexandrine Parakeet, and Blue-faced Malkoha.
  • Besides adding to our trip list for birds, we will likely get excellent views
    of a herd of fifty plus elephants.
  • As the group is willing, we will likely bird until sunset and have a late
    dinner to maximize our opportunities at this location.  

Friday, February 6:  Dry zone birds in Embilipitiya area and Udawalawe
National Park (and elephants).
  • We will arrange for an early breakfast so that we can have an early start
    birding at the Udawalawe National Park.  We hope to find a few more
    key species in this habitat that we can only view from afar the rest of the
    trip.  Other interesting species here include Plum-headed Parakeet ,
    Yellow-fronted Barbet, White-browed Bulbul, Jungle Prinia, and Tri-
    coloured Munia.
  • After productive birding has slowed down that morning, we will head
    towards the Yala area.
  • After lunch and a two hour transfer, we will have the opportunity to bird
    the Tissa Wetlands (which are reasonably close to our hotel) or other
    productive birding spots in the area.

Saturday, February 7:   Yala National Park
  • We will spend the full day at Yala National Park so that we can go deep
    into the park in search of birds.  Some of the birds we may see here
    include Indian Little Nightjar, Yellow-eyed Babbler, Tawny-bellied
    Babbler, Yellow-billed Babbler, Chestnut-headed Bee-eater, Barred
    Buttonquail, and Grey-bellied Cuckoo
  • This is the best place in the world to find leopards, and spending a full
    day in the National Park will maximize our opportunities to see this
    elusive species and a number of key bird species, as well.
  • Birding will remain a focus.  In the wetter areas, we should find Lesser
    Adjutant and may get lucky finding Black-necked Stork.  We may also
    add Loten’s Sunbird, Indian Pitta and more to our bird list which will
    near or top 100 species for the day.

Sunday, February 8:  Bundala National Park and Other Surrounding Areas
  • In the morning, we will visit Bundala National Park for a bird watching
    and wildlife safari by jeep with an opportunity to see 150 winter migrants
    and other resident bird species.
  • At Bundala, we should see ten to fifiteen species of shorebirds and
    waders, and five species of terns, and seven species of herons and
    storks.  These birds may include Great Thick-knee, Pied Avocet, and
    hundreds of Greater Flamingos.
  • We will also look for Sri Lanka Woodshrike, White-bellied Sea-Eagle,
    Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Crested Hawk-Eagle, and Blue-faced
    Malkoha.  
  • That afternoon, we can continue at Bundala, but we may find other
    areas more productive for birding.  If we have not thoroughly found all
    the wetlands birds, we can return to Tissa Wetlands.  A salt pan in the
    Yala area includes a great opportunity to see shorebirds such as
    Curlew Sandpiper, Little Stint, Common Redshank, Common
    Greenshank, Little Tern, Ruff, Saunders’ Tern (with some luck), and
    White-winged Tern.  Other birding opportunities will also be considered.

Monday, February 9:  Additional birding in Yala area in the morning, and then
head to Nuwara Eliya to visit Victoria Park in the afternoon to maximize
opportunities for Himalayan migrants.
  • In the morning, we will have one last opportunity to go birding in the Yala
    area.  An early morning start may yield Indian Jerdon's Nightjar or Little
    Nightjar just outside the Yala gates.  With input from the participants,
    John and Hetti will figure out the best use of this morning birding
    opportunity.
  • By 10 AM and perhaps earlier, the group will begin its four hour drive
    towards Nuwara Eliya.
  • An afternoon visit to Victoria Park will be one of several opportunities to
    search for some of the difficult to find Himalayan migrants found here.  A
    few key Himalayan migrants include Pied Thrush, Kashmir Flycatcher,
    and Indian Blue Robin.  Other highland species, which can be found
    here, include Yellow-eared Bulbul, Sri Lanka Hill-myna, Sri Lanka White-
    Eye, and Dusky Blue Flycatcher.

Full itinerary continued to the right, just below the Tickell's Blue Flycatcher.
Photo by J. Drummond
Nestling Tour's Covey of Adults
Itinerary for Sri Lanka:  Continued

Continued from below and from the far left hand column.

Tuesday, February 10:  Horton Plains National Park
  • We will start before sunrise, as we head towards
    Horton Plains National Park (about a 45 minute drive
    from our hotel).
  • As the sun comes up, we will look for Sri Lanka
    Whistling-Thrush, Yellow-eared Bulbul, Sri Lanka White-
    Eye, and Dusky Blue Flycatcher.
  • The rest of the day we will continue birding in the cloud
    forests and mountains at Horton Plains National Park.  
    Some of the key species, we will look for include Sri
    Lanka Woodpigeon, Indian Pitta, and Hill Swallow.
  • Besides bird watching, we may find the endemic Rhino-
    horned Lizard, which was featured in Darwin’s studies
    on evolution. Mammal highlights include Giant Squirrel,
    Sambhur and more.
  • At one point, we will walk though the grasslands and
    Cloud Forests to a viewpoint known as World’s End,
    which is an escarpment with a over 2,000 foot drop.
  • If time allows and if it seems more productive, we may
    have another visit back at Victoria Park  for more
    Himalayan migrants.

Full itinerary continued below.
Nestling Tour's Covey of Adults Itinerary Continued from Above

Wednesday, February 11:  St. Andrew’s Wetland Reserve and Victoria Park and Other
Local Birding Spots
  • A number of opportunities for bird watching are present near our hotel and in the
    Nuwara Eliya area.
  • We will likely start early at Victoria Park, and then finish the morning at the St.
    Andrews Wetland Reserve.
  • Some of the birds we will try to find today include Kashmir Flycatcher, Pied
    Thrush, Indian Blackbird, Crimson-backed Flameback, Sri Lanka Whistling-
    Thrush, Sri Lanka Woodpigeon, Dusky Blue Flycatcher, Yellow-eared Bulbul, Sri
    Lanka White-Eye, and Sri Lanka Bush-Warbler.
  • We will also try a nearby wetlands for Pallas’ Grasshopper Warbler, Black-
    throated Munia, Pied Bush Chat, Common Snipe, and Pintail Snipe.

Thursday, February 12:  Kithulgala and the Kelani Valley Forest Reserve
  • Before leaving the area, we may take another early morning try at Victoria Park or
    other locations before breakfast (as is warranted).  If we have done well with
    finding some of the hard-to-find species, we may take an earlier leave for
    Kithulgala and the Kelani Valley Preserve.
  • After a 3 hour drive, we will arrive in Kithulgala and check into one of our two local
    area lodges and have lunch.
  • Please note that the group will be split between two lodges.  We are staying at
    one of the smaller lodges (with only four rooms) to assure our access to the
    excellent birding on their grounds in the early morning and as best fits our
    schedule.  This location was excellent for Sri Lanka Frogmouth and Chestnut-
    backed Owlet in the past.   The other lodge is close by, so everyone will have a
    chance to enjoy birding at this great location.
  • That afternoon, we will start to bird at the Kelani Valley Forest Reserve.  This is
    some of the only remaining altitudinal graded rainforest in the country, and our
    time here will be well spent.  
  • Some of the birds we hope to find here include Chestnut-backed Owlet, Green-
    billed Coucal, Brown-capped Babbler, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Layard's
    Parakeet, Black-capped Bulbul, Sri Lanka Small Barbet, and Lesser Hill-myna.   

Friday, February 13:  Kelani Valley Forest Reserve all day from early morning to
evening:  Tropical forest rainforest birding.
  • We will start early, birding the grounds of the Sisira’s River Lounge.
  • After breakfast, we will again cross the Hani River in a dugout canoe and reach
    the Kelani Valley Forest Reserve, rich in endemic fauna and flora. The Kelani
    Valley Forest Reserve is an ideal for any missed lowland endemics such as Sri
    Lanka Hill-myna, Spot-winged Thrush, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, and Sri Lanka
    Spurfowl, and Brown-capped Babbler.
  • The rest of the day we will spend birding at the Kelani Valley Forest Reserve, and
    we may try other local spots, including some time back at the Sisira’s River
    Lounge.

Saturday, February 14:   Morning in Kithulgala, and Afternoon Back to Airport
  • We will again bird the morning in the Kithulgala area, either taking advantage of
    the good local grounds at Sisira’s River Lounge or back at the Kelani Valley
    Forest Reserve.
  • It may make sense to leave earlier to try for the coast for one or two hours  before
    on our way to the airport.
  • At some point, we will stop birding and head to the airport (the trip takes 3 to 4
    hours from Kithulgala) to arrive in the late afternoon for our evening departing
    flights.  You can also purchase an extra hotel night, if you want to fly out the next
    day.
Extension Options Available:  For
those interested in extending the trip
and to focus on more cultural options
and some additional wildlife and bird
watching, please let us know.  We can
arrange for an extension to the Kandy
Area and the Hunas Falls Hotel and
then Sigiriya.
Photo by J. Drummond
Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher