Sri Lanka Part 1: Kitulgala, Kandy, Udawatta Kelle forest, Horton Plains

Greetings. 

After my solo Panama trip (which was rather rough - with me getting 2 diseases and missing the main target bird by a shave), it was a nice change to have hired a private guide to organize everything for us and do all the driving, and to sleep in actual hotels without risking exposure to parasitic diseases, etc. Ramata found us a great outfit called "walk with Jith" and superstar guide Thilina Karunanayaka for this laid back yet somewhat hardcore birding and cultural tour. 

After a long 7 months and a 2 day journey (sleeping in 2 airports), I reunited with my better half. We set off on a Tuesday morning in Colombo. First we headed to another hotel to meet Jith, the company owner, who had a surprise waiting for us in the garden: 

 Indian Scops Owls

We headed toward Kitulgala, an area of hills known for its night birding. We bagged some beautiful endemics along the way.

Crimson-fronted Barbet (E)

Sri Lanka has 34 endemic bird species, making it an attractive choice for a 2-week holiday (just enough time to see all of them with a day to spare). The first main trip target was the Serendib Scops Owl, that one documented in 2005 which is shocking. Thili's strategy for this one was to meticulously inspect all known roosting areas during the day - which are usually low which is convenient. We participated in the search with full effort but to be honest we did little to help - I've heard it is quite common for clients who are less 'nimble' to wait by the trail while the guide goes into the bush, finds the owl, then brings the clients to the spot. It was inevitably Thili who took all due credit when he spotted 2 juvenile owls and an adult roosting nearby. We could have been chillin' on lawn chairs on the path sipping coconut cocktails and had the same chances of success but that's just not our style I guess!

Beautiful and cryptic - thinking like a Scops

I think we could have gotten better pics but chose to maintain a respectful distance so as not to spook these highly endangered owls - unlike many (most?) photographers who are absolute ANIMALS).  Crawling on my belly I was able to achieve a pretty satisfactory shot of the adult, but at a sacrifice...exposing my body to the ravenous land leeches of southern Asia. One can be seen on my throat in the pic below, while another successfully finished a feed in my armpit, the aftermath of which I discovered the following morning when my bedsheets were dotted with blood stains. The leeches' saliva contains anesthetic to reduce likelihood of being detected, and anticoagulant to allow them to ingest the blood rapidly. Ingenious.

baby Serendib Scops Owls!

Adult Serendib Scops Owl

Note the leech on my neck! 

Too late for this one

Thili accidently happened upon this green pit viper (E) while searching for the owls

The green pit viper was an amazing bonus as were more endemics: Red-faced Malkhoa, Green-billed Coucal, etc. Thili had seen Bay Owls roosting on this hillside as well, but that would require much more luck! A Sri Lanka Spurfowl cackled from the nearby bushes but seeing it was another matter.

We tried our luck at a nearby nest site for endemic Chestnut-backed Owlets, but quickly had to dash for cover under a rickety wood shack to avoid a sudden tropical downpour. We came back later that afternoon and snagged a beautiful owlet high up in the tree, looking very angry at us for disturbing it!

Chestnut-backed Owlet (E)

Another lovely Zoothera species, the Spot-winged Thrush

Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill

A long scenic hike in tea country got us our sole encounter with white-faced starling at Thili's special spot. The man was constantly scheming on how to secure the next endemic with his very strategic mind. "I like the way you think" I told him.

White-faced Starling (E)

We returned to the earlier trail at night, in an attempt to listen for the enigmatic Sri Lanka Bay Owl and the more ubiquitous Sri Lanka Frogmouth. It required us to take a small ferry service across the river like we were escaping the Shire from some black riders to get the the Inn of the Green Dragon.

The owls were silent but something landed on the tree: not a bird but an Indian Giant Flying Squirrel, not rare but seldom seen!

The owls remained silent but we heard quite a number of frogmouths. We tried pretty hard for them but with no success. Having resigned and en route back, a frogmouth suddenly blasted from right beside the trail. A quick spotlight revealed a male Sri Lanka Frogmouth, gray in colour, followed by a nearby female. We admired these strange, wide-mouthed and long-whiskered birds resembling an unholy union between a nightjar and an owl.

Sri Lanka Frogmouth (male)

Sri Lanka Frogmouth (female)

Next order of business was to locate the Indian Pitta and Asian Dwarf Kingfisher at a nearby garden (Sisira's River Lounge I think). The Pitta called from the shrubs but eluded a glance, while the kingfisher put required patience but eventually showed up with with a lizard, revealing a nest hole behind the bathrooms. It reminded me of the African Dwarf Kingfisher, minus the little black forehead.

Asian Dwarf Kingfisher

Giant Squirrels were common

Crossing over a walking bridge, the biggest lizard I've ever seen in my life swam under us - an Asian Water Monitor. It was nearly 3m long!

Asian Water Monitor

Then we had a cultural tour of the 'temple of the tooth' in Kandy, a magnificent palace purported to house one of the Buddha's teeth preserved for a couple thousand years. It was a very busy temple with locals coming to pray as well as tourists.

We had to remove our sandals to enter, but the pavement was BBQ hot so they had poured water over the tiles to avoid people burning their feet - quite literally. We finished off the day with a beautiful performance by the famous Kandyan dancers and a display of fire-walking.

I've spotted these iconic post boxes in a few former British colonies

Famous Kandyan dancers - a definite trip highlight

After Kandy, we proceeded up in elevation, spending a morning at Udawatta Kelle Forest. It was not overly impressive, although there was a huge amount of suspense while circumnavigating the pond for Brown Fish Owl. We did not find it, although we saw another Chestnut-backed Owlet and a couple of Indian Muntjack deer while running around chasing Sri Lanka Scimitar Babblers! 

A Crested Serpent-eagle warmed up by the pond

En route we got to see a parade for a buddhist celebration which takes place every full moon. They were proper decked out and even had 2 very smartly-dressed elephants!



Our peaceful hotel in Nuwara Elia packed us full of rice and curry with countless vegetable varieties. According to Ramata every hotel in Sri Lanka was "determined to make us fat."

While not my first idea of a birding spot, Thili took us to Victoria Park, which seemed too well-groomed to contain good birds. However, Thili is known for thinking outside the box. All the good birds were in a little wooded ravine full of garbage, sludge and rats. We sat in silence while a mixed flock surrounded us: Pied Thrushes, Kashmir Flycatcher, Blyth's Reed Warbler and Indian Blue Robin all joined the party and Velvet-fronted Nuthatch was snagged nearby.

Thili had arranged a special performance that evening. Not more famous dancers of Kandy but a rare and elusive endemic bird of course - the highly crepuscular Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush. The bird only reveals itself at the brink of darkness in the vicinity of heavily vegetated steep ravines. True to Thili's prediction, right at dusk we had a gorgeous male land in a tree, announce its presence with a high-pitched whistle, then fly over to the path and hop around for a good while.The headlamp revealed its difficult to see metallic blue shoulder patch. By the time we were done observing it, it was pitch dark! Of course Thili acted all like we might not see it and then got super excited when we did, later admitting that he pretty much knew it was gonna be in the bag...what a gangsta. 

getting bored during the stake-out

Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush, male (E)...well worth the wait! 

Next was off to Horton Plains, not a very Sri Lankan-sounding name at all, presumably after some colonizer. This beautiful and rugged forest was once home to pygmy forest elephants, but they were shot by British colonial hunters, we were told. Still remaining was a sort of island of highland moist forest interspersed with plains and moors, strikingly similar to the Albertine Rift in East Africa I thought! It then made sense that a species of Bradypterus warbler lives up here - with most of its genus found in East African highlands! The resemblance of Sri Lanka Bush Warbler to cinnamon bracken warbler or evergreen forest warbler in Uganda/Rwanda was uncanny. One of my favourite genera of warblers as they are so hard yet so satisfying to see!

Sri Lanka Bush Warbler (E)

Dull-blue Flycatcher (E)

Horton Plains (~2,500m) actually does have plains in the center of park, and epic views of the tallest mountains including Adam's peak - a famous hike to a temple. We didn't really have time to go there.

It took a good deal of hunting to get a good view of Sri Lankan Wood Pigeon, but eventually we got it at on of Thili's 'secret spots.' It was very peaceful away from the massive load of vans and cars conglomerating around presumably the one and only popular trekking trail around. I'd never seen anything like that, except at Yellowstone and Yosemite! 

Trekkers at Horton Plains

Sri Lankan Wood Pigeon (E)

A trip to the tea factory

Descending from the Horton Plains, we took a long and windy alternative through an area of rubber cultivation which didn't seem like much for habitat but was in fact one of Thili's 'secret spots.' The little ravines had enough native vegetation to support Scaly Thrushes. After loads of walking, listening for their thin, wispy whistle and being patient, we finally heard one at the limit of human hearing. Two of them were walking along a little stream. We needed to stalk them very carefully to get good views. It reminded me of of my first year floor-mate Dinuka Gunaratna telling me a story about seeing his first scaly thrush as a teenager, back when we were only 18. I figured I would like to make it to Sri Lanka one day, so Dinuka if you are reading this - I did it!

Can you spot the Scaly Thrush? 

Scaly Thrush (E)

It was later one evening that we had one of our most special wildlife encounters. It was one of those times when we had some free time and nothing really else to do so might as well go for an evening walk - there is always a chance we could see something, and we hadn't seen Gray-headed Canary-flycatcher so that provided an excuse. The flycatcher was easy, and we were entertained by a troupe of Toque's Macaques who had a tiny baby that seemed to be having some difficulty and none of the older monkeys were helping him!


A little further down, we were stopped in our tracks by a menacing Legge's Hawk-eagle resting at eye level! We watched it for a long time, hoping desperately for it to go for the baby monkey. It eventually did, causing pandemonium, but unfortunately it missed its target and flew off.

On the way to Tissamaharama, we stopped at the strangely named Surrey Bird Sanctuary which is sort of an outdoor meditation retreat that has owls. A beautiful Brown Wood Owl took a little effort to find while a Besra snagged a Purple-headed Sunbird.

Brown Wood Owl

Besra

Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler (E)

After a 5 hour drive, I thought the rest of the day would be mostly a write-off but I was wrong. Thili had been scheming again, calling some local 'village boys' who were working behind the scenes to get us some owls...

Panama west: Quest for the Unspotted Saw-whet

Alfred me asked why it was necessary for me to climb Mt. Baru just for one lifer (Unspotted Saw Whet Owl), a highly elusive species on a remote mountaintop accessible only by overnight hike, when I could easily go elsewhere and get a whole bunch of lifers relatively easily. "Because it will be epic" I replied. 

I started on the far western slope of the mountain, at the picturesque Los Quetzales ecolodge, a place I'd highly recommend although there were zero birders there during my stay. Their new years feast was epic - the rest of the food in Panama had been the most plain of any country I've visited.  The garden was chalked full of hummingbirds and other nice birds. 

Scintillant Hummingbird

White-throated Mountain Gem

Slate-coloured Flower-piercer

Los Quetzales lodge

My early morning mission was to try for Resplendent Quetzal on the Los Quetzales trail, a famous spot for them. But despite listening for the call along many km of trail, I did not locate any. It seems outside the breeding season they're super quiet and sedentary. I did however witness magnificent highland forest and a few of the special species. I especially enjoyed the Long-tailed Silky-flycatcher, Silvery-fronted Tapaculo and the Golden-browed Chlorophonia. By the ranger station a Fiery-throated Hummingbird stunned my senses with its ridiculous throat accoutrements, looking drab and black when perched in the shade but exploding into a ball of fire when foraging in the morning sun. Definitely the snazziest hummer I've ever seen!

Silvery-fronted Tapaculo

Golden-browed Chlorophonia

Volcano Hummingbird

Fiery-throated Hummingbird

After a couple of mornings there, I gave up on the Quetzal and drove to Boquette, where I needed to park the car somewhere safe while doing my Baru overnight hike. I asked around and it was difficult to find parking, before a helpful person suggested parking in front of the police station for the 3 days I'd be in the bush. That was a genius idea. The officer on duty assured me my car would be safe there!
So I got a taxi to drop me off at the eastern trailhead for my big hike. It was late in the day by the time I'd found parking, bought supplies, etc. so I didn't make it up the habitat on the first day, but it was super windy anyway. I camped in an abandoned rest area near the start of the forest which was infested with Dusky Nightjars which were hunting in the windstorm, about 4 of them.

I was up mid-morning to finish off my hike, which was quite grueling to be honest! Lots of switchbacks and a steep grade meant me resting frequently like an old man. Plus my pack was heavy with camera, water, wine, etc.

I made camp and took a trip to the summit, without the burden of my gear, and shared the wine with a stranger. The settled in for the long night, my only chance for the Saw-whet. I slept the rest of the afternoon, it was the most tired I've ever been in my life. I think it was the long flights, the solo driving, the recent tropical fever I'd had, and the 4 months of highly intense work I'd survived during the fall term.

I awoke at 10pm to the unmistakable sound of the still unspotted Saw-whet tooting away in the cold night. I was a little cold myself - I had lent my long johns and my down jacket to a foolish Canadian girl who had come up the mountain without a sleeping bag - only a sad little blanket for the night. I didn't want her to get hypothermia or have to spoon with her weird friend. I waited and tried gingerly coaxing it in with my phone (no speaker) but 1 hour of this had failed to produce the owl, despite it seeming to be extremely close a couple of times. Maybe my light scared it, and my bushwacking. It was impossible to get close without making a lot of noise while penetrating the thick bushes. Even the tree canopy was thick with foliage and drooping lichens, trying to spot an owl the size of a child's fist would not be easy. But I was super cold and creeped out that a mountain lion or jaguar was gonna jump me or something. I went back to my tent and decided to try again later. Two more times during the night I tried for about 30 or 40 minutes, but the quest ended in failure and me even more exhausted. Finally I heard bird song and the sunlight put an end to my failed quest. I hope some day I can return to the mountains of central America and get revenge on this evil little owl.

Since the hike up the eastern side had been rather boring, I decided to hike back down the western side until I hit a town, then catch a bus back to Boquette where my car was. It was a much more beautiful hike although equally grueling with lots of switchbacks again but with roots, rocks, fallen trees, etc. But I got a pretty sweet consolation prize: I lured in a spritely little Costa Rican Pygmy Owl with my phone, perched about 2 or 3 meters in front of my face and being attacked by a Volcano Hummingbird!

Costa Rican Pygmy Owl

Black faced solitaire: easy to hear, much harder to see!

The epic'new year's buffet' at Los Quetzales lodge

Finally some great food!

Unspotted Saw-whet Owl habitat

Baru summit

I found, and slayed, the perfect papaya

I had only one more morning left in my trip before I had to drive back to Panama City, so I chose the Pipeline Trail north of Boquette. It turned out to be a good choice because I linked up with some Danish birders and together we added many lifers to my list: Red-headed Barbet, Mistletoe Tyranulet, Talamanca Hummingbird, Smoky Brown Woodpecker, Dark Pewee to name but a few. After painstaking searching we finally spotted a drab female Quetzal by its dainty call. A local guide called John told us he'd heard the male but by the time we got there it had quieted down, possibly due to a soaring Ornate Hawk Eagle above. During the hike I had one of the most epic waterfall showers I've ever experienced with a rainbow of morning mist embraced my sweaty body.

The hike almost climaxed with a group of spotted wood quail, which sounded like they were 2 meters from our feet but we could not see them - they must have been buried under the dirt! I couldn't believe it. At last it was time to drive back to Panama City, one of the longest drives in my life because the speed limit on the national highway is 80km/h! I am not used to driving that slow on a highway and somehow got sniped by a speed trap from like 1km away going 108km/h, allegedly. Using google translate, I asked him if he could reduce the $100 ticket if I paid him on the spot in cash. He said $50 would do the trick and eliminate the need for paperwork, which could make my last day uncomplicated, without administration fee from the rental people, etc. Luckily I had a $50 bill left from my shopping outing in Boquette.

I didn't get to my hotel until 10pm and fell straight asleep. I had planned on visiting the metropark wich is THE place to get Rosy Thrush-Tanager and that endemic something something Tyrannulet, but I was so tired and lazy plus I'd already seen the RTT at Alfred's place so instead I just finished marking my grade 12 mocks and enter the grades while eating banana pancakes. It was actually a good thing I did that because one of my bags which contained the mocks (and a sculpture I had bought) disappeared during one of my layovers on the way home. I have no idea what happened to it other than when I got home, I didn't have it. Good thing I'd entered the grades! I had one day to rest before heading back to work, and I felt hardly rested from this 'holiday' if you can call it that! Getting diagnosed with Leishmaniasis a month later was a huge pain in the ass with the treatments and recovery, it left me reflecting on whether the whole trip was worth it, especially since I had spend way more money than I should have spent on a trip of that duration. I will almost certainly stay home next Christmas as it is just too expensive to travel! Anyway, focusing on the positives, I did have some pretty sick moments so here they are:

1. Hiking into the Darien with Isaac, one of the most untouched and wild tropical rainforests in latin America; seeing the majestic Harpy Eagle and the legendary Bushmaster. Too many bird highlights to list!

2. Slaying the ultra-shy Rosy-thrush Tanager in Alfred's yard after 4 hours of sitting motionless in the forest - while watching movies on my phone!

3. Hiking to the summit of Baru, even though I missed most of the alpine species like Unspotted Saw-whet and Volcano Junco, it was till worth it for the spectacular scenery.

4. Experiencing the world famous pipeline road for myself