Sri Lanka Part 3: Sinharaja Rainforest

With some sick species under our belt we drove to Sinharaja Rainforest, the crown jewel of Sri Lanka. Barely saved from logging in the 70's due to its hilly topography and inaccessibility, it is a unesco biosphere reserve and absolute treasure trove of endemics. In fact, between 60 and 80 percent of the plants are endemic and 20 of Sri Lanka's 26 endemic birds live here. 

We had some tough targets ahead us, which we strategically took down one-by-one. It turns out all rare Sri Lankan special birds love eating cooked rice. So a rice feeder was duly staked out for Blue Magpie and soon we had a group coming, announcing their presence with loud screams! 

At night, we walked to a village from our hotel, where a lady described to Thili a "very scary" sound she'd heard in front of her house in the middle of the night, coming from the bushes. In fact from her description it sounded like it could have been a Bay Owl, which would have been pretty crazy. Thili instructed her to call him immediately if she heard it again! A try for Forest Eagle-Owl went without success. 

Our first morning in Sinharaja could not be wasted, which is why we got straight to task with one of the trickiest of endemics, the Sri Lanka Spurfowl, at a nearby blind that had been set up. The blind was a new one because they stopped going to the traditional one (which had become well-known). It consisted of a tarp with some slits cut out for taking pictures, and a plank for sitting on. After a couple of hours we got super bored of sitting there in silence and figured we'd try somewhere else, when the guide from the other tour group called Thili and told us to hurry our asses back to the blind because the Sri Lanka Spurfowl were feeding! Man, we left 1 minute too early. The pair stayed a while, screaming loudly and pecking discreetly at the rice (unlike the Junglefowl which were greedily gulping it down and throwing it everywhere). They retreated into the dark forest, leaving us with a memory of a lifetime. 

SRI LANKA SPURFOWL!!!!!!!

Riding the high, we spend the bulk of the day searching for the Ashy-headed Laughingthrush, our last tricky endemic. We walked many km on various different trails but no sign of this scarce bird. During a long period of boredom putting one foot in front of the other, a feeding flock approached, invariably led by the fearless Sri Lanka Crested Drongo. The flock moved away from the trail though, up a steep slope, and we lost it. So, we ran back to a junction and took a different trail up a steep hill, in an attempt to flank the flock. We thought we'd lost it for sure but still stood for about 10 minutes, listening. Then the park ranger and Thili detected the faintest of distant calls in the distance, which they figured to be the laughingthrush (although the orange-billed babblers sound almost the same). We quickened our pace in their direction and as we got closer, entered stealth mode, moving very slowly and carefully to avoid spooking them. With patience, we all had superb views of a dozen Ashy-headed Laughingthrushes foraging in the understory to mid-levels in a mixed flock with babblers. 

A pitcher pant 'tree'

A harmless (2m long) Rat Snake

Malabar Trogon

Ashy-headed Laughingthrush!!!

The only endemic left was then Legge's Flowerpecker. First, we headed to Martin's Lodge for an epic lunch and jackfruit (not sure about the salt and pepper though?). During lunch we were entertained by acrobatic Blue Magpies snagging some tasty-looking red berries in the garden. 

When you work your ass off at your job like I do, it is critical to enjoy life's sweet nectar to the last drop! 

We walked up to a small museum which was unattended except by a pair of Heart-faced Monkeys which were adorably cute and agile. 

Heart-faced Monkeys

Legge's Flowerpecker

Tiger Beetle sp.

We found our Forest Eagle-Owl, but looking worse for wear. 

Forest Eagle-Owl

It was part of a collection of preserved specimens in jars of formaldehyde or alcohol, some of the with the lid held on by a rock! 

As the sun set on this epic day, we tried the village again for Forest Eagle-Owl but with no luck, although a phantom-like flash of a dark shape did slip over our heads Thili's peripherals, making no sound but almost certainly was an Eagle-Owl attracted by our calls. We went back to the hotel for dinner but Thili still had epic plans for us...

After sleeping for an hour we met in the driveway with our flashlights and bins, minus Ramata who prefered to sit this one out. It was going to be a long night, for we were going for the Bay Owl. I was already epically tired and I slept in the back seat for the entire 45 minute drive. Thili's ranger friend joined us since he might come in handy should anything happen. The next thing I remember was Thili waking me up frantically saying "BAY OWL, BAY OWL, BAY OWL." Which made me instantly fully alert. These kinds of moments are once in a lifetime. 

There we were, bushwacking up a steep slope in the rainforest in the dead of night, hoping not to brush up against a pit viper or something, but not caring. Thili was adamant about keeping the lights off, which he kept reminding his ranger friend and I. The light of one cell phone was all he would permit, since the Bay Owl is super easily frightened. I could hear its spooky whistling call getting louder as we approached. It seemed as though the owl was moving itself further away as we got closer, but we quickened our pace to catch up with it, still climbing and trying not to thrash the bushes too much. We intermittently played the call from the phone, trying to achieve that precarious balance between seducing the bird and frightening it off. We lowered the volume until it was barely audible to our pathetic human ears. It was close. We continued our approach. A long silence. Then from about 45 degrees above us it called. "Get ready," Thili whispered. "You only get one chance." I'd already checked my camera settings. He turned on the flashlight. Three agonizing seconds of "where the hell is it?" then BOOM! "There it is!" he whispered in a super intense way. I whammed off as many shots as I could and gave the binoculars to the ranger. He had never seen a Sri Lanka Bay Owl in binoculars before. 

Sri Lanka Bay Owl - my favourite world lifer

I can definitely say that is my most epic night of owling of my life, and I'm pretty sure my most epic world bird ever. This miniature version of a Barn Owl with a square head is so unique and only lives in the most pristine epic forests in the world. The Congo Bay Owl has never been seen by a birder (only banded once), and the Oriental Bay Owl had never been photographed until not that long ago. So being the easiest Bay Owl to see does not make it easy!

But like me, Thili is never satisfied, so we tried for Brown Hawk Owl down another road. We could hear four different ones calling from one spot, but they were too far from the road. We also heard the super spooky call of the Serendib Scops Owl, which is even spookier than the Bay Owl. It's crazy that one was never seen until 2001!

Brown Hawk-Owl

Brown Fish Owl

Palm Civet sp.

We walked down to a little village with some street lights, being careful not to disturb the sleeping residents in the dead of night. After some effort we finally spotted two Brown Hawk Owls at the same time, in different trees. An epic night! We then drove to the house of our hotel's owner, who says he's heard an owl call 'frequently' that matches the description of the Forest Eagle-Owl. After much searching of the dirt roads behind his house, we never saw one although we did spot a Brown Fish Owl and a Palm Civet which was pretty cool. By that point I was so tired I was lying down on the road with my eyes closed while we listened for Eagle-Owl. We got back to the hotel and it was about 2 am I think. Needless to day the next day was a lie-in!

With no endemics left and my #1 dream bird seen (epically), we had a chill day of swimming in a river, eating food and playing carrom, an Asian version of crokinole.

March 30th was our last day (I had to work on April 1st!) so there wasn't really anywhere else we could drive to that would be worth our while, but that was fine because Thili had a special bird in his back pocket that he'd kept secret from us until now. It was the Slaty-legged Crake, and it is regularly seen at a nearby tea farm. All you need to do is sit on some plastic chairs, sip tea and eat biscuits, and wait. And, occasionally, chase away the local dog which was being quite annoying, but the residents of the house helped us chase it away with the help of a few well-tossed rocks. 

Slaty-legged Crake

It took it a while but eventually the Slaty-legged Crake could not resist the delicious rice we'd served up for him and he gave us a beautiful showing. We made a lifer dance to commemorate the occasion. 

Stackin' lifers and snacks IN STYLE!

The 'lifer dance'

And so, after nearly 2 weeks, our trip to Sri Lanka had come to an end. Ramata had survived the mud, bushwacking and forest leeches, I had seen the mythical Bay Owl of my dreams and we'd made a new friend. We had experienced some of the best natural beauty this region has to offer, and walked in the shadow a a true birding master, Thilina Karunanayaka. We had learned alot about the resplendent isle and about how to find birds. Suddenly we were in the middle of Colombo city, being treated to dinner by the company owner, Jith, a very classy guy. 

Until next time! 

Sri Lanka Part 2: Tissamaharama, Lunugamvehera NP, Bundala, Yala NP

After our 5 hour drive from the highlands you'd think we'd be ready to check into the hotel and switch off but quite the opposite. Thili had been in communication with the 'village boys' who were biking around scoping out some owls on our behalf. We walked around this old Dutch-built canal bordered by houses on one side and giant trees on the other. A perfect shady hideout for Brown Fish-Owl. Lo, there it was, giving us a wink! 

I've dreamt for long about seeing one of these beasts, after seeing it in my European field guide (they reach as far west as Turkey). If anything could top this moment it would be a duo of Jungle Owlets, waiting for us in some nearby trees.

Thank you village boys! 

Already anticipating the next target...

We handed them some 'extra' appreciation and headed not to the hotel but to yet another spot...could this day become more epic? A huge crocodile-infested marsh just outside of Bundala Ramsar Wetland. It was a chance to preview the site a couple of days before our main visit. In just about 30 minutes, we found some Pheasant-tailed Jacanas, a hyperactive Yellow Bittern, a Stork-billed Kingfisher and amazingly, Thili spotted a Black Bittern in a roadside ditch! Quite random.

Stork-billed Kingfisher

Yellow Bittern

Black Bittern in a roadside ditch!

Clearly saving the best for last, Thili took us to a palm-shaded farmstead with some of the cutest kids who waited with us for the evening show, the exchange of incubation duties of a pair of rare and beautiful White-naped Woodpeckers.

White-naped Woodpeckers evening nest exchange - just like the woodpeckers back home!

Back at the Hibiscus Garden Hotel, we were just about ready to hit the sack but yet still the was birding to be had - a stunning Indian Pitta in the parking lot.

In the morning our jeep driver was there bright and early before dawn for our game drive in Lunugamvehera National Park, which is similar to the more tourist-infested Yala in habitat. There wasn't a vehicle in sight. This park has more birds and just as many bears and leopards but there is less chance of seeing one because of the lack of cell phone interactions between jeep drivers. We basically had the park to ourselves. 

The birding was excellent with lots of water around, especially forest streams and a large reservoir. Interesting mammals were scarce with the exception of three locally distributed Stripe-necked Mongoose with their imposing red eyes. 

Stripe-necked Mongoose

Oriental Honey-buzzard

We found 2 different Brown Fish Owls in broad daylight! 

Grey Langurs

Spotted Deer

Oriental Darter

Land Monitor

Sirkeer Malkoha

White-bellied Fish Eagle

Mugger crocodile

Greater Flameback - truly an epic hunt! 

Asian Paradise Flycatcher

Malabar Pied Hornbill

Indian Peafowl

Back at the Hibiscus Garden Hotel, we wiled way the afternoon by the pool whilst periodically being distracted by more birds.

Red-vented Bulbul: common but beautiful 

Asian Koel

Purple-breasted Sunbird

Pale-billed Flowerpecker

My first peacock: an iconic life moment

The next day we went to Bundala Ramsar Wetland proper, and found out that the birding outside of the reserve is actually better. Our premature celebration of a Black-capped Kingfisher was a false alarm but we were up to our waists in Watercocks. A colleague of Thili's was also there with a large group of middle-aged to elderly Australian birders. He confided to us hilariously that he was annoyed by these Australians who "never stop talking." 

In any case, when a Black Bittern landed in front of us we felt the universal birder's duty to flag them over from way down the road. Luckily all of them hobbled over in time to see it but on top of that a Yellow Bittern joined the party and, unbelievably, a Chestnut Bittern all at once!
Pure jubilation erupted.

Watercock and White-breasted Waterhen

Purple Heron

Yellow Bittern

Chestnut Bittern

Greater Thick-knee

Clamorous Reed-warbler

Stoked by our Holy Trinity of Bittern bonanza, we headed to some coastal mudflats chocked with shorebirds.  I tend to brush shorebirds to the sideline since they are mostly widespread and I have regarded them as mostly list-boosters but to be honest who can deny that they love a good bout of shorbirding in another country? This time the showstopper was the Small Pratincole, an absolute stunner. 

Black-tailed Godwits

Shorebird medley

We thought this was a Bar-tailed Godwit but concluded it must be a different subspecies of Black-tailed

Lesser Sandplover and Little Stint

Spot-billed Pelican

Eurasian Spoonbill

Painted Stork

Jerdon's Bushlark

Greater Thick-knee

'Philippine' Brown Shrike

Sri Lanka Junglefowl

A vagrant for Sri Lanka: Bay-backed Shrike!

The second half of the day was spent exploring some fascinating religious sites. It was a very large area which we explored barefoot, bearing bowls of fruit for the Buddhist temple. It was a large complex with Hindu and Buddhist temples mixed together. As the sun disappeared, we joined a crowd gathered around the door of the Kataragama temple for the Puja service, the 'gods' feeding hour' to hand off our bowls of fruit with some small bills tucked into a banana leaf in the middle. to the monks. One interesting monk gave us a blessing and told us some stories of when he used to live in the same neighborhood as Ramata in London and knew every street and postcode by heart. 

Our third day in the area was the much anticipated Yala National Park. We left well before dawn but were not the only ones with that idea - it seemed to be a race to get in line for the permits. We couldn't resist stopping for a much-obliging Jerdon's Nightjar perched on a wire though! 

Yala is an absolute racket for tourists. The sound of the diesel engines of the 4x4's was incessant all day long and they would race around and overtake you. Tourism is so popular these days that all the famous places have become overcrowded. We basically would drive around and wait for a phone call, then race all the other jeeps in a cloud of dust and diesel fumes to where something had been spotted. 

Golden Jackal

Well I can't say this was my ideal method of finding a bear or leopard, our two greatest dreams, it certainly was an effective one. 

Early in the morning we checked out a secluded section of the park and while I was distracted with a Rufous Woodpecker, a Sloth Bear walked across the road. Only the driver and Thili saw it before we could twist our bodies. 

Maybe 3 hours later we got that phone call that a bear had been spotted. It was a 'bear jam' similar to Algonquin Park at the height of summer but with much more dust. We could briefly view the Sloth Bear digging in the dusty soil for a brief minute before disappearing into the bush, completely ignoring the 10 or so 4x4 vehicles jamming up the road. 

SLOTH BEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LIIIIIIFFFFFERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!

A 'bear jam' just like in Algonquin!

Soon it was not the bear stealing the show but Ramata, who got several looks from some of the young guides and even a couple of winks! I can't blame them. 

Leopards eluded us for most of the day but we were pretty determine, especially since this area is supposed to have the highest density of them anywhere in the world and this day was our one shot at getting one. Plus, it's one of my favourite animals. In the meantime though, there were birds to entertain us...

Orange-breasted Pigeon

Little Green Bee-eater

Crested Tree-swift

While photographing the Little Green Bee-eater, our driver got a call about a leopard just around the corner from us. We waited by a tree and eventually it peered from behind some foliage in the crotch of a big tree and gave us a yawn, before walking way. The lighting was pretty bad but at least we got a long-enough look. It was a beautiful animal to view in the binoculars and we feld very lucky indeed.

Our dream catch - Asian Leopard!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Thili!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Two vehicles turned into a jam pretty quickly

The watering hole where we barely missed a leopard - this water buffalo didn't seem to care

The whole park was pretty dry on account of the dry season, so we figured we'd stake out a couple of watering holes. While we waited at one for about an hour, I fell asleep. I guess Thili figured we were bored so he and the driver decided to move on. I honestly would have objected because I knew we were doing the best possible strategy by waiting at that watering hole, with a perfect vantage and perfect light, it was only a matter of time. But I was half asleep by that point so I said nothing. Too bad only a few minutes later a leopard came down to drink in open view. We forced ourselves to have no regrets, because seeing one period is a privilege period. And on top of that, a Sloth Bear - what more can you ask for?

The dry season was evident everywhere

Wild Boars

Brahminy Kite

Realizing that the leopard wasn't coming back, and that the park was about to close and wanting to avoid fines, we ended off the day perfectly with a beautiful observation of a family of elephants bathing in a large watering hole. Two youngsters were up to shenanigans while a tiny baby elephant struggled to not get trampled underwater by the big ones, using its trunk as a snorkel - it was quite silly and entertaining to watch!

What a day!