Dave and Sue Smallshire, Andy and Gill Swash
8th to 27th February 2007
The British Dragonfly Society has a trip to Sri Lanka scheduled for 9th to 22nd October 2007, organised by Quest for Nature and Jetwing Eco Holidays (see http://www.questfornature.co.uk/allholidays.asp for details). In order to familiarise himself with the dragonflies and other abundant wildlife that occur on this beautiful island, DS and the others took a 19-day trip there in February 2007. Also arranged by Jetwing, our itinerary took in a range of the top birding sites, many of which are good for dragonflies and coincide with the October itinerary. Although August-October is the optimum period for dragonflies, February is perfect for birds: we aimed to see and photograph all the endemic birds and a good range of the other localised breeding and wintering species. In addition, we wanted to visit ex-colleagues who had just moved to Kandy and Sue wanted to explore the tea estate that her father had managed in the 1940s.
Using the expertise of Jetwing CEO Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne and the administrative skills of assistant manager Ajanthan Shantiratnam, we arranged a package to suit our needs early in 2007. Their services were highly efficient and exemplary. We booked direct flights with SriLankan Airlines from London Heathrow to Colombo through Expedia. Jetwing provided a guide, driver and minibus (supplemented by jeep where necessary) and arranged all accommodation and meals. Our guide was ‘Wicky’ Wickramasekara, who was great fun and knew his birds, other wildlife and history very well. Driver Chandana Hettiarachchi made us feel as comfortable as possible as we motored through the country’s very winding roads and busy streets.
All in all, this was an extremely enjoyable and successful trip, during which we recorded 245 bird species (6 heard only) and managed to see all 34 of the endemics (in bold below) and many of the endemic sub-species. Of these we photographed 175 species, including 28 of the endemics. Due to our focus on birds, we saw only 33, mainly widespread, dragonfly species. We were fortunate to meet local dragonfly expert Karen Conniff at the start and end of the trip, and were given copies of “Gehan’s Photo Booklet: Dragonflies of Sri Lanka and Southern India” (downloadable from the Jetwing website) and, hot from the printer, a draft of “A Photographic Guide to the Dragonflies of Sri Lanka”, also by Matjaž Bedjanič, Karen and Gehan. Karen knows more precisely where to go for the many endemic species and there will be more focus on these in the October trip. Amongst the abundant other wildlife, we also identified 18 species of mammals and 40 butterflies, including some spectacular forest species.
ITINERARY AND HIGHLIGHTS
Thursday/Friday – 8th/9th February
Weather: hot (low 30s C), humid and sunny.
The unpredictable British weather meant our departure didn’t quite go according to plan. Heavy overnight snow resulted in a 90-minute delay in take-off, but we arrived 10 hours later in Colombo, only half an hour late. We were met by our Jetwing driver and, after a slow drive south around the eastern suburbs of Colombo, arrived at the Villa Talangama. Here we were met by our guide Wicky, Ajanthan, and Karen Conniff. We spent a relaxing 2 hours around the gardens and the Talangama Tank, seeing our first endemic bird – Sri Lanka Swallow. At dusk (18:30) we left for Mount Lavinia Hotel on the coast south of Colombo.
Saturday 10th February
Weather: hot, humid and mostly sunny; light rain in evening.
Although we were up at first light (06:00) there were very few birds in the hotel grounds and none on the sea. After a good breakfast we drove to Sinharaja World Heritage Site, the best lowland rainforest in Sri Lanka, with a few good stops en route. These produced our first Pompadour Green Pigeon (what an amazing song!), Sri Lanka Hanging-parrot, Yellow-fronted Barbet, Black-capped Bulbul and Black (Square-tailed) Bulbul.
By mid-afternoon we had transferred to a jeep for the final few kilometres to Martin’s Simple Lodge, our home for the next three nights. The Lodge, on the edge of the reserve, was indeed “simple”, but perfectly adequate. From the covered dining area we saw Red-faced Malkoha, White-faced Starling, Malabar Trogon and Orange Minivet, before a phone call from one of the park trackers sent us racing in the direction of a roosting Sri Lanka Bay Owl. We were soon all privileged to see this rare and little known species.
We walked through the lowland forest and the grounds of the Lodge until dusk, seeing yet more endemics – Layard’s Parakeet, Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill, Crimson-fronted Barbet, Spot-winged Thrush, Orange-billed Babbler, Legge’s Flowerpecker, Sri Lanka White-eye, Sri Lanka Crested Drongo and Sri Lanka Myna, not to mention the distinctive form kelaarti of Black-throated Munia, the only ones we saw. Dinner was tasty and accompanied by lots of good moths and praying mantises. An excellent first full day!
Sunday 11th February
Weather: hot and humid; sunny morning, overcast afternoon, with thunder and occasional spots of rain.
After a humid, though not excessively hot, night at Martin’s, we emerged just as it got light at 06:10 and were treated to a party of Sri Lanka Blue Magpies feeding on the moths that had been attracted to the lights of the Lodge. After breakfast we left to walk the forest trails. Just as we entered the park we were incredibly lucky to see 3 Sri Lanka Spurfowl out in the open on the track. This is the most difficult of the endemics to see, and amazingly we saw these birds before the more common Sri Lanka Junglefowl, though these followed soon after. We then spent 6 hours slowly wandering to the Forest Research Centre and back, with lots of excellent birds (including Crimson-backed Flameback and Ashy-headed Laughing-thrush), dragonflies (Spine-tufted Skimmer, Blue Percher, Pied Parasol), butterflies (including several spectacular species such as Ceylon Tree Nymph, Blue Mormon and Common Birdwing), snakes and lizards. Despite wearing leech socks and flicking off numerous leeches when we strayed off the centre of the main path, two of us managed to get leeched: very messy, but thankfully not dangerous! We relaxed after lunch until an evening stroll at 16:30. Before dinner we listened for the recently-discovered Serendib Scops Owl on the track near the Lodge, but without success.
Monday 12th February
Weather: much as 11th.
We spent the morning walking out through Sinharaja forest again to the Research Centre and back. There were lots of photo opportunities, the highlights being Chestnut-backed Owlet, Brown-capped Babbler, Sri Lanka Scimitar-babbler and the amazing Grizzled Giant Squirrel. After a late lunch and siesta, we walked a short way back into the forest for another try at the elusive Scaly Thrush (the usual areas were too dry for it), but had excellent photo opportunities of Malabar Trogons instead. At dusk we headed off downhill from the forest entrance gate for another try at the Serendib Scops Owl. We recorded its calls and the playback bought it close enough to find by torchlight – we all had fantastic views!
Tuesday 13th February
Weather: Hot and sunny.
Early morning saw a further attempt to see Scaly Thrush at Sinharaja, but we had only brief views; a male Indian Blue Robin was some compensation, though. After a late breakfast, we drove for 3-4 hours into the lowlands for lunch near Udawalawe National Park. Then we all piled into an open, partially covered jeep and drove around the Park until 18:00. The reserve is best known for the numbers of its Asian Elephant, of which we saw plenty, though we also saw Grey-bellied Cuckoos, Sirkeer Malkoha and had distant views of Plum-headed Parakeets. We stayed overnight at the Centuria Inn at nearby Embilipitiya.
Wednesday 14th February
Weather: Very hot (>33 C), humid and sunny.
After a night in the luxury of air-conditioning, we had an early breakfast and left for the 90-minute drive to the south coast. On the way we stopped at a Collared Scops-owl roost in someone’s garden: we had fantastic views of a pair in a tree hole. We then headed on to Elephant Reach, near Yala National Park, stopping on the way at Yoda Kandiya Tank. The hotel had lovely air-conditioned cabins in wooded grounds. After lunch, we drove back west to the Tissa Tanks, fantastic wetlands full of birds and dragonflies. Here we saw our first Sri Lanka Woodshrike and Wicky managed to get some local boys to find us a roosting Brown Fish Owl. When we got back to the hotel we were surprised to see the swimming pool covered in heart-shaped balloons: it was Valentine’s Day! Over dinner we were serenaded by a pretty awful local band and the Valentine’s theme continued in the bedroom, with balloons and flowers on our beds!
Thursday 15th February
Weather: very hot (low 30s C) and sunny.
We took a packed breakfast to Yala National Park, famous for its Leopards (we had all seen them before and decided not to spend time looking specifically for them). A jeep took us very slowly to the estuary and back, during which we saw Black-necked Stork (one of only four in the country), Lesser Adjutant, Golden Jackals and Spotted Deer. However, it was very hot and sticky and therefore a great relief to get back to the hotel swimming pool by late morning. After lunch, we did more or less the same drive around Yala. This time, Small Pratincole, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Little Green Bee-eaters, a very close Sri Lanka Woodshrike and a brief encounter with a Sloth Bear were the highlights. We found both Jerdon’s and Indian Nightjars near the entrance road after dark. Wicky said that we had broken the record for taking the shortest game drive and taking the longest time to do it!
Friday 16th February
Weather: very hot again, though showers in the evening.
Again we took packed breakfasts, this time to Bundala National Park, a large Ramsar wetland. We were met at the park entrance by our jeep driver and spent the morning driving slowly out to the saltpans, where we were allowed to get out of the jeep to scan the thousands of waders, terns and gulls. Most spectacular, though, was a large flock of Spot-billed Pelicans, cormorants and egrets in a feeding frenzy that followed a shoal of fish straight towards us – closely followed by a massive furtive (Saltwater?) Crocodile! On the way out of the reserve we spent half an hour watching a mixed troop of Tufted Grey Langur and Toque Macaque monkeys. After lunch back at the hotel we headed back to the Tissa (Debarawewa) Tank for a couple of hours but had to give up when it started to rain. However, we did manage to see lots of dragonflies, including Sombre Lieutenant, Asian Pintail, Spine-legged Redbolt, Scarlet Basker and the amazing Variable Flutterer.
Saturday 17th February
Weather: very hot in the lowlands, much cooler in the hills.
Today we spent most of the day driving to the highland town of Nuwara Eliya. On the way we stopped at Ella Adventure Park for morning refreshments and had fantastic views of two Blue-faced Malkohas. Later, at the Rawana Waterfall, we found the stunning Oriental Greenwing, a possible Brook Hooktail and a Common Rat Snake, and then we stopped at the Surrey Tea Estate – a known site for Brown Wood Owl. We didn’t find one, but had excellent views of a Grizzled Giant Squirrel and a good bird party, containing our first Dull Blue Flycatcher. At 16:30 we stopped just before Nuwara Eliya and met two more groups of Jetwing birders with Gehan. However, after spending two hours standing in a smelly stream hoping to see Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush, we were rewarded only by a brief call just before dark. We did see our first Yellow-eared Bulbul here though, and had excellent views of Sri Lanka White-eye and Dull Blue Flycatcher. It took about half an hour to drive to St. Andrew’s Hotel, where Gehan joined us for dinner. The climate felt much better to us Brits – almost cold!
Sunday 18th February
Weather: very pleasant (c25 C) after a cold start.
Up at 04:00(!) and on the road up to the Horton Plains National Park (7,000ft), arriving at first light. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful – it can be cold and wet here! We stopped first at the Arrenga Pool, hoping again to see Sri Lankan Whistling Thrush: this time we hit lucky. After hearing a few, eventually we all saw a male well in good light, albeit briefly. We also saw our only Sri Lanka Bush Warblers here. We spent until midday in the National Park, stopping for Pied Stonechats, Himalayan Buzzards, Purple-faced Leaf Monkeys, Sambar and to check small pools for dragonflies (Dawn Bluetail, Pink Skimmer and the endemic Mountain Reedling). Then we drove back down and relaxed around the hotel for a couple of hours, finding a fine male Kashmir Flycatcher. Late in the afternoon we went to the town’s Victoria Park, where we saw a few Pied Thrushes coming to roost high in a tree. Back at the hotel at dusk, a Slaty-legged Crake was a bonus. When we eventually got into bed, we found very welcome hot water bottles!
Monday 19th February
Weather: cool in the hills, then hot and humid at Kitulgala.
During a pre-breakfast trip to Victoria Park, we had good views of both Pied Thrush and Indian Pitta, both feeding in the very restricted areas of damp leaf-litter. After a late breakfast, we visited the Hakgala Botanical Gardens with Gehan, seeing Sri Lanka Woodpigeons and our only Grey-headed Canary Flycatchers and Velvet-fronted Nuthatches of the trip, followed by a very co-operative troupe of Toque Macques and Purple-faced Leaf Monkeys. The latter are known as Bear Monkeys in the highlands because of their luxuriant fur.
We then drove for 3 hours to Sisira’s River Lounge (Lodge) at Kithulgala, where we later crossed the Kelani River to visit the lowland rain-forest in the Kelani Valley Forest Reserve. The river crossing was an experience: we had to wade into the river and climb into a canoe just wide enough to stand in! We walked into the forest and waited for darkness to fall. After 2 hours in the pitch black we had heard Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Serendib Scops Owl and Brown Hawk-owl calling close by, but not seen any (we resisted the temptation to use tapes). After a rather difficult walk back and river-crossing, Sisira’s excellent Sri Lankan curries for dinner were most welcome.
Tuesday 20th February
Weather: Hot and humid, with a nice breeze at times along the river.
We spent most of the day around the lodge and nearby gardens and fields. From the shady and breezy comfort of the lodge, overlooking the river, we had excellent views of lots of birds, including a pair of stunning Tickell’s Blue Flycatchers. In an evening walk for our only ‘missing’ endemic, Green-billed Coucal, we only managed to hear it. Dinner was wonderfully presented chicken and rice with stir-fried vegetables, followed by pancakes – then we realised it was Shrove Tuesday!
Wednesday 21st February
Weather: Hot and humid, though less so in Kandy.
During a pre-breakfast walk, we finally had prolonged views of the Green-billed Coucal, sitting and calling in the tree-tops. We celebrated with a very leisurely breakfast! Just when we were about to head off to look for Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, one appeared in the lodge grounds. It was very confiding, quite stunning and stayed around all morning. As there were so many birds active around the lodge, we spent most of the day taking photographs, Orange-billed Babblers being amongst the highlights. We left Kitulgala at 16:00 and drove to our friends’ house in Kandy, where we spent a very enjoyable evening over our second curry of the day.
Thursday 22nd February
Weather: Fairy hot and mainly sunny.
We left at 07:45 for a walk around the Udawattekele Forest Reserve, a superb square kilometre or so of relic rain-forest within Kandy. Highlights were good, though brief, views of a Scaly Thrush, male Paradise Flycatcher and another Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher. Afterwards, Wicky showed us around the nearby Temple of the Tooth, one of the most sacred Buddhist shrines in Sri Lanka. After lunch we visited the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, where we found some dragonflies around a pool fashioned in the outline of Sri Lanka. One of the damselflies photographed here was pruinose male Wandering Wisp (Agriocnemis pygmaea). We also had fantastic views of Sri Lankan Hanging Parrots and were stunned by an estimated 20,000 Sri Lanka Flying-foxes roosting in the trees by the river.
Friday 23rd February
Weather: mainly cloudy in the hills at Rookwood.
The couples split today, A&GS returning to Udawattekele and D&SS heading off with Wicky and Chandana to look for the Rookwood Tea Estate, in the mountains near Hewaheta. Udawattekele held a male Indian (white) Paradise Flycatcher, lots of butterflies and Giant Wood Spider. Dave and Sue had great success and discovered everything Sue had hoped for. The evening began with an improvised musical session with drums, maracas and bottles followed by a lovely fish curry for dinner.
Saturday 24th February
Weather: mid-20s C; cloudy, with drizzle in the afternoon and heavier rain overnight.
We left Kandy at 09:00 and drove for 3 hours north to Sigiriya, home of the famous rock fortress. After lunch we spent the rest of the day around the ancient Sigiriya moats. For the first time since we arrived in Sri Lanka we encountered persistent rain. Despite the weather, we saw Orange-headed Thrush, Indian (white) Paradise Flycatcher and surprisingly active dragonflies, including Wandering Wisp, Malay Lilysquatter, Yellow Waxtail and Black-tipped Percher.
Sunday 25th February
Weather: rain at Sigiriya, becoming drier towards Colombo, but still cloudy.
It had rained heavily in the night and we woke at Sigiriya to a real monsoon. We dallied over breakfast and then headed back to the moats, where we spent about 3 hours trying our best to find things in the pouring rain. We didn’t see too much, apart from a very wet Crested Serpent Eagle, although the dragonflies and a land crab were active. At 11:00 we headed back to Colombo arriving at the lovely Villa Talangama guest-house in time to sit on the balcony and watch the dusk activity over the adjacent wetland. Wicky and Chandana left us to go home to their families for the first time in a fortnight. We then spent a luxurious evening being very well looked after – we were in effect house guests in someone’s private home.
Monday 26th February
Weather: cloudy at first, becoming sunny and hot.
We had tea and coffee served on the balcony at first light and spent a couple of hours watching over and around the wetland, with excellent views of a pair of Greater Painted Snipe. A&GS left for a business meeting in Colombo, while D&SS had a lovely day wandering round the Villa Talangama area with Wicky and Gehan. Dragonflies were much in evidence, including Blue-eyed Pondcruiser and, at Gehan’s private reserve, Rapacious Flangetail and the endemic Orange-faced Sprite. At dusk, Black and Yellow Bitterns and Pintail Snipe emerged from cover and hundreds of storks, herons, egrets and cormorants assembled to roost, while the Black-crowned Night-herons and Flying-foxes left theirs.
Tuesday 27th February
Weather: sunny and hot.
Asian Groundlings were active soon after dawn at 06:10, when the temperature was already 26C! Karen Conniff joined Dave and Sue for breakfast for a dragonfly de-briefing and a little birding. Later, A&GS were collected in Colombo en route to the airport, where we bade our farewells to Wicky and Chandana, the Dream Team! Our flight left slightly late at 13:30 and we arrived at Heathrow at 20:15, half an hour late due to air traffic congestion.
Credit : www.dragonflysoc.org.uk
