A 4 am start to arrive early at a house at Ketapela where the owner has been feeding birds behind his house for several years. As viewing is restricted to looking through the kitchen window and from the path beside the house it was fortunate that just ourselves and Dave Farrow the Birdquest leader and their two clients arrived early. We chose to view from the path beside the house and the owner rustled up a couple of chairs for us. As dawn arrived the first few birds began to appear which included a Slaty-legged Crake and several Spot-winged Thrushes. Dilu then came to fetch us as he had found a Sri Lanka Hill Myna calling from the treetops and visible from the road. The return to our chairs coincided with the appearance of a flock of Ashy-headed Laughingthrushes, soon followed by a noisy flock of Sri Lanka Blue Magpies. A loud call then announced the nearby presence of a pair of Sri Lanka Spurfowl that proceeded to feed in the clearing for several minutes - quite a relief as we'd been warned that they don't make daily visits. Another couple of birders unfortunately arrived just too late to see the Spurfowls. With the sun rising the activity predictably dwindled so we made our way to the forest clearing on the opposite side of the road to the house. Birdquest were already there and had heard several Green-billed Coucals calling. Whilst we waited for the Coucals to climb the trees to sit in the early morning rays of sun Dave Farrow picked out a Chestnut-backed Owlet perched high in a tree and he kindly invited us to view it through his telescope - a brilliant piece of picking-out - thanks Dave. Whilst watching the Owlet the owner of the house saw a Coucal climbing a tree where it sat in full view for at least half an hour by which time we were the last to leave. Back on the jeep as we headed back to Sinharaja it was good to see Nadi stood by the roadside beaming from ear to ear. She climbed aboard the jeep and asked if we wanted some good news... unbeknownst to us she had got up at 4am and walked up into the forest to listen for Serendib Scops Owl. On hearing one, she had remained with it until dawn, so knew where it was roosting! On expressing our hope that it would still be present, she told us not to worry, as nobody else knew where it was. We drove to the site, and then the fun began, as it involved a c.100m steep climb. Both Dilu and Nadi helped me up the trickier sections, and there it was, a roosting Serendib Scops Owl - a fitting finale to what had been a brilliant morning! Nadi asked if she could let some others know, that was obviously no problem to us, and it was good to see Dave Farrow arriving as we departed. With just a single endemic left to see, White-faced Starling, Nadi was pretty certain that we would see one if we concentrated our efforts along the track to Martin's Lodge. We walked the entire track in both directions, but failed in our quest, so Nadi took us to an area close to Martin's Lodge where she assured us we would see them if we returned at dawn the following morning. We both thanked Nadi for her help in ensuring that our visit had been such a success and said our goodbyes. We returned to Martin's Lodge, where our main driver had found a pair of Black-throated Munias nestbuilding, and miraculously, they were roosting in the partly-constructed nest that was illuminated by the lights of the Lodge!
SRI LANKA SPURFOWL 2
Sri Lanka Junglefowl 1
Slaty-legged Crake 1
White-breasted Waterhen 2
Green Imperial Pigeon 8
Spotted Dove 10
Emerald Dove 4
Sri Lanka Green-Pigeon 1 male
Sri Lanka Hanging-Parrot 1
Layard's Parakeet 8
GREEN-BILLED COUCAL 1
SERENDIB SCOPS OWL 1
CHESTNUT-BACKED OWLET 1
Crested Treeswift 1
Indian Swiftlet 10
Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill 1
Yellow-fronted Barbet 4
Black-headed Cuckooshrike 2
Orange Minivet 2
Small Minivet 2
Square-tailed Black Bulbul 15
Yellow-browed Bulbul 15
Gold-fronted Leafbird 3
Brown Shrike 2
Spot-winged Ground-Thrush 6
Brown-breasted Flycatcher 4
Tickell's Blue Flycatcher 1 male
ASHY-HEADED LAUGHINGTHRUSH 12
Yellow-billed Babbler 4
Sri Lanka (Orange-billed) Rufous Babbler 4
Legge's Flowerpecker 1 female
Purple-rumped Sunbird 2
BLACK-THROATED MUNIA 2
Black-hooded Oriole 2
SRI LANKA HILL-MYNA 5
SRI LANKA BLUE MAGPIE 12
Slaty-legged Crake at Sinharaja
White-breasted Waterhen at Sinharaja
Ashy-headed Laughingthrush at Sinharaja
Birdlife consider this species as Vulnerable as it has a small population and range, which are severely fragmented and undergoing continuing declines as a result of clearance and degradation of humid forest habitats.
Birdlife consider this species as Vulnerable as it has a small population and range, which are severely fragmented and undergoing continuing declines as a result of clearance and degradation of humid forest habitats.
Pair of Sri Lanka Spurfowls at Sinharaja
My final species of the trio of Galloperdix Spurfowl regionally endemic to the Indian Subcontinent.
An illustration of Sri Lanka Spurfowl by Keulemans from Legge's A History of the Birds of Ceylon (1880).
An illustration of Chestnut-backed Owlet by Keulemans from Legge's A History of the Birds of Ceylon (1878). Birdlife consider this species is Near Threatened because there are some indications that it has a moderately small population, which is in decline owing to forest clearance and degradation.
Green-billed Coucal at Sinharaja
Serendib Scops Owl at Sinharaja
Birdlife lists this species as Endangered because it has a very small range and correspondingly small population, bot of which are undergoing a decline owing to habitat loss and degradation.
Birdlife lists this species as Endangered because it has a very small range and correspondingly small population, bot of which are undergoing a decline owing to habitat loss and degradation.
Yellow-browed Bulbul at Sinharaja
Square-tailed Black Bulbul at Sinharaja
Purple-faced Leaf Monkey at Sinharaja
