THURSDAY – MARCH 5th
It was with a mixture of surprise and excitement when my youngest son approached me about participating in a Wildlife Holiday with Joy and I, plus his partner Gemma. Since adolescence his interest in birds has been minimal, so I was a little concerned he may get bored if it was largely a birding holiday. We had quite a debate before deciding on Sri Lanka, mainly as it provided the opportunity for a Safari like break with a good variety of mammals, mixed with some birding.
Joy and I visited Sri Lanka in 2014 having a great time and seeing all the endemics, we didn’t do quite so well with mammals missing out on Leopard. As we were limited to ten days we decided that we would omit traveling to Horton Plains and Kandy. Not only would it cut down on the travelling but would give us more time in the National Parks.
We partook an afternoon drive to Heathrow to catch our 8.40pm flight to Colombo, everything went like clockwork (it usually does when Joy organises things). The flight was 10 hours and none of us slept much so we arrived a little dishevelled. Once we cleared customs we met our guide Saman Gamage, who at 6ft was tall for a Sri Lankan. He was enthusiastic and keen to get started, as we waited for the mini bus he pointed out our first birds with Oriental Magpie Robin and House Crow.
Soon we were packed and on our way, mercifully the bus was equipped with very effective Air Conditioning. Our first destination was the Plantation Hotel, Kitulgala – a three hour drive. Before long we were being shown to our rooms where we showered and rested before we met at 5.00pm for a little birding.
We drove all of 200 yards before we disembarked and Saman led us down a lane towards the river. We saw Sri Lanka Green Pigeon, Green Imperial Pigeon plus Spot-winged Thrush and a host of other species. The target for the evening was the endemic Chestnut-backed Owlet and as dusk approached we could hear one calling from thick cover. Saman and I saw it briefly but darkness was falling quickly. We met another couple with their guide but the Owl was playing hard to get. It was nearly dark when we returned to the vehicle and we were ready to board when some frantic waving had us running back to rejoin the search. There in a tree silhouetted against the moonlight was the Owl calling his head off, not great views but I had seen the bird previously.
It was then back to the Hotel for dinner and an early night.
