Makandawa Jungle & Sinharaja
After failing on seeing the Serendib Scops Owl yesterday, our excellent guide got up extra early today and wandered into the 'jungle' to try and find one. It wasn't until 6am when he finally heard one, and no doubt spent a couple of hours trying to locate it. Somehow he did and after our breakfast and early birding around the hotel, we had lovely views of this very secretive and endemic Owl, which will know prove to be the main highlight of the trip. The majority of the day was then spent driving from Kithulgala to Sinharaja with very few stops, which was just as well as the minibus wouldn't start half way through the journey, but mechanical skills by the guide got things moving again. Once at Sinharaja we birded the tracks above the 'Blue Magpie Lodge' seeing a good range of species. It seems we were lucky with the Owl as other groups here had failed throughout, something we highlighted to the other groups as much as we could.
Birds in capitals = new endemics, highlighted birds = lifers
Stork-billed Kingfisher - 1
Common Kingfisher - 2
LAYARD'S PARAKEET - 10
Yellow-fronted Barbet - 4
Blyth's Reed Warbler - 1
Scarlet Minivet - 15
Lesser Yellownape - 1
Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill - 14
Spot-winged Thrush - 1
SERENDIB SCOPS OWL - 1
Purple Heron - 1
Asian Openbill - 1
Black-throated Munia - 5
Crested Hawk Eagle - 1
Little Swift - 2
SRI LANKA HILL MYNA - 1
Sri Lanka Green Pigeon - 10
Bar-winged Flycatcher Shrike - 2
SRI LANKA SMALL BARBET - 1
Plum-headed Parakeet - 5
Sri Lanka Swallow - 30
Blue-tailed Bee Eater - 6
White-browed Bulbul - 2
Pale-billed Flowerpecker - 1
Green-billed Coucal - 1
Brahimy Kite - 2
Serendib Scops Owl - every trip has one bird that is either make or break...the Owl was that bird. Pressure now off slightly.
Serendib on the list = happy birders
on route to Sinharaja
Sinharaja
no leech socks was a mistake!!
