Sri Lanka 1 - Habarana

 

Another of our touring holidays, this time two weeks in Sri Lanka. Our holidays are all very similar, a lot of travelling, a lot of places to visit and explore and if I am lucky, a bit of time to do some birding. I would see more on a dedicated birding trip with the use of professional guides but I think the sense of achievement is greater when you find your own birds.

I had four locations where I could spend some time birding and there were a few other brief opportunities at various other points we stopped off at. That gives me four blogs, The  Habarana area, Kandy, Queen Victoria Park in Nuwara Eliya, and the National Parks at Udawalawe and Yala.

So Habarana, we stayed at the Habarana Village by Cinnamon and you could see from the map, before we went, that it was going to be good for birding. A village complex set in a large green area, along side a lake, with its own butterfly trail. The lake is artificial, part of a complex system of tanks and canals that collect and redistributes surface water across the dryer parts of the island. Much of the system was built around 2000 years ago and is still working today. However, renovation is also taking place, as global warming starts to put the agricultural system under stress and the importance of these resources becomes more recognised.

We stayed for two nights and that gave me some time for birding. A couple of hours before breakfast and an afternoon when Sue went off to explore a local village. There were some good birds about, hearing them was easy but actually seeing them and then getting a photograph was hard work. Most of the island is covered in lush green vegetation with trees and bushes providing dense cover for the birds.

Asian Koel - Eudynamys scolopaceus

Some of the birds are spectacular and top of my wish list was the Indian Paradise-Flycatcher. Fortunately they are fairly common and I saw many of them during the holiday although none that would pose willingly in front of the camera.

Indian Paradise-Flycatcher (Sri Lanka) - Terpsiphone paradisi ssp. ceylonensis

These two were around the hotel grounds. I thought initially that I had photographed a male and female but reading up on them later it looks like two males The first ssp ceylonensis is the local breeding resident, with the second, ssp paradisi a winter migrant. The females of both look similar to ssp ceylonensis but have paler throats.

Indian Paradise-Flycatcher - Terpsiphone paradisi ssp. paradisi

Black-hooded Oriole - Oriolus xanthornus

Brahminy Kite - Haliastur indus

The Common Kingfisher from back home in the UK.

Common Kingfisher - Alcedo atthis

And a much less common Kingfisher, the Stork-billed.

Stork-billed Kingfisher - Pelargopsis capensis

Darter - Anhinga melanogaster

Great Egret - Casmerodius albus

House Crow - Corvus splendens

Malabar Pied Hornbill - Anthracoceros coronatus

I also had a fly over of  a Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill which is endemic to the island. Unfortunately flying away from me by the time I got the camera onto it. A missed opportunity but at least the views were good and there were no doubts on the sighting. Pale grey and white and no casque on the beak.

There were good numbers of the smaller birds in the bushes around the lake but they were not easy to photograph.

Two pictures of Sunbirds, the first looks like a female Loten's. No supercilium, light yellow and white underside and although not visible in this picture it had white in the underside tail feathers. The second is a Purple-rumped Sunbird.

Loten's Sunbird - Nectarinia lotenia

Purple-rumped Sunbird - Nectarinia zeylonica

The Red-vented Bulbul, one of the more common birds and found all over the island.

Red-vented Bulbul - Pycnonotus cafer

Two of the three Munia species found on the island. The third, the Black-throated is rare and has a limited distribution.

Scaly-breasted Munia - Lonchura punctulata

Black-headed Munia - Lonchura malacca

A poor picture of the Sri Lanka Green Pigeon but worth including as many consider it as endemic having split it from the pompadour green pigeon complex.

Sri Lanka Green Pigeon - Treron (pompadora) pompadora

Indian White-eye - Zosterops palpebrosus

Sri Lanka Woodshrike - Tephrodornis (pondicereanus) affinis

And one final picture, hand held at 1/20 sec, on a 420mm lens, well after dusk and deep in the  undergrowth. It's just amazing what modern cameras can do.

Orange-headed Thrush - Zootherea citrina

There were a few other birds seen but the pictures were not worth publishing. Poor record shot quality only. It was a pity to move on. I could easily have spent a few more days exploring the area.

Perhaps one final picture. It looks like a Carpenter Bee - Xylacopa, probably the Slender-scaped Carpenter Bee - Xylacopa tenuiscapa but there are around 500 bees in the genus so I could be wrong. I just wish I had the macro lens with me!

Blue Cader Bee - Xylocopa agg