Hiking and Birding - Sri Lanka - part 2

Into the Mountains

Leaving Kandy we headed for our first hike in the foothills of the Knuckles (great name for mountains). A simple hike down a road, across the paddyfields at the bottom of the valley and then back up through the forest on the other side. Well, it would have been simple except for the heat and the tendency of the local guide to just charge ahead (a problem we'd encounter again). It was a bit late in the morning for birds, although we did see our first Black Eagle and Crested Serpent Eagle. Erica also spotted a Black Kite - much further south than their normal range.

The lack of birds was made up for by an abundance of butterflies (and the odd lizard)...

We saw nothing in the forest itself, partially because one or two of our party were making very heavy weather of the hike (purple is such an unattractive colour for a face)...

Then off higher into the mountains to our beautifully situated chalets - not! We'd been bumped in favour of a party of nice Germans! We did get our own back by drinking all the beer though. Instead we found ourselves in tents - ah well, the view made up for it. The birding in and around the lodge was pretty good, especially at dawn as usual. It would be nice if birds came out and posed in the full glare of the day, but no, so photography wasn't great. However, we did get to see Layard's Parakeet, Yellow-fronted Barbet, Orange Minivet, Brown Shrike, Hill Swallow, Sri Lanka Swallow, Red-vented Bulbul, Yellow-eared Bulbul, Black Bulbul, Brown-capped Babbler, Dark-fronted Babbler, Sri Lanka Hill Mynah, Indian Robin, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Pale-billed Flowerpecker, Sri Lanka White-eye, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and Great Tit.

Again the hiking wasn't particularly productive from a bird point of view, but there were literally millions of butterflies. One species of white butterfly poured through the valley for hours, an amazing sight.

Red-vented Bulbul

Sri Lanka White-eye

 The view

Our next stop was a touristy one, climbing Adam's Peak at night to see the sunrise. Now this is a holy site for three religions (minimum) and weekends and holy days see thousands of people arrive on pilgrimage. Guess when our trip was planned for - yes, Saturday night. It actually proved impossible to get to the top before dawn, such was the crush on the steps, so we retreated back to the hotel. I didn't mind - more bonus birds at dawn: Common Tailorbird; Pale-billed Flowerpecker and Purple Sunbird. There were also some pretty aggressive Macaques trying to raid the restaurant and a very athletic Palm Squirrel.

Arriving in Nuwara Eliya we pulled into the drive of our swanky hotel. "Ooh", we cooed as we sank into the leather settees in the lobby. Then we were told we'd been bumped and would be staying at the Fawlty Towers impersonator on the other side of the lake. A quick trip into the famous Victoria Park failed to give us some of the birds it's known for - mostly because organised birding trips were taking up the good spots. Still we got our first Dull-blue Flycatcher (whoever named it must have been wearing dark glasses) Asian Brown Flycatcher and Brown Shrike.

Dull-blue Flycatcher

Magpie Robin

Next morning we walked around Horton Plains National Park. On the way we saw our only Purple-faced Leaf Monkey of the trip. I really wanted to get there very early to see the Sri Lanka Whistling Thrushes, but not being a birding trip, this was never going to happen. Arriving later had one huge advantage, the rain was stopping just as we got there. All those who had got there early - either birding or to visit World's End before the clouds rolled in got soaked, saw nothing or both.

Pulling through the entrance we were greeted by the sight of a Sri Lanka Junglefowl, while every bush top seemed to contain either a Zitting Cisticola or a Pied Bushchat. Around Baker's Falls we got caught up in a bird wave - mostly Great Tits, but with a Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher and a Black-naped Monarch in with the mix. In the distance a Shikra was sitting on a dead tree.

Right, now for a birding moment that is slightly embarrassing, brilliant and bloody annoying all at once. You know that bit when you're out in the middle of nowhere and need to "go". Well that happened to both of us (the power of suggestion). When Erica came out of the bushes she indicated that there were things moving around on the ground. Well, I went the same way. While taking care of business up hopped a Sri Lanka Thrush - right next to me. Ever tried to get a Canon fitted with a heavy L series lens into position, with the right setting selected, one-handed? Well, this is the result - great bird, rubbish picture!

World's End was spectacular, the clouds parted for us giving awesome views. Another Dull-blue Flycatcher sat eye-balling the tourists while an enterprising Squirrel begged for food. The walk back to the minibus provided a Yellow-eared Bulbul, Richard's Pipit and a stunning Black-winged Kite hovering and diving.

Black-winged Kite

In the final part of this report we'll be leaving the mountains and heading for the dry-country, the coast and Yala national park.