THALANGAMA TANK- This wetland is positioned in the middle of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. It is home for many different waterbirds and a few forest birds. In the morning is the best time to visit for the forest birds. In the evening is good if you want to see the waterbirds at their roost, but it can be hard to photograph them. At midday, boats operate and you stand a fair chance of seeing pheasant-tailed jacana and little grebe from the boat. Boats don't operate as much during the morning. Birds that can commonly be seen here include yellow-billed babbler, barn swallow, blue-tailed bee-eater, purple swamphen, black-headed ibis, Asian openbill stork, black-winged stilt, yellow bittern, black-crowned night heron (at all times of day, as they roost here), purple heron, various species of egret and (occasionally) pintail snipe. Painted storks from less developed areas of the island sometimes visit the tank. Water monitor lizards are common here.
COLOMBO (DEHIWALA) ZOO: The zoo in Colombo's main attraction for wild birds is the wetland in the centre. A feral population of spot-billed pelicans can be found here and are generally easy to see in the water or in large trees. Trees overhanging the water are home for roosting black-crowned night herons. Indian pond herons, little cormorants and white-breasted waterhens are also common around the wetland, as well as a feral population of great cormorants. Elsewhere in the zoo, feral pigeons, house crows and wild land monitor lizards are generally common. The Colombo Zoo is like a not as good but better for children version of Thalangama Tank.
A black-crowned night-heron at the Colombo Zoo
UDAWALAWE NATIONAL PARK: This national park has similar birds to Yala. Spotted doves are generally common throughout. Grey herons, painted storks, brahminy kites, white-breasted sea eagles, eastern great egrets, whiskered terns, spot-billed pelicans and similar are common in Udawalawe Tank. The small waterholes near the tank are good if you would like to see little green bee-eater, black-winged stilt, wood sandpiper and similar. The park itself is home for barred buttonquail, rose-ringed parrot, scaly-breasted munia, spotted dove, barn swallow and Indian black robin. The nearby hotel sometimes turns up purple-rumped sunbirds. Mammal-wise, the
Sri Lankan elephant and water buffalo are common while deer are uncommon. The spotted deer is the commonest deer, followed by the barking deer or Indian muntjac. Udawalawe is apparently the only national park in Sri Lanka where you can find water monitors- the largest lizard in Sri Lanka.
A peacock on a tree at Udawalawe- Peacocks are quite common in the national parks of the island.
YALA NATIONAL PARK: This national park in the southeast of the island is home for shorebirds, waterbirds and bush birds as well. All four of Sri Lanka's bee-eaters can be found here- Chestnut-headed, blue-tailed and little green are all common, while the European bee-eater is a very rare migrant. In the bushy areas, barred buttonquail can sometimes be seen, along with Sri Lankan junglefowl and Eurasian hoopoe. In the wetlands and tanks, pheasant-tailed jacana, whiskered tern, eastern great egret, little egret, median (intermediate) egret, grey-headed fish eagle, brahminy kite, lesser whistling-duck, white-breasted sea eagle, Asian openbill, black-headed ibis, grey heron, Indian pond heron, great thick-knee and painted stork are all common.In the more grassy areas, peafowl and yellow-wattled and red-wattled lapwings can also be found. The nearby Palatupana Salterns is a good place to spot a variety of waders in season. Common greenshank, common redshank, black-winged stilt, Pacific golden plover, black-tailed godwit, little stint and common sandpiper are some of the waders common in the area. Pied kingfishers can also be seen here, along with the usual variety of waterbirds. Interesting mammals also inhabit the area, like wild boar, leopard, elephant and ruddy mongoose. Staying overnight in a bungalow in the N.P. is good, but be warned- bugs abound and if you keep the light on at night, beetles, dragonflies, cockroaches and similar get attracted and even land on your bed!
KANDY LAKE: Kandy Lake in Kandy, Sri Lanka is an O.K place to spot some interesting waterbirds. Tilapia fish abound in the lake and can be fed with popcorn. The endemic toque monkey, considered Internationally Vulnerable, also inhabits the area around the lake. Bird-wise, the fish population makes Kandy Lake a good place to see fish-eating birds. Black-crowned night herons, little cormorants, little egrets and Indian pond herons are all common. The lake is generally a dependable place to see the brahminy kite.
LAKE GREGORY: Situated in the alpine town of Nuwera Eliya, this lake is a good place to see pied bushchat as well as a few waterbirds, such as the white-breasted waterhen and various egrets.
These are a few ideas, but there are more places. I suggest you research further.
Dear Chanith
ReplyDeleteI like the photos of the Night Heron. I also saw these at the zoo. However I guess since these birds breed and are fed at the zoo, they are not truly wild birds
Ian