Waders and Falcons at the WTP

Yesterday morning, I visited the Western Treatment Plant with some friends, in hope of seeing some of this season's waders.
When we arrived, we immediately spotted some of the Treatment Plant's commoner birds in the grassland near the entrance: superb fairy-wrens, Willie wagtails, house sparrows, crested pigeons, black kites and brown falcons were all present. The shed where fairy martins had been roosting last year was still being used, and we were able to get great views of them. At one point, a brown falcon tried to dive-bomb one, and the entire flock around the nests rose up high into the air.

BROWN FALCON

Falco berigora

BLACK KITE

Milvus migrans

As we headed past Lake Borrie, it started to rain, so we settled down and observed a distant flock of waterbirds. Pink-eared ducks, grey teal and chestnut teal were abundant, and we watched 3 Cape Barren geese fly in to graze. In the distance were 3 yellow-billed spoonbills. Reeds around us held many calling golden-headed cisticolas.

GOLDEN-HEADED CISTICOLA

Cisticola exilis

YELLOW-BILLED SPOONBILL

Platalea flavipes

As we drove alongside the Little River to the bird hide, Australasian pelicans, hardheads, several musk ducks and a lone blue-billed duck were seen. At the hide itself there was little of interest: however, the shrubs around the hide held many white-browed scrubwren. We drove towards the T-Section Lagoons, stopping on the way to observe a stunning pair of Australian shelducks.

AUSTRALIAN SHELDUCK

Tadorna tadornoides

At the lagoons themselves, we observed large flocks of waders and terns. Yellow-billed spoonbills were resting on a spit of sand, along with two royal spoonbills and several Australian shelducks. Behind them red-necked avocets and white-naped stilts were feeding. Australia's 3 commonest waders were present in large numbers: sharp-tailed sandpipers, red-necked stints and curlew sandpipers. In the distance was a flock of whiskered and white-winged black terns, joined by several bar-tailed godwits. As we approached the flock, a black-shouldered kite flew overhead.

ROYAL SPOONBILL

Platalea regia

SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER

Calidris acuminata

CURLEW SANDPIPER

Calidris ferruginea

BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE

Elanus axillaris

As we left the treatment plant, we saw several more black-shouldered kites hovering above grassland, and a single soaring black kite.

BIRDING SRI LANKA: Horton Plains

While staying at Bandarawela, we made a brief visit to Horton Plains National Park. Here, I was able to see some of the Hill Country's commoner endemics: Sri Lanka white eyes, Sri Lanka scimitar babblers, dull-blue flycatchers and yellow-eared bulbuls. As always, areas of grassland in the park also held many birds: pied bushchats, paddyfield pipits, brown shrikes, Jerdon's bushlarks and blue-tailed bee-eaters were abundant. A lone raptor, probably a black kite, perched on a shrub and gave us great views. Several purple-faced leaf monkeys and giant squirrels were seen, but strangely no sambar were present at all, despite their abundance on previous visits.

DULL-BLUE FLYCATCHER

Eumyias sordidus

PADDYFIELD PIPIT

Anthus rufulus

JERDON'S BUSHLARK

Mirafra affinis

BLUE-TAILED BEE-EATER

Merops philipinus

PIED BUSHCHAT

Saxicola caprata

BROWN SHRIKE

Lanius cristatus

BLACK KITE

Milvus migrans

PURPLE-FACED LEAF MONKEY

Trachypithecus vetulus

BIRDING SRI LANKA: Bandarawela

During the school holidays, my family and I visited Sri Lanka for 9 days. 3 of those were spent at my father's home in Bandarawela. The forest around the house held a wide variety of birds, including one lifer. 

Fruiting trees attracted rose-ringed parakeets, yellow-fronted barbets, brown-headed barbets and red-backed flamebacks. A small, flowering shrub at the front of the garden was often visited by Loten's sunbirds, purple-rumped sunbirds and pale-billed flowerpeckers. The forest itself held many Sri Lanka scimitar babblers, velvet-fronted nuthatches, cinereous tits, Tickell's blue flycatchers, grey-headed canary flycatchers, emerald doves, and both small and orange minuets. Sri Lanka junglefowl, along with an extremely shy Indian pitta, roamed the forest floor, while crested serpent eagles soared overhead. Late in the evening of my second day, my life lesser hill myna flew into a tree in front of the veranda.

ROSE-RINGED PARAKEET

Psittacula krameri

YELLOW-FRONTED BARBET

Psilopogon flavifrons

BROWN-HEADED BARBET

Psilopogon zeylanicus

VELVET-FRONTED NUTHATCH

Sitta frontalis

ORANGE MINIVET

Pericrocotus flammeus

EMERALD DOVE

Chalcophaps indica

RED-BACKED FLAMEBACK

Dinopium psarodes

SRI LANKA JUNGLEFOWL

Gallus lafayettii

TICKELL'S BLUE FLYCATCHER

Cyornis tickelliae

LESSER HILL MYNA

Gracula religiosa

SRI LANKA SCIMITAR BABBLER

Pomatorhinus melanus

LOTEN'S SUNBIRD

Cinnyris lotenius

CINEREOUS TIT

Parus cinereus

GREY-HEADED CANARY FLYCATCHER

Culicicapa ceylonensis

Some of Sri Lanka's commoner birds, such as jungle crows, white-vented drongos, red-vented bulbuls, yellow-billed babblers, Indian mynas and spotted turtledoves, were also present. The tea estate just above the house held many chestnut-headed bee-eaters, along with a single distant brown shrike. 

CHESTNUT-HEADED BEE-EATER

Merops leschenaultii

WHITE-VENTED DRONGO

Dicrurus caerulescens

YELLOW-BILLED BABBLER

Turdoides affinis

Mammal-wise, barking deer, Indian palm squirrels and Indian giant squirrels were all seen.

BARKING DEER

Muntiacus muntjak