Sinharaja Rain Forest - 22nd November

We had an early breakfast and drive to the park ticket office. We transferred our stuff to a Jeep and were driven at snails pace up a rough track to the entrance proper to the park. The park has had a checkered past; it was formerly a royal hunting park, taken over by the British when they took over the islands. Then following independence for Sri Lanka, the authorities decided to allow mahogany planting and logging. There was uproar, because of the site's incredible list of endemic plant, insect, amphibian, mammal and bird list. It was decided to instead turn this into a National Park, and the site later gained World Heritage Status for its wildlife. So thanks to the strength of many people who were determined to protect this site, we were privileged to walk through this fantastic rain forest. Perhaps my concern about this park is the number of invasive plant species that appear to be taking a foot hold here (even more of a problem in Udawalawe).

Mist-laden valley below our hotel

 The forest was fairly quiet, and we struggled to see new species. We started off with a site for Sri Lanka Spurfowl, and got lucky fairly quickly with a female showing about 20m back into the forest. Unfortunately, we had to walk through a pretty bad area for leeches. I suffered one bite, but managed to pick it off before it started to draw blood. Others were less lucky, and Mike seemed to be the flavour of the month.

Layard's parakeet

I had particularly wanted to see Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, but was disappointed to see a group hanging around a shelter, eyeing up the several bags of packed lunches being guarded on behalf of a group of students. They are beautiful birds, but a more natural discovery would have been nice.

Sri Lanka blue magpie wondering where its next cheese sandwich is going to come from

As we descended, we managed to find a couple of flocks of babblers and other species, and finding these appears to be the key to seeing many of the special bird species in the forest.

Leaving the reserve, we stopped and met with local guide Ranjee, who specialises in showing the rarest species to visiting birders. First on the itinerary was a Sri Lanka Frogmouth which was sitting in a cluster of trees near to where we parked the Jeep. We needed to be quick, because the rains were starting to come in and he could not guarantee that our next prize would stay put once the inevitable downpour came. We drove a few km away to an area of bamboo thicket and tried to climb quickly and quietly up the steep slope over slippery mud and rocks. We, in our designer clothing and high tech footwear were stumbing, slipping, occasionally crawling through the mud and undergrowth, while the Sri Lankans in their flip flops and shorts skipped and danced up the slope like mountain goats. Then there it was, exactly where Ranjee had left it earlier in the day, a Serendip Scops Owl, squinting at us from beneath its canopy of dead bamboo leaves. It is a small fawn-coloured owl about the size of a starling with raised ear tufts. It was too dark for us to take photos, but we satisfied ourselves with the unforgettable memory of that climb up the slope and then the incredible view of this highly prized rare bird.

Sri Lanka frogmouth - not an endemic in spite of its name