Horton Plains National Park

We took a bus, an overcrowded train, and another bus on a day-and-a-half long journey from home to Nuwara Eliya last week. Leaving temperatures in the low-90s in Anuradhapura, we arrived on a misty and cool 58-degree evening in the mountains. 

A view from the bus as we passed through the mountains and tea plantations

We showered and layered on the clothing we brought and settled into our hotel room for the night. In the morning we would be leaving at 4:45AM to head to Horton Plains National Park… another hour away by tuk-tuk. The morning was misty and rainy, windy, and downright cold as we made our way to the park. Upon arrival, and seemingly on cue, the rain let up, and the wind settled. Making our way to the trail head, we met Lillie, a fellow birder from the United States.

Birding Horton Plains! - Photo by NS Dissanayaka

Horton Plains is a vast and unique park with open grasslands flanked by rainforest, high in the mountains. It’s the home to Leopards, the regionally endemic Bear Leaf-monkey, a subspecies or the Purple-faced Leaf-monkey, Sambar Deer, many regionally endemic birds, and several endemic lizards, including my favorite Rhino-horned Lizard. The climate, montane habitat, and wildlife are unlike anywhere else in Sri Lanka.

We started our nearly 6-mile trek through the grasslands to the famous Baker’s Falls, through the jungle, and on to the End of the World overlook. It didn’t take very long until Saranga pointed out a Blyth’s Pipit… a life bird! It’s #916 for the world, and #222 for Sri Lanka! Here’s a short photo-tour of Horton Plains National Park…

Sambar Deer - Photo by NS Dissanayaka

Tricolored Munia (Lonchura malacca)

Baker's Falls

Yellow-eared Bulbul (Pycnonotus penicillatus)
a Sri Lanka endemic - Photo by NS Dissanayaka

Cinereous Tit (Parus cinereus) - Photo by NS Dissanayaka

Saranga and me at the World's End overlook - Photo by L. Kline

World's End

Dark-fronted Babbler (Rhopocichla atriceps) - Photo by NS Dissanayaka

Photo by NS Dissanayaka

If you like what you see, join Saranga and I at Horton Plains as part of our Ultimate Island Safari trip in March 2020! 

Saranga and me at Baker's Falls - Photo by K. Wijesinghe

All photos in this post are mine unless noted otherwise :) Thanks for reading! 

-Anna 

The Ultimate Island Safari

Sri Lanka is a gem of an island off the southeastern coast of India. In a mere 25,000 square miles, Sri Lanka is the home to some of the world's largest mammals, such as Blue Whale and Asian Elephants, the largest reptile in the world - the Saltwater Crocodile, more than 30 species of endemic birds, and over 200 endemic plants. On top of biodiversity, Sri Lanka offers an array of beautiful habitats from ocean beaches to misty rain forests and mountainous waterfalls to semi-arid scrublands.

Udawalawe Lake - Photo by Anna Wittmer

In March 2020, I'll be heading back to Sri Lanka for the 4th time since my inaugural visit in September of 2018. Sri Lanka is very dear to me, and I am incredibly excited to be able to share a piece of the magic with you. I hope you'll join me on an unforgettable adventure!

Leopard - Photo © Classic Sri Lanka

Here's what we're in for:

12 Day, 11 Night Ultimate Island Safari March 14-25, 2020

Day 1: Arrival at Bandaranaike International Airport - Saturday, March 14, 2020

Arrivals before noon are highly encouraged and will give you time to check into your hotel and rest before dinner and our first evening adventures looking for Gray Slender Loris, Red Slender Loris, and Golden Palm Civet.

 

Gray Slender Loris - Photo © Classic Sri Lanka

Day 2: Transfer to Mirissa and PM Nilwala River Safari

After a 3-hour drive to Mirissa, located on the southern coast, we will check into our hotel before an evening river safari on the Nilwala River. The Nilwala River is home to one of the largest known populations of Estuarine Crocodiles. These prehistoric crocodiles are the largest reptiles on Earth. We will also hope to see a variety of wading birds and a large population of Indian Flying Foxes as we travel down the river and into the mangrove wetlands before arriving at the Indian Ocean.

 

Estuarine (or Saltwater) Crocodile - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Day 3: AM Mirissa Whale Watching and PM transfer to Sinharaja Rainforest Reserve

This morning we will checkout from our hotel early with a packed breakfast. The southern town of Mirissa is known as the “World’s Best” for Blue Whale sightings from November through April. Some lucky whale watchers have also spotted Spinner Dolphins, Bryde’s Whales, Sperm Whales, Orcas, Whale Sharks, Bottlenose Dolphins, and Striped Dolphins. We may even be able to spot a few sea birds.

Blue Whale - Photo © Classic Sri Lanka

Next, we’ll head 3 hours into the interior of Sri Lanka to the lowland rainforest region. We’ll check into our hotel for the next 2 nights, before spending the evening exploring the forest’s edge.

The Sinharaja Rainforest is the largest tract of natural rainforest in Sri Lanka, and the home to 28 of the 33 endemic species of birds in Sri Lanka. Several of these endemics often form mixed feeding flocks, which can be quite a treat for us! Some highlights of this region include the recently discovered Serindib Scops-Owl, Sri Lanka Spurfowl, Chestnut-backed Owlet, and White-faced Starling. In addition to exceptional bird life, we may also encounter Purple-faced Leaf Monkey, Giant Squirrel, Kangaroo Lizard, and Hump-nosed Lizard.

 

Hump-nosed Lizard - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Day 4: Full Day in Sinharaja Forest

Today we’ll spend a full day hiking and exploring the Sinharaja Rainforest. We will search for unique endemic species such as Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Red-faced Malkoha, Sri Lanka Spot-winged Thrush, Sri Lanka Green-billed Coucal, Sri Lanka Gray Hornbill, and many more. Other notable non-endemic species include Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Malabar Trogon, and Velvet-fronted Nuthatch. We can also hope to spot the highly cryptic Green Vine Snake. The hike can be steep at times, and the trail is unimproved. If you’re not feeling up to the hike, you may opt to leisurely explore the beautiful grounds of the Blue Magpie Lodge. Many endemic birds can be found right on the hotel property.

Sri Lanka Blue Magpie with a Keelback Tree Snake - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Green Vine Snake - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Sri Lanka Frogmouth - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Red-faced Malkoha - Photo © Classic Sri Lanka

Day 5: AM Transfer to Udawalawe National Park for PM Jeep Safari

This morning we will depart from the lodge and travel to Udawalawe National Park, one of the best places in Sri Lanka for year-round Asian Elephant encounters. After checking into our hotel and enjoying lunch, we will head into the park for our first game drive. While Asian Elephants will be our primary target, we will also hope to see Gray Langur, Toque Macaque, Jackal, Mugger Crocodile, and Spotted Deer. Udawalawe is also an excellent park for dry-zone specialties and raptors such as Crested Hawk-Eagle, Gray-headed Fish-Eagle, Crested Serpent-Eagle, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Brown Fish-Owl, Brown Shrike, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Malabar Pied-Hornbill, and Rosy Starling.  

 

Asian Elephants at Udawalawe - Photo by Saranga Dissanayake

Day 6: AM Udawalawe NP and Transfer to Yala National Park for PM Safari

An early start will take us back into Udawalawe National Park for a half-day safari to see more elephants and perhaps even better birding than last evening.

 

Crested Hawk-Eagle - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Brown Fish-Owl - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Malabar Pied-Hornbill courtship - Photo by Anna Wittmer

We will return to our hotel to check out and make the two-hour transfer to Yala National Park. Yala is the country’s premier destination for wildlife viewing, with the star undoubtedly being the Leopard. Yala Block I is believed to have the highest concentration of leopards in the world. However, due to the elusive nature of these big cats, we sill spend a considerable amount of time in the park to increase our chances of memorable encounters with one. While searching for the leopards, we may also encounter the endangered Sloth Bear, as well as tusker elephants, Sambar Deer, Spotted Deer, Wild Water Buffalo, and Wild Boar. Nearly 300 avian species have been recorded in Yala National Park in variable habitats from lagoons and beaches to rocky outcroppings in the scrubby jungle.

 

"Tusker" Asian Elephant - Photo © Classic Sri Lanka

While African Elephants all have tusks, “Tuskers,” or males with tusks, are a rare occurrence in Sri Lanka, making up only 2% of the entire elephant population in the country.

Day 7: AM Yala Safari and Tissa Wetlands

We will start early for our second game drive in Yala National Park. The lagoons are visited by an array of migratory and resident wading and shorebirds including Eurasian Spoonbill, Painted Stork, Purple Heron, Great Thick-knee, Black-winged Stilt, Kentish Plover, Pheasant-tailed Jacana, Indian Pond-Heron, Black-headed Ibis, and many, many more. In the jungle, we’ll look for Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Asian Paradise-flycatcher, bee-eaters, barbets, minivets, and more. Of course, the previously listed mammals will also be targeted this morning.

 

Orange-breasted Green-Pigeon - Photo by Anna Wittmer

After lunch, we will venture out to the Tissa Wetlands. In this area, we will look for Brown Fish-Owl, Indian Scops-Owl, and Jungle Owlet in some local home gardens. Within the wetlands, we will have the opportunity to see a colony of hundreds of thousands of Indian Flying Foxes, a type of fruit bat, that roost in the trees around the lake. Birds that reside in the wetlands include Lesser Whistling-Duck, Gray-headed Swamphen, White-breasted Waterhen, Asian Openbill, Whiskered Tern, Oriental Darter, White-throated Kingfisher, and Pheasant-tailed Jacana.

 

Jungle Owlet - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Day 8: Full Day in Yala National Park

Today we will spend a full day on safari in Yala National Park. This will increase our odds of memorable encounters with Leopards, Sloth Bear, and tusker elephants. We will also look for primates including Gray Langur and the endemic Toque Macaque. Along the way, we may come across Mugger Crocodile, Indian Rock Pythons, and if we’re lucky, maybe even a Spectacled Cobra! We will continue to bird through out the day as well, hoping to encounter Common Hoopoe, Indian Peafowl, Lesser Adjutant, Wooly-necked Stork, and the nation bird: Sri Lanka Junglefowl.

Mugger Crocodile - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Indian Cobra - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Gray Langur - Photo by Anna Wittmer

We will return to our hotel at dusk for a good night’s sleep before journeying to Nuwara-Eliya in the morning.

Day 9: Transfer to Nuwara-Eliya

We will spend the morning winding our way through hill country before arriving at our hotel.

We will spend the afternoon bird watching in Victoria Park to begin looking for a new variety of birds local to this region. These include Velvet-fronted Nuthatch and Kashmir Flycatcher in addition to highland endemics such as Yellow-eared Bulbul and Dull-blue Flycatcher.

 

Yellow-eared Bulbul - Photo © Classic Sri Lanka

Day 10: Horton Plains National Park and Hakgala Botanical Gardens

We will leave early with a packed breakfast to visit the highest elevated national park in Sri Lanka: Horton Plains National Park. At 7,000 ft above sea level, Horton Plains offers open grassland and cloud forest. These two diverse habitats are the homes of the endemic Black-lipped Lizard and my personal favorite, the Rhino-horned Lizard. A guided hike will take us to a breath-taking overlook known as World’s End and past the impressive Baker’s Falls. Horton Plains hosts the Bear Monkey, the highland race of Purple-faced Leaf Monkey, and many endemic birds.

 

Indian Brown Mongoose - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Indian Fritilary - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Rhino-horned Lizard - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Horton Plains National Park - Photo by Anna Wittmer 

Horton Plains National Park - Photo by Anna Wittmer

In the afternoon, we will explore the unique plants and trees of Hakgala Botanical Gardens and do some casual bird watching. The second largest botanical garden in Sri Lanka, Hakgala has been planted with subtropical and temperate plants since the late 1800s. There are over 10,000 species of plants with the most famous being the variety of orchids and roses. The gardens also offer good habitat for the shaggy Bear Monkeys.

 

Bear Monkey - Photo by Anna Wittmer

We will return to our hotel for a delicious Sri Lankan dinner.

Day 11: Transfer to Kandy for our last full day in Sri Lanka.

Today we will travel to Kandy, the historic capital from the ancient kings’ era of Sri Lanka. This large city is surrounded by mountains and tea plantations and famous for its sacred Buddhist sites including the Temple of the Tooth Shrine.

Giant Flying Squirrel - Photo by Anna Wittmer

We will spend the evening exploring the beautiful property of the Tree of Life Nature Resort. We will try to spot the incredibly elusive Giant Flying Squirrel, while we enjoy our last chances for endemic birds such as the Sri Lanka Hanging-Parrot, Sri Lanka Green-Pigeon, Sri Lanka Gray Hornbill, Sri Lanka Bush Warbler, and Yellow-fronted Barbet. We may even have a chance to relax poolside this last night in Sri Lanka.

Day 12: Transfer to Colombo for PM return flights

Upon checkout from our hotel, we will make our final journey back to Colombo to catch flights back home. Evening flights should be arranged.

My partner, Saranga with the national bird: Sri Lanka Junglefowl - Photo by Anna Wittmer

Tour Cost: 

          2-3 people - $4,200 each

          4-5 people - $3,800

          6 people    - $3,600

Single Room Supplement: $550

Cost includes: Naturalist and Local Guide, Driver and All Ground Transportation, Accommodations, Meals, Bottled Water, and All Government Taxes. You will also receive a complete checklist of the wildlife of Sri Lanka that we will routinely update, and access to shared eBird checklists from our journey together. 

Cost Excludes: Airfare, Tips, Souvenirs and Items of Personal Nature, and Alcoholic Beverages

Please feel free to email me directly for more information, questions, or concerns: peregrineaw@gmail.com

Accommodation Details:

Negombo: 

Goldi Sands (1 Night)

AC and Wifi Available

Mirissa: 

Mandara Resort (1 Night)

AC and Wifi Available

Sinharaja: 

Blue Magpie Lodge (2 Nights)

Wifi Available

Udawalawe: 

Centuria Wild (1 Night)

AC and Wifi Available

Yala: 

(3 Nights)

Nuwara-Eliya: 

Heaven Seven (2 Nights)

Wifi Available

Kandy: 

Tree of Life Nature Resort (1 Night)

AC

Me, birding in Sri Lanka - Photo by Saranga Dissanayake

It feels good to save a life...

Some days are better than others.

While this phrase holds true with most things in life, it is definitely true for herping. Looking for reptiles can have some pretty extreme highs and lows. Today, Ben and I went out to road cruise for snakes. If you aren't familiar with road cruising, it consists of carefully driving roads in good habitat, looking for reptiles that may be crossing the road. Often this is done at night, but in the fall in Ohio, snakes like to come out onto the roads as they warm up after a cool night. This opens up all the opportunities for them to be killed by vehicles, both accidentally, and intentionally. So we road cruise in the fall, not only to see some really cool critters, but to hopefully save the lives of some of them that may not otherwise have a chance.

Today was rough. Although we found an astonishing 77 snakes total in about 4.5 hours, we only had a 55% success rate. Today we found LOTS of dead snakes. The area we selected is home to 3 species of endangered snakes. Often, we don't see any of the three, but today, we found 5 endangered Kirtland's Snakes (Clonophis kirtlandii) and unfortunately all 5 were dead. Some were flattened and had been there for a while, but several may have been saved if we had gone yesterday too. We found 16 Eastern Garter Snakes... dead. 10 Dekay's Brown Snakes... dead. Red-bellied Snake? Dead. Northern Water Snakes... yep, also dead. Perhaps, the most crushing moment of the day was towards the end of the afternoon, when I was already feeling tired and ready to go home as we cruised one final road. I pulled a live Dekay's off the road on my side of the car while Ben mentioned that I might not want to see what was on his side. I went to see what he found, and he was right. I did not want to see my lifer Smooth Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis) with fresh fatal wounds. Perhaps if we had cruised that stretch of road even an hour prior I might have ended the day with a huge victory rather than immediate sadness.

A Kirtland's Snake (Clonophis kirtlandii) that I found in 2014.

Sometimes it is difficult for me to see past the dead snakes and enjoy the day, but I try hard to see the bright side. A 55% success rate means that 42 of the snakes we found were saved from the road! Although the lows were extremely low with endangered species and life snakes, if felt great to see so many live snakes slithering into the grass OFF the road! As we cruised along slowly on gravel roads, we would stop for any snake and many sticks that looked a bit snake-like. In some areas, I would get out and walk along the road while Ben followed in my Prius. One of my best finds while I was walking was this very young Red-bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata)... one of my favorites!

Red-bellied Snake 

Red-bellied Snake

Diversity of the living snakes was low, but individual counts were high! We found 19 Dekay's Brown Snakes (Storeria dekayi) ranging from 5-13" long. Here are a few of the cute little snakes:

Dekay's Brown Snake

We also encouraged 21 Eastern Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) from the road. Immediately after my defeat in seeing the Green Snake, I spotted a live snake in the road. We stopped and I jumped out, exclaiming that it looked dark. Once I got close enough to see, it was all black! Melanistic Garter Snakes aren't common, and especially not in this region of Ohio. This little one was especially beautiful and unique since it had a pink chin. Melanism is essentially the opposite of albino. Melanistic animals have an excess of the dark pigment, Melanin. Moving this gorgeous animal far from the road was definitely a highlight of the day.

Eastern Garter Snakes vary a lot in color and pattern. Check out a few of today's finds!

Melanistic Eastern Garter Snake

Melanistic Eastern Garter Snake

Eastern Garter Snake

In all it was a good day to be out helping the wildlife!

Birding in Ohio Part I: My Birding Story

As a young child, my mother instilled in me the values of nature and appreciating time outdoors. She was not a birder, per se, but she loved birds and all wildlife and would always point out Red-tailed Hawks or Great Blue Herons. She gave me my first bird guides and she regularly filled the bird feeders in the middle of her native flower gardens. For many years, I would sit on the back of the couch against the window and watch the birds come to the feeders.

I was never very concerned with identifying every one until ten years ago, when on a small island in Lake Erie, I took my first college course of Field Ornithology. The week-long intensive class was my first real taste of taking notes in the field and using binoculars to look at birds. To put it simply, my life was changed, although it took several more years for me to realize it. I vividly remember the first Yellow-billed Cuckoo I ever saw and the first Northern Flickers. Over the next three years, I started noticing birds everywhere I went. Kayaking at Pleasant Hill, I saw Osprey. Hiking at Mohican State Park, I noticed Scarlet Tanagers. Attending a conference in Cincinnati, I found Peregrine Falcons nesting across from the hotel. Driving to classes, Wild Turkeys roamed the corn fields.

The first bird I ever banded. Stone Lab, 2008.

I jotted notes here and there, and studied my National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America endlessly. Still, I never made the connection of going out into the field, with my binoculars just to bird. I spent my time outside of classes working and volunteering at the Ohio Bird Sanctuary where I helped in the clinic to care for injured native birds, and I fed the educational birds. I later started helping with programs and educating the public on why you should care about birds and not poison mice. When I wasn't there, I was reading scientific journals on field ornithology and taking online bird courses for fun through Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology, outside of my regular coursework.

Doing an educational program with Peregrine Falcon, Legacy. Ohio Bird Sanctuary, 2009.

In January 2012, I signed up for a semester long Ornithology course as a break in between student teaching and learning about physical and medical management, teaching phonics, and classroom behavioral management techniques for my special education degree. On the first day of class, my professor asked me what my life list was during the class introductions. A little embarrassed, I didn't know what he was talking about. Instead he asked what the most recent interesting bird I had seen was, and I excitedly replied that I had seen a Bald Eagle the previous weekend! The following week, a graduate student came in to give a presentation on how we could all be citizen scientists by using eBird. I set up my account that afternoon and retroactively entered my list from our first field trip a few days prior.

That day was the official start of my new life. Prior to then, I never cared to make friends in college. I was just there to study. Period. But now, I wanted to go birding on the weekends, I wanted to know what other birders were seeing on campus and around town, and I wanted to spend time with people who had my same interest in birds. I quickly made friends with one of my classmates, who seemed to be one of the only other students that was serious about birds, and not just in the class to get a credit. I also made friends with two graduate students who helped with the weekly field trips. Josh Haughawout taught me all the basics of field identification and Mark Rozmarynowycz introduced me to think about rarities and when and where they might be likely. Some of it came naturally. I had studied the field guide so much before I ever started birding, that it was nearly memorized. The first time I saw a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, I didn't know what it was called, but I remembered seeing it in the book and knew exactly which page to turn to. Within a few months, I had a Life List of over 150 species. I changed my major to Ecology and Conservation Biology; I was in a year list competition with my professor; and I had dumped my boyfriend of 6 years who wasn't a birder. (Although that wasn't the only reason. Haha.) I've never looked back, except to regret that I didn't discover birding even earlier.

Birding Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge with Josh and Mark. 2013.

Now, if you're a birder, I'm sure you remember what those first few months and years were like, when EVERYTHING you saw was a new life bird. Every single time you went outside, it was like Christmas morning... only better. It was easy to get new birds right on campus, and in the Bowling Green City Parks. Trips to Magee Marsh and Oak Openings Preserve Metro Park were weekend treats that I looked forward to all week. I was lucky to be located within 30-45 minutes from such fantastic birding locations. However, on April 24, 2012, the game was changed. My friends and I were invited by Ethan Kistler to tag along on a 2 hour drive to chase a breeding plumage Pacific Loon. One week later, I experienced May 1st at Magee Marsh. Finals week opened our schedules to visiting Magee Marsh again May 2nd. And the 4th... and the 8th. 19 Lifers over those few days included the brilliantly colored Blackburnian Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Northern Parula, and Canada Warbler, in addition to the equally stunning Surf Scoter, Eastern Whip-poor-will, White-eyed Vireo, and Lincoln's Sparrow.