Our Sri Lanka birding and wildlife tour takes us to without doubt one of the world's most pleasurable birdwatching and game viewing destinations. This friendly island nation boasts verdant scenery, characterised by terraced tea plantations and forest patches, and is blessed with many surprisingly large national parks brimming with game and birds. These attractions, coupled with a fascinating history and vibrant culture, make this a truly exotic destination and a pleasure to explore. From the central highlands to the rich lowland rainforests, Sri Lanka is one of only a handful of magical destinations where it is possible to see every single country endemic in a well-planned trip such as this, making this extension a ‘must’ for the keen birder!
Top Birds
Sri Lanka Spurfowl, Sri Lanka Junglefowl, Sri Lanka Wood & Sri Lanka Green Pigeons, Green-billed Coucal, Red-faced Malkoha, Serendib Scops Owl, Sri Lanka Bay Owl, Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl, Chestnut-backed Owlet, Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill, Yellow-fronted & Crimson-fronted Barbets, Red-backed & Crimson-backed Flamebacks, Layard's Parakeet, Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot, Sri Lanka Woodshrike, Sri Lanka Drongo, Sri Lanka Blue Magpie, Black-capped, Yellow-eared, Yellow-browed, White-browed & Square-tailed Bulbuls, Sri Lanka & Hill Swallows, Sri Lanka Bush Warbler, Sri Lanka Scimitar, Brown-capped, Orange-billed, Dark-fronted, Tawny-bellied & Yellow-billed Babblers, Ashy-headed Laughingthrush, Sri Lanka White-eye, Sri Lanka & Southern Hill Mynas, White-faced Starling, Spot-winged, Sri Lanka Whistling, Sri Lanka & Pied Thrushes, Dull-blue & Kashmir Flycatchers, Indian Pitta, Black-headed Cuckooshrike, Marshall's Iora, Blue-faced & Sirkeer Malkohas, Jerdon's & Indian Nightjars, Slaty-legged Crake, Barred Buttonquail, Small Pratincole, Black-necked Stork, Lesser Adjutant, Black, Cinnamon & Yellow Bitterns, Legge's Hawk-Eagle, Grey-headed Fish Eagle, Malabar Trogon, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Orange Minivet, Jerdon's Bush Lark, Loten's Sunbird & Black-throated Munia
Top Mammals
Leopard, Sloth Bear, Purple-faced Langur, Water Buffalo, Asian Elephant, Stripe-necked Mongoose
Habitats Covered
lowland, hill & Montane forest, teak woodlands, lakes, coastal & inland wetlands, mudflats, saltpans
Expected Climate
warm and humid in lowlands, cool in highlands, chance of rain in forest areas
Max Group Size
6 with 1 Rockjumper leader
Tour Pace & Walking
undemanding
Accommodation
basic to very comfortable lodges and hotels
Ease of Birding
mostly unchallenging with very few skulky species
Number of Species Expected
+-240
Other Attractions
Yala National Park, Sinharaja Rainforest, tea plantations, Horton Plains & surrounding mountains
Photographic Opportunities
excellent
Client Testimonials
Enjoyed Clayton very much. He has great potential as a leader.
This was my last hard core birding tour, and I did it so that I could have David Hoddinott as my guide again. He is so very superb and I got quite teary giving him a hug goodbye! I also enjoyed Holly Faithfull a great deal. And our entire group was most delightful.
"Both Peter K and local leader were great. Our local leader went so out of his way to find and stake out owls, he'd start roaming the forest at 2 and have reports for us at dawn when we would meet in field. We had all 9 available owls due to his work. He also knew each area so well we found all endemics as he had such intimate knowledge of location and back up sites for each key species. Amazing, he sure pulled some birds out of almost thin air. Sri Lanka Frogmouth, Sri Lanka Bay and Serendip Owls, etc. Also amazing with his knowledge of calls - my guess is Rockjumper has the country's best local guide - keep him happy! The bus was great, more room than we needed but that sure beats the alternative - made the long drives so comfy. Also had WIFI which added a real time killer to travel."
I had been looking forward to visiting Sri Lanka for a long time, since it was still Ceylon. This tour was all I had hoped for. We did quite well on the birds, seeing or hearing just about everything possible in the country, including all the endemics and specialty birds. The tour was well run and the guides excellent. The local guide was determined to get us everything possible and was quite willing to go the extra mile for every bird. Glen was superb, always cheerful, extremely knowledgeable, even going so far as to find us a steady supply of stout for dinner. When we got stuck in Columbo because of a blizzard back home, Glen did what he could to ensure we made it back. We really look forward to traveling with him again.
The guides for the tour, both the local guide and David Erterius, were exactly what I had hoped for: extremely skilled birders with extensive knowledge, who can find birds that I would never have seen on my own. On top of that, they are both very nice guys. I especially appreciated that both of them volunteered to skip lunch and go with me in search of Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, a bird I had dipped the day before. Don't ask me how they did it, but we managed to find it and I was able to make a great movie clip of the bird. This anecdote is a perfect illustration of the kind of dedication they had towards the participants.