I recently discovered this series of “Inside Birding” videos on YouTube. In this one, they explain about how a bird’s color pattern can help you identify it. I have to admit that this can be difficult with fast flying species such as parrots!
The White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) also known as the White-breasted Kingfisher or Smyrna Kingfisher, is a tree kingfisher, widely distributed in Eurasia from Bulgaria, Turkey, West Asia east through the Indian Subcontinent to the Philippines. This kingfisher is a resident over much of its range, although some populations may make short distance movements. It can often be found well away from water where it feeds on a wide range of prey that includes small reptiles, amphibians, crabs, small rodents and even birds. During the breeding season they call loudly in the mornings from prominent perches including the tops of buildings in urban areas or on wires.
They are fun to watch and I saw several in Kithulgala. They were easily seen by their bright blue backs and seemed keen to pose for photos! This one wanted to make sure I got his best side – both of them!
He’s got a beakful!
White-throated Kingfishers have a huge range throughout Central and South-east Asia so it shouldn’t be hard to find an award ticket to get to one of their many habitats.
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Getting ready for a hot date?
This one was happy to hang around and be filmed.
I will be going into greater detail in other posts regarding some of the great features of FlightStats but for now, get this free app! If you ever get delayed, find yourself stranded in an airport or need to track a flight, you will be very glad you have it!
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Travel & Leisure have an interesting list of some of the coolest close-up animal encounters. Have a look through and see how many YOU have done!
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These are the ones I have done from their list:
3. Pantanal, Brazil but I didn’t see jaguars.
4. Chobe, Botswana and yes, I saw lots of elephants!
5. Kakadu Australia for lots of crocodiles
6. Serengeti, Tasmania and I did see lions. Next visit will be for birds!
9. Zambezi River, Zambia I was camping across the river in Zimbabwe and woke up to hippo tracks very near my tent………..pretty scary!
11. Bwindi, Uganda Seeing mountain gorillas was amazing! I lucked out and was in teh group that visited the gorilla family near the campground.
13. Borneo, Indonesia I was in a different orangutan sanctuary near Sandakan but I did see them!
20. Macaws in Peru – I’ll take half a point since I saw them in Tambopata but in 2016 I’m going back to visit both Manu & Tambopata!
I recently discovered this series of “Inside Birding” videos on YouTube. In this one, they explain about how a bird’s habitat can help you identify it.
The Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot is a small, mainly green hanging parrot, only 13 cm long with a short tail. Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot is less gregarious than some of its relatives, and is usually alone or in small groups outside the breeding season. Its flight is swift and direct, and the call is a sharp whistled twiwittwit..twitwitwit. It undergoes local movements, driven mainly by the availability of the fruit, seeds, buds and blossoms that make up its diet. In Sri Lanka, this bird is known as Gira Maliththa or Pol Girwa in Sinhala Language.
I couldn’t get a good shot because of backlighting from the sun so here’s the Wikipedia one followed by a few of my attempts to catch this beautiful bird in flight and perched near Kithulgala.
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They are endemic to Sri Lanka and most easily seen around the town of Kithulgala. See the red dot below. Use a Central Asian award to get to Colombo, then take a taxi or bus.
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The Chestnut-backed Owlet (Glaucidium castanotum) (often misspelled Glaucidium castanonotum), is an owl which is endemic to Sri Lanka. This species is a part of the larger grouping of owls known as typical owls, Strigidae, which contains most of the smaller species of owl. This species was formerly considered as a subspecies of the Jungle Owlet.
They are endemic to Sri Lanka and most easily seen in Kithulgala. They are quiet and hard to spot but if you have a good guide, they will know where to find them. They can also be seen in Sinharaja and around Sri Lanka. Use a Central Asian award to get to Colombo, then take a taxi or bus.
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This has to be the cutest owl I have ever seen!
The manager of Kithulgala Resthouse booked an excellent guide for us – Shanaka Lakmina for our morning bird walk. I told him I was especially keen to see parrot species, preferably close up so he tailored the walk to the areas of most interest. Of course we saw lots of fantastic birds along the way. We did manage to find a Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot that perched for awhile except he was backlit by the sun. There were also a few Alexandrines and possibly a quick flyby of a Layard’s Parakeet. The other highlight of the trip was the endemic Chestnut-backed Owlet.
First meet Shanaka. He’s a licensed guide who works for Kelaniriver Adventure Kithulgala (KAK). He can be booked via your hotel or in advance by Facebook. He’s a great guy, knows the local birds quite well and where to find them.
These are photos he sent me of the parrots since I couldn’t get good shots. The smaller one is the Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot, the others are Layard’s Parakeets in a nest.
Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot – just hanging around
Layard’s Parakeets in a nest.
Layard’s Parakeet on a tree
And now some blurry shots of parrots at a distance taken by me.
Chestnut-backed Owlet
And the rest of the birds in chronological order starting with the walk through town.
After the bird walk, we sat down and ticked off all the species we saw over both days. This was my final tally: Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Little Cormorant, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Crested Serpent Eagle, Green Imperial Pigeon, Spotted Dove, Sri Lanka Green Pigeon, Sri Lanka Hanging Parrot, Layard’s Parakeet, Alexandrine Parakeet, Chestnut-backed Owlet, White-throated Kingfisher, Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill, Yellow-fronted Barbet, Orange Minivet, Sri Lanka Drongo, White-bellied Drongo, Black-capped Bulbul, Red-vented Bulbul, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Orange-billed Babbler, Yellow-billed Babbler, Oriental White-eye, Lesser Hill Myna, Common Myna, Purple-rumped Sunbird, White-rumped Munia, Grey Wagtail.I recently discovered this series of “Inside Birding” videos on YouTube. In this one, they explain about how a bird’s size and shape can help you identify it. I would still like to know how to implement this when the bird is zooming over your head at the speed of light!
Sometimes you just have to go with your instincts. With not a lot of time to prepare and research, and a worry of rooms selling out for this beautiful eco-tourism escape from the city of Colombo I had to do a quick look around and book something fast.
Kithulgala Resthouse came up in several searches – Google, Trip Advisor, Booking.com and Agoda. The photos were stunning and reviews were mixed but although some people found the rooms out-dated; all I cared about was the view and the birding! I also loved the historical aspect – it was the location used for filming of The Bridge over the River Kwai and the crew stayed there during filming. Evreward turned up a deal using AAdvantage’s click-thru mall to Booking.com so that sealed my decision.
There really is no need to use Colombo as a gateway. There is only 1 hour of travel time difference between the airport and Kithulgala & the airport and Colombo. Also, you won’t get stuck in traffic on the Kithulgala road. The airport is the big red dot.
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I was not to be disappointed. The grounds were gorgeous and I could hear birds as we drove in. The restaurant overlooked the river with more birds flying overhead and it had that historical feel to it.
They have both fan rooms and AC rooms, I had chosen a fan room overlooking the river. Yes, if you are used to Park Hyatts and Sheratons you will probably find the room simple and “dated” but that is exactly what I love in a room – character!
A White-throated Kingfisher was there to greet us!
Laundromat!
Nice patios to sit and watch birds.
It was fun to watch the locals rowing across the river.
A beautiful young wedding couple showed up a bit later.
Watching birds from our patio.
I loved the artwork around the property! Unfortunately, it wasn’t for sale.
The staff were very friendly and accommodating. Since there weren’t many people there they didn’t do a buffet, we ordered off the menu. They cooked from scratch so service was slow by Western standards but I didn’t care as there were plenty of birds to watch from the restaurant balcony, even Layard’s Parakeets! The food was good and they will tone down spiciness for those who don’t care for it. I do wish they had a gift shop though as I really wanted some of that art! We hung around the lodge and birded the grounds the first day, then had the manager book us a guide for the next morning……………but that’s another post! I loved this place and highly recommend it for birders!