When we first went to Chile, in 2006 I think it was, one of the highlights was watching Blue Whale breaching off the coast of Chiloe island. Seeing a mammal the size of a London Bus coming out of the water and slapping back into the sea with a huge splash certainly left an impression. We’ve seen plenty of whales since, including getting up close and personal with Southern Right Whales in Argentina and, closer to home, seeing a pod of 25 Long-finned Pilot Whale off of Cley in November 2014. But today was another chance to catch up with ‘the big guy’ – growing up to almost 30m in length and weighing nearly 200 tonnes. Another early start from our hotel in Mirissa, followed by a short walk to the harbour, check-in, life-belts fastened and we were off. We didn’t know it at the time but no Blue Whale had been seen along this stretch of Sri Lanka coast in the past four days. We headed off into the ocean for around an hour before the call finally came through there’d been a sighting. Back we raced to finally connect just before the creature took a deep dive. Apparently we had to wait nine minutes before we got another chance – the average dive-time of a Blue Whale. Sure enough ten minutes later it reappeared miles from our last sighting. Another chase and more views. This went on for another hour before it was time to head back to the port. A tiring but exhilarating morning.

Now a selection of shots showing the visible bits – including the first, a record shot of the blow:

Having overcome the slight difficulties with the internet these past few days I thought I’d try and get ahead of the game by posting today’s blog early. After the whale watch and lunch we drove a couple of hours to the nicely appointed Centauria Lake hotel. The afternoon birding session was an informal / unguided affair when we followed our nose out of the hotel grounds and down to the edge of the lake. On a bit of ‘waste ground’, forming a small outflow, we had some tremendous birding. I was drawn to explore the area by the presence of a couple of waders – turned out to be Lesser Sand-plover. Then I flushed a couple of Indian Stone-curlew – we eventually saw about a dozen – which was a trip tick. The longer we stayed looking the more we found. Here are a few photos of some of the stuff we saw.

We left our base at Tissamaharama this morning to drive to Mirissa on the coast, calling in at the stunning wetland of Kalametiya – devastated in the tsunami of 2004, when 30,000 people lost their lives. After lunch we had a gentle stroll along a nearby canal, in the process of which adding to our day list which finished at 90+. Not sure how this WiFi will hold out so I’ll stick to a few photos to reflect the days activities.

I’m struggling to keep up with the blog – too much birding and intermittent internet being the cause. Anyway, yesterday we had another early morning start  – up at 4.00 am to be on the bus by 4.45. All in an attempt to beat the crowds at the opening of the gates to Yala National Park. We spent the first hour on the jeeps trying to find Leopard – which we failed to do. After that we could settle down and concentrate on finding a few birds – which we did. It was a rather frustrating process, mind you, because most of the interesting stuff was seen in small open clearings in the bush, and by the time the jeep at the front had had their fill and taken photos, those behind in jeeps 2 and 3 struggled to find the target. It did work in reverse a few times though, with the last jeep sometimes seeing stuff after the others had departed – Striated Heron being a case in point. When we got back from the safari for lunch we and our optics had been powder-coated in fine red dust. It took a shower and a deep clean of the optics to get rid of it. In the afternoon, after a bit of a siesta, we headed off again in pursuit of another particular target – White-naped Woodpecker. We’d been a couple of times to look for this particular bird, in trees by a nearby artificial lake, but to no avail. It looked like the evening would end up the same way as before until our guide came hurrying down the track towards us. The bird had been spotted in trees back the way we’d come and was being ‘minded’ by none other than the ‘owl boys’! I broke into a gallop and arrived at the spot breathless but able to enjoy a brief moment with the bird before it quickly flew off. Good but short views – no photo as my shutter failed to release -grhh. Unfortunately I was the only one of the group to see it.

Bundala is an internationally important wintering ground for waterbirds and a sanctuary for Indian Elephant. Another early start was needed to ensure we were at the gates to the park when they opened and had plenty of time to walk & bird the approach track. The birding in the first couple of hours after dawn was fantastic and the jeep safari didn’t disappoint. We had a whole host of interesting waterbirds, including three species of Bittern and a dozen wader species. The Golden Jackal was a bonus. I’ll let a few photos tell the story.

We’d just climbed down from the bus and begun viewing the lake at the start of our afternoon birding session when a couple of lads drove up on a motorbike and started talking in animated terms to our guide. Oo-er this doesn’t look good. As it happens, rather than being a problem, they were in fact the local owl boys’! We jumped back in the bus and they proceeded to guide us to three different roosting owl species!

Thanks to the ‘Owl Boys’ for an entertaining afternoon!

Forgetting my binoculars wasn’t a good start to the early morning birding session – a return visit to Victoria Park to look for thrushes, in particular male Pied Thrush. Brief views of our target in the half-light was sufficient to encourage me to stay whilst the rest of the group went off looking for something better. Eventually the bird appeared along ‘Schitt’s Creek’, affording reasonable record shots. Shortly after our guide came running up ‘Slaty-legged Crake…’! I didn’t wait for direction, just ran off in the general direction. Fortunately I located the group, who were watching the bird, a hundred metres or so up the path. We returned to the original spot for more views of the Pied Thrush and a second appearance from the Scaly Thrush. Job done. After breakfast we drove to our Oak Ray hotel base for three nights, in the wetland resort of Tissamaharama, for waterbirds and a ‘three owl’ experience – the subject of a separate blog.

Actually it was well before the lark – 4.15 am to be precise. And the reason for this outrageously early start was the necessity to be on the Horton Plains before it got light, if we were to stand a chance of seeing the last of our ‘must get’ thrush species. As soon as the reserve opened at six we made our way to the viewing deck, to be greeted almost immediately by the tell-tale shrill squeaky call of the male. As dawn broke Jane spotted our ‘target’ fly to the bushes above the lake – a Sri Lanka Whistling-thrush. It fed quietly along the edge whilst it’s mate flew under the decking to perch temporarily behind us. The pressure off, we then spent the next four hours walking the roads in the park, adding another five endemics, plus an impressive supporting cast.

After a three hour transfer from Kitulgala to Nuwara-eliya – capital of the central hill country, at an altitude of over 6,000 feet – and longest lunch-break ever we did manage two hours this afternoon in the birding hotspot of Victoria Park – a typical town park creating in the colonial style with a creek running through it. I say creek but it was more like a giant waste disposal unit. However, as we all know birds aren’t usually put off by their surroundings, and so it proved today. In the space about 100m of ‘water-front’ we had some exceptional birding. We added about a dozen new species to the overall trip list, including a couple of endemics: Sri Lanka Scaly Thrush and Sri Lanka Scimitar-babbler, several scarce migrants and at least one other hard-to-get thrush. A really great session and prelude to a 4.30 am start tomorrow for our trip to the Horton Plains National Park.

We’ve spent the day birding no more than a couple of miles from the hotel – mostly along the river, adjacent tea plantations and surrounding hill country. Our journey involved an interesting raft-crossing and an even more interesting return across a pedestrian suspension bridge. Several more endemics have been added to the list bringing my personal total to 16. Two raptors were additions to the trip list – both scarce eagles: Black and Rufous-bellied. But it was the evening session which proved to be the highlight with two endemics falling in quick succession: Chestnut-backed Owlet (IUCH Red List – Vulnerable) and Spot-winged Ground-thrush, with the ‘bonus bird’, Black-backed Dwarf Kingfisher. The tea and cake on the deck of a near-by bird lodge was the perfect end to an excellent day.

A couple of ‘fillers’ from recent days.