Sri Lanka bird watching trip reports

Travel Report by John Kirby - November 2011

1st – 15th November 2011

Pat & Garry and Monica & John Kirby visited Sri Lanka in 2011.
Read John Kirby's tour report here >>

Images of Sri Lanka - A photographic essay of Sri Lanka’s people and wildlife
by Brian Pollard

Top: Fron cover of Brian Pollards book and Brian when he was touring with Walk With Jith in which he took all the photos of this book.

Brian Pollard with his wife Sue and two friends, Joan and Dave Carman, toured with Walk With Jith in December 2010.

Brian Pollard is a keen photographer and captured the beauty of wildlife and nature as well as interesting cultural elements in Sri Lanka through his professional lenses. About 100 of these photos were published in the 78-page color book “Images of Sri Lanka - A photographic essay of Sri Laka’s people and wildlife". The complete book is now available for viewing on http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2002585 and you can order a print copy through the website.

The tour comments of all the group members are here>>

Ann and Roland go Birding in Sri Lanka - by Ann Gifford

Ann and Roland Glifford
Preston, England

15 -31 December 2010

Ann and Roland Glifford toured with Walk With Jith in 2011.
Read Ann's tour report here >>

A Loepard Hunting A Wild Boar - Yala National Park, Sri Lanka - A WalkWithJith tour

Jane, Nandana and Adam - Photo from Jane Dixon

Jane Dixon and Dudley Adam toured with Walk With Jith in May 2011. The vidoe is on top is made from photos of a leopard hunting a wild boar, taken by Jane Dixon during the tour.

All Photos by Jane Dixon >>

May 2011

Hi Prasanjith,

We spent 1 week in southern Sri Lanka at Yala NP and Sinharaja Forest Reserve in May 2011. Our guide, Nandana, was wonderful - he explained the culture of Sri Lanka and was well versed in the wildlife and natural history of Sri Lanka. We spent 3 full days in Yala undertaking full days safari drives from 6.30am to 6pm in the evening. The birds, mammals, reptiles and butterflies were numerous. We saw some amazing behavioural moments while just sitting and watching. The most memorable was the leopard launching an attack on a wild boar herd, subsequently catching and killing one of the baby wild boars. The incident was dramatic and I never expected to see the aggressive response with which the boars tried to fend off the leopard. We also saw water buffalo chasing away a leopard, a ruddy mongoose digging up and wrestling with a land monitor, and a mongoose desperately trying to work out how to catch a 2m Sri Lankan python. Birds were also numerous and we saw plenty of endemic species. After leaving Yala we drove to Sinharaja Forest Reserve, a completely different habitat to that of the dry, rocky, shrub-filled Yala. We did a couple of morning walks through the forest. Rain prevented afternoon expeditions. Seeing green pit vipers and Sri Lankan frogmouths were amongst the highlights. However, the icing on the cake was our guide finding the Serendip Scops Owl in the depths of the jungle. Braving leeches and bogs, we had a fantastic view of this recently discovered for nature species. We would definitely recommend Walking with Jith tours of Sri Lanka.

Jane Dixon and Dudley Adam

Walk With Jith tour - Travel Report by Nicholas King, 2011

Leopard - Photo by Nick King taken during the tour in Yala National Park

28th January - 22 February 2011

Nick & Carol King and Michael & Judy Bates toured with Walk With Jith in 2011.
Read Nick's comprehensive tour comment here >>

Walk With Jith Tour - Colin Schaverien's Trip Report

Olga Shakirova n Colin Schaverien in front of Sigiriya

27 March - 22 April 2011

Olga Shakirova n Colin Schaverien went on a walking and culture tour with Walk With Jith in 2011.
Read Colin Schaverien's report on the tour here >>

Walk With Jith tour to Kandy Botanical Gardens January 2009

Julie and Terry Doman with their friends Ian and Lynn Cowgill, Melanie and Roy Rovill from Bath, UK. met Prasanjith for the first time at the British Bird Watching Fair in 2007.

Afterwards they did a bird watching tour in January 2009 lead by Walk With Jith. In the tour they visited the Kandy Botanical Gardens in Sri Lanka. In this video at that place, Mr. Palipana an expert at the garden does an excellent commentary on trees, orchids, etc.

Kandy Botanical Garden is also called as Peradeniya Botanical Garden or Royal Botanical Garden.

Walk With Jith bird watching tour in Sri Lanka February 2009

Prasanjith Caldera of Walk With Jith first met David Nelson and his friend Bob Crawford from Middlesbrough, UK at the British Bird Watching Fair in 2007. Subsecuently they went on a bird watching tour in Sri Lanka in February 2009. In this very successful two weeks bird watching tour they spotted more that 230 birds including Serendib Scops Owl in Sinharaja rain forest. In Yala national park they were lucky to spot two big Leopards at very close range.

Whale Watching in Mirissa Sri Lanka. A Walk With Jith tour of Barrie and Shirley Bird with Peter and Jackie Bourne, UK, 2009

Barrie and Shirley Bird with Peter and Jackie Bourne from Kent, UK met Prasanjith Caldera at the British Bird Watching Fair in 2007. Subsecuently they did a wild life and culture tour in Sri Lanka in February 2009. The tour included whale watching in Mirissa. During the 3 hour boat ride, they spotted about 08 Sperm Whales.

Bird Watching trip report by Ian Hillery, Durham, UK.

Ian Hillery from UK did a 7 day tour with us in March 2009. He visited 3 main birding sites in Sri Lanka; 1. Sinharaja Rain Forest, 2.Nuwara-eliya highlands and 3.Kithulgala.

Your can read his full trip report and/or buy his DVD of the trip from www.birdseen.co.uk >>

Mary and Martin Leathwood's Trip Report

Mary and Martin Leathwood from United Kingdom toured with Walk With Jith from 10th March to 28th March. During their tour they visited Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Knuckles mountain range, Kandy, Adams peak mountain, Nuwra-eliya, Bundala National Park, Sinharaja Rain Forest, Kosgoda and Negambo.

You can read their trip report here >>

John and Marianne Ball's bird trip - photo report

John and Marianne Ball

John and Marrianne Ball's "Walk With Jith" tour photos February 2008 - Sri Lanka Birds -1

John and Marianne Ball, Somerset, UK. 22 February - 8th March 2008.

See Photo Report prepared from photos taken during their tour. These photos are hosted at Picasa:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/walkwithjith/ . Click images below to see each album:

Places

Insects

Plants Flowers

Butterflies

Reptiles

Mammals

Birds

Thai Birders Group - Trip Report

Thai Birders' Group 2007-8

Nattinee Limkitisupasin and members of the Thai Birders' group , Thailand travelled with Walk With Jiht from December 2007 to January 2008. Read trip reports by some group members in Thai Language here >>

Colin Scott

Colin Scott, a Naturalist from Devon, UK visited with a group from Exmoor and travelled in February 2007 with Walk With Jith. Read his report here>>

Brian Clasper, Nature Photographer, Durham, UK. January 2007.

Brian and Jith

Brian Clasper, toured with his friend Jim France. You can read Brian's report here >>

This report is also available at Surfbirds.com:
http://www.surfbirds.com/trip_report.php?id=1110

Trip report by Nattinee Limkitisupasin, Thailand -  2006

Nattinee Limkitisupasin

Nattinee Limkitisupasin, Thailand. December 2006. in Thai Language:
1. http://www.go4get.com/add_go4board.php?id=273
2. http://www.go4get.com/add_go4board.php?id=272
3. http://www.go4get.com/add_go4board.php?id=280
4. http://www.go4get.com/add_go4board.php?id=283
5. http://www.go4get.com/add_go4board.php?id=275

Mark Taylor
General Sales Manager (New vehicles)
BMW group (Doncaster)
Melbourne, Australia

Paul Seligman's Bird Watching Trip Report - from Wales, 2005

Janet Dewes & Paul Seligman
Wales, UK

Paul Seligman and Janet Dawes came to Sri Lanka in February 2005 for a two weeks bird watching tour. Read Paul's report here >>