I made two visits to Sinharaja going alone in the last week of MARCH and again in the first week of April with a friend of mine.
The highlight for me was confronting the Sri Lanka Serendib scops owl which is endemic to Sri Lanka and was found for the first time only in 2001.
The main purpose of my first trip was to witness the nesting of a chestnut- backed owlet as my guide friend Sompala informed me. Unfortunately when we came to the site we were told by a villager that the chicks had flown away the previous night and instead we saw this Sri Lanka hornbill feeding the young in a very extraordinary way by keeping a lot of fruits inside the beak and putting out one by one .
This was very welcoming and unexpected. As we were chatting with a villager checking out the sittings he casually said that just then a bird flew to a close by tree and could be the illusive and endemic Green billed Coucal and it proved to be right and had enough time to click....
There was not enough light to get a better photo of this Indian pitta
Endemic Layard's parakeet
giant squirrel
Endemic Orange billed babbler
The famous Frogmouth pair which perch in the same area
female Malabar trogon
Red faced malkoha
beautiful male Malabar trogon
Endemic laughing thrush
Endemic kangaroo lizard
Redspot duke
Tickell's blue flycatcher
Purple faced Languor
Emerald dove
I was lucky to photograph this endemic spot winged thrush at will near the entrance
This was photographed again on my 2 nd visit
Brown Asian flycatcher
This was priceless. The endemic Serendib scops owl had been first seen in 2001. When we tracked it after hearing the call couple times going inside the forest for about a km and when the guide showed to us , it took me a good minute to locate as it was so well camouflaged.
Dark fronted babbler
Robber fly
Endemic Sri Lanka Scimitar babbler
Endemic crested drongo
Endemic Sri Lanka Blue Magpie
