5th March - Kumana National Park, Sri Lanka - Part One

 We had about an hours drive from the hotel to meet our driver for today's all day safari.  This meant an early start and we left the hotel just before 5:00 am.  The drive took us through more paddyfields and just before reaching the closest town, Panama we stopped for a Jerdon's Nightjar sitting on the road.

As this is an all day trip and we saw an awful lot I am going to split the day in the blog into three parts.

We met our driver and Hilux, and then set off into the park.  All was well to start with, then we turned onto an ungraded road.  It was apparently only sixteen kilometres to the park, but very quickly we realised that this was not going to be a quick journey.  With gullies and holes it was very slow going and very uncomfortable.  There were kilometre markers by the side of the road and we seemed to take ages to go one kilometre, let alone sixteen.  Still the sun was coming up and we could see around us when we were not hanging on for dear life.

The sun rose into the sky just after dawn appearing like a big red ball as we looked back across the many paddyfields.

Early morning the Sri Lankan Jungle Fowl are not so elusive, this one of several males we saw on the journey.

A displaying Peacock, not sure what was the subject of its attention.

As the kilometre markers passed sixteen we passed through some open grassland.  A Stripe-necked Mongoose ambled across the grass towards the woodland scrub.

This was the second species of Mongoose we had seen, this one a lot more hairy than the Ruddy Mongoose.

Finally we stopped at the park entrance.  The offices were along side a large lake and a large Crocodile was laying on the rocks.

Helen negotiated the Macaques to get to the bathrooms, these are Toque Macaques, so called because their ruffled fur on the head looks like a Toque cap.

It was quite a large troop around the offices with quite a few babies, although you have to hope their mothers love them.

All checked in and we were on our way.  We had been told that the roads were better in the park, it didn't seem so.

A Great Thick Knee by the side of the road.  The name "thick knee" comes from the swollen joint that in all birds is actually the ankle, but assumed to be a knee!

An Open-billed Stork in a pool by the side of the road, not bothered at all by us.

If you wondered why its called Open-billed?

The Sri Lankan Grey Langur monkey, the other monkey species found in Sri Lanka.  I have commented before how they appear to be dressed like local costumes.  The long tail held high here in a question mark.

A female Asian Flycatcher.

We headed into the park and I asked the driver to stop while I tried to photograph a Pacific Golden Plover.  But news then came in that a Sloth Bear had been seen, so we were off, bouncing and bumping along the roads.

When we arrived at the place the bear had gone, but we drove up and down looking for the bear and Leopard as the driver had seen paw marks in the sand.  We seemed to drive up and down for ever, passing a very nice yellow cement mixer at least four times!

Finally the driver conceded and we moved on and came across a beautiful piece of open water.

With Water Buffalo in the water.

A Painted Stork close to the road, like the Open-billed completely oblivious to us.

A Black-winged Stilt with some lovely reflections.

A Curlew Sandpiper feeding on the margins of the lake.

Then a cow buffalo appeared with a very young calf.

Who were then joined by a Cattle Egret!

The calf licking it's mother ears.

Then another cow and calf appeared in the water.

A Land Monitor lizard made its way across the path.

We were sitting enjoying the scene with the buffalo and the many birds when a Common Kingfisher landed in the tree alongside us.

One of the dead trees had a Brahminy Kite sat in it.

And a Marsh Sandpiper dropped in, again, ridiculously close.

Kumana is not a busy park, we were told that today there were only ten cars booked in.  Contrast this with the hundreds of jeeps that would be driving around Yala at the same time.  There was a car in front of us and they were signalling for us to come closer.  Our driver did so and they pointed to a tree and in the tree this is what we saw.

This is a convenient point at which to close Part One.

27th April - Titchfield Haven and Hook Links, Warsash, Hampshire

The forecast was for easterly winds, hoping these might go around to south easterly I was meeting Ian at the sea wall at Hill Head.  I arrived first just before 7:30, joining to other birders, who disappointingly said there had not been much about.  The one highlight though two Bar-tailed Godwits on the beach in front of us.

Two Little Terns were flying around the area feeding, while five Common Terns headed west.  Three Whimbrel going west raised hopes of maybe some movement, but it wasn't to be.  A reminder of winter were four Brent Geese heading west.

Mediterranean Gulls could be heard overhead, their mewing calls so distinctive.

The two Bar-tailed Godwits had disappeared but returned with a fly past that was chance to use the camera.

Just after 9:00, my phone buzzed in my pocket and a report of a Black Winged Stilt a short distance away at Hook.  There was no decision to debate, Ian got in my car as he wasn't driving and we set off immediately.  We parked at sub station and made our way down to the beach.  A Whitethroat was singing in the bramble and we stopped to photograph.

So occupied with declaring its territory it wasn't bothered as we edged closer.

Very much in full voice.

We walked along the beach towards the scrape, passing the area of gorse that was burnt a few years ago there was a Wheatear amongst the burnt branches.

There were several birders looking across the scrape when we arrived and it did not take long to find the stilt at the back of the pool.

Whilst it remained at the back of the scrape it wasn't easy to photograph, we needed it to come closer.  As such while waiting attention turned to a Wheatear on the beach.

And then it was back to the Black-winged Stilt.

I saw my first Black-winged Stilt in Essex back in 1987 and have seen many after that but always on my travels away from the United Kingdom.  This was my first once again in the country and my first in the county.

It remained at the back of the pool until it flew to the left hand side to join an impressive number of five Common Sandpipers.  From there it finally flew closer.

They are an elegant wader, with long red legs.  They are found in a variety of wetlands, from marshes to coastal lagoons.

A vagrant to the United Kingdom, occasionally pairs arrive and breed, the last success in southern England being a pair at Medmerry in West Sussex.

It is considered a rare vagrant in Hampshire with around 30 records since the early sixties.

The males have fully glossy black backs, while females and the younger birds have more of a brown back.  This bird showed brown on the back so is probably an immature bird or female.

The Black-headed Gulls were none to pleased when it came to close and would attack, this result in the stilt flying off around the scrape, but returning to the island on the right hand side.

You can appreciate the long red legs in flight as they hang behind the tail.

Now much closer and showing well.

Finally chased off by one of the Avocets.

This time it flew off and dropped down closer to us, but out of sight due to the tall reeds.  We had seen enough and decided to go looking for the reported Whinchat on the beach.  We didn't find those straight away but there were Sanderling on the water line.

A little further along we found the Wheatear, here a female close in.

There were six Wheatear in the area, with at least two males including this one amongst them.

The Whinchat made a very brief appearance on the fence at the back of the field, but not long enough to photograph, but nice to see one in spring.

We walked on and decided to check the TLC horse field and here there were even more Wheatear.  We counted nine with this female quite close in.

Turning to head back to the car a Whimbrel dropped on to one of the flooded pools in the field.  Interesting a rather dark individual.

Lunch was taken on the sea wall at Hill Head, mainly in the hope that something was moving.  The tide was quite high and there were plenty of sailing boats out on the sea, but no birds.  On the beach though there was the small flock of Sanderling and there having been three days since I last saw them I decided to see if the summer plumage had developed any further.

One broke away from the group, and this one was looking very smart as it walked along the tide line towards me.

In full summer plumage the neck and head is mottled a rusty brown a little bit more, maybe this will happen in the next week.

I then decided to lay down on the beach to get right down to eye level.

Maybe it was because I was lying down that the Sanderling came even closer to me.

A shake to show off the beautiful colours in the plumage.

I finally dragged myself away from the Sanderling and walked around to the visitor centre to check in.  Outside the Turnstone were gathering on the harbour wall as the tide was high and several of these were in summer plumage.

You can understand why they are called Ruddy Turnstones.

One of the main predators of the gulls on the scrape is the Lesser Black-backed Gull, this one was amongst the Turnstones on the harbour wall.

I walked to the Spurgin Hide.  After settling in all the gulls went up and I immediately saw the reason, the male Marsh Harrier gliding over the reeds at the back of the pools.  It was chased off but very soon re-appeared, this time much closer to the hide

It circled around a large bush, actively scanning the ground below.

Then hovering above the reeds with the legs dangling.

It then dropped quickly and remained out of sight for about fifteen minutes.  It eventually appeared and flew around the area, still quite close to the hide.

The yellow eyes, similar but maybe smaller to those of the Short-eared Owl.

And probably the best was saved for last as it flew past the hide and away to the north.

I checked the Pumfrett hide, but didn't stay long.  From the Meon Shore there was a drake Shoveler just below the hide window, snoozing while keeping an eye on me.

A close up of the stunning plumage of the Shoveler.

Leaving the hide a Lesser Whitethroat was singing in the bushes, the song is different to the Whitethroat, more a rattle where the Whitethroat's is more buzzy and scratchy, they are though similar in behaviour skulking around in the bushes, but eventually showed very well for a short while.

As the name suggests the Lesser Whitethroat is small than its cousin the Whitethroat.  It sports dark cheeks which contrasts with the white throat and this can give it a "masked" look.

Wintering in Africa, they arrive here in mid April.  The return migration takes place in September, but they travel around the eastern Mediterranean and not through Gibraltar like many others.

At the reserve west gate there were several Sedge Warblers singing.  This one was in a small bush in the middle of the reed bed, but was visible through the surrounding reeds which meant the focus would come and go.

After the early morning it was quite a successful day, a county tick, which was a quality bird and some great photo opportunities was not something I was expecting at 8:30 this morning.