Hi everyone,

I was fortunate to be in Sri Lanka earlier this month and was based at Negombo, approx. 40km north of Colombo. It was decent birding in the area, however, day trips to Kandy, which is inland in the hill country, Madu Lake / River in the south and Wilpattu, a nature reserve in the north offered the best birding. 

The following species were seen:

Spot billed Pelican, several in Negombo and a couple at Wilpattu,

Little Cormorant, c40 especially around Madu,

Indian Shag, c6 at Madu & Kandy,

Oriental Darter, 3 in Wilpattu,

Little Egret, c200, everywhere!

Great Egret, c12 especially Wilpattu,

Intermediate Egret, c20 and quite widespread,

Eastern Cattle Egret, c80 and widespread,

Grey Heron, c20, widespread,

Purple Heron, 2 in Wilpattu,

Indian Pond Heron, c100 and widespread,

Black-crowned Night Heron, 1 near Madu,

Painted Stork, 1 at Wilpattu,

Asian Openbill, 1 at Madu,

Wooly-necked Stork, 4 at Wilpattu,

Black-headed Ibis, 4 at Wilpattu,

Lesser Whistling Duck, c20 at Wilpattu,

Brahminy Kite, c40 especially Negombo & Madu,

White-bellied Sea Eagle, c12 especially Negombo,

Grey-headed Fish Eagle, 1 at Madu,

Crested Serpent Eagle, 2 at Wilpattu,

Crested Goshawk, 1 at Wilpattu,

Shikra, 1 over the SSC cricket ground in Colombo,

Ceylon Jungle Fowl, c20 in Wilpattu,

White-breasted Waterhen, c20 especially Negombo & Madu,

Red-wattled Lapwing, c12, mainly Negombo & Wilpattu,

Whimbrel, c6, Negombo,

Greenshank, 1 at Wilpattu,

Marsh Sandpiper, 1 at Wilpattu,

Common Sandpiper, 1 at Wilpattu,

Pectoral Sandpiper, 1 at Wilpattu,

Black-winged Stilt, c12 at Wilpattu,

Great Thick-Knee, 1 at Wilpattu,

Brown-headed Gull, 2 off Negombo,

Caspian Tern, 2 off Negombo,

Lesser-crested Tern, c40 off Negombo,

Whiskered Tern, c20 at Negombo Lake & Wilpattu,

Common Tern, c60 off Negombo,

Spotted Dove, c12 at Negombo,

Green Imperial Pigeon, 2 at Madu,

Indian Pea-Fowl c20, widespread,

Rose-ringed Parakeet, c50, widespread,

Brown Fish-Owl, 1 at Wilpattu,

Asian Palm Swift, c50, widespread,

Pacific Swift, c6 on the road to Wilpattu,

Little Swift, c20 especially Kandy,

Common Kingfisher, 2, at Madu & Kandy,

White-throated Kingfisher, c30, widespread,

Lesser Pied Kingfisher, 1 on the road to Madu,

Little Green Bee-Eater, c20 at Wilpattu,

Blue-tailed Bee-Eater, c60, widespread,

Malabar Pied Hornbill, c6 at Wilpattu,

Jerdon's Bushlark, 4 at Wilpattu,

Sand Martin, 4 heading north off Negombo,

Barn Swallow, c80 heading north off Negombo,

Ceylon Swallow, 6 at Negombo,

Small Minivet, 2 at Kandy,

Red-vented Bulbul, 2 at Kandy,

Brown Shrike, singles at Negombo & Wilpattu,

Oriental Magpie-Robin, 2 at Kandy,

Indian Black Robin, 2 at Wilpattu,

Yellow-billed Babbler, 2 at Kandy,

Zitting Cisticola, 2 at Negombo,

House Sparrow, c12 at Negombo,

Common Myna, c40, widespread,

Black-headed Oriole, 4, Kandy & Wilpattu,

Ceylon Crested Drongo, 4 on the road to Madu,

House Crow, c1000, everywhere,

Indian Jungle Crow, c20, road to Kandy.

A good number of mammals were seen, especially Indian Flying Foxes and some roosts contain hundreds of these bats. Mammals seen were:

Asian Elephant, 1 in Wilpattu,

Water Buffalo, 6 in Wilpattu,

Golden Jackal, 1 in Wilpattu,

Grey Langur, c20 in Wilpattu,

Purple-faced Langur, c12 in Madu,

Mongoose, c12, especially Wilpattu,

Spotted Deer, c30 in Wilpattu,

Barking Deer, 2 in Wilpattu,

Palm Squirrel, 50, widespread,

Sri Lankan Giant Squirrel, 1 in Madu,

Indian Flying Fox, c1000, widespread.

Regarding reptiles, the following were seen:

Mugger Crocodile, 2 at Wilpattu,

Water Monitor Lizard, 4, at Kandy & Negombo Lake,

Bengal (Land) Monitor Lizard, 6, at Kandy & Wilpattu,

Indian Black Turtle, 2 at Wilpattu,

Indian Star Tortoise, 1 crossed the road, slowly, at Wilpattu!

There were several other Lizards & Geckos that I couldn't identify along with lots of Butterflies.

Regards.
David