Home Bird Watching in sigiriya and Habarana
Bird Watching in sigiriya and Habarana
Sri Lanka is home to 26 endemic-bird species and seven proposed endemic species. The total number of bird species recorded in the island is 492 of which 219 are breeding residents. Bird Life International recognize Sri Lanka as one of the world's Endemic Bird Areas. The number of endemic species has changed many times over the years. Surrounding of Sigiriya Rock Fortress is a designated forest reserve and is a very good birding destination. Sigiriya sanctuary is a well- protected area as it is a UNECO World Heritage Site, waterways and thick canopied forests make it a heaven for birds. You will be accompanied by our expert bird watching naturalist for the Bird watching in Sigiriya Sanctuary in the morning hours from 6 Am to 10 AM. Finishing the morning bird watching in Sigiriya you will be transferred to an Eco Lodge in Habarana for lunch and for some rest. There too you would be able to see many verities of birds in the lodge's compound. At 3 PM we venture in to the jungles of Habarana surrounded by many lakes which is a very good habitat for birds. By 6 PM the trip will come to an end and you will be then transferred to your hotel in Dambulla, Habarana or Sigiriya.
Our Aims in Bird watching in Sigiriya
For the individual, arranging a bird watching holiday abroad can be a bewildering business: how can you be sure that you have chosen the right itinerary, are visiting the top sites, and are making the best use of your valuable time and money? With our experience and wide range of personal contacts, Kamatha Eco Lodge has already done all this for you, so that you can look forward to a first class bird watching and wildlife holiday with complete peace of mind. All you have to do is choose where to go! The emphasis is on small, informal groups with a friendly atmosphere - sharing in the excitement at seeing the birds are all part of the experience or individual tours. Whatever you're level of expertise, and whether you are on your first or fifteenth bird watching holiday, we will make you warmly welcome.
Customized / Private Bird watching Tours in Sigiriya
You may prefer a bird watching tour tailored to specific requirements, or wish to visit at a different time of year. Perhaps we can help - using our extensive network of expert ground operators and guides, it is often possible for us to design bird watching holidays for societies, bird clubs and individuals.
Our Bird Guide for bird watching in Sigiriya
Warner Oorloff our chief bird guide has lived and studied the area for 20 years. He is friendly and experienced, with extensive background knowledge in birding and other areas of wildlife. His combine enthusiasm with complete professionalism, helps ensure that you enjoy your bird watching holiday to the full. Often clients book again and again on the strength of the convivial atmosphere created by him. He is truly an expert local guide, who has an in-depth local knowledge, up-to-date information and a highly-developed instinct for bird-finding. His passion for wildlife means that the villages turn to Warner to catch and release dangerous reptiles, rescue baby birds and save various animals from traps – if you are lucky you might be able to witness and take part in such rescue missions.
Our Groups in bird watching in Sigiriya
We have always believed that bird watching is more enjoyable and successful in a small group, and each of our tours has its own maximum number of participants. As a result, your chances of seeing the birds will not be jeopardized, and you can look forward to the company of a small group of like-minded people - perhaps making new friends in the process.
Photography in bird watching tours in Sigiriya
Many of our tours offer excellent opportunities for photography but we can arrange specialist photographic tours, tailored to your individual requirements. We can cater for small groups (3 or 4).
Physical Exertion in bird watching tours in Sigiriya
The pace of our tours is comparatively relaxed, but we continue to record an amazing number of species. As birds are more active in the early hours, we make no apology for rising early in the morning in order to see them. This allows us to enjoy bird watching in cooler temperatures than the heat of the midday sun. A certain amount of non-strenuous walking is required on most of our tours; if you are in any doubt about the amount of physical exertion required, please ask. On some tours, there may also be alternative activities for a non-bird watching partner.
“Authentic adventure experience in Sri Lanka”
We stayed in Eco dwelling in Kamatha Adventure Lodge during our 14 days long holiday in Sri Lanka and Kamatha was the highlight of our trip.
The host, Warner was an amazing naturalist who knows his job. During our trek to Sigiriya Warner showed us lots of birds and his eye and knowledge is very good spotting and identifying birds.
Our kids enjoyed the ATV rides and the night safari to see Elephants. Food was very tasty and we experienced pure hospitality and authentic Sri Lankan experience.
We recommend Kamatha Adventure Eco Lodge for all.
Travelled with family
Kris V
Birds can be seen Habarana and Sigiriya
Barred Buttonquail
Lesser Whistling Duck
Cotton Pygmy-goose
Wooly necked Stork
Pheasant tailed Jacana
Peregrine Falcon
White bellied sea Eagle
Grey headed fish Eagle
Crested Serpent Eagle
Crested Hawk Eagle
Orange breasted Green Pigeon
Sri Lanka Green Pigeon
Banded Bay Cuckoo
Grey bellied Cuckoo
Drongo Cuckoo
Blue faced Malkoha
Jerdon's Nightjar
Indian Nightjar
Brown Fish Owl
Crested Tree swift
Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher
Crimson fronted Barbet
Coppersmith Barbet
Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill
Malabar Pied Hornbill
Brown capped Pigmy Woodpecker
Rufos Woodpecker
Indian Woodpecker
Indian Pitta
Sri Lanka Woodshrike
Large Cuckooshrike
Black Headed Cuckooshrike
Black Napped Monarch
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
Forest Wagtail
Jerdon's Bushlark
Grey breasted Prinia
Jungle Prinia
Ashy Prinia
Green Warbler
Large billed Leaf Warbler
Jerdon's Leaf bird
Golden fronted Leaf bird
Brown capped Babbler
Tawny bellied Babbler
Dark fronted Babbler
Yellow eyed Babbler
Velvet fronted Nuthatch
Orange headed Thrush
Indian Blue Robin
White rumped Shama
Tickell's Blue Flycatcher
Baya Waver
Alexandrine Parakeet
Black winged Stilt
Black-Capped Bulbul
Black-headed Ibis
Black-headed Oriole
Brown-headed Barbet
Common Kingfisher
Common Moorhen
Grey Heron
Large Egret
Openbill
Openbill2
Paradise Flycatcher
Purple Heron
Purple swamphen
Red-wattled Lapwing
Spotted Dove
Stork-billed Kingfisher
Tickell´s Blue Flycatcher
White Breasted waterhen
White-breasted Kingfisher
The Best Guide to Bird watching in Sri Lanka
How to choose good guide for bird watching in Sri Lanka?
The Bird watching guide is a main role in your bird watching tour in Sri Lanka. He or she should possess good knowledge about major birding sites and about birds in Sri Lanka. Other than that he or she should have some secret places that found out by himself to witness birds and should be very familiar with habitats. He or she should be able to locate birds by their calls. He or she should be very friendly and polite with the guests and he should always guarantee the satisfaction of his guests. He should possess a good record of guest volunteer feedback and most importantly you should select the right company to reserve your guide for bird watching.
There are very few of professional and expert birding guides in Sri Lanka who possess good knowledge skills and experience. Warner Oorloff our chief bird guide has lived and studied the area for 20 years. He is friendly and experienced, with extensive background knowledge in birding and other areas of wildlife. His combine enthusiasm with complete professionalism, helps ensure that you enjoy your bird watching holiday to the full.
Bird watching in Sigiriya with Habarana adventures is something that you should take a look at if you are seeking a specialized experience birding tour guide.
When will be the best time to do a birding trip in Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka being a tropical country does not have any major seasonal changes like in winter countries. You can watch resident birds in Sri Lanka throughout the year. Even though there are two monsoon it’s not that much of problem to witness birdlife of Sri Lanka. October to Aprils is the time where you can witness migrant birds in Sri Lanka and if you want to witness both migrant and endemic birds in Sri Lanka best time is from November to April.
How many bird species are there in Sri Lanka?
There are around 450 bird species recorded in Sri Lanka. Even though there are this much of birds in Sri Lanka it doesn’t mean that you can witness all these birds in your visit to Sri Lanka. There are around 33 endemic birds and resident birds and migrant birds also. You can witness average number of 210 bird species in a bird watching tour in Sri Lanka.
How much endemic birds are there in Sri Lanka?
There are around 33 endemic birds in Sri Lanka and with our expert birding guides you can see most of the endemic birds of Sri Lanka.
How many bird species can be expected to spot in a tour in Sri Lanka?
This depends on the number of days that you are expecting to spend in Sri Lanka and how much time you have allocated to bird watching and how many birding sites that you visit. If your birding trip extends to around a week you can expect to see around 200 bird varieties in Sri Lanka. This will also depend on how much birding sites that you visit during your Tour. If you are most interested in watching bird in Sri Lanka the most important fact is to have a well thought tour plan including major birding sites of Sri Lanka.
What are the factors that effects to seeing less birds in a tour in Sri Lanka?
- Number of days spend for the tour
- The sites of birding that you visit
- How much time you spend on a birding site
- The skills and knowledge of your guide
- The weather and time of the tour
- Time of the year you visit
- Your bird spotting skills
What are the main bird watching areas in Sri Lanka?
If you are a keen birdwatcher and want to witness most of the 33 endemic birds in Sri Lanka below mentioned are the top birding sites for bird watching in Sri Lanka.
- Sigiriya Sanctuary
- Kitulgala Rain Forest
- Anawilundawa Wetland
- Horton Plains
- Nuwara Eliya
- Sinharaja Rain forest
- Yala National Park
Apart from these bird watching areas there are many good bird watching sites all over Sri Lanka. If you want to see endemic birds in Sri Lanka there are some other bird watching sites you want to visit. Below mentioned are some famous bird watching sites to witness endemic birds in Sri Lanka.
- Bundala National Park
- Thalangama Wetland
- Chundikulam Bird sanctuary
- Kaudulla National Park
- Minneriya National Park
- Mannar Island
- Surrey Bird sanctuary
- Udawatta kele forest reserve
What type of birds can you see in Sigiriya and Habarana in Sri Lanka?
Surrounding of Sigiriya Rock Fortress is a designated forest reserve and is a very good birding destination. Sigiriya sanctuary is a well protected area as it is a UNECO World Heritage Site, waterways and thick canopied forests make it a heaven for birds. You will be accompanied by our expert bird watching naturalist for the birding trip in Sigiriya Sanctuary in the morning hours from 6 Am to 10 AM. Finishing the morning bird watching in Sigiriya you will be transferred to an Eco Lodge in Habarana for lunch and for some rest. There too you would be able to see many verities of birds in the lodge's compound. At 3 PM we venture in to the jungles of Habarana surrounded by many lakes which is a very good habitat for birds. By 6 PM the trip will come to an end and you will be then transferred to your hotel in Dambulla, Habarana or Sigiriya.
Following birds are recorded in Sigirya Sanctuary and Habarana Jungle,
- Barred Buttonquail
- Sri Lanka Jungle fowl
- Lesser Whistling Duck
- Cotton Pigmy-goose
- Wool necked Stork
- Pheasant tailed Jacana
- Peregrine Falcon
- White bellied sea Eagle
- Grey headed fish Eagle
- Crested Serpent Eagle
- Crested Hawk Eagle
- Orange breasted Green Pigeon
- Sri Lanka Green Pigeon
- Banded Bay Cuckoo
- Grey belied Cuckoo
- Drongo Cuckoo
- Blue faced Malkoha
- Jerdon's Nightjar
- Indian Nightjar
- Brown Fish Owl
- Crested Tree swift
- Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher
- Crimson fronted Barbet
- Coppersmith Barbet
- Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill
- Malabar Pied Hornbill
- Brown capped Pigmy Woodpecker
- Rufos Woodpecker
- Indian Woodpecker
- Indian Pitta
- Sri Lanka Woodshrike
- Large Cuckooshrike
- Black headed Cuckooshrike
- Balck napped Monarch
- Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
- Forest Wagtail
- Jerdon's Bushlark
- Grey breasted Prinia
- Jungle Prinia
- Ashy Prinia
- Green Warbler
- Large billed Leaf Warbler
- Jerdon's Leaf bird
- Golden fronted Leaf bird
- Brown capped Babbler
- Tawny bellied Babbler
- Dark fronted Babbler
- Yellow eyed Babbler
- Velvet fronted Nuthatch
- Orange headed Thrush
- Indian Blue Robin
- White Rumped Shama
- Tickell's Blue Flycatcher
- Baya Weaver
Rare birds seen in Sigiriya Sanctuary
Sigiriya is a UNESCO World heritage site and there are large amount of birds seen in the sanctuary. There are rarely seen birds in the Sigiriya Sanctuary.You will have to be very keen on witnessing these rare birds in Sigiriya sanctuary.
A number of raptors such as the Shaheen Falcon, White Bellied Sea Eagles, Grey Headed Fish Eagle, Crested Serpent Eagle and Crested Hawk Eagle can be seen gliding over the area. In addition, a variety of both common and rare species including the Little Scops Owl, Indian Long-tailed Night-Jar, Forest Eagle Owl, Open bill, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Green Imperial Pigeon, Emerald Dove, Ceylon Jungle Fowl, Orange-headed Ground Thrush, Indian Blue Chat, Brown-capped Babbler, White-Rumped Shama, Black-capped Bulbul, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Brown Flycatcher, Layard’s Flycatcher, Orange Minivet, Small Minivet, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Ceylon Grey Hornbill and the Blue-faced Malkoha is frequently sighted in the area.
