Yala National Park

Saturday 15th February – Up very early today for a day in the famous Yala National Park. The park is very large and consists of 979 square kilometres and is important for Sri Lankan Elephants. It also has one of the highest densities of Leopards in the world.

The Jeep and driver picked us up outside the hotel and we headed off in the dark to the park. The sun was just coming up when we arrived at the entrance and waited in the queue for permits. Dave spotted a Coppersmith Barbet in one of the trees and a White-browed Fantail also showed, a Black-naped Hare was our first mammal of the day.

We were soon on our way into the park itself, through some dusty grassland with scattered scrub. We hadn’t gone far up another track when the driver suddenly turned round with a sense of urgency and headed up another track. We noticed a couple of other jeeps heading the same way and Ashoka confirmed our suspicions that a Leopard had been seen. Unfortunately the viewing was a bit restricted by bushes and so we had to wait our turn in a convoy of jeeps before we finally set eyes on a superb male Leopard stretched out on a large rock. We soaked up the views for as long as seemed fair and took a few photos before carrying on in the hope of finding our own.

Leopard – Highlight of the Yala trip.
There was a bit of a queue of Jeeps to get a view but it was worth it.

The habitat started to become more varied with a mixture of large and small pools, along with dense bushes and scattered trees. As expected there were good numbers of the usual species but we soon added a couple of Jerdon’s Bushlarks, Great Thick-knee, Brown Shrike, fantastic close views of Green Bee-eaters, Paddyfield Pipit and 2 Black-backed Jackels appeared (see below).

In a more open area the driver spotted an Indian Nightjar and we were amazed when we realised there was a tiny chick peeping out from below the adult! (see below).

Moving on we soon got our first Indian Elephant of the day, an impressive male ripping up grass from a marshy puddle close to the jeep. A juvenile Crested Hawk Eagle was perched up in a nearby tree and we then got our third species of Bee-eater, some handsome Chestnut-headed Bee-eaters.

Indian Elephants – Several were seen during our day trip.

We added a few more mammals in the shape of Sambar Deer, Wild Pig and Ruddy Mongoose. The birds kept rolling in with Lesser Sandplover, Greater Sandplover, Marsh Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Black-headed Ibis and a few Purple Sunbirds.

A Wild Pig enjoying a mud bath.

Back into some drier areas 2 Grey-headed Wagtails were feeding, an Indian Roller showed and Ashoka found a Sri Lanka Woodshrike sitting on a nest. Just before lunch we stopped to view a large brackish pool in the distance where a massive Black-necked Stork was visible through the heat haze.

Time for some lunch next to the beach on the site of the former Visitor Centre. This building was washed away by the devastating Tsunami on boxing day 2004 and a plaque commemorates the lives of the 47 people who lost their lives on the reserve. It’s hard to imagine the destruction caused on what now appears to be an idyllic paradise.

There were a lot of large blue Carpenter Bees feeding on the flowers by the beach.

Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa tenuiscapa

Refreshed after some food and rest we were soon raring to get birding again. A pair of Hoopoes were the first surprise giving us a chance to take some photos. Reaching a large area of water and marsh with the Elephant rock as a backdrop we were treated to great views of a colony of Spot-billed Pelicans and Jim found our first Lesser Adjutant standing on a grassy island. A pair of Brahminy Kites were sitting above their nest, while further on we got good views of a Grey headed Fish Eagle and Yellow-wattled Lapwing. We had good views of a large bull Water Buffalo here, although most buffalo we saw on the trip were clearly domesticated, the ones in the parks are reported to be wild, and certainly the size of the horns on this one indicated it was not domesticated!

Hoopoe – One of a pair.

Spot-billed Pelican – A large number were sat in the trees next to the wetland.

Lesser Adjutant – The only sighting on the trip.

Grey-headed Fish-eagle – Patiently watching for prey.

Yellow-wattled Lapwing

The next stop held a couple of Malabar Pied Hornbills and a very close Grey headed Fish eagle, while on the way back we got an adult Crested Hawk Eagle. Just before dusk we were treated to the amazing spectacle of around 50 Malabar Pied Hornbills going to roost, a nice end to the day.

More photos from Yala