Since Sri Lanka is rich in bio diversity, North to South & in both urban & rural areas, you can spot number of bird species. Even in the country’s capital Colombo we arrange Bird Watching Tours, it has a few urban wetland areas which yield a good number of the resident water birds such as the Purple Heron, Lesser Whistling Duck, Painted Stork, Euro-Asian Openbill, black & yellow Bitterns, Common Kingfisher, Black Headed Ibis and raptors including the Collard Scops Owl, Shikra & the Oriental Honey Buzzard. Areas like Kotte Diyasaru Park, Thalangama wetlands, Beddagana Wetland Park and the Attidiya Bird Sanctuary are some of the best examples of a wilderness among the urban sprawl. Stepping north of the city, you can explore mangroves in the Muthurajawela Sanctuary, where a boat ride will take on a journey across the mangrove forests. Further south we can spot birds in Madu river area through the mangroves.
In the central highlands, the Victoria Park, Galway’s Land National Park and Hakgala Botanical Gardens around Nuwara Eliya provide good opportunities for viewing highland endemics including the Sri Lanka White-Eye, Dull Blue Flycatcher and Yellow-eared Bulbul. Horton Plains is one of the few locations where highland endemics such as the Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush and the Sri Lanka Bush Warbler can be observed. Bird Photography is a different subject, here are some ways to photograph birds: Shoot at high shutter speeds of 1/1000 and above to freeze the bird. Always focus on the nearest eye of the bird. Choose your backgrounds carefully. Be patient and wait for the bird to act naturally. Likewise, we have arranged many selected areas across the country for you to Photograph birds in Sri Lanka.