SRI LANKA & SW INDIA (12-29th April 2007) – Gary Atkins

I was tempted to be disappointed at seeing just 71 species during more than two weeks in Sri Lanka and Kerala (India's far south-west province), but found I could not be.

I felt there were extenuating circumstances for my relatively lowly total – and the birds were too spectacular, including 47 ‘lifers' and among them were some genuinely jaw-dropping moments – probably most memorably the swoop across a shallow valley by a Greater Hornbill as we threaded our way along a lake, ironically trying to spot land animals.

Raising the binoculars at first glimpse I was sure it must be a stork: four feet from bill tip to tail and a wing-span of several feet, the spectacular sight made me gasp involutarily. In all, it treated me to about four passes. The only thing to rival this ‘buzz' was again a surprise: I stopped our tour driver on a bridge to view what I thought was a large group of raptors, only to discover they were in fact flying foxes – bats with wing-spans rivalling the Black Kites I was to see later above Indian cities.

I logged four species of Kingfisher, including our own ‘common' popping up several thousand miles away and, almost three times as big, the Stork-billed variety with its enormous beak was quite common. Pied Kingfisher hunting was an exciting experience, too.

I saw new species almost every day, and yet the sort of holiday I was on – 10 days on an all-inclusive package at a beach-side hotel followed by a six-day tour – was far from ideal for bird-watching.

The idea of popping out of the hotel for a bracing early-morning walk to a nice quiet spot simply wasn't on … for one thing, it was too hot (up to 38°C) for much more than a gentle stroll, and for another there weren't any quiet spots – anywhere! People and vehicles filled every track and road, and any spare piece of land seemed to have a property on it. Add to that the disarming curiosity of the locals (every other person asked who you were and where you came from), and looking at birds became almost impossible!

Then, when we toured – finally away from the constant assault of humankind – the birds were generally briefly-glimpsed or blurred images as our vehicle sped past paddyfields, rivers and closely-packed palm forests en route to the next destination. We did stop, of course, and then I tried to take my toll on the bird-life, but there was too much of competing interest in the shape of temples, museums, gardens, tourist honey-pots and other wildlife to enjoy many truly dedicated birding moments.

While the bird-watching was slightly-frustrating, I must say the overall holiday was a diversity of unfamiliar smells, tastes sights, and cultural experiences, all set among the surprisingly lush, green and river-strewn scenery. And the trips around the beautiful backwaters of Kerala and to the cooler, less-populated and more scenic high lands around Kandy in Sri Lanka or the Western Ghats of inland Kerala were truly memorable. We saw elephants, monkeys, mongooses, ground squirrels, Indian wild pigs, bison and buffaloes, plus water monitor lizards, fruit bats, numerous other reptiles and butterflies as big as birds.

I am a fan of Indian food, but even my stomach began to rail against the assault of so many different spices, and a plain breakfast was sometimes to prove best meal of the day … Indeed, my wife Meryl refused to have a curry for a full month after our return!

Back to our avian friends, I'm sure a dedicated birding trip would have doubled my total, and that might be something I do later (wife permitting!), but I was happy this time to ‘make do' with the drongos, bulbuls, parakeets, mynahs, egrets, barbets, sunbirds, munias and jacanas, and enjoy close-up views of vibrant colours of the Indian Roller and Black-hooded Oriole, the stately posture of Woolly-necked Storks, and the fluid movements of Darters … plus a few more familiar sights in the shape of Alpine Swift, Night Herons, Common Sandpiper and Little Grebe.

Gary Atkins