We revised our schedule a bit so that we revisited the place
near the nick again. Before departing on
that we got excellent views of a flock of Sri Lankan Grey Hornbills around the
Guest House. On getting to the police
station area we again failed to find the Owlet.
So back to the Guest House to try for the Serendib Scops Owl
in the rain forest fragment on the opposite side of the river. This involved a ride in a dugout Canoe,
in
which Hettie – like most Sri Lankans that we saw – stood up while I at least squatted
down to get better balance and Rob took photos. We then did
a very brisk walk, pausing only to look at another Green Forest lizard
and some Mimosa flowers (plus play a little with their sensitive leaves)
then on up through a picturesque village
and into the rain
forest.
After a very pleasant walk we came to a stream which was flowing
a lot more strongly than usually encountered, due to the recent rains. Frances and Carol decided to wait while Hettie
Rob and myself got our feet wet. After a
few more metres we came to a paddy field and observed some hawk eagles but
nothing else. Hettie looked under a
little farmers shelter into the forest (after checking the shelter for snakes)
but no owl, so along the edge of the
field and back into the rainforest on a track.
After about 2 minutes Hettie decided that we should return but he would
dive into the forest on a very narrow track to do one more playback. We were to wait in the shelter.
As he disappeared Rob said “Should we have asked him to leave
the car keys?”. We heard a bit of
playback and shortly after Hettie emerged moving reasonably swiftly but not
looking overjoyed so we guessed the owl was AWOL. His first words were “I have been bitten by a
snake.”. The immediate question from us
was “Is it poisonous?” to which the unwished-for positive answer, was given.
Hettie was firm that despite Australian practise he would
walk back – probably good as he is a big lad and we couldn't carry him - so set
off using his mobile phone. (NOTE to
TELSTRA and OPTUS: the mobile phone got
coverage in a bloody jungle some distance from a village, let alone a
Provincial capital: why can't you do the same?)
The idea seemed to be to take some analgesics; wash the wound; apply
some leaves; and get to hospital asap.
As he was allergic to aspirin it was good that Frances had some
paracetamol. By the time we got across
the river his brother had contacted the Guest House and he was met by 8
concerned staff and taken off to hospital.
The manager assured us that the species was not very venomous
and that if your time was managed well “you'll be in Heaven.” I said something to the effect that Heaven
was not where we wanted him to be, and after a pause the manager understood my
joke and roared with laughter. The next
step was Hettie calling the manager to say that he would be in the hospital for
4 hours but Jetwing were sending another chauffeur as he might not be able to
drive.
We basically hung out in the Guest House. This was aided by having a beer (surprisingly they still had some) and taking a few images. Some of them are in the Birds page and here are a few others.
This White-throated Kingfisher gave a beetle a thorough hammering on the railings before finally swallowing it. (By this stage we were feeling a tad hammered ourselves.)
After a few hours Hettie rang again
to say he was being kept in for 12 hours, the new driver would be with us in 20
minutes and another guide would join us in the morning. He hoped to join up before we left the country.
We basically hung out in the Guest House. This was aided by having a beer (surprisingly they still had some) and taking a few images. Some of them are in the Birds page and here are a few others.
The red stems on some palms were attractive.
A red stain on my shirt was less so: here is the culprit (one of two)
A view from further back
So the new driver Bundulu arrived, we loaded up the kit and
took off. Giving due credit, the staff of the Guest House had been very considerate, both to Hettie and ourselves - although we were hours late checking out they made no fuss and produced a cellphone whenever Hettie rang.
Bundulu was not a slow driver like Hettie (he wasn't paid to look for birds we passed etc, but to get clients from Point A to somewhere else, such as Point B) but didn't do daft things. As we left Kitulgala I noticed a sign on the road pointing to the site where the Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed, but in the circumstances didn't request a stop!
We dodged some potential points of congestion such as a rainy village market
and our first Sri Lankan accident scene where a ute and a bus appeared to have had a misunderstanding. As there where a few cops on the scene, and we crossed a few ambulances headed to the scene, it may have been nasty.
Gampola Railway Station was straight out of the Raj and/or Bollywood! We got to Kandy in 90 minutes rather than 150 and checked into the Citadel. Very, very plush and an excellent view across the river.
Bundulu was not a slow driver like Hettie (he wasn't paid to look for birds we passed etc, but to get clients from Point A to somewhere else, such as Point B) but didn't do daft things. As we left Kitulgala I noticed a sign on the road pointing to the site where the Bridge on the River Kwai was filmed, but in the circumstances didn't request a stop!
We dodged some potential points of congestion such as a rainy village market
Gampola Railway Station was straight out of the Raj and/or Bollywood! We got to Kandy in 90 minutes rather than 150 and checked into the Citadel. Very, very plush and an excellent view across the river.
The place was well endowed with tour groups, some of whom
were very noisy. When we went down for
tea there was music from the bar echoing up and competing with the foul musak
in the restaurant. The food however was
good.
Bird of the day:
Grey Hornbill
Other vertebrate of the day: Palm squirrel (the most obvious candidate was
seen by none of us)
Pattern of the day:
Elephant designs
Bad taste of the day:
Quebecois tourists who let their
brats sit on the counter of the food service area.
Big Positive of the
day: Behaviour of the Guest House
staff and Jetwing office folk to get us out of the doo-doo!
Addendum from the future: I was at a COG Meeting in mid-June and chatted with another member who visited Sri Lanka a couple of years ago. They used the Bird and Wildlife mob and it seemed a very intense trip. They got all the endemics, including the Serendib Scops Owl This was at Kithulgala and in the jungle, so only 2 people were allowed in to look at once. Thus I suspect it was the infamous area behind the small hut. One couple went to look from a different angle and were startled - at least - to find a cobra dangling off a branch about a foot from their faces!
Read on
Addendum from the future: I was at a COG Meeting in mid-June and chatted with another member who visited Sri Lanka a couple of years ago. They used the Bird and Wildlife mob and it seemed a very intense trip. They got all the endemics, including the Serendib Scops Owl This was at Kithulgala and in the jungle, so only 2 people were allowed in to look at once. Thus I suspect it was the infamous area behind the small hut. One couple went to look from a different angle and were startled - at least - to find a cobra dangling off a branch about a foot from their faces!
Read on
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