An evening paddle on the Kappaldy Lagoon alongside the mangroves is one of my absolute favourite activities. It fits in perfectly with your kitesurfing or wing foiling itinerary as it can be done right from the doorstep of Kitekuda Kite Resort in between your kiting sessions, or better yet, you can spot birds daily while on the water kiting. For this post I focus on key species and habitats of the North West Province, Kappalady Lagoon, Kalpitiya, and Wilpattu National Park with lagoons, coastlines, wetlands, dry zone forests and grasslands as the primary habitats.
In my opinion the best time to come birding in Sri Lanka is November to April, during the migratory season, which also lines up with our secondary wind season from December to March. For the purpose of this blog post, we will focus on the frequently observed birds in the Kappaldy area.
Waterbirds:
- Anhinga
- Asian Openbill Stork
- Black-headed Ibis
- Cormorants (Great, Indian, Little)
- Egrets (Great, Intermediate, Little)
- Grey Heron
- Indian Pond Heron
- Little Grebe
- Painted Stork
- Purple Heron
- Squacco Heron
Raptors:
- Brahminy Kite
- Crested Serpent Eagle
- White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Waders:
- Black-winged Stilt
- Common Redshank (Migratory)
- Pacific Golden Plover (Migratory)
- Small Pratincole
- Wood Sandpiper (Migratory)
Seabirds:
- Lesser Crested Tern
- Little Tern
- Great Crested Tern
Forest Birds:
- Sri Lanka Green Pigeon (Endemic)
- Crimson-fronted Barbet (Endemic)
- Brown-capped Babbler (Endemic)
- Sri Lanka Spurfowl (Endemic)
- Sri Lanka Junglefowl (Endemic)
- Eurasian Hoopoe
- Indian Roller
- Stork-billed Kingfisher
- White-throated Kingfisher
- Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill (Endemic)
Other Birds:
- Indian Peafowl
- Jungle Crow
- Common Myna
- Sri Lanka Woodshrike (Endemic)
- Oriental Magpie-Robin
- White-browed Bulbul
- Yellow-billed Babbler
- Plain Prinia
- Zitting Cisticola
- Paddyfield Pipit
This list should serve as a good starting point for birdwatching at and around Kitekuda Kite Resort.
Hi, I'm Mike, a passionate Australian windsurfer and kitesurfer, also the owner of Kitekuda Kite Resort and the Duotone Pro Centre. I have called Sri Lanka home for the past 30 years and I love sharing my knowledge and experience of this beautiful island with all our visitors. I've been living at Kitekuda situated on the diverse Kappalady lagoon for the past 10 years, and I know this unique little ecosystem like the back of my hand. I'm committed to promoting sustainable tourism in Sri Lanka by building deep relationships in the local village and running initiatives that will lead to long term benefits in the area.
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