27th March 2010

Vankalai Tank   A Common Coot was observed sitting on eggs by Ceylon Bird Club members Nanda Senenayake, Kithsiri Gunawardena and Uditha Hettige. The nest was a large mound of lotus leaves, stems etc, in the water about 15 metres from the tank bund. The normally ivory coloured forehead shield and beak had acquired a definite pinkish hue in the sitting bird. In the same tank was another pair with ten chicks. This appears to be the first definitive record of a nest observed in Sri Lanka.

In April 1992 Ceylon Bird Club member Ruwan Perera reports two nesting pairs at Vanniyankulam tank in Anuradhapura, but no mention or description of nest is given.

20th March 2010 

Ceylon Bird Club members Deepal Warakagoda, Kithsiri Gunawardena and Uditha Hettige located a Marshall’s Iora’s nest in Tanamalwila. The female was incubating. Another pair with a just fledged young bird was also observed at the same location.

13th March 2010

Ceylon Bird Club members Kithsiri Gunawardena, Tara Wickramanayaka and Srinath Seneviratne were able to observe 15-20,000 duck at Vankalai sanctuary which consisted mostly of Wigeon, Shoveller, Pintail and Garganey

27th February 2010

Two Indian Coursers were seen on 20.2 .2010 by a member of the Club close to Arippu. The birds were in a fallow land by the road side, but had quickly disappeared when attempt was made to observe them more closely by alighting from the vehicle. This sighting of the species in Sri Lanka is after a lapse of about ten years.

8th February 2010

Ceylon Bird Club members Uditha Hettige, Thushara Senanayake, Udaya Sirivardena and Palitha Antony counted over a million waders (count approximated 1.1 to 1.2 million birds) at Vidattaltivu lagoon north of Mannar while conducting the annual water bird census in the area on 5.2. 2010.

What is astonishing is that such a large number of migrants were concentrated over an area of about 2 sq km. About 65 % of the nearer half of the total comprised of Curlew Sandpiper. Others present were Little Stint, Marsh Sandpiper, Lesser Sand Plover, Common Redshank etc. Among the nearer birds, about 50 Avocets were present.