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Spotting the owls and herons above and the monitors below
I took the wetland boat safari which is offered by the Seashells Hotel and other hotels in Negombo. The hotel provides life jackets for those who book through it. Over time the boatmen could be persuaded to make this part of the eco-tourism package offered by them. Sarath and Bevin the two boatmen are now very proficient in spotting and identifying the birds thanks to the many hours of coaching they have received from Chandra Jayawardana, the resident naturalist of Seashells. We drove to where the boat is taken from the Dutch Canal, about two kilometres from the strip of beach hotels.

The highlight of the boat safari for birders are the owls which are seen on almost every boat ride. Two pairs of Collared Scops Owls have a roost beside the Dutch Canal. I had good views of both pairs although photography was difficult as they were in a heavily shaded and tangled mid canopy.

Little Green Herons were present in good numbers. I seemed to see a bird every 50 - 100 metres. Other birds included White-throated, Common and Pied Kingfisher, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Brown Flycatcher, Indian Paradise Flycatcher, Black-crowned Night-heron, Little Egret, White-breasted Waterhen, Common Sandpiper, Black-rumped Flameback, White-vented Drongo, Indian Roller, Rose-ringed Parakeet, etc. There were also good numbers of Water Monitors on the canal and river.

The boatmen saw to my needs as a photographer. When I wanted to photograph a bird or a Water Monitor they would cut off the engine and allow the boat to drift in silently towards my target species. Using this technique we managed to pull off some good shots of the Little Green Herons and frame filling views of just the heads of the dinosaur like Water Monitors.

Back at the Seashells Hotel, looking out to sea I could see Caspian, Gull-billed, Whiskered and Large-crested Terns. I failed to pick out any of the Roseate Terns seen by the famous ornithological writers Tim and Carol Inskipp on a recent visit to the hotel. The next time I will come with more of my team and equipped with telescopes. The hotel, built more than three decades ago is situated close to the shoreline. It would be an ideal location for observing the mass migration of Brown-winged Terns and other pelagic species, which occurs in August.

The previous evening we watched a shrew hunting on the beach. It came out and began to repeatedly nip at the face of a small crab which valiantly fought back attempting to inflict a painful pinch on the shrew.

The latter persevered and finally subdued the crab. As dusk falls, hundreds of little crabs emerge to feed on the tiny plant and animal matter which is brought onto the shoreline by the waves. Although crabs can be seen throughout the day, more seem to emerge when it is cooler.

Gehan's Journal is an ad hoc series of notes maintained on his laptop by writer and photographer Gehan de Silva
Wijeyeratne

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