I founded BIRDWING Nature Holidays in 2005 as a travel company specialising in birding & natural history holidays for individuals and small groups.

My recently concluded 15-day Absolute Birding Trip from 31 Jan – 14 Feb, 2008 with 4 British birders was extremely successful and we bagged a whopping 252 species of birds including all 33 endemics currently recognised, additional 42 endemic to South Asia and 9 of the 15 resident nocturnal birds of which 7 were Owls. Special birding highlight was seeing a pair of the newly rediscovered breeding resident; Marshall’s Iora at Lunugamwehera. We also had 2 sightings of Leopard at the Yala National Park, which included a prolonged sighting of a male resting on a rock. To read the full report click here. To view a PDF version of the same with images click here.

In this website you will find birdwatching and natural history holidays that cater to a wide range of palates. My 14 day Absolute Birding is for the serious birdwatchers focusing mainly on the island’s 33 plus endemics, sub-continental specialties and migrants. In this, a wide range of accommodation is used that are close to the birding sites.

The 17 day Birding in style is ideal if you need to enjoy great birding without compromising on the quality of accommodation. In this we use only 6 hotels to cover 17 days giving you ample time to enjoy slow-paced birding & excellent comforts of the hotels used such as spas/infinity pools etc., It also incorporates a tinge of culture at bearable levels with visits to a couple of cultural World Heritage sites.

My 15 day Birding, wildlife & tea holiday is a mixed-interest one that is ideal for birders as a family holiday with non-birding spouse/children joining in as it offers plenty of ‘other things’ to keep everybody happy. It covers almost all the key birding sites/zones ensuring profitable birding. Again, accommodation used for this is first class and these include a stay in a luxury tea bungalow built originally in the days of the Raj. Exploring the fabled Ceylon tea is one of the top highlights of this holiday.

My Natural History Holidays include an 8 day Leopards & wildlife safari based in Yala, which is for Leopard & big game enthusiasts. Finally, the 2 Day Sinharaja Rainforest tour and Birding Day Breaks are ideal if you are on a shorter visit. All these holidays can be tailor-made to fit your specific holiday requirements and stand as indicative itineraries.

It should be mentioned that I will be your first point of contact for all the above holidays and also will lead them personally. I do not aim for a huge volume of tours every year, but instead make sure that the limited number that I operate is done with my careful attention to detail through my personal involvement in your holiday from the start to the end. Therefore, I am careful not to promise things that I cannot deliver!

Apart from the three Sri Lankan Bird watching trip reports listed in this web site, all my other travel reports are posted at my blog; Gallicissa.blogspot.com and I invite you to visit this site and comment if you wish.

I look forward to opening the door to this magical island of serendipity!

Amila Salgado
BIRDWING Nature Holidays.

BIRDWING Nature Holidays is a licensed in-bound travel agency.