See the seabirds
Seabirds are families of birds that primarily hunt for food in the sea. This excludes a number of birds such as waders like Sanderling which are typically seen on the beach and may be referred to as coastal birds and not seabirds.
In terms of taxonomic classification, seabirds are not a natural, single grouping of birds from a single family of birds.
In some countries seabirds will include ducks (e.g. the Eider Duck in Britain), cormorants (e.g. the Imperial Shag in the Antarctic Peninsula) and other families which do not have representatives in Sri Lanka which qualify as seabirds.
In this article I outline the different families of birds which comprise the seabirds seen in Sri Lanka, when and where they occur, and the best locations for seeing seabirds.
How many seabirds and when can they be seen?
In Sri Lanka, at the time of writing, 51 species of seabirds have been recorded. They belong to three scientific orders, and within these, they belong to eight families.
I have listed them as Resident (birds which breed in Sri Lanka), Migrants and Vagrants. Some species can occur both as a Scarce Breeding Resident as well as a Migrant.
Of the 51 species, only 17 species are easy to see. Of the others, 12 species are Scarce Migrants, 6 are Highly Scarce Migrants and 16 are Vagrants totalling 34 species.
In Sri Lanka, all of these families are entirely seafaring except for the two families of gulls and terns. Some species of gulls such as the Common Black-headed Gull often spend the summer inland and breed inland.
It’s a scarce winter visitor to Sri Lanka and when seen is mainly on the coast. With the terns we have a family of birds that comprises of true seabirds as well as some which are more inland in habitat.
The terns include a genus called Chlidonias or the “Marsh Terns”. This genus includes two migrants to Sri Lanka; the Whiskered Tern and the White-winged Black Tern.
On arrival both occupy inland water bodies. The Whiskered Tern will take up residence in locations such as the Talangama Tank whereas the White-winged Black Tern is more likely to be seen on the coast or freshwater bodies close to the coast.
Some terns such as the Gull-billed Tern seem to be equally comfortable hunting over beaches as well as being at inland freshwater bodies.
Other species such as the Bridled Tern (also known as the Brown-winged Tern) and the Sooty Tern are pelagic and never occur on the coast or inland unless they are driven in by storms.
The term pelagic is used to mean that an animal is generally found where the sea is deep and well away from land.
Terns are also different from the other families of seabirds that occur in Sri Lanka in that a few species of tern breed in Sri Lanka.
They are rare breeders with the exception of the Great Crested Tern. The Brown Noddy was considered a Highly Scarce Migrant to Sri Lanka until September 2014 when it was found to breed in the third island of the Adam’s Bridge.
Bridled Terns once considered a passage migrant are also known to breed here in small numbers. This island, a limestone and sand shoal, is the only seabird rookery of any size in Sri Lanka and is critically important for locally breeding seabirds.
On August 25, 2015, on a visit with Ajith Ratnayaka arranged with special permission from the Navy, I counted 40 Brown Noddies in the field of view.
Some of the breeding terns occur as a locally resident sub-species and are joined by migrant sub-species during the northern winter.
The gulls and terns are the only two families of seabirds that have species which take up residence in Sri Lanka during the northern winter.
The tropicbirds and boobies also take up a short-term residence but their movements are dictated by the monsoons and their numbers are scarce.
The tropicbirds often roost atop coconut trees on the shore and the boobies will use a rocky islet close to shore. But even the tropicbirds and boobies seem to stay for no more than a few weeks.
The other families of seabirds occur on passage. They are passing through often in a grand movement across multiple oceans. This is a near year-round movement except when the seabirds are nesting in their colonies usually on isolated islands.
One of the biggest passages on seabirds is a southward movement off the west coast of Sri Lanka which peaks around August and September.
This was first discovered and written about by the late Thilo Hoffmann and subsequently also by Arnoud Van der Bergh.
Since then, a detailed picture has been built up due to the perseverance of local ornithologist Rex de Silva, who has studied the birds’ migration for a period of over two decades.
The arrival times of the Seabird families
The table below summarises key aspects of the seasonality of different families. It is only a general guide and some families of seabirds are seen off Sri Lanka outside the periods listed in the table.
The ability to go out to sea easily only became possible after the intense publicity began in May 2008 that Sri Lanka was best for Blue Whales which resulted in a viable whale watching industry starting in Mirissa.
Kalpitiya was publicised as a top spot for pelagic seabirds only in May 2010 and for Sperm Whales in March 2010. So there is still much to be learnt.
Where to go Seabird Watching
Shore-based: The top sites are the Chilaw Sand Spit, Kalpitiya Peninsula and Mannar Island.
Sea-based: Kalpitiya is the best for rare pelagics, followed by Mirissa and Trincomalee. These are the three sites at which a whale watching industry has arisen.
Coastal Sites: Many coastal sites such as the Puttalam Salt Pans, Bundala and Palatupana Salt Pans are also good for gulls and terns.
| Seabirds from the top Whale watching sites Mirissa In August and September on days when the seas are calm enough for the whale watching boats to go out, Flesh-footed Shearwaters can be seen. They are flying west and are often seen in the company of the mass migration of Bridled Terns. An exciting time for seabirds is around late March to mid April, just before the onset of the South-west Monsoon. Unfortunately this is also the time that the sea becomes progressively rough. At this time Pomarine and Parasitic (Arctic) Skuas appear. Usually one needs to be around 10-15 nautical miles out, to see these birds. On a sailing in April 2008, with Dr. Charles Anderson, we saw a flock of 17 Pomarine Skuas ; the total tally for the day was 42 Pomarine Skuas. Flesh-footed and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters also arrive at this time and on a single sailing over a dozen sightings may at times be had. Brown Noddies (and possibly Lesser Noddies) are occasionally seen with flocks of other terns. Other rarities which have been recorded include Red-billed Tropicbird, White-tailed Tropicbird and sight records of Sooty Shearwater. The Brown-winged or Bridled Tern is a pelagic seabird rarely seen by shore-based birdwatchers but is easily seen throughout the season from the whale watching boats. Other seabirds seen regularly include Little, Great Crested and Lesser Crested Terns. Whiskered and White-winged Black Terns are birds which winter inland, but as they prepare for the return migration, flocks gather by the shoreline. White-winged Black Terns form flocks which hunt over the sea. The migration patterns of the seabirds differ during the March-April period. The “Marsh Terns” will be moving north. The Brown-winged Tern may be on a return migration to South-west Australia. The Shearwaters are flying west to the Arabian Sea. The Pomarine Skuas appear to be flying east to the Bay of Bengal. Kalpitiya As with Mirissa, the boats will start whale watching once the seas are calm after the South-west Monsoon. December to mid April are good months for going out to sea. Many seabirds can be seen off the Kalpitiya Peninsula. Hunting along the coastlines are Gull-billed Terns. Lesser Crested and Large Crested Terns are often seen in mixed tern flocks which have Gull-billed as well as Little Terns and, less frequently, Common Terns. I have often seen flocks of Little Terns in the food rich areas between the lines of longitude E 79 35 and E 79 38. On the beach you may see Whiskered and White-winged Black Terns. Both species are migrant “Marsh Terns” and are rarely seen over the sea. However, flocks of White-winged Black Terns gather to feed at sea off Mirissa at the tail end of the migration. There are a few records of exhausted Sooty Terns landing on the beach. I photographed one on May 20, 2010 at Kandakuliya. Bridled Terns are pelagic birds seasonally seen in good numbers. Unless there is bad weather, they rarely venture close to shore. The area between E 79 35 and E 79 38 also seems to be one of the best places for seeing Lesser and Brown Noddies; two more species of dark terns. Most observers in Sri Lanka have found them hard to find whereas in Kalpitiya I have even had a Lesser Noddy attempting to land on our boat. A Long-tailed Skua was photographed by Riaz Cader and me on April 11, 2010. This may be confirmed as the second record of this species in Sri Lanka and one of the first few for the Indian Subcontinent. Although I have photographed Pomarine Skua, I have not seen them in the numbers they are seen off Mirissa. In April 2010 I also had a flock of over 35 Persian Shearwaters. The Persian Shearwaters recorded on this trip may be the third record from Sri Lanka. I have also photographed Persian Shearwaters in April 2011 and April 2012 and I suspect they are regular in April off Kalpitiya. Wedge-tailed and Flesh-footed Shearwaters also join some of the mixed species seabird feeding flocks. I have had had glimpses of petrels but not been able to identify them. On January 15, 2012, Riaz Cader went out to sea and photographed a rarely recorded Brown Booby. This adds further confirmation to my claim that one of the easiest places in Asia in which to see rare pelagic seabirds is the sea off the Kalpitiya Peninsula. Brown-headed Gull, a winter visitor in low numbers has been recorded. The nearby salt pans at Puttalam usually have a few Caspian Terns which make an occasional appearance in Kalpitiya. On February 25, 2013 Ashan Seneviratne photographed a Pallas’s Gull. It is not a rarity, but winters typically north of Mannar. The area over the 400m isobath offshore from Kandakuliya seems to be a pelagic bird sweet spot and this may be due to a confluence of nutrients from different sources creating a rich zone of marine life. The 400m isobath also comes closer to shore as one moves north along the peninsula. This explains why whales and pelagic seabirds are seen close to Kandakuliya and the Bar Reef. Trincomalee The North-east Monsoon blows from October to February. The whale watching season begins in Trincomalee in March as the seas become calmer. Between March and the first week of April, Trincomalee has the added benefit of migratory Blue Whales who are still present. The seabirds will be similar to Mirissa and Kalpitiya. At the time of writing, very few birders have been at sea and the species list is relatively thin. Brown-winged Terns are at times seen relatively close to shore. In April 2012, I found shearwaters and skuas were absent from Trincomalee, when only a few days earlier they had been seen in Kalpitiya. This could be due to the upwellings happening on the west coast at this time of the year and creating better conditions for feeding for seabirds there rather than in Trincomalee. |
| Petrels - Summer months. Seen in the seabird mass migration in August to September. Shearwaters - In late March to late April just before the South-west monsoon. Also seen in the seabird mass migration from August to September. Storm-Petrels - Seen in the seabird mass migration from August to September. Tropicbirds - Typically arrive during the North-east Monsoon. Gannets and boobies - Typically arrive during the North-east Monsoon. Frigate birds - Typically arrive during the South-west Monsoon. Skuas - In late March to late April just before the South-west monsoon. Also seen in the seabird mass migration from August to September. Gulls - Winter visitor between September to early April. Terns - Winter visitor between September to early April. A few tern species have a locally resident sub-species. Monsoons - South-west Monsoon: May to August, North-east Monsoon: October to January |