Final Preparations for Flight _ Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush _ 2 _ 01. 05. 2026

Added: 2026-05-16

[00:00:10]Orton Plains National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a breathtaking high altitude plateau 2,000 m above sea level in Sri Lanka's central highlands, characterized by mistrouded grasslands, cold temperatures, endemic birds. The experience at Horton Plains is a roughly 9.5 km approx 6 mile loop trail allowing you to immerse yourself in nature on foot.

[00:00:39]Walking along the path, you are surrounded by vast open plains and patches of stunted forests adorned with lychans and epipites. A sign of the high humidity. As you trek, you might hear the alarming call of a somber deer, signaling the presence of a predator.

[00:00:58]While leopards are the apex predators here, larger, and with thicker fur than their land relatives, they are rarely seen, preferring to hide in the thick vegetation.

[00:01:09]The area is a haven for bird watchers being home to unique endemic species such as the dull blue fly catcher, the Sri Lanka white eye and the yelloweared bullbull.

[00:01:24]Horton plains is located on the southern plateau of the central highlands of Sri Lanka. The peaks of Kiraagalpa 2389m 7,838 ft and Thadapola cand 2357m 7,733 ft. The second and the third highest of Sri Lanka are situated to the west and north respectively.

[00:01:53]The park's elevation ranges from 1,200 to,300m.

[00:01:59]The rocks in the park belong to the archan age and to the high series of the pambrian era and are made up of condolites charikites and grenitic nices. The soil type is of the red yellow pods group and the surface layer is covered with decayed organic matter.

[00:02:18]The mean annual rainfall is greater than 2,000 mm. Frequent cloud cover limits the amount of sunlight that is available to plants. The mean annual temperature is 13° C, but the temperature varies considerably during the course of a day, reaching as high as 27° C during the daytime and dipping as low as 5° C at night. During the southwest monsoon season, the wind speed sometimes reaches gale force, although some rain falls throughout the year. A dry season occurs from January March. The ground frost is common in February. Mist can persist for most of the day during the wet season.

[00:03:04]The park has many pools and waterfalls and Horton Plains is considered the most important drainage basin in Sri Lanka.

[00:03:12]The Horton plains are the headarters of the Mahawi, Kelani and Walla rivers. The plains also feeds Bilah Oya, Agraoa, Kirki, Uma and Baguentala Oya.

[00:03:30]The original name of the area was Maha Alithena, great open plane. But in the British period, the plains were renamed after Sir Robert Wilmont Horton, the British governor of Salon from 1831 to 1837, who traveled to the area to meet the Ray Mahmea of Sabaragamua in 1836.

[00:03:54]in 1834 by LT William Fiser of the 78th Regiment and Lieutenant Albert Watson of the 58th Regiment who discovered the plateau. Stone tools dating back to Balingod culture have been found here.

[00:04:10]Today we are highlighting a sighting of the elusive oranga bird, particular nest for photography. During this trip, I was lucky enough to see two healthy chicks.

[00:04:21]Remarkably, both fledged and flew away on the very same day. The following video captures the exact day moment the chicks fledged.

[00:04:43]Heat.

[00:05:02]Heat.

[00:06:00]Heat. Heat.

[00:10:26]Most of the birds like robins, sunbirds, and fly catchers often leave the nest.

[00:10:31]test in the morning, typically within 6 hours of sunrise, usually around 13 to 18 days after they hatched. You will know they are leaving when you see these signs. The chicks are filling the entire nest and their wings are fully feathered. They spend time standing at the edge of the nest, flapping their wings to strengthen them. Most chicks actually jump from the nest and cannot fly well immediately. They may land on the ground and hop or flutter for two 5 days before achieving sustained flight.

[00:11:18]I found this nest right next to a very busy ticket counter at Horton Plains.

[00:11:24]Because it was a long weekend, the crowds made it a huge challenge to get any good photos or footage. Here is what I managed to capture.

[00:13:02]Thank you.

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