Some 215 kilometers (130 miles) south of Colombo in the Hambantota district lies a unique, infrequently travelled, bird-watching location: Lunama and Kalametiya. A quaint coastal wetland, this bird sanctuary serves as a home for a range of birds — wintering and endemic — and other fauna, complete with swaths of mangrove forests, extensive reedbeds, scrublands and salt marshes.For the traveler, Kalametiya lagoon, adjoined by Lunama, provides a tranquil backdrop to watch birds year-round — and to go paddle boating.The dry zone in southern Sri Lanka has many locations of environmental significance and together, Lunama and Kalametiya forms one. First established in 1938, it is the island’s oldest bird sanctuary and occupies a picturesque area between the two saltwater lagoons, near a mangrove swamp and open plains.To read full story visit: https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/photos-sri-lankas-kalametiya-lagoon-draws-tourists-to-see-native-and-migrant-birds/?fbclid=IwAR0tXwk9W0yWbaqtmst8OnD9FdAF_2ncG3G_Z_OLFR0_S8YcTW2HA4g9VVE