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Abyssinian Ground-Hornbill |
The
first day of our 23-day sojourn to Ethiopia was one of rest after a
nightmare early morning flight from Singapore. We met our guide for
the trip, Abiy Dagne of Ethiopian Birding (abiybird@gmail.com), who is highly recommended.
Abiy and I had spent some time nutting out an itinerary and his
execution of the trip was flawless. Abiy is a superb birder with
excellent site knowledge and a good companion to boot; nothing is too
much trouble for him.
|
White-winged Flufftail |
The
following day we met our driver for the trip, the amiable and capable
Sisay, and took in some of the sights of the capital including the
National Museum and Trinity Cathedral. Birds were everywhere about
Addis. We saw our first Ethiopian highland specialties –
Brown-rumped Seedeater and Abysinnian Slaty-Flycatcher. Dusky
Turtle-Dove was common and the first of many Swainson's Sparrows were
noted. It quickly became obvious that birds are not heavily hunted
in Ethiopia; much like in India, they are quite approachable and
numerous in populated areas. Other birds common around the city
included Streaky Seedeater, Baglafecht Weaver and Ruppell's
Robin-Chat. We spotted our first Thick-billed Raven.
|
Abyssinian Slaty-Flycatcher |
|
Brown-rumped Seedeater |
|
Dusky Turtle-Dove |
Early
in the morning of our third day we drove west of Addis to the Adea
Bergan Wetland, one of just three highland wetlands in Ethiopia where
the rare and much sought after White-winged Flufftail occurs. The
total world population of about 250 birds was about to embark on its
annual migration to South Africa - this was one species we had not
been banking on. We were thrilled therefore to flush two fine male
White-winged Flufftails from the marsh.
Wattled
Ibis and White-collared Pigeon were common here and we were to see
many of both species anywhere in the highlands. Ethiopian Siskin was
another highland speciality that proved to be numerous and we saw our
first Ethiopian Cisticola. Red-chested Swallow was a nice surprise as
a couple of birds hawked the fields in the company of Barn Swallows
and martins. Other birds in the area included Groundscraper Thrush,
Yellow-crowned Bishop and African Snipe.
|
Groundscraper Thrush |
|
Yellow-crowned Bishop |
|
White-collared Pigeon |
|
Wattled Ibis |
Late-morning
we left Addis for the Sultata Plain and the ancient Portugese Bridge
and nearby monastery near Debra Libanos – well-known hotspots on
the birding map. On the way we saw our first Blue-winged Goose.
Several Ruppell's Black Chats were about the bridge. Along a muddy
trail near the monastery we had fine views of White-cheeked Turaco,
Hemprich's Hornbill and Banded Barbet. A pair of White-winged Cliff
Chats was on a wall at our accommodation (Selale Hotel) in the nearby
town of Fiche.
|
Ruppell's Black Chat |
|
White-cheeked Turaco |
|
Hemprich's Hornbill |
We
left very early the next morning in heavy rain for the Jemma Valley
to be in place in time for one of the more difficult endemics –
Harwood's Francolin. As the first rays of light appeared over the
moorland we saw plenty of Thekla Larks and a few Erlanger's Larks,
along with a couple of Red-breasted Wheatears.
|
Erlanger's Lark |
|
Thekla Larks |
We arrived at the
francolin site in good time and found one without too much difficulty
along with a few of the much larger Erckel's Francolins. White-winged
Cliff Chat and Mocking Cliff Chat were together as we slowly made our
way down the steep mountain slope.
|
Erckel's Francolin |
|
Harwood's Francolin |
The
specialties came thick and fast. We saw quite a few White-billed
Starlings and Abyssinian Black Wheatears. We found several
White-throated Seedeaters much higher than we expected.
|
Abyssinian Black Wheatear |
|
White-throated Seedeater |
|
White-billed Starling |
Ruppell's Vulture was common. Among birds
seen as the elevation lowered were Speckle-fronted Weaver,
Black-winged Red Bishop and Red-collared Widowbird.
|
Speckle-fronted Weaver |
|
Ruppell's Vulture |
|
Black-winged Red Bishop |
We were very
surprised to see an Egyptian Plover on a small sand bar before
crossing the Jemma River.
|
Egyptian Plover |
The
dry scrub along the river bank was the focus of our attention for a
couple of hours. Here we found two much wanted rarities –
Green-backed Eremomela and Red-billed Pytilia. Black-faced Firefinch
was another unexpected rarity.
|
Green-backed Eremomela |
|
Red-billed Pytilia |
We had Cinnamon-breasted Bunting,
Vinaceous Dove, Levaillant's Cuckoo and Black-billed Barbet, among
many others. More
common fare included Grey-headed Kingfisher.
|
Grey-headed Kingfisher |
|
Black-billed Barbet |
|
Cinnamon-breasted Bunting |
As
we left the valley the water level had risen so fast that the
Egyptian Plover sandbank was inundated and the bird nowhere in sight.
Back up on the moorland we saw our first Spot-breasted Lapwing and
plenty more Erlanger's Larks, while it was nice to catch up with old African favourites like Pin-tailed Wydah. A big surprise was an Abyssinian
Ground-Hornbill. We
checked into the Eva Hotel in Debra Birhan and the next morning
headed down another steep escarpment, this time to Melka Ghebdu.
|
Pin-tailed Wydah |
Birds were again in abundance and we saw Ruppell's Weaver, Little
Weaver, Speckled Mousebird and Northern Red Bishop. Shining Sunbird was nice to see, as
was a noisy party of Yellow-breasted Barbets. It took some time to
track down the local specialty – Yellow-throated Seedeater, but it
eventually showed well.
|
Speckled Mousebird |
|
Northern Red Bishop |
|
Yellow-throated Seedeater |
We
saw our first Black-winged Lovebirds and a noisy party of
White-rumped Babblers as we made our way back up the mountain, along
with African Citril and Lesser Masked Weaver. The day ended well with a party of Ankober
Serins found without too much trouble by the sharp-eyed Abiy on the
edge of a steep cliff at Gemessa Gebel in the late afternoon.
|
African Citril |
|
White-rumped Babbler |
|
Balglafecht Weaver |
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