ETHIOPIA PART 1 – Addis Ababa to Melka Ghebdu

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