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| Ethiopian Wolf |
After
Laker Langano (see here) we again headed east, this time
towards the Bale Mountains - where some of Africa's finest scenery is
on display. As we ascended the mountains we stopped at a well-known
spot for Cape Eagle-Owl. Some local boys were able to show us one at
its cliff-side roost almost immediately. Lanner Falcon also showed
well roadside.
 |
| Cape Eagle-Owl |
 |
| Lanner Falcon |
Our
next port of call was the national park headquarters at Dinsho. Here,
the park staff are adept at tracking down owls at their day roosts.
We were shown a pair of roosting African Wood Owls, then an
Abyssinian (Long-eared) Owl – a much-wanted specialty of the area.
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| African Wood Owl |
 |
| Abyssinian Owl |
We
found a party of White-backed Black Tits and an Abyssinian Catbird in
the wet forest surrounding the park headquarters.
 |
| Abyssinian Catbird |
Mammals were also
about, including the endemic Mountain Nyala and Mendelik's Bushbuck,
Warthogs were common.
 |
| Mendelick's Bushbuck |
 |
| Warthog |
Our
home for the next two nights was the Wabishebele Hotel in Goba, where
we had an opportunity to adjust to the high altitude. Thick-billed
Raven was common about the town and we saw our first Somali Crows of
the trip.
 |
| Thick-billed Raven |
We
had a full day traversing the beautiful Sanetti Plateau, where
Africa's highest road ascends to 4300 metres. This was the only day
of the trip that we needed to drag out all the warm weather clothes
we anticipated needing for cold high altitude weather. A Golden
Jackal emerged from bushes close to the road lower down and we
stopped to see the local endemic race of the Brown Parisoma.
 |
| Golden Jackal |
Spot-breasted Lapwing and Rouget's Rail – both Ethiopian highland endemics –
were easy enough to spot in the low moorland as we continued our
ascent.
 |
| Rouget's Rail |
 |
| Spot-breasted Lapwing |
We
saw plenty of Chesnut-naped Francolins and a Moorland Francolin as we
drove across the plateau. A Lammergeier made an appearance overhead.
 |
| Chesnut-naped Francolin |
 |
| Lammergeier |
 |
| Moorland Francolin |
Rodents
were in abundance – most were seemingly Blik's Grass-Rat, and were
happy to find a few bizarre-looking Giant Mole-Rats.
 |
| Blik's Grass-Rat |
 |
| Giant Mole-Rat |
Ethiopian
Wolf is one of the star animals of this country , so we were pleased
indeed to see a total of 5 of these mammals, including a pair close
to the road.
 |
| Ethiopian Wolf |
We
moved on to the Harema Forest – the largest forest in Ethiopia.
Here we saw Ethiopian Oriole without much trouble and were pleased
to tick off Abyssinian Woodpecker – one of the more difficult
endemics.
 |
| Ethiopian Oriole |
 |
| Abyssinian Woodpecker |
We
found a small troop of another endemic – the Bale Monkey,
considered a race of the Vervet Monkey but a good candidate for a
split.
 |
| Bale Monkey |
On
the way back, a Wattled Crane showed distantly.
 |
| Wattled Crane |
The
next day we left Gobe and retraced our steps across the Senetti
Plateau before descending to the southern lowlands of Ethiopia. We
stopped in an area of dry acacia in break-away country and saw some
striking White-crested Helemet-shrikes before tracking down our main
target for the site – a magnificent Ruspoli's Turaco.
 |
| White-crested Helmet-shrikes |
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| Ruspoli's Turaco |
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