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ETHIOPIA: Birding the Roof of Africa

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ETHIOPIA: Birding the Roof of Africa ETHIOPIA: Birding the Roof of Africa A Tropical Birding Set Departure February 8-26, 2016 Guide: Ken Behrens All photos taken during this trip by Ken Behrens TOUR SUMMARY This was the new version of our set-departure trip, which was designed to take in virtually all of Ethiopia’s endemics in just 17 days of birding, plus arrival and departure days. Instead of offering the south only as an extension, we have included it in the main tour. This is both because the itinerary makes sense run in this way, and because few people want to miss the birds of the south such as the Prince Ruspoli’s Turaco. The south can also be visited in much more comfort (in terms of hotels) than a few years ago; more on that below. This shortened itinerary proved to be very well designed, though definitely fast-paced. We racked up 520 species of birds and 41 mammals in just 17 days of birding. As usual, this haul included virtually all of the Ethiopian and Abyssinian (shared with Eritrea) endemics. Among these, highlights included hefty Blue-winged Goose, elusive Harwood’s Francolin, dapper Spot-breasted Lapwing, stunning White-cheeked and Prince Ruspoli’s Turacos, diminutive Abyssinian Woodpecker, Black-winged Lovebird, Yellow-fronted Parrot, extremely rare Sidamo Lark, nutcracker-like Stresemann’s Bush-Crow, White-tailed Swallow, and melodious songster Abyssinian Catbird. Ethiopia: Birding the ‘Roof’ of Africa Feb. 8-26, 2016 But endemics are only part of the picture in Ethiopia. It also offers excellent general African birding, from abundant Palearctic migrants, to Afromontane forest species, to teeming Rift Valley wetlands, to Somali-Masai biome birds in the dry lowlands. Non-endemic prizes included Vulturine Guineafowl, Clapperton’s Francolin, Secretary-bird, Lammergeier, massive monkey-eating Crowned Hawk-Eagle, Arabian and Hartlaub’s Bustards, Black Crowned-Crane, three species of sandgrouse, rare White-winged Collared-Dove, massive Cape Eagle-Owl, African Long-eared Owl, Donaldson-Smith’s and Star-spotted Nightajars, Half-collared Kingfisher, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill (by the dozens), Double-toothed Barbet, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Pygmy Falcon, Pringle’s Puffback, Red-naped Bushshrike, African Spotted-Creeper, extremely local Boran Cisticola, Yellow-vented Eremomela, Black Scrub-Robin, Abyssinian Ground-Thrush, and Nile Valley Sunbird. Prince Ruspoli’s Turaco, perhaps the most sought-after bird in Ethiopia. Finally, it must be said that birds are only a part of the pleasure in travelling in Ethiopia. It is a spectacularly beautiful mountainous country, and many parts of it seem frozen in time and much as they were in the middle ages. Ethiopian cuisine is delicious, and most people find dining an unexpected pleasure in a country that is internationally stereotyped as a land of starvation! Doro wot, tibs, and “fasting food” (vegetarian) usually rank among the favorites of visitors. Ethiopia: Birding the ‘Roof’ of Africa Feb. 8-26, 2016 Accommodation has always been the “Achilles Heel” of Ethiopia; many potential visitors didn’t want to deal with the poor hotels that we formerly had to use in some locations. The great news is that Ethiopian hotels are improving at a remarkable rate. This can be demonstrated concretely by a look at the hotels that we now use on our set-departure tour. We stay in 12 different hotels during the 19-day tour. Half of these are brand new or fairly new, ranging from only a few months old to about 10 years old. Two lodges have recently been completely renovated, while one is in the process of expanding and renovating. Only three of the hotels are more than 10 years old. Ethiopia’s hotel boom has been going on for some time, with the accommodations on a birding tour steadily improving. But until recently, there was still one place on a birding tour where you still had to endure at least two nights in a horrible hotel: the southern town of Negele. That town’s Green Motel was a byword among birders; a hotel so bad that it was legendary! It was so bad that I once had a whole tour group make shirts (green of course) after the trip that read “I survived the Green Motel”! For many people, the prospect of the Green Motel was enough to dissuade them from taking a birding tour to Ethiopia. I am happy to report that within the last two years, not one but THREE new hotels have Quoth the Fan-tailed Raven: “nevermore shall we stay in Negele’s Green Motel!” opened in Ethiopia: Birding the ‘Roof’ of Africa Feb. 8-26, 2016 Negele. All of them are comfortable, with hot water and decent beds. What this means, is that it’s possible to do a full birding tour of Ethiopia without staying in a basic hotel. To be sure, Ethiopia is not yet on the same level as destinations like Namibia and Tanzania, where you can stay at excellent lodges for the duration of a tour. But it certainly doesn’t deserve the dire reputation that it still maintains. These days, Ethiopia’s birding tour accommodations are easily on par with those of more-visited countries like Ghana or Uganda. Ethiopia has always been a wonderful destination for its abundant endemic birds and mammals, beautiful mountain landscapes, fascinating history, and friendly people. Thankfully, it is quickly becoming a destination that allows people to experience these wonders while staying in very nice lodges and hotels. Already, it is possible to do a birding tour in Ethiopia without spending one night in a bad hotel. If you have ever crossed Ethiopia off your list of possible trips due to the idea that its hotels were diabolical, think again! The endemic Black-winged Lovebird, which we saw right in the capital of Addis Ababa. Our trip started in the northern highlands, a zone rich in endemics like Wattled Ibis, Blue- winged Goose, and Abyssinian Longclaw. Even the capital of Addis Ababa supports several endemics and near-endemics like White-collared Pigeon, Abyssinian Slaty-Flycatcher, and Swainson’s Sparrow. This area also offers some spectacular scenery, with deep gorges carved Ethiopia: Birding the ‘Roof’ of Africa Feb. 8-26, 2016 into the mountain massif by tributaries of the Blue Nile. Remnant forest patches clinging to the sides of the escarpment held species like White-backed Black Tit, White-cheeked Turaco, Banded Barbet, Slender-billed and White-billed Starlings, and Abyssinian Woodpecker. Dropping off the highlands and into the deep Jemmu Valley, we sought out the highly localized Harwood’s and Erckel’s Francolins, and had great views of both. Climbing back onto the plateau, we made our way to the Ankober escarpment, at well over 10,000 feet, where we saw the scarce endemic Ankober Serin, alongside a large and photogenic troop of Geladas. The shy, rare, and extremely localized Harwood’s Francolin, in the Jemmu Valley. After a night perched in our spectacular lodge near Ankober, we dropped all the way into the Great Rift Valley, to explore the Awash region. This region was experiencing a severe drought, which made it difficult to find many birds and mammals, though that inconvenience was certainly trivial compared with the impending human suffering that seemed likely in the area. With lots of hard work, scouring the dry and often lifeless-seeming plains, we found most of the Awash specialty birds like Arabian, Kori, and White-bellied Bustards, Black-headed Lapwing, Chestnut- bellied Sandgrouse, African Collared-Dove, Rosy-patched Bushshrike, Somali Fiscal, Red-winged and Gillett’s Larks, Sombre Chat, and Black Scrub-Robin. Mammals were thin on the plains, but we did spot Golden Jackal, Bat-eared Fox, Lesser Kudu, Beisa Oryx, and heard two big predators at night: Lion and Spotted Hyaena. Ethiopia: Birding the ‘Roof’ of Africa Feb. 8-26, 2016 When we made our way south into the narrower part of the Rift Valley, it was a relief to leave the drought of the Awash region, and to encounter lush lakeside woodlands and teeming wetlands. On top of the “list-padding” bounty of wetland and woodland birds, we saw some specific targets like Clapperton’s Francolin, Red-necked Wryneck, Scaly-throated Honeyguide, Yellow-fronted Parrot, Red-shouldered Cuckooshrike, and Green-backed Twinspot. Langano is a great place for nocturnal species; we saw Freckled and Slender-tailed Nightjars, Northern White- faced Owl, and Grayish and Verreaux’s Eagle-Owls. Although the next stop in our original itinerary had been the southern highlands of Bale Mountains National Park, we decided to re-route our tour due to a recent flare up of anti-government protests. We Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley is loaded headed south to Yabello first, hoping that things would with birds, many of which, like the Marabou Stork, and shockingly tame. calm down in Bale in time for us to visit that area a few days later. As it turned out, running the southern portion of the trip in reverse worked perfectly. But the situation was a bit nerve- wracking, and it can be hoped that equitable resolutions to the conflicts within Ethiopia can be found, and that this wonderful country remains open to visitors. On the plus side, there has never been any animosity directed towards foreigners; we were simply impacted by road blockages calculated to register discontent with In lush woodland adjacent Lake Langano, we saw the elusive Green-backed Twinspot. the ruling regime. Ethiopia: Birding the ‘Roof’ of Africa Feb. 8-26, 2016 The Yabello area was even better than normal, as in stark contrast to the Awash region, this part of Ethiopia had recently experienced heavy rains. We easily found the core specialties of the area: Stresemann’s Bush-Crow and White-tailed Swallow.
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