Ethiopia Endemics II 6th November to 22nd November 2019 (17 days) Lalibela Historical Extension II 22nd November to 25th November 2019 (4 days) Trip Report Arabian Bustard by Gareth Robbins Trip report compiled by Tour Leader: Gareth Robbins Trip Report – RBL Ethiopia Endemics II & Lalibela Historical Extension II 2019 2 Tour Summary Our first full day started with an early breakfast from our hotel in Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa means “New Flower”. After breakfast we met our three skilled drivers; Brahn, Samegn and Asaye and we split up into the three 4x4’s that we would be using for the tour and left Addis Ababa just in time to miss all the traffic. Our first birding spot for the day was Lake Chelekleka and we made three different stops around the lake where we got to see a good variety of waterbirds. We saw White-faced and Fulvous Whistling Ducks, some female Knob-billed Ducks, Red-billed and Hottentot Teals, White-backed Ducks, Red-knobbed Coots and had a very tricky time trying to get the spotting scope on a persistent diving Maccoa Duck. Western Marsh Harriers were seen quartering over the wetlands and a Lesser Spotted Eagle was seen flying over the wetlands too! Black-tailed Godwit, Common, Green and Wood Sandpipers, African Sacred, Hadada and Glossy Ibises were also seen as well as Gul-billed Tern and a Black- crowned Crane flying in the distance. The vegetation next to the lake produced Eurasian Blackcap, African Yellow Warbler, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, a beautiful pair of Black-billed Barbets, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Grey-backed Camaroptera, Fan-tailed Ravens, Western Yellow Wagtails as well as Yellow-billed and Black Kites. We moved onto a new lake called Lake Hora and before we reached the actual lake, we hit a good hotspot in the woodland on the way. We got excellent views of Blue-breasted Blue-breasted Bee-eater Bee-eater, a fantastic close look at a rufous male Paradise by Gareth Robbins Flycatcher, close views of a male Black-winged Lovebird, a female Common Redstart, Ruppel’s Robin-Chat, African Thrush, African Dusky Flycatcher, Eastern Olive Woodpecker, Willow Warbler, banded Barbet, Speke’s Weaver, Lesser Honeyguide, Blue-naped Mousebirds taking minerals from the rocks, Red-billed Firefinches, Bronze Mannikins and Brown-throated Martins frequenting visiting the nest holes in the rocks. We finally made it to the water and had good looks at Pied Kingfisher, White-breasted Cormorant and Pink-backed Pelican before driving to Lake Bishoftu. We visited a hotel and had traditional coffee on the veranda while spotting Red-winged Starlings, Red-eyed Doves, Variable Sunbirds and Laughing Doves. We then took a long drive to Lake Koka spotting Purple Rollers, Dar-chanting Goshawk and Crowned Lapwings along the way. When we arrived at Lake Koka, we were greeted by a few African Fish Eagles as well as another Black-crowned Crane, Ruppel’s Black-winged Lovebird by Gareth Robbins Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Ethiopia Trip Report – RBL Ethiopia Endemics II & Lalibela Historical Extension II 2019 3 Starlings and brief glimpses of a Nile Crocodile. We stopped for a late lunch at a hotel at Lake Ziway and after a few large portions of food, we took a walk along the banks of the river and managed to see plenty of Great White Pelicans, African Darters, Reed Cormorants, Little Bee-eater and the stunning Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Ruppel’s and Baglafecht Weavers, Squacco Heron, African jacana and Malachite and Woodland Kingfishers. Just as we were about to leave, we had a good look at a Beautiful Sunbird in the Hotel Parking lot. We then took the final journey to our lodge spotting three Temminck’s Courser followed by a group of ten Abyssinian Ground Hornbills right next to the side of the road. As we approached the lodge, we saw Superb Abyssinian Ground Hornbill by Gareth Robbins Starlings, White-headed Buffalo-Weavers, White-browed Sparrow-Weavers and a Black-crowned Tchagra. We finally arrived at our beautiful lodge on the edge of Lake Langano. Some birds were such as White-bellied Go-away-birds, Black-billed Woodhoopoes, Rattling Cisticola and Slender-tailed Nightjar were seen before dinner. After a delicious dinner and a good night’s rest, we met for a short pre-breakfast walk on the property. We didn’t walk too far before we saw some birdlife. We got good looks at Red-throated Wryneck, Marico Sunbird, Northern Black Flycatcher, Eastern Grey Woodpecker, Black-billed Woodhoopoes, Rattling Cisticola, two African Harrier-Hawks in flight, Common Kestrel as well as Abyssinian and Isabelline Wheatears. We then had breakfast where we were joined by two female Mocking Cliff Chats which made themselves at home and scavenged for some bits of food left behind from people eating breakfast. We met our three expert drivers and headed off in the direction of Bishangari getting great looks a Double-toothed Barbet, a close look at an African Harrier-Hawk hunting for small animals in a dead tree, Wattled Ibis, Crowned Lapwing and a Thick- billed Raven feeding on a dead Rooster. We finally arrived at Fig Forest at Bishangari and met the local guide for the area and commenced with our birding. We got some great looks at Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Orange- breasted Bushshrike, Nubian Woodpecker on the edge of the forest and once we entered, it didn’t take us long to have great views of a beautiful White-cheeked Turaco standing on top of a dead tree in the open. This sighing Double-toothed Barbet by Gareth Robbins Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Ethiopia Trip Report – RBL Ethiopia Endemics II & Lalibela Historical Extension II 2019 4 was followed by a view of a male Narina Trogon and then everything went crazy. We were hearing and getting brief glimpses of Yellow-fronted Parrots, there were Silvery-cheeked Hornbills everywhere, a male Eurasian Blackcap, Tambourine and Lemon Doves, a beautiful male African Paradise Flycatcher, Bronze Mannikins, Ruppel’s Robin-Chat, Abyssinian Thrushes, Slender-billed Starlings, White-rumped Babblers, another Double- toothed Barbet, Black Saw-wings, Hemprich’s Hornbill and at least thirty White-cheeked Turacos, that were going berserk in the fruiting Fig Trees! Lunch time had snuck upon us, so we visited a nearby lodge situated along Lake Langano where there was plenty of fruiting Fig Trees and a nice vantage point to scan for shorebirds in front of the lodge. There were Pied Kingfishers, African Fish Eagles, Senegal Thick-knees, Woolly-necked Storks, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwits, Grey-headed Gulls, White-winged Terns, Grey-backed Fiscal and a great look at a Banded Barbet. After a delicious lunch and some good local coffee, we headed back to the Fig Forest getting superb looks at Yellow-fronted Parrots and a Bruce’s Green Pigeon sitting in a leafless tree. Once we arrived, our local guide managed to get a few of us onto a very shy skulking Abyssinian Ground Thrush and we ended off the day with some excellent looks at male and female Narina Trogons in through the spotting scope. When we arrived back at the lodge, we took a short break before meeting at dusk where we got excellent close White-cheeked Turaco by views of Slender-tailed Nightjars and then continued onto dinner. Gareth Robbins Another excellent bird-filled day in Ethiopia! We started our day with a sighting of Northern White-faced Owls sitting in a tree near the Langano Lake just after breakfast and we had a lovely close view of a Little Weaver in the dining room at breakfast. We then left our comfortable lodge and just outside the Abijatta Shalla National Park we saw a couple of White-backed and Hooded Vultures feeding on some dead cows that were knocked down by an unlucky vehicle. We also saw a pretty male Somali Ostrich just inside the fence line of the National Park having a look at all the commotion. We then entered the large busy town of Shashemene and headed in the direction of the town of Dinsho situated at the entrance of the Bale Mountains National Park. En route to Dinsho, we stopped for Blue-winged Geese, Red-breasted Wheatear, the stunning Groundscraper Thrush, African Stonechat, Common Waxbills and a male Yellow Bishop. We then stopped for an early lunch and then continued onto the town of Dinsho and as we started to gain altitude the temperature halved from where we had started from this morning. We got to see a few new birds such a Cape Eagle Owl, White- Rouget’s Rail by Gareth Robbins Rockjumper Birding Tours View more tours to Ethiopia Trip Report – RBL Ethiopia Endemics II & Lalibela Historical Extension II 2019 5 collared Pigeon, and a Bearded Vulture. We finally arrived at the entrance to the Bale Mountains National Park and at a small pond, we saw a few more Blue-winged Geese and a Rouget’s Rail. A little further along the way we stopped for the rare Mountain Nyala and Common Warthogs and we also got to see the dumpy Moorland Chat, Streaky Seedeater and an Ethiopian Cisticola. The clouds darkened and as soon as we arrived at the Dinsho Forest the rain had arrived! We met the local guide and despite the rain and wet, we still saw Abyssinian Catbird, African Wood Owls and a very grumpy looking Abyssinian Owl! After a successful search for birds in the rain, we continued to our lodge at the base of the Bale Mountains where we could dry off and try to keep warm.