I spent the last fortnight of November on a family holiday in Ethiopia, here's a few photos:
The main purpose for the trip was to trek in the Bale Mountains, a lush, green plateau that defies all expectations of Ethiopia. Highlight here was the Ethiopian Wolf, of which we saw 4, giving great views and completely unconcerned by our presence. The birding here was fantastic too, particularly for raptors. Small burrowing mammals are incredibly common and so are their predators, with Lanner Falcons, Steppe Eagles and Augur Buzzards pretty much constantly on show. Being a bit of a Crane fan, I was delighted to see a pair of Wattled Crane feeding distantly on the shores of a small lake, nearly 4000m above sea level.
On the way to and from the mountains we stopped at Lake Ziway, in the Rift Valley. The main jetty was one of the most absurd birding experiences of my life, with ranks of Marabou Storks, Hammerkops and White Pelicans waiting to be fed by hand, while White-winged Terns swooped in for leftovers. A boat trip out on the lake got us up close to a Hippopotamus and an island covered in nesting African Darters, African Spoonbills and Black-headed Herons.
We then spent a few days at the resort town of Debre Zeyit, with its string of crater lakes, and then Ambo, for some hiking at the nearby Mount Wenchi.
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| African Paradise Flycatcher |
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| Augur Buzzard |
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| Bale Mountains campsite |
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| African Wood Owl |
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| Blue-winged Goose |
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| Easy birding at Ziway |
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| Abyssinian Catbird |
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| Moorland Chat |
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| Wattled Crane |
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| Erlanger's Lark |
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| Goliath Heron |
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| Hippo |
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| Hippo |
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| Warthog |
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| Rock Hyrax |
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| Isabelline Wheatear |
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| Malachite Kingfisher |
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| Mountain Wagtail |
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| Mountain Nyala |
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| Pallid Harrier |
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| Pied Wheatear |
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| Rougets Rail |
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| Rupells Vulture |
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| Common Redstart (samamiscus) |
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| Silvery-cheeked Hornbill |
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| African Spoonbill |
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| Steppe Eagle |
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| African Stonechat |
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| Verraux's Eagle (and Chough) |
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| Verraux's Eagle |
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| White-cheeked Turaco |
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| Ethiopian Wolf |
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| Red-throated Wryneck |
At the end of the holiday I managed to squeeze in a day trip to the grasslands of Awash NP, a must-visit site about 4 hours East of Addis Ababa. The park seems to have a strict policy preventing exploration on foot so I was limited to a few hours on a 'game drive' around the Oryx Plains, and a short stroll with an armed guide around the Awash Falls lodge and nearby campsite.
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| African Harrier Hawk |
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| Bateleur |
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| Northern Carmine Bee-eater |
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| Long Crested Eagle |
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| Namaqua Dove |
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| Northern White-crowned Shrike |
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| Besia Oryx |
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| Rosy-patched Bush Shrike |
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| Tawny Eagle |
