ETHIOPIA 29 October–14 November 2009 Extension to 20 November 29 October–14 November 2010 Extension to 20 November Leaders: Solomon Berhe and Vaughan Ashby

Ethiopia is one of Africa’s most productive birding destinations, with over 850 species including 28 endemics. To find some of the most sought-after endemics, such as the fabled Prince Ruspoli’s Turaco and the enigmatic Stresemann’s Bush Crow, we will venture to rarely-visited remote corners of this ancient land. The spectacular scenery, fascinating history, diverse cultures and astonishing wildlife make Ethiopia a truly superb destination. To make this one of the most complete Ethiopian tours ever, there is even a 6-day extension to look for Harwood’s Francolin, Ankober Serin and White-throated Seedeater, so it will be possible to see 27 out of the 28 endemics.

Day 1 Scheduled flight from London to Addis Ababa and on arrival we will transfer to our hotel. Flocks of Hooded Vultures and Black Kites will be wheeling overhead and we should see Dusky Turtle-dove and the endemic White-collared Pigeon. Dazzling Tacazze Sunbirds, Brown-rumped Buntings, Baglafecht Weavers and Streaky Seedeaters may even be seen from our hotel rooms. Depending upon time, we may visit the Gefersa Reservoir on the outskirts of the city. This area of artificial wetlands supports several of Ethiopia’s endemic birds. We will look for the attractive Blue-winged Goose, Wattled Ibis, Abyssinian Longclaw and Abyssinian Siskin. Overnight at the Ghion Hotel.

Day 2 We will depart early and head south, dropping into the Great Rift Valley and making our first birding stop at Debre Zeit Crater Lake. The woodlands surrounding the lake teem with birds and we will look for Black Goshawk, flocks of approachable Black-winged Lovebirds, African Long-eared Owl, Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Black-billed Barbet, Rufous-necked Wryneck, African Yellow Warbler, Rüppell’s Robin-chat, Black-headed Batis, Beautiful Sunbird and Rüppell’s Weaver. We will also visit Koka Dam and Lakes Gelila and Zeway. Here we will search for Pink-backed and Great White Pelicans, Intermediate Egret, African Darter, Goliath Heron, Hamerkop, Yellow-billed and Saddle-billed Storks, Spur-winged and Egyptian Geese, Comb Duck, African Pygmy-goose, African Fish-eagle, Black Crowned Crane, African and Lesser Jacanas, Senegal Thick-knee, Spur-winged Lapwing, Pied and Malachite Kingfishers and Winding Cisticola. We will enjoy a picnic lunch in the field and check into our hotel in the late afternoon. Overnight at the Wabe Shabelle Hotel, Lake Awasa.

Day 3 Before breakfast we will explore our wooded hotel grounds. Amongst our targets, we hope to see African Mourning Dove, Woodland Kingfisher, Green Woodhoopoe, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Double-toothed Barbet, Red-shouldered Cuckoo-shrike, Spotted Creeper, Brown-throated Wattle-eye, Grey-backed Fiscal, Northern Puffback, Little Weaver and Bronze Mannikin. Reedbeds in the vicinity support Greater Painted-snipe, Purple Swamphen, Black Crake, Blue-headed Coucal, Red-faced Cisticola, Lesser Swamp Warbler and Common Waxbill. After breakfast, we will visit Lake Awasa fish market, where the discarded waste attracts large numbers of Marabou Storks and other birds, giving unrivalled photographic opportunities. We should also see Long-tailed Cormorants, Sacred Ibis, Grey-headed and Heuglin’s Gulls and the aptly-named Thick-billed Raven. In the afternoon we will transfer to the Wondo Genet Resort Hotel for a two-night stay. The hotel comes complete with swimming pools filled with water from nearby hotsprings.

Day 4 We will spend the day exploring our hotel gardens and the nearby forests. Species we may find include Ayre's Hawk-eagle, flocks of endemic Yellow-fronted Parrots, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, White-cheeked Turaco, the endemic Banded Barbet, Little Spotted Woodpecker, Lesser and Green-backed Honeyguides, Brown Sawwing, Mountain Wagtail, Olive Thrush, Brown Woodland-warbler, Abyssinian Slaty-flycatcher, White-rumped Babbler, Collared and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, Western Olive-sunbird, Dark-headed Oriole, Slender-billed and the rare Sharpe’s Starling, Green-backed Twinspot and Black-and-white Mannikin. The hotel grounds also support families of Grivet Monkeys and Guereza Black-and-white Colobus monkeys.

Day 5 Today we head towards the world-famous Bale Mountains National Park. At the park headquarters in Dinsho we will search for Chestnut-naped Francolin, Groundscraper Thrush (endemic race simensis), Abyssinian Ground-thrush, Abyssinian Catbird and the endemic White-backed Black-tit. We also hope to see a variety of mammals including Mountain Nyala, Menelik’s Bushbuck and Desert Warthog. Two nights at Wabe Shabelle Hotel, Goba.

Day 6 Today we descend 1600m to enjoy some dry warmth in the Sof Omar region. The habitat here consists of broad-leaved and Acacia woodlands, which hold many new species for us. Our main target bird is the extremely range-restricted Salvadori’s Serin, the most attractive of Ethiopia’s endemic canaries. Other target birds include D'Arnaud’s Barbet, Somali Crow, Northern Brownbul, Somali Tit, the localised Brown-tailed Chat, Yellow-breasted Apalis (this form likely to be split as Brown-tailed Apalis), Rosy-patched Bushshrike and the impressive Bristle-crowned Starling. Other likely species include: Crested Francolin, Vinaceous, Ring-necked and Namaqua Doves, Emerald-spotted Wood-dove, Red-bellied Parrot, Speckled Mousebird, White-bellied Go-away-bird, Black-billed Woodhoopoe, Von der Decken’s and Red-billed Hornbills, Black-throated Barbet, Cardinal and Nubian Woodpeckers, Grey Wren-warbler, Northern Crombec, Rufous Chatterer, Pygmy Batis, Kenya Violet-backed Sunbird, Brubru, White (Bushy-crested) Helmetshrike, Superb Starling, White-headed Buffalo-weaver, Speke's Weaver, the local subspecies of Red-headed Weaver, Eastern Paradise-whydah, Straw-tailed Whydah, Village Indigobird, Red-cheeked Cordonbleu, Cut-throat, Purple Grenadier and Reichard’s Seedeater. Sof Omar boasts Ethiopia's longest cave system, and we will take time out from our busy birding schedule to wander through some of these impressive tunnels with underground waterways and roosting Horseshoe Bats.

Day 7 We will drive up the Bale Mountain massif onto the Sanetti Plateau, which lies between 3800m and 4377m above sea level. As we ascend, we will enter a Tid, or Juniper forest zone, and here we will search for African Goshawk, Rufous-chested Sparrowhawk, African Hill Babbler, the very-localised Abyssinian Woodpecker, Cinnamon Bracken-warbler, Broad-ringed White-eye and Yellow-bellied Waxbill. Once we reach this unique plateau we will be driving on Africa’s highest road, passing close to the summit of Ethiopia’s second highest mountain. This habitat is termed 'Afro-alpine moorland' and is characterised by Jibrra, or Giant Lobelias, which tower over the rich tussock grasslands. This site is an Important Bird Area of immense significance, supporting seven globally-threatened species and nearly all of Ethiopia’s highland biome species. If we are very fortunate we will see a pair of endangered Wattled Cranes striding through the moist grassland, or spot a Cape Eagle-owl sunning on a rocky perch. We will also search for Black Stork, Wattled Ibis, Lammergeier, Chestnut-naped and Moorland Francolins, the endemic Rouget's Rail, Spot-breasted Lapwing, Thekla Lark, Red-throated Pipit, Red-breasted Wheatear and Moorland Chat. The grasslands are estimated to support an amazing biomass of 4000kg of rodents per hectare. This obviously attracts raptors, and we should see Steppe and Golden Eagles and Pallid Harriers courting over this green sea. They share this abundant food source with the plateau's most celebrated resident, the Ethiopian, or Simien, Wolf, the world's rarest canid. Finally, we will reach the escarpment of this elevated plateau and stare down through the clouds at the vast Harenna Forest below. This is the largest intact forest block in Ethiopia and the largest protected Afro-alpine forest on the continent. It still supports populations of Lion and the only surviving forest-dwelling African Wild Dogs. Here, we will search for the uncommon Mountain Buzzard, Rameron Pigeon, Lemon and Tambourine Doves, African Emerald Cuckoo, Narina Trogon, Brown Woodland-warbler (a subspecies endemic to this National Park), Abyssinian Crimson-wing, the virtually-endemic African Citril and Cape Canary. In the afternoon, we will return across the Sanetti Plateau to Goba.

Day 8 Today we depart early, heading for progressively drier thorn savanna in this remote southern section of Ethiopia. Finally, we reach a dry wadi on the Genale River, home to Ethiopia’s most sought-after endemic, Prince Ruspoli's Turaco. We should enjoy excellent views of this very unusual and beautiful bird. In the late afternoon we will arrive in Negele, where we will spend two nights at the simple Green Hotel.

Day 9 East of Negele lie the Liben Plains, to which the endemic Sidamo Lark is restricted. We will begin our day by walking through the plains in search of this special bird, which we hope to watch performing its parachute display flight. We should also find Kori and Black-bellied Bustards, Black-winged Plover and the range-restricted Somali Short-toed Lark. If we are very fortunate, we may see coveys of Coqui Francolins or flush a migratory Corn Crake. The surrounding dry woodland and thorn savanna support Bateleur, Tawny Eagle, African Harrier-hawk, Eastern Chanting-goshawk, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Abyssinian Roller, Abyssinian Scimitarbill, Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Greater Honeyguide, Red-and-yellow Barbet, the rare and enigmatic Gillett’s Lark, Dodson's Bulbul, Spotted Mourning Thrush, Rufous-tailed Rock-thrush, Boran and Ashy Cisticolas, Golden Pipit, Pallid Flycatcher, Mouse-coloured Penduline-tit, Grey-headed and Red-naped Bush-shrikes, Slate-coloured Boubou, Taita Fiscal, Northern White-crowned Shrike, Golden-breasted, Shelley's and White-crowned Starlings, Somali Crow, Somali Golden-breasted Bunting and Northern Grosbeak-canary. If we are lucky, we may see Salt's and Günther’s Dikdiks and Gerenuk, whilst Anubis Baboons may also be encountered.

Day 10 Today's drive takes us near to the Kenyan border and finally to the Yabello region, home to two of Ethiopia’s most sought-after endemic birds, both listed as globally threatened: Stresemann's Bush Crow and White-tailed Swallow. This area of Acacia savanna is characterised by giant red termite mounds, some towering 5m above the plains, and both of these birds seem to be associated with these marvels of natural architecture. Other birds that we may see today are the extremely-localised White-winged Collared Dove and Juba Weaver. Two nights at a simple local hotel.

Day 11 A full day exploring this bird-rich area. Besides the two special endemics, other species we will look for are: Gabar Goshawk, Pygmy Falcon, Yellow-necked Spurfowl, Vulturine Guineafowl, Mottled Swift, Lichtenstein's and Black-faced Sandgrouse, Blue-naped Mousebird, Pale Prinia, Rufous-crowned and Lilac-breasted Rollers, Pringle's Puffback, Yellow-bellied Eremomela, Hunter's and Shining Sunbirds, Three-streaked Tchagra, Superb and Wattled Starlings, Yellow-spotted Petronia, Chestnut Sparrow, Grey-headed and Black-capped Social-weavers, Chestnut Weaver, Green-winged Pytilia and White-bellied Canary.

Day 12 Today we will enjoy some early morning birding in the Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary searching for Blue-breasted Bee-eater, Fawn-coloured Lark, Bare-eyed Thrush, Banded Parisoma, Somali Long-billed Crombec, African Grey Flycatcher and White-winged Widowbird before making our way back towards Addis Ababa. In the late afternoon we will arrive at Lake Langano for a two-night stay at the comfortable Bekele Molla Hotel on the shores of the lake, with views of the 4000m Arsi Mountains in the in the background. In the evening we will look for Greyish and Verreaux’s Eagle-owls, African Scops-owl, Northern White-faced Owl and Freckled Nightjar around our hotel.

Day 13 The three neighbouring lakes in the central Ethiopian Rift Valley are totally different from each other but have one thing in common: all are superb birding sites. We will spend the day exploring the shores and surrounding woodlands of all three lakes. We hope to find Somali Ostrich, huge flocks of Greater and Lesser Flamingos, Southern Pochard, Cape Teal, Dark Chanting-goshawk, Eastern Imperial and Long-crested Eagles, Grey Kestrel, Kittlitz's Plover, Great Black-headed Gull, Bare-faced Go-away-bird, Little Bee-eater, Hemprich’s Hornbill, Abyssinian Ground-hornbill, Grey Woodpecker, Grassveld Pipit, Isabelline, Pied and Schalow’s Wheatears, Little Rock-thrush, African Thrush, Buff-bellied Warbler, Red-faced Crombec, Rüppell’s Long-tailed Starling, Red-billed Oxpecker and Red-billed Firefinch. Mammals we may see include Grant's Gazelle, Oribi and Spotted Hyena.

Day 14 After further early-morning birding around Lake Langano, we will head to the Awash National Park, where we will spend the next two nights. The route takes us through savanna habitat and numerous Rift Valley Lakes with great birding.

Day 15 Today will be spent exploring the superb Awash National Park. We will bird around the Bilen and Fulhowa Hotsprings, the Awash River and Kirayawa Gorge, exploring riverine forests, wetlands, thorn woodlands, savanna grasslands, rocky hills, cliffs and escarpments. The park boasts a bird list of 460 species and we will make an effort to find, amongst many others, Egyptian Vulture, Greater Spotted Eagle, Scissor-tailed Kite, Shikra, Arabian, Buff-crested, Hartlaub's and White-bellied Bustards, Three-banded Courser, Helmeted Guineafowl, Small Buttonquail, Eastern Grey Plantain-eater, White-browed Coucal, Plain Nightjar, Northern Carmine Bee-eater, Greater Honeyguide, Wire-tailed Swallow, Red-winged Lark, Singing Bushlark, Blackstart, Red-backed Scrub-Robin, Eastern Olivaceous Warbler, Green-backed Camaroptera, Grey-headed Batis, Pale Flycatcher, Slate-coloured Boubou, White-rumped Shrike, Somali Fiscal, Nile Valley and Marico Sunbirds, Grey-headed and Sulphur-breasted Bush-shrikes, Fan-tailed Raven, Red-billed Quelea and Red-rumped Waxbill. Mammals we may see include Aardwolf, Lion, Leopard, Beisa Oryx, Aardvark, Soemmering-s Gazelle, Impala, Hamadryas Baboon, Abyssinian Hare, African Wild Cat, Black-backed Jackal, Striped Hyena and Greater and Lesser Kudu. We will also take a night drive to look for the more elusive nocturnal species.

Day 16 This morning we will ascend the Fantale Crater to search for two more endemics, Sombre Rock-chat and Yellow-throated Seedeater, before heading back to a hotel in Addis Ababa to freshen up before the late evening flight home. Arrival back in the UK on day 17, or two nights at the Ghion Hotel, Addis Ababa for those staying for the optional extension.

Extension

Day 17 Early this morning we will cross the Sululta Plains. These high-altitude plateau grasslands provide superb birding, despite intensive cultivation. Resident birds we may find here include Secretarybird, White-backed Vulture, African Hobby, Erckel's Francolin, Blanford's Lark, Red-chested Swallow, Cape Crow, Pectoral-patch Cisticola and African Quailfinch. Suddenly, the seemingly endless plain dramatically drops off into the Blue Nile drainage system. Perched on the edge of the gorge is Debre Libanos Monastery, one of Ethiopia's most sacred Christian sites. We will concentrate our search here for Rüppell’s Vulture, Verreaux's Eagle, African Hawk-eagle, Augur Buzzard (dark-morph birds are commonly seen here), Lanner Falcon, Nyanza Swift, Hemprich's Hornbill, Red-rumped Swallow, Mourning Wheatear, Snowy-crowned Robin-chat, the three endemics: Rüppell's Chat, White-winged Cliff-chat and White-billed Starling, Mocking Cliff-chat, Yellow-rumped Serin and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting. Another speciality of this area is the Lion-headed Baboon. In the afternoon, we will return to Addis Ababa, where we will spend the night.

Day 18 We will drive to Debre Birhan and up to Ankober to look for the rare and highly-localised (just 5 km2) Ankober Serin, then return to Debre Birhan for the night.

Day 19 Today we head for Lomi Ketema, birding en route. Our objective is to look for the highly-localised endemic Harwood’s Francolin. Overnight in Lomi Ketema.

Day 20 We will drive into the Jemmu Valley early to look for Harwood's Francolin, after which we will return to Addis Ababa to the Ghion Hotel for the night, birding en route.

Day 21 We will take an early-morning flight northwest to Bahar Dar on the shores of Lake Tana. This, the highest lake in Africa, is the source of the Blue Nile, but our primary reason for coming here is the endemic White-throated Seedeater. This is found not far from the lake, where the Blue Nile plummets over the Tississat Falls. Other birds we may see include Black-billed Barbet and Slender-billed and Chestnut-winged Starlings. We may also have time to bird along the banks of the Blue Nile, giving us the opportunity to see multi-coloured flocks of Yellow-mantled Widowbirds, Black-winged, Red and Yellow-crowned Bishops and Zebra Waxbills. Overnight in Bahar Dar.

Day 22 We will take a late-afternoon flight to Addis Ababa, where we can freshen up at a hotel before the late-evening flight home at the end of the tour arriving back in the UK on day 23.

General Information Afternoons can be hot at 35–40ºC but early mornings can be chilly so, as well as a sun hat, you will need a jumper. It is important to drink plenty, so a water bottle is a good idea. There are a number of health requirements and you must contact your GP in this respect. Walks are generally easy, although in the heat it can sometimes be tiring and some walks along wadis need a little extra effort. Accommodation is in twin-bedded rooms mostly with private facilities in comfortable hotels but with shared and more basic facilities in others. Visas are required. Expect 400+ species.

Group size Minimum number for tour to go ahead: 8; maximum group size: 12 with 2 leaders.

Top