Ethiopia's Endemic Birds

Ethiopia is a fascinating, beautiful and welcoming country. The climate is warm and comfortable all year round and the country supports a large number of endemic birds and mammals. The bird life here is exceptional, with over 920 species recorded in the country, and a high proportion of both East African and Ethiopian endemics. Ethiopia’s scenery is stunning, with masses of lakes surrounded by mountainous peaks and dusty valleys dotted with acacia trees, and the people of this country are friendly and welcoming hosts, with proud traditions. As the only African country to have escaped European colonialism, Ethiopia retains a rich culture and boasts a fascinating history, providing an interesting backdrop to this birdwatching and natural history tour.

During this tour we maximise the birding sites covered in a relatively short time, so be prepared for some long drives … but a lot of wildlife too! During the eight days we spend in-country we explore the semi-arid grassland and acacia scrub of Awash National Park, the high Sanetti Plateau and lush Harenna escarpment in the Bale Mountains, the forest hills of Wondo Genet and both Lake Hawassa and Lake Langano with their nearby forests. As well as birding highlights such as Abyssinian Longclaw, Abyssinian Catbird, White-backed Tit, Blue-winged Goose, Black-headed Siskin, White-cheeked Turaco and Thick-billed Raven, we will also enjoy some of Ethiopia’s mammal highlights, including Gelada Baboons around Debre Libanos and the beautiful Ethiopian Wolf in the Bale Mountains.

We begin with an overnight flight to Addis Ababa, and after enjoying breakfast at a city hotel we spend the day slowly transferring to Awash National Park, stopping for lunch and for a little birding at Lake Basaka en route. During the drive we should spot many new birds along the roadside, perhaps including our first Augur Buzzards, Long-crested Eagles and Northern Carmine Bee-eaters. We spend the next day exploring by vehicle and on foot. The park is home to a spectacular array of birds and we will be searching for its bustards, shrikes, hornbills, weavers, woodpeckers, vultures, doves, pigeons, guineafowl, glossy starlings, parrots, bee-eaters, barbets, mousebirds and finches … to name but a few!

The following day we start our journey south to Lake Langano in the Rift Valley. The drive today is lengthy but we will break it up with stops at Lakes Koka and Zwai along the way. The lakes are home to a great variety of waders, spoonbills and egrets, and Lake Zwai may well introduce us to the charming Tree Hyrax too. The acacia woodland behind Lake Langano itself is particularly productive, and here we’ll be hoping to find Cardinal Woodpeckers, White-bellied Go-away Birds, Red-billed and White-headed Buffalo Weavers and White-Crowned Shrikes.

Our next destination is the Bale Mountains, a real highlight of the tour! Today’s drive will take us through some breathtaking scenery and should also deliver some fine birding as we stop at a traditional roost site for Cape Eagle Owl before heading into the juniper woodlands of Bale Mountains National Park in search of Abyssinian Owl, African Wood Owl and Montane Nightjar. A virtually uninhabited wilderness, the Bale Mountains are dotted with heathland, cloudforests and bogs which provide a home to an array of Ethiopian endemics, many of which we’ll be hoping to spot, including Blue-winged Goose, Rouget’s Rail, Black-headed Siskin and Abyssinian Longclaw. We may also stumble upon the bizarre Giant Root Rat (Mole Rat) and we have an excellent chance of seeing the rare Ethiopian Wolf. We’ll spend a full day exploring the park, both from our vehicle and with short walks, focusing our efforts on the Sanetti Plateau and Harenna Forest Escarpment.

We retrace our steps back to Shashemene and onto the forested hills of Wondo Genet. Here we will enjoy lunch and spend the afternoon birding, with several desirable species to be found including Crowned Eagle, Olive Pigeons, Half Collared Kingfisher and Spotted Creeper. We end the day with an overnight stop on the shores of Lake Hawassa, and an early start the next day gives us the opportunity to look for the many herons, jacanas, geese and ducks that make their home here. The surrounding woodland is equally productive and we will look for Woodland Kingfisher, Red-breasted Wryneck, Puffback and Swamp Warbler along with many others hidden amongst the trees. The birdlife is so rich here that we need not travel far to see a host of different species. Later today we make the journey back to Addis Ababa.

Day 9 marks the last full day of the trip and we will head to Debre Libanos Gorge, looking for the endemic Ruppell’s Chat, before stopping for lunch on the lip of the gorge where we may well be entertained by soaring Lammergeier, Ruppell's Griffon, Lanner Falcon, Fan-tailed Raven, Black Kite, and the endemic White-billed Starling. As we head back towards Addis, the lower reaches of the gorge may also treat us to Gelada Baboon and White-winged Cliff Chat.

We depart Addis Ababa in the early hours of Day 10, arriving back into London Heathrow the same morning.