More than 800 bird species are found in Ethiopia, of which 16 are endemic. A further 14 species are shared with Eritrea, which was part of Ethiopia until 1991. Ethiopia’s diverse habitats, highlands, lowlands, forests, lakes, wetlands and riverine systems provide sites for wintering or passage birds.

Important Bird Areas of Ethiopia, published by the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society, provides a list of 69 sites, spread throughout the country, with much work in identifying and classifying new sites still to be done.

Most bird watching itineraries are in the south of the country – an itinerary in search of all of Ethiopia’s endemic birds would take in Debre Libanos, north of Addis Ababa, the Jemma River valley, the escarpment north west of Addis Ababa, around Debre Berhan and Ankober and the descent to Melka Jedbu, the Awash National Park, the Rift Valley Lakes, Wondo Genet, Bale and the road south through the Harenna forest to Negele, the area near the border with Somalia near Bogol Manyo, west from there to Yabello, Konso and Fejej and Nech Sar National Park.

This would take a minimum of 3 weeks, but shorter tours of about 10 days which would guarantee seeing most of the endemics and several hundred other species could be set up covering Awash National Park, the Rift Valley Lakes and the Bale Mountains.

dmAFRICA can tailor make itineraries to meet clients’ special needs or interests, and mix birdwatching with other itineraries - such as the Historic Route or the Simien Mountains - and can also organise short birding extensions as part of a longer trip, or for people passing through Addis Ababa with a only few days to spare.

On both long and short trips, you will be accompanied by a trained ornithologist

• Day 1 arrive Addis Abbaba


• Day 2 Afar Region


• Day 3 Awash National Park


• Day 4 Wondo Genet


• Day 5 Goba via Dinshu


• Day 6 Bale Mountains National Park


• Day 7 Awassa


• Day 8 depart from Addis Abbaba

DETAILED ITINERARY

Day 1:
Arrive Addis Ababa, check in to your hotel, then leave for the Gefursa Reservoir, about 20 km out of town. We will spend most the day there, taking picnic boxes. In addition to a great number of water birds, we can expect to Black Headed Siskin, Blue Winged Goose, Abyssinian Long Claw and Wattled Ibis. Return to Addis Abbaba for dinner and overnight.

Day 2:
Today we head south down the Ethiopian Rift Valley, turning east at Mojo towards Awash and our destination, Bilen, some 280 km from Addis Ababa. We will be birding along the way, and will stop for lunch in Nazret. We pass Lake Beseka (which has grown over the last decade, causing the Djibouti – Addis Ababa railway line to be raised on several occasions), the entrance to the Awash National Park and Awash bridge, turning left towards Assab and continue to Bilen. Outside the boundaries of the Park, this area shares the same habitats with grassland, savannah and wetlands. Over 460 species of bird have been recorded in this area including: the Abyssinian Roller, Abyssinian Ground Horn Bill, the endemic White-tailed Swallow, Buff Crested Bustard, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Pygmy Falcon, Honey Guide, Woodland Kingfisher, Kori and Arabian Bustard, Black-shouldered Kite, White and Crowned Rosy Patch Shrike, Carmine Bee Eater, Orange-billed Parrot, Lilac Breasted Roller, Lappet faced and Ruppell’s vulture. Dinner and overnight at your lodge in Bilen.

Day 3:
We head back towards Awash National Park, for species that we may have missed at Bilen. Wildlife in the park is much diminished, due to destruction of much of the habitat by the pastoralist Afar and Kireya, but we should be able to see a variety of different animals, including Greater and Lesser Kudu, Wart Hog, Dik Dik, Gerenuk, Menelik’s Bushbuck, Soemmering gazelle, Hamadryas baboons, crocodiles and if we are lucky, lions.

We will dine and overnight at a Lodge near the Awash River.

Day 4:
We drive back to Mojo, and then head south. We will be birding along the main road, stopping off at Koka Dam and the Awash river and then at Lake Zway for lunch. After lunch, we head down to the lake shore where huge numbers of water birds are congregated. African Pygmy Geese, Yellow-billed and Maribou Storks, Collared Pratincoles, Lesser and Greater Jacanas, African Jacanas, White Pelicans, Fish Eagles, Crowned and Common Cranes are some of the species to be seen here in impressive numbers. We leave Zway continuing to Wondo Genet, where we should arrive late afternoon. Wondo Genet is a hot spring resort (there is a naturally heated open air pool) set among forested hills. The springs are said to have curative properties and the Emperor Haile Selassie had a lodge here, now part of the hotel. In the gardens of the hotel we will see the Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, White-cheeked Turaco, and Yellow-fronted Parrot. Before dinner we will explore the juniper forests behind the hotel, where we can see the Black-headed Forest Oriole, the Golden-backed Woodpecker, Redwing Starling, Grosbeak Weaver, Mountain Wagtail and Black-roughwing Swallow. We will also see Colobus monkey, Anubis baboon and bushbuck.

Diner and overnight at Wondo Genet Lodge.

Day 5:
After breakfast in the hotel we set off for the Bale Mountains National Park, an area of diverse habitats, rich in endemic birds (6 from Ethiopia, 14 including those shared with Eritrea), animals, trees and plants. It has the largest extent of Afro-Alpine habitat in Africa, and the all weather road that crosses the Sanetti Plateau is the highest on the continent. We stop at Dinsho, HQ of the park, for picnic lunch and will spend some time exploring the area around the HQ as here is found the main concentration of the endemic Mountain Nyala. We can also see the endemic Menelik’s Bushbuck, Grey Duiker and Warthog. Birds we can expect to see here (as elsewhere in the park) include the Spot-breasted Plover, Rouget’s Rail, Thick-billed Raven, Blue-winged Goose, Abyssinian Long Claw, White-collared Pigeon and Black-winged Love Bird.

We then drive on to Goba for Dinner and overnight at your Hotel.

Day 6:
Full day with picnic lunch on the 4000 asl Sanetti Plateau, with its striking Afro-Alpine flora, such as the Giant Lobelia and Red Hot Poker. It is the best place in Ethiopia to see the Simien Wolf, the rarest canid in the world, while the huge rodent population, including the endemic Giant Mole Rat, supports a variety of raptors. The rare Wattled Crane is often seen, while there are a good number of the Spot-breasted Plover. Tullu Dimtu at 4377 m is the second highest mountain in Ethiopia and we can drive all the way to the top.

Dinner and overnight in Goba.

Day 7:
We set off back to the Lakes region, via Dinsho, towards Awassa. Lake Awassa, fringed by mountains, is one of Ethiopia’s most beautiful lakes and is rich in bird life. Along the shores of the lake and in the adjoining Black Forest we can expect to see Saddlebill and Maribou Storks, Malakite King Fisher, Spur-winged Plover, Pygmy Goose, Brown Snake Eagle, Grey Kestral, Green-backed Honeyguide, Blue-headed Coucal, Spotted Creeper, African Firefinch, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Red-breasted Wryneck, Bare-faced Go-away bird and the endemic Yellow-fronted Parrot, Black-winged Lovebird and Black-headed Forest Oriole. There are hippos in the lake and Colobus and Cervet monkeys in the gardens of the lake side hotels.

Dinner and overnight in Awassa.

Day 8:
Before breakfast we go to the fish market beside the lake for some great photo opportunities, getting really close to birds well used to human company.

We can spend some time after breakfast around the lake, before starting back to Addis Ababa. On our way we will make a stop at the Shalla and Abiyata National Park (SANP), situated to the west of the main road. Over 400 bird species were recorded here during the 1970s and 1980s, but since then the environment of the park has suffered as a result of cultivation, widespread grazing and the cutting down of trees for charcoal. The soda ash plant on Lake Abiyatta has caused a fall in the level of the lake, and killed off a lot of its fish life, but Lake Abiyatta still constitutes a wetland of international importance. Entering the park we pass the tame ostriches at the gate and first go to Shalla Lake, the deepest in the Ethiopian Rift, where depths of 270 metres have been recorded. Four of the nine islands in the lake are important breeding sites for birds. Along the shores of the lake are a number of hot springs, some so hot that locals boil maize in them, used by people and animals for their reputed curative values.

We then proceed to Abiyata Lake, where thousands of both lesser and greater Flamingo’s congregate along the shores. African Pochard, Avocet, Gull-billed Tern and Pintail, Little Stint, Ruff and a variety of ducks are among other species to be seen. The Park’s position at one of the narrowest parts of the Rift Valley makes it a major flyway for both Palaearctic and African migrants.

We stop for lunch at Lake Langano, and then head off back to Addis Ababa, arriving in time for some souvenir shopping. Tonight we will have a farewell dinner at the Yod Abyssinia Cultural Restaurant, where we can see dancing from different regions of the country. We will leave from Yod Abyssinia directly to the airport for our final departure.

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