Day 1: Birding in the Debre Zeit area at the different Lakes.
Day 1: Radisson Blu in Addis Ababa to Debre Zeit
Pick up at the Radisson Blu at 7 o´clock in the morning. Drive to the lakes at Bebre Zeit to look for birds.
Check in at Babogaya Lake Viewpoint Lodge and have lunch. Bird watching in the garden before taking of for bird watching.
Evening visit of Lake Chelekleka with thousands of commun cranes flying in to stay overnight in the swamps. At the same time, we see dozens of Harriers overflying their resting place, just before dark. ( December-January-February only)
We will admire huge flocks of those magnificent Cranes. Marabou Storks often roost here in incredibly large numbers as well—an intimidating sight! The second part of the lake attracts migratory waterfowl and shorebirds, with Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Garganey, Eurasian Teal, Hottentot Teal, Tufted Duck, Black-tailed Godwit, and Temminck’s Stint being among the more commonly-seen species. We also can expect to find the resident Maccoa Duck floating among the migrants, and will keep a careful eye out for White-backed Duck, which is occasionally found here as well.
Just after dark, we will make a drive in the area, trying to see the spotted Hyena.
Night in the Babogaya Lake Viewpoint Lodge.
Sunday 20 th of October 2019 and they called from the reception at 4 o´clock in the morning. Second call 15 minutes later. I was in the reception just before 7 and my Guide was waiting for me. We brought my luggage to the jeep and I met our driver for the next 3 weeks.
I asked if we would use the same car all the time and they confirmed this. Good, I can keep my MAX in the car during the whole trip, no need to carry around the bottles. We left Radisson Blu behind and we stopped to buy water and then we stopped to buy fresh bread as they don´t have fresh bread in the Supermarket.
My jeep outside Radisson Blu
Loading my luggage in to the jeep
Loading my luggage in to the jeep
A picture before we leave
We stop to buy water
We stop at a bakery
We leave Addis Ababa behind
They are building new apartments just outside Addis Ababa and it is a huge area they have turned in to a construction site. New roads with 20 meters between the roads where they will build a new railway. Coming out on a toll way, huge road and freshly built and I guess there is a lot of Chinese money involved.
We are driving towards Debre Zeit where we will stay overnight at Babogaya Lake Viewpoint Lodge. And we will do bird watching around the lakes at Bebre Zeit. We will stop at Chelekleka Lake and we will start birding there. We stopped at something looked more like a pond than a lake. Small dirty pond with garbage and cow shit.
Bishoftu
(Oromo: Bishooftu, Amharic: ቢሾፍቱ) is a town and separate woreda of Ethiopia, lying south east of Addis Ababa. It was formerly known as Debre Zeyit (Amharic: ደብረ ዘይት) however since the late 1990s it has been officially known by the Oromo name, Bishoftu, which was its name until 1955.
The town is located in the East Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region, and has an elevation of 1,920 metres.
Bishoftu is located 47.9 kilometres southeast of Addis Ababa along its route 4 highway.
And we spotted people washing their laundry in this shit, amazing. I spotted 1 Black Kite and there were several other birds. We spotted a few Spur-winged Gooses and Egyptian Gooses. They are very big and the first one we noticed. But there were several birds in the pond and we were soon spotting White-faced Whistling-Duck, Fulvous Whistling-Duck, White-backed Duck, Hottentot Teal and a Little Grebe.
There were also many Spur-winged Lapwings in the area. I was in the back seat taking pictures out the window. We had a Swainson's Sparrow sitting next to the car and I got a few pictures.
Egyptian Goosed
Spur-winged Lapwing and White-faced Whistling-Duck
White-faced Whistling Duck / Dendrocygna viduata
White-faced Whistling Duck and Fulvous Whistling-Duck
White-faced Whistling Duck / Dendrocygna viduata
Swainson's Sparrow, Passer swainsonii
Swainson's Sparrow, Passer swainsonii
Swainson's Sparrow, Passer swainsonii
Swainson's Sparrow, Passer swainsonii
Spur-winged Goose takes off
Hotentot Teals
White-backed Duck and a Little Grebe
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
I get out of the car to try to get some pictures of the Black Kite. The kite was flying over the pond and the bird was soaring slowly over the pond, and very low so I thought it would be easy to get some pictures. Coming out of the car and I discover three kites over the pond. I could only see them one by one from the car.
I told my Guide and he pointed up to the sky and I look up. SWEET LORD!!!!!!!!! The sky was black of Kites, Hooded Vultures and Marabou Storks. But they were soaring very high up and no pictures, at least no good pictures. And the Black Kite / Yellow-billed Kite, well, I took a few pictures, but they didn´t turn out any good.
I went down to the pond to see what birds there was. And there were many different birds and I took a lot of pictures. Of course, many went straight to the garbage.
Marabou Stork
Hotentot Teals
Wood sandpiper - นกชายเลนน้ำจืด
Wood sandpiper - นกชายเลนน้ำจืด
Red-eyed Dove
Red-eyed Dove
Red-eyed Dove
We leave the south part of the Chelekleka Lake and we drive north for about 1km when we leave the road and drive down to the Chelekleka Lake again. We get out of the car and we see Sunbirds and African Silverbills immediately. We also spotted several Fantailed Ravens. I concentrated on the beautiful Variable Sunbird.
It wa snot easy to get the Sunbird. Jumping around and the bird kept in the shadow. But when they came out in the sun I could get a few pictures. The African Silverbill was pretty much between me and the sun, so not so good.
Male Variable Sunbird or Yellow-bellied Sunbird
Male Variable Sunbird or Yellow-bellied Sunbird
Male Variable Sunbird or Yellow-bellied Sunbird
Female Variable Sunbird or Yellow-bellied Sunbird
Male Variable Sunbird or Yellow-bellied Sunbird
Male Variable Sunbird or Yellow-bellied Sunbird
My Guide and I walk down to the waterfront using a path the farmers using to get down to get water with their horses and wagon. Our driver leave to park the car. We see an old tree at the end of the “horse and wagon” track. It is a terrible smell walking down towards the water front
There was one Grey Heron sitting in the tree down at the water, and several Fan-tailed Ravens in the same tree. A perfect photo opportunity.
Grey Heron - นกกระสานวล
Fan-tailed Raven
Beautiful Northern Red Bishops
Yellow-billed Stork
Yellow-billed Stork
Marabou Stork
Knob-billed Duck and White-faced Whistling-Duck
Our hero
I continue along the water and I am lucky to have a Black Kite (Yellow-billed Kite) stopping to drink water just in front of me. I got closer STEP by STEP and the bird was looking around. I was very close to the bird when it finally dared to drink.
The bird drank two times before leaving and I was very happy to have been offered to see this from front row. Not often this happens. I got more pictures of the Fan-tailed Raven and the Pied Crow.
Yellow-billed Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
Fan-tailed Raven
Fan-tailed Raven
Fan-tailed Raven
Pied Crow
Pied Crow
Pied Crow
Pied Crow
Pied Crow
Yellow Wagtail
Pied Crow
Pied Crow
Fan-tailed Raven
Knob-billed Duck
Walking back to the service patch for the horse wagon to get down to the water to fetch water and I spotted Knob-billed Ducks, White-faced Whistling-Duck and 2 Black Herons on a small pile of mud 50 meters out in the water. A little too far away for any good pictures, but I could see the Black Herons with their orange feet.
I never got any good pictures of the Red-billed Firefinch, but I got pictures of the Grey Heron and a Black Kite sitting in the tree.
Grey Heron - นกกระสานวล
Grey Heron - นกกระสานวล
Grey Heron - นกกระสานวล
Grey Heron - นกกระสานวล
Grey Heron - นกกระสานวล
Grey Heron - นกกระสานวล
View over the Chelekleka Lake
Coming to get water
Coming to get water
Coming to get water
Getting water
Yellow-billed Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
We stop to have a look at the wetland
Walk through the farmland to reach the wetland
We get back in to the car and we leave for Hora Lake. We make a stop on the way to have one more look at the Chelekleka Lake and it is more like a wetland where we stop. We can see 2 Plain Martin and that´s it. We can see a few Common Cranes as well. But they are too far away and in a few weeks’ time the area will be full of Common Cranes.
It will look like Lake Hornborgare in Sweden with thousands of cranes spending the winter here. We walk along the farm fields and we are soon giving up and get back to the car. We drive to Hora Lake and the lake seems to be a popular recreational area. Camping and there are boats for rent.
I get out of the car and I see 3 Pied Kingfisher sitting on the boats for rent. I have seen many Pied Kingfisher and they have always been very scared. But theses Kingfishers was not scared and they were just sitting there so I could get pictures. The Pied Kingfisher, just black and white, but maybe the most beautiful Kingfisher.
Pied Kingfisher, Ceryle rudis, นกกะเต็นปักหลัก
Pied Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Great Cormorant / Storskarv
Great Cormorant / Storskarv
Northern Fiscal
Juvenile Northern Fiscal
Speckled Mousebird, Colius striatus
Eastern Cattle Egret / นกยางควาย
Pied Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Today´s track at Debre Zeit
eBird Report
Debre Zeit area at the different Lakes, Oromia, ET Oct 20, 2019 08:17 - 11:44
Protocol: Traveling
10.57 kilometer(s)
Comments: Bird watching tour in Ethiopia with Flamingos Tours Ethiopia. Birding with my Guide
41 species
White-faced Whistling-Duck 4
Fulvous Whistling-Duck 5
White-backed Duck 1
Knob-billed Duck 3
Egyptian Goose 2
Spur-winged Goose 2
Hottentot Teal 2
Little Grebe 1
Red-eyed Dove 2
Black-winged Stilt 1
Spur-winged Lapwing 25
Common Sandpiper 1
Wood Sandpiper 2
Marabou Stork X Uncountable, the sky was full of Marabou Storks, Hooded Vultures and Black Kites
Yellow-billed Stork 1
Great Cormorant X Many many
Grey Heron 3
Black Heron 2
Cattle Egret 6
Glossy Ibis 1
African Sacred Ibis 3
Hooded Vulture X Uncountable, the sky was full of Marabou Storks, Hooded Vultures and Black Kites
African Marsh Harrier 1 Over the swamp
Black Kite X Yellow billed and black kites. Uncountable, the sky was full of Marabou Storks, Hooded Vultures and Black Kites
Speckled Mousebird 2
Pied Kingfisher 3
Blue-breasted Bee-eater 3
Black-crowned Tchagra 1
Southern Fiscal 4 Former Common fiscal
Pied Crow 8
Fan-tailed Raven 7
Plain Martin 2
Barn Swallow X Many
Common Redstart 1 Female
Variable Sunbird 2
R&uulm;ppell's Weaver 2
Northern Red Bishop 1
Red-billed Firefinch 5
African Silverbill 2
Swainson's Sparrow 2
Western Yellow Wagtail 4
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S60776720
We finish the birding at the lakes in Debre Zeit. We drive to our lodge for the night, the Babogaya Lake Viewpoint Lodge. Just a few minutes’ drive from the Hora Lake. I can´t say that I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped in to the compound at the Babogaya Lake Viewpoint Lodge. The room, well, I was not looking forward to get to bed later on in the night.
And the restaurant, well, the view from the terrace was nice and I was told by my Guide that there would be plenty birds in the bushes.
My room
The room
I have had much better food
The lake
The compound
The compound
I had a look around in the garden for birds. We will go to look for birds at a wetland and tonight, after dark we will go to have a look for Jackals. But I had some time to spend looking for birds in the garden before we left. I spotted the Hamerkop, first time I see this bird. But we saw the huge nest before we saw the bird.
There are also Egyptian Gooses scouting the area for a nest site. And the gooses love to build their nest on top of the Hamerkop nests and the Hamerkop can get upset with the gooses.
Hamerkop nest
Hamerkop nest
Hamerkop nest
View over the crater
Scarlet-chested Sunbird
Rüppell's Weaver
Today´s track at Babogaya Lake Viewpoint Lodge
eBird Report
Babogaya Lake Viewpoint Lodge, Oromia, ET Oct 20, 2019 13:29 - 14:24
Protocol: Traveling
0,33 kilometer(s)
Comments: Bird watching tour in Ethiopia with Flamingos Tours Ethiopia. Birding with my Guide
10 species
Egyptian Goose 1
Hamerkop 3
Black Kite 1
Speckled Mousebird 1
Pied Crow 1
Common Bulbul 2
Rüppell's Robin-Chat 2
Scarlet-chested Sunbird 1
Rüppell's Weaver 1 Female
Red-billed Firefinch 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S60778437
We leave Babogaya Lake Viewpoint Lodge and we drive north along the dust road for a few minutes before we stop. We have reached a wet land and we get out to see if we can see any birds. The first bird we see is a beautiful Northern Red Bishop, but not any good pictures. I ran in to the Red-cheeked Cordonbleu.
First time ever for me that I see the Red-cheeked Cordonbleu, I could not believe my eyes, it is a very very beautiful bird. And the bird was not scared so I could come pretty close to the bird. We spotted a couple of Reichenow's Seedeaters as well.
We see one Intermediate Egret looking for food out in the wetland, too far away for any pictures.
Dust road along the wet land
We stop on the dust road
Northern Red Bishop
Red-cheeked Cordonbleu, Uraeginthus bengalus
Red-cheeked Cordonbleu, Uraeginthus bengalus
Red-cheeked Cordonbleu, Uraeginthus bengalus
Red-billed Duck family
Female Northern Red Bishop
or Orange Bishop
Male Northern Red Bishop or Orange Bishop
Male Northern Red Bishop or Orange Bishop
Bus passing on the dust road
Bus passing on the dust road
Black crowned crane flying over the wet land
Black crowned crane
We see a beautiful crane flying over the wet land. But it was very far away. We start to walk along the wet land leaving the dust road behind. We see an Ortolan Bunting and a couple of Erlanger's lark - Calandrella blanfordi erlangeri. We also spotted a beautiful Isabelline Wheatear.
Our target is the Quailfinch, a very beautiful bird that is very shy. The bird are looking for food at the water edge and as it is black and white it is very hard to see in the mud. But I was lucky and I managed to see the bird, and I got a picture of the bird. Good enough for the bird to make it to my list of observed birds.
Walking along the wet land looking for the Quailfinch
Isabelline Wheatear
Another bus pass on the dust road
Erlanger's lark - Calandrella blanfordi erlangeri
Quailfinch
Quailfinch
Quailfinch
Quailfinch
Quailfinch
Dusky Turtle Dove
Dusky Turtle Dove
Today´s track at Wetland, North of Debre Zeit lake area, Ethiopia
eBird Report
Wetland, North of Debre Zeit lake area, Ethiopia, Oromia, ET Oct 20, 2019 15:30 - 18:58
Protocol: Traveling
0,97 kilometer(s)
Comments: Bird watching tour in Ethiopia with Flamingos Tours Ethiopia. Birding with my Guide
22 species
Spur-winged Goose 2
Red-billed Duck 10 Swimming with babies
Dusky Turtle Dove 1
Red-eyed Dove 2
Black Crowned-Crane 1
Spur-winged Lapwing 2
African Jacana 1
Intermediate Egret 1
Cattle Egret 6
African Sacred Ibis 4
Black-crowned Tchagra 1
Pied Crow 5
Blanford's Lark 3 Erlanger's lark - Calandrella blanfordi erlangeri
Barn Swallow X
Greater Blue-eared Starling 9
Isabelline Wheatear 1
Northern Red Bishop 7
Red-cheeked Cordonbleu 12
Quailfinch 3
Swainson's Sparrow 2
Reichenow's Seedeater 6
Ortolan Bunting 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S60780194
We drive back to the lodge where we spend time until it is getting dark. We get back in to the car and we go for a drive to look for jackals. We drive around checking out the country side but we don´t see any jackals, only a mongoose. Back at the lodge and I go to bed with my alarm set to go off at 4 o´clock in the morning.
We have a long drive tomorrow to reach Awash National Park. Click HERE to find out if we see any birds in the Awash National Park.
OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can it 
be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page.
noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.
ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.
So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.
So I put a “Next” button here and I hope that there isn't any problem to understand how to use that one. So just CLICK the “Next” button on your left hand side and you will be on the next page in a jiff!
Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaas
Faites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!
Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!
Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopra
Sprechen sie Deutsch! Kein problem! Wenn Sie die folgende Seite sehen wollen gerade klicken der Knopf “Next” oben!
คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม ไม่มีปัญหา ถ้าคุณต้องการไปหน้าถัดไป ให้กดปุ่ม “Next”
ข้างบนนี้
Вы говорите по-русски? Просто нажмите синюю кнопку "Next" с левой стороны и Вы моментально переместитесь на следующую страницу!
E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.
Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.
be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page. Jiffy (also jiff)
noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.
ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.
So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.
Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaasFaites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopraSprechen sie Deutsch! Kein problem! Wenn Sie die folgende Seite sehen wollen gerade klicken der Knopf “Next” oben! คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม ไม่มีปัญหา ถ้าคุณต้องการไปหน้าถัดไป ให้กดปุ่ม “Next”
ข้างบนนี้
Вы говорите по-русски? Просто нажмите синюю кнопку "Next" с левой стороны и Вы моментально переместитесь на следующую страницу!
E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.
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