Friday 8 th
of November 2019
and I was happy when I woke up. I will have dinner at Radisson Blu tonight and I will sleep in a proper bed and when I wake up I can have a nice shower. My luggage was out from my hut and when my Guide and Driver came we loaded the car and we took off leaving Africa United Group Hotel behind.
Took us a couple of minutes to reach the Amora Gedel Park. The entrance is close to a Fishmarket. We walk along the edge of the Lake Awassa and we see a lot of Cattle Egrets in the grass next to the lake. We check out the area as my Guide is looking for a small bird that I have forgot the name of.
Back on the walk path and I discover an Rüppell's Starling and I was excited, this is a beautiful staring that I have tried to get on picture. Pictures turned out to be shit and I was not happy when the bird took off. But I was soon to see many of the Rüppell's Starling in the park.
Lake Awassa from Amora Gedel Park
Rüppell's Starling
We reached an area with water on 3 sides and there was a terrible noise from the Egyptian Gooses. There were also a lot of Marabou Storks. I sat down and I brought out my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder to try to make some recording. The Egyptian Goose was no problem. But the Marabou Stork was a different story.
The changed branches in the top of the trees and you heard the wing flaps and when they landed the made a strange but nice sound, almost like a horse.
Listen to the Egyptian Goose
Remarks from the Recordist
Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy recorder. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.
Amora Gedel Park in Awassa. The park is full of Egyptian gooses making a lot of noise
Listen to the Marabou Stork
Remarks from the Recordist
Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy recorder. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.
Amora Gedel Park in Awassa. Marabou stork change branch in the tree and sounds like a horse / cow when landing.
Egyptian Goose in the end of the recording
We walk back to the car and we continue out to an open area. There is a huge group of African Citrils and I try to get pictures of the birds. It was not easy as they were very scared. Not co-operative at all. We also spotted a Rufous-necked Wryneck on a tree. But I never came close as there was a lot of flying things attacking me.
So I never bothered trying to get close. That was the last bird before walking back to the car and the departure for Radisson Blu in Addis Ababa.
African Citril
Rufous-necked Wryneck
Rufous-necked Wryneck
Today's track at Amora Gedel Park
eBird Report
Amora Gedel Park, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples, ET Nov 8, 2019 07:54 - 09:24
Protocol: Traveling
2,13 kilometer(s)
Comments: 20 Days Ethiopian birding tour with Flamingos Tours Ethiopia. Bird watching with my Guide
21 species
Egyptian Goose X
African Pygmy-Goose 1
Yellow-billed Duck 1
Marabou Stork X
Great Cormorant 1
Great White Pelican 1
Hamerkop X Many
Little Egret 1
Cattle Egret 12
African Sacred Ibis 1
Hadada Ibis 2
Black Kite 2
African Fish-Eagle 1
Woodland Kingfisher 1
Blue-breasted Bee-eater 2
Rufous-necked Wryneck 1
Barn Swallow X
Common Bulbul 2
Rüppell's Starling X
Swainson's Sparrow 3
African Citril X
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S61257415
White-backed Vulture
We left Awassa and we drove north following road A8 towards Mojo and the toll way to Addis Ababa. We spot some White-backed Vultures outside Awassa, but too far away for any good pictures. We continue on the road north, paved road, but in very poor conditions in some areas. I enjoyed the ride in the back seat.
And we stopped at the coffee shop, Hyio Café when we approached the toll road. The very same shop we had stopped at on the way here 10 days ago or so. I had 2 or 3 smoothies with fresh strawberries. Very nice place! A place that I can recommend for a “snack” stop.
Outskirts of Addis Ababa
Outskirts of Addis Ababa
Outskirts of Addis Ababa
Outskirts of Addis Ababa
Finally, at Radisson Blu in Addis Ababa
We were hauling behind towards Addis Ababa on the toll road and when we passed Bishoftu we spotted a lot of Cranes in the fields and I decided to go here to look for them one of the days I am going to spend in Addis Ababa. Not much traffic, but I know from experience that the traffic will be bad when we have passed through the outskirts of Addis Ababa. They are building a lot of apartment complexes and it looks to be apartments for a million people.
It was very nice when I could see Radisson Blu. I said good bye to my Guide and Driver. My Guide and I will go to look for vultures on Sunday so I will see him again.
My room, A/C and a shower and I went to bed watching a movie. DARN! I really don´t know if this was the best on the whole trip. I stayed in bed for the rest of the day and night. I called room service. Tea and smoked salmon and the smoked salmon was excellent, highly recommended if you ever come to Radisson Blu in Addis Ababa.
My room at Radisson Blu in Addis Ababa
My room at Radisson Blu in Addis Ababa
My room at Radisson Blu in Addis Ababa
Room service
Room service
Room service
So o yes, it was nice to stay at a real hotel and to eat real food. I was in an excellent mood. I booked a car for tomorrow and you just need to click HERE
to find out if I find any birds.