Travelling to Negelle

We set out on the long drive to Negelle at 5.30am and headed over the Sanetti Plateau seeing plenty of previously seen species, including more beautiful Spot-breasted Plovers. As the road began to descend towards the Harenna Forest we quickly picked up Bale Parisoma (possibly a split from Brown Parisoma) and Cinnamon Bracken Warbler.

 

Bale Parisoma

In the forest we had our first real rain of the tour and this hampered our birding on and off all day. But we did pick up Black-and-white Mannikin, Yellow-bellied Waxbill, Grey Cuckooshrike, Spectacled and a surprising Speke’s Weaver, and best of all an Abyssinian Crimsonwing. 

Vitelline Masked Weaver

The road was quite bad as we left the forest but improved somewhat as we drove out into the drier Acacia forest and at our picnic lunch spot we found Black-billed Barbet and some distant Chestnut Weavers. We drove on and a random stop to stretch our legs turned out to be pretty good with several Vitelline Masked Weavers feeding in a nearby tree, several Shelley’s Starlings, a group of White-headed Buffalo-weavers, Red-fronted Barbet, Red-and-yellow Barbet, Eastern Paradise Whydah, Straw-tailed Whydah, Slate-coloured Boubou, Red-billed Quelea and a flyover Bateleur. Wow!

Eastern Paradise-Whydah

Shelley's Starling

Straw-tailed Paradise-Whydah

Our ultimate goal was to find Prince Ruspoli’s Turaco and at the first site we tried, a pair were found quite quickly, along with a Levaillant’s Cuckoo. But at the second site we had mind-blowing views of this bird feeding along a hedge….

Levaillant's Cuckoo

Prince Ruspoli's Turaco

Prince Ruspoli's Turaco

There were also several Bruce’s Green-pigeons feeding in a large fig tree, along with a pair of Double-toothed Barbets, and a Northern Black Flycatcher certainly wasn’t ‘bird of the day’. We still had an hours drive to get to Negelle and finally arrived around 7pm. We stayed in a new hotel which was really quite nice and contrary to what we had heard back in the UK.

Sof Omar

It took 3 hours to drive along the bumpy road to Sof Omar, but a couple of quick stops were worthwhile with our first views of Helmetted Guineafowl, Rosy-patched Bush-shrike, White-browed Coucal, White-headed Buffalo-weaver, and Black-crowned Tchagra. 

Rosy-patched Bush-shrike

As soon as we pulled up at Sof Omar an African Pygmy Kingfisher was found close by and, although things seemed a little quiet initially, we started finding new birds. In a relatively short space of time we found Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Brown-tailed Rock-chat, White-bellied Go-away-bird and Collared Sunbird. 

African Pygmy Kingfisher

Overhead there was a flyover Little Sparrowhawk, a pair of African Hawk-eagles and later in the morning a Brown Snake-eagle performed admirably. Meanwhile our search of the narrow gorge continued producing new trip birds with Emerald-spotted Wood-doves becoming increasingly confiding, an inquisitive Orange-breasted Bush-shrike, a demure Northern Brownbul, Northern Crombec and a Greater Honeyguide. After an hour or so we finally nailed a pair of the endemic Salvadori’s Seedeaters that were working their way across the hillside towards the drinking pool, but sadly we were not able to photograph them. We thought they’d come down to drink but somehow they just disappeared and we had to content ourselves with Northern White-crowned Shrike, Acacia (Somali) Tit, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, a flock of White-crested Helmetshrikes and a noisy gang of Black-billed Wood-hoopoes.

White-crested Helmet-shrike

 Leaving here we drove back towards Dinsho in the hope that an Abyssinian Owl had been relocated at a day roost, and along the way we stopped to look at a couple of Pallid Harriers and a ringtail Montagu’s Harrier, Short-toed Eagle a few Crested Francolins. 

Abyssinian Catbird

Up at Dinsho there was no owl, but we had nice views of Abyssinian Catbird, Ethiopian Boubou, Common Waxbill and Brown Woodland Warbler.

Bale Mountains - Sanetti Plateau

What a cracking day this was and lived up to all expectations as we visited the Sanetti Plateau. Leaving at 6.30am after a long night’s sleep we stopped just out of town as the roadside was crawling with birds, most of which turned out to be Streaky Seedeaters, but a Ruppell’s Robin-chat was also very nice and a bunch of Chestnut-naped Francolins also showed well along the road. 

Sanetti Plateau

As we got up onto the moorland numerous photo opportunities arose from the mind blowing scenery, although Rouget’s Rail, Wattled Ibis and our first Moorland Francolins were also great. 

Moorland Francolin

Rouget's Rail

The variety of birds up here isn’t great but what is here is very special, and none more so than the endemic Spot-breasted Plovers and we spent ages watching and photographing them in the beautiful sunshine. 

Spot-breasted Plovers

However, a pair of Wattled Cranes stole the show for me and what views we had as they fed in a marshy hollow below the road. Other goodies present were hundreds of Ethiopian Siskins, Thekla Lark, a pair of Lanners, Red-throated Pipits, Blue-winged Goose, Ruddy Shelduck and Yellow-billed Ducks. 

Wattled Crane

Raptors were well presented with Steppe and Greater Spotted Eagles, a pair of Lanners, Peregrine, Common Kestrel, lots of Augur Buzzards and Eurasian Sparrowhawk. Fantastic views of a Simien Wolf hunting Mole Rats was also something special. We even had an Ayres’s Hawk-eagle as we descended towards the Harenna Forest, along with African Stonechat and Ethiopian Cisticola. Our picnic lunch was taken in the forest but it was really quiet, apart from a White-headed Vulture, and a few Red-billed Oxpeckers hanging around some cattle., so we drove back up to the plateau.

Ayres's Hawk-Eagle

Red-billed Oxpeckers

The last hour of sunshine was spent around some fields close to town and what a good move this turned out as we had really great views of Groundscraper Thrushes, Black-winged Lovebirds, Common Fiscals, a nesting pair of Yellow-fronted Parrots, yet another pair of Lanners, a pair of Abyssinian Ground Hornbills and the last bird of the day was a Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk we scoped as it perched on top of a conifer. 

Simien Wolf

Yellow-fronted Parrot

Today also provided us with several good mammals and to add to 3 sightings of Simien Wolf, we also had Ethiopian Klipspringer and Menelik’s Bushbuck.