It's a Great Day to Bird

Month: May 2016

Birding Ethiopia – Days 11-19

Because I have so much to say and so many wonderful photos, I thought I better break-up this blog into two parts to keep your attention.   Here is some of what we saw the last half of our trip.

Day 11

Hooray we are leaving Goba.  I think this hotel is the worst to date.  Very thin walls.  I could hear the couple next door to us as though they were in our room.  I had to use ear plugs and that still didn’t drown out all the sounds.  The food was barely edible and the service atrocious.   But as I understand it, not much else available within the immediate area.

We head back up the Sanetti Plateau on our way to our next location – Negelle.  We had a long drive ahead of us, but never so long as one cannot stop and check out the birds along the way.

We were hoping to get another look at an Ethiopian Wolf on the Sanetti Plateau, but no luck.  Nor did we see a Wattled Crane, which was a possibility.   Maybe we will see one yet.  Jack is hopeful.

On the way up to the plateau we came across several Francolin species, so yes we had to stop for some photos.  While sometimes I think our guide and Martin spend too much time photographing birds, I am glad we do stop for photographs (at least to photograph the birds they want to photograph) because we get some time to really look at and observe the bird.

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Moorland Francolin

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Chestnut-naped  Francolin

When we stopped for lunch and we were joined by a  good sized (10-15) group of kids – surprise, surprise.  By this time in the trip, one of the other participants – Johan (he’s from the Netherlands) – was driving me crazy.  He likes to step in front of people while they are looking at birds through their binoculars.  Sometimes he stops directly in front of you, and other times he merely passes in front of you.  Either way, it’s rude.  So Johan once again stopped right in front of me to photograph a bird I was looking at with my binoculars.  Several kids were around me.  I took my hands and pretended I wanted to strangle Johan.  I wonder what those kids thought of me.  Of course they wouldn’t understand why I was so frustrated.

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One place we stopped there were camels. This one looks skinny despite the green vegetation.

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This one looks like it is doing the yoga “tree pose”

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Not sure what this is. Some type of root?

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Endemic Salvadori’s Seedeater

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Red-and-Yellow Barbet. It was hot outside and the bird on the left had its bill open to help cool it off.

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White-crowned Starling

Negelle would be our base for the next three nights.  The hotel we stayed at was okay, although Arnold said his bathroom toilet didn’t have a seat, which could have proved interesting.  There was another bird group staying at the hotel  the same time as us and they left the next morning – early.  And they were not quiet about it despite my yelling at them to keep it quiet.  Must not have known English, but you think they would get the gist of what I was saying.  For those of you who don’t know me, I have zero tolerance for rudeness.

The hotel didn’t have a restaurant so our local guide Merid took us to a small restaurant where we ate a simple meal of rice, cooked vegetables (mostly cabbage), hot dinner rolls, and a hot sauce (not too hot, but very good).  I was actually surprised at how good the food was.  Luckily we all liked it because we would eat there all three nights we stayed in Negelle.

Day 12

We had an early morning departure to get a jump on several birds including the Prince Ruspoli’s Turaco (sorry, no photo).  The bird was not very accommodating for this photographer so you will have to google the name to see what the bird looks like – but a beautiful bird it is.  We headed further down the road for more great birding and another great field breakfast.  I just wish the field lunches were as good as breakfast.

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Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu

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Caterpillars – bird food???

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Hartlaub’s Bustard

For me the bird of the day was a singing Rosy-patched Bush-shrike.  This bird was one of my favorite birds of the trip.  And the area we birded was forested, but with a relative open canopy so we could get good looks at birds.  This area was also another favorite birding area, with lots of different species present.

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Three-streaked Tchagra

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Singing Rosy-patched Bush-shrike

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Female Batis sp.  Males will have a chestnut stripe across the chest.  There are several different species of Batis in Ethiopia.

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Northern Grey Tit (aka Acacia Tit)

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Red-billed Hornbill

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Tree Pipit

Our next stop after breakfast was a small lake on the Liben Plains.  This lake is used for many purposes.  The birds like it – especially the storks, geese, and ducks.  The local people collect water from the lake and also bring their livestock to the lake to drink.  I suspect the water is not very clean.  We  had a large flock of over 100 Abdim’s Stork arrive and land adjacent to the lake.  These birds can be quite comical as they land.  In among the storks was a lone African Openbill.

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Incoming – Abdim’s Stork

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Spur-winged Plovers hiding in the vegetation

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African Openbill

We got a much needed rest in the afternoon, and then midday headed back out for a drive through a river valley in search of the Juba Weaver.  We finally got on the bird, thanks to Richard.  However, scopes were needed to get good views.  I’m so glad we had our scope for this trip.  The road to and through the valley was bumpy, which gave us the opportunity to spot some good birds along the way including the Golden-breasted Starling.

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Golden-breasted Starling

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Area where we saw the Juba Weaver

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Ethiopians do like their fences …

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… and their donkeys

Day 13

Our second day in the Negelle area brought us back to the Liben Plains in search of several localized lark species – Somali Short-toed Lark and the Archer’s Lark.  We did a sweep through the grass to find the birds.   The Archer’s Lark is critically endangered.

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Plains living

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In search of the larks – the march goes on ….

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The vegetation luckily (for us) was low and made the bird easier to find and see

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The critically-endangered “Archer’s Lark”

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Somali Short-toed Lark (I believe?)

Later in the day we drove down a road in search of birds, finding a large number of vultures on a recent road kill.  Of course a “road kill” is probably inaccurate as I can’t see a cart with donkey running over or striking and killing an animal.  Maybe the better term is roadside carcass.

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I thought this flower was pretty

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Reminded me of a pineapple

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Surprisingly there were flowers in bloom despite the lack of precipitation.  Jack recently read that Ethiopia is undergoing its worst drought in “50” years.

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Lappet-faced Vulture near roadside carcass

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Off to get water. I love the colorful clothing worn by the Ethiopia women. The women (and children) were always the ones to get water.

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Another girl off to get water

We finished the day back at the small lake.  We saw a number of local people out and about, stopping to talk with our driver and local guide as we birded.  Our local guide later told us one gentleman there (around 40 years old) had 11 kids.  Ouch!!!  I wonder how big their house is and how he manages to feed all his children.

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Knob-billed Ducks

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Cattle coming to the lake to drink

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Arnold just stood and watched the cattle as they lazily moved to the lake for much needed water

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We stayed at the lake until dusk

Day 14

We left Negelle and headed towards Yabello.  Our goal today was to find the Streseman’s Bush-Crow and the African White-winged Dove.  The dove we spotted in a small village along the roadside.  The bird was perched in the eves of a house and then later flew up onto the metal roof.  The Bush-Crow we found on the Soda Plains.  This area is breathtaking.  Thunderstorms threatened, but never released any precip.

Along the way, we stopped at the Dawa River to bird.  This was the only area where I really felt the heat and after breakfast I stayed back while others birded.  Just too hot for me and I didn’t want to get heatstroke.  The area produced some fine birds, including the d’Arnaud’s Barbet and Bare-eyed Thrush.

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Dawa River – running muddy

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I thought this was pretty. I should know what this tree is as I have seen in before.  The mind – such a terrible thing to go to waste.

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African Grey Flycatcher

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The owners don’t want this guy to wonder off to far.   That was one big bell.

We continued our travels towards Yabello, stopping for birds along the way.  Oh and lunch too.

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Vulturine Guineafowl – my favorite of the three species of guineafowl we saw while in Africa.  Love the colors on this bird.

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Black-capped Social Weaver …

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… with one in the nest. I think these birds were in the process of building their nests for the season.

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Storm looming

We made one last stop for the day before heading to our accommodations for the night – the Soda Plains.  This was one of my favorite areas as I thought the countryside was beautiful.  Maybe the clouds helped add to the beauty of the area.

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Plenty green here

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The trees are tall, and so is the termite mound in the middle of the photo.

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Stresemann’s Bush-Crow

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I love the blue around its eye

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Purple Roller

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Purple Roller

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Our accommodations for two nights. This place was big. Unfortunately no lights between our cottage and where we ate dinner.  And I misplaced my flashlight and Jack’s headlamp wasn’t too bright.  Made getting to and from in the dark interesting.

Day 15

We birded the area around Yabello for the day.  The special treat were great views and photo opportunities of the Heuglin’s Courser.   At least one person felt as though we spent too much time photographing these species.  Martin and Janos (our guide) did tend to take a few thousand photos of the birds, or so it seemed.  We saw two different pairs within a relatively short distance of each other, and we spent about 30 minutes with each pair.  Now me, I was glad to spend a lot of time watching this bird while others were busy photographing them.  It is not often we get to spend long periods of time observing a given bird – either because the bird flies off or because we have to keep to a schedule.   This species was also within the top five species viewed on this trip.

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Colorful Caterpillar

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Klass’s Cuckoo. Boy does this bird blend in or what?

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Rattling Cisticola

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Abyssinian Scimitarbill

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White-crested Helmetshrike

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Vulturine Guineafowl

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Not interested in sticking around to be photographed

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Shikra

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Heuglin’s Courser

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The bird squatting/resting

Another great day of birding.  We did go to an area designated as a National  Park.  The locals approached our driver and local guide wanting payment for walking in the park.   Not sure how the matter was addressed.  For many National Parks we did need permits.  At times when we got stopped at a place to bird I wondered if we were on private property or not and whether we had (or needed) permission to access private lands to bird.

Day 16

We did a little birding of the area before heading to Lake Awassa.  The road from Yabello to Lake Awassa was the worst we encountered.  Lots of potholes, construction, people, animals.  In fact it felt like we spent a couple of hours traveling through one continuous town.  This was not the case, but I couldn’t tell where one town ended and another began.  Let’s just say there were houses and business all along the road.   Janos said this is the worst he has seen the road and it took us 3 hours longer (9 hours total) to drive this stretch of road than for previous trips.  We did stop in a town for lunch and I had a delicious pizza.  The Ethiopians are good at making pizzas.

We stayed in individual cabanas at a resort along Lake Awassa.   The rooms were nice.  However, we lost electricity almost as soon as we got there.  And , the quality of the rooms, does not necessarily equate to the quality of the food.  I think this was the worst place we ate.  The food was bland.  While waiting for the food I checked emails – something we haven’t been able to do on a regular basis (no consistently reliable internet service) – and learned that a dog (Honey) we have watched for friends had died.  Honey was a great dog and the news of her death broke my heart.

Day 17

We birded the area near the resort, finding a lot of great species, including the African Spotted Creeper.

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Wetland vegetation adjacent to shoreline of Lake Awassa

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African Pygmy Goose – Male

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Marabou Stork

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Marabou Stork and Hamerkop. The Hamerkop is a good sized bird, so you can imagine how big the Marabou Stork is.

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Blue-headed Coucal

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Eqygtian Geese with gooslings

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The three “Pied” Kingfishers

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Black Crake. I love these guys because they don’t skulk in the vegetation and hide from you. Easy to see these crakes.

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White-rumped Babbler

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Double-toothed Barbet. You can actually see the double teeth on its bill.

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Hamerkop pair

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Pretty flower on the resort grounds

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Those Marabou Storks sure love the tree tops

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Banded Barbet

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Stork head – where are the feathers?

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Eastern Grey Woodpecker

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Woodland Kingfisher

After breakfast (yes we got a lot of great birding in before breakfast) we headed to Lake Langano, but only after making a short detour to check on the possibility of seeing Wattled Cranes.  Along the way we stopped to bird, including another spot along Lake Awassa.

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Squacco Heron

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Malachite Kingfisher

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Great White Pelican …

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… taking off from the lake

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Massage therapy??? Can I be next???

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Birds, Boats, and Bodies (live)

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African Jacana – my what big feet you have

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White-faced Whistling Ducks. I wonder if their call sounds like a whistle. Never heard a sound from them.

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Monkey see, Monkey do

Once on the road we stopped to check out this roller and bee-eater.

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Abyssinian Roller – beautiful bird

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The backside of the Abyssinian Roller

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Northern Carmine Bee-eater

The following photos are some of the houses and stores we saw along the roadside as we were driving.  I never did see a “shopping mall”.   Most people buy their goods from local vendors.

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Typical scene with a cart being pulled by a donkey.

The detour was worth it as we saw a large flock of Wattled Cranes, although most the the cranes were far away and we needed a scope to check them out.  But one pair was feeding nearby and we got some great views.  Jack was a happy camper because he had been hoping to see this crane in Southern Africa, but the crane eluded us there.

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Wattled Crane pair

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Notice the “wattle”?

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This young horse (foal) came up to me hoping I was its mother. The poor thing was whinnying away and getting no response. I hope it lives a long life.

 

After checking out the cranes we headed to our accommodations for the night located along the shores of Lake Langano.  Our goal here was to see the endemic Yellow-fronted Parrot.  We would have to wait until morning to see the bird.

Day 18

We got up early hoping to catch site of the Yellow-fronted Parrot, which comes to the lake shoreline to feed.  We weren’t disappointed.

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Lake Langano and shoreline

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Yellow-fronted Parrot (Endemic)

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Yellow-fronted Parrot

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Yellow-fronted Parrot – feeding

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Grey-backed Fiscal

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Lemon Dove

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Greater Honeyguide

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Verreaux’s Eagle Owl

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Houses observed on the road between the main road and our Lodge.  Pretty simple.   People, for the most part, use these structures for sleeping.  Must get pretty cozy.

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More housing. We were once again in the part of Ethiopia that was quite dry.

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As you can see from this photo – not much vegetation.

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Locals shopping; locals bringing their goods to market.

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I am just fascinated by the way they put holes in their houses.

After birding around Lake Langano we headed to Wolliso, our final destination.  The journey led us back towards Lake Ziway, were we stopped for lunch.  We then proceeded to ascend into the mountains eventually reaching our lodge at Wolliso.

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Countryside as we made our way up the mountain

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High elevation living

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These huts most likely have a tighter weave to keep heat in I suspect.

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Our group taking photos of the view – with the ever present kids

Day 19

Our final birding excursion brought us to Gibe Gorge.  We spent the morning birding this area in search of the Ethiopian Pytilia and the Black-faced Firefinch.  We found and observed both birds.

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The countryside

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Pied Wheatear

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Namaqua Dove. For some reason the bird’s reminds me of a Catholic nun.

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Blue-breasted Bee-eater

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African Wattled Plover

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Cutthroat Finch – another favorite bird

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The Gibe River

After lunch at our lodge, where we picked up our luggage, we left to return to Addis Ababa.  Most of the tour participants were leaving on a late evening flight.  We stopped for dinner at the same hotel where we had breakfast the first day of our tour.   On the way to the airport, our local guide took us to Hotel Lobelia as our flight did not leave until the next morning.  Herman (from Switzerland) had chosen to spend a couple of extra days up north, and was able to get a room at our hotel also.

At the end of the day – as the saying goes – I was able to successfully identify 469 of the 856 birds that have been observed in Ethiopia (residents, migrants, accidentals, strays, and rarities).  Of these, 280 were life birds – birds I saw for the very first time.  Many of the other 189 species I saw in Ethiopia, I had only recently seen for the first time on our trip to Southern Africa.   In all,  I estimate I saw around 750 life birds during our Africa trip.  That is a lot of birds.

We left Ethiopia on December 4, 2015.  What surprised me was the level of security we went through before boarding our plane.  Upon entering the terminal, we had to have our bags and bodies screened.  We then checked in at the ticket counter and got our boarding passes.  Next was immigration (where we got our passports stamped so we could leave the country).  Next was another round of security checks – more x-rays of bodies and bags.  We then went to our gate where someone checked out ticket to make sure we were at the right gate.  And finally when our flight was called (this was a chaotic mess) we had our tickets scanned before we could board the plane.   A lot more security than any other country we have visited so far.

I’m glad we took the opportunity to visit this country.  The countryside, to me, was beautiful (even the developed parts), and the birds fantastic.

I found Africa to be a special place and a place I would like to go back and visit.

Hope you enjoyed our journey.  No matter where you are in the world, it is always – 

A GREAT DAY TO BIRD

Kotzebue Spring Birding

I recently traveled to Kotzebue, Alaska to represent the Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges  at four Kotzebue Spring Birding events (May 20-22, 2016).   I did this once before – four years ago.  I enjoyed returning to see what changes had occurred in terms of both the community and the bird life.  One thing that was evident was that there was a lot less ice on the lagoon, on the tundra, and wetlands.

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Map showing the location of Kotzebue, Alaska

Here are some google earth images of Alaska and Kotzebue area.  Kotzebue is located above the Arctic Circle.

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Google Earth – Alaska

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Kotzebue is in the upper left hand corner of the peninsula

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Kotzebue is to the left in the photo

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Kotzebue – This photo was taken on May 31, 2007. Note how much ice is present. All of the ice north of the runway was gone when I left on May 23, 2016. At least half of the ice on the lagoon south of the runway was gone.

Kotzebue is an Inupiat community located on a peninsula in northwestern Alaska.  The population is around 3,200 hardy souls (2010 Census).  The following are some photos of the community.

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Gasoline is $6.09 per gallon.  In the store, bananas were $2.99 per pound.  Everything here is expensive.  They receive a lot of their goods by airplane and barge, although fuel is delivered, I am told, once a year by barge.  So you can imagine why the cost for fuel is high.

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Gas in Kotzebue isn’t cheap, but then again there aren’t a whole lot of roads in the area either. I wonder how often someone has to fill-up?

The amount of water on the lagoon, the lack of snow on the hillsides, and the lack of ice adjacent to the shoreline were not unexpected due to the warm winter Alaska endured in 2015-2016.  One thing about the ice cover on the lakes and in the lagoons, is that it forces the bird life to use what open water is available.  If the ice is out, more water is available (and more feeding opportunities) for the birds, but it makes bird watching more difficult.  But first and foremost is the interest of the bird.  Birding comes second.  I’m not sure all birders agree with that viewpoint.

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I arrived Wednesday evening (May 18) and was met at the airport by the Selawik National Wildlife Refuge deputy manager David Zabriskie.  David took me to the USFWS bunkhouse, which is now located above their offices.  The small one-bedroom apartment was quite nice.  The refuge staff gave me a vehicle to use while here and after a dinner of Chicken Yellow Curry at the Empress Restaurant, I jumped into the vehicle and headed off on the approximately 9 mile loop road to find what birds had already arrived.

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American Robin singing away – letting others know “this is my territory” or hoping to attract a mate.

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Found two Wilson’s Snipes in the wetlands just beyond the second bridge

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There were a lot of White-crowned Sparrows in the area

Thursday – May 19

Around 8:30 am, I met Masaki Mizushima,  a young park ranger with the National Park Service.  We drove the loop road to decide where we would stop during our four events: Friday at 7:00 pm, Saturday at 8:00 am and again at 4:00 pm, and then on Sunday at 4:00 pm.  We got to see some great birds, including a Rusty Blackbird and both the Parasitic Jaeger and the Long-tailed Jaeger.   It is always fun to be around someone who hasn’t seen a particular bird before.  Masaki only arrived in Kotzebue last September, when most of the breeding birds would have already left for points south.  He is an enthusiastic birder and fun to be around.

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Long-tailed Jaeger

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Long-tailed Jaeger – at a Tundra Swan carcass

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Male Red-necked Phalarope

After I dropped Masaki off at the NPS building, I headed back to the USFWS building to meet Susan Georgette, the refuge manager.  We went to her house for lunch and then checked out another possible birding spot.  Glad we did as I got to see a Ruddy Turnstone, and I stopped counting the Tundra Swans when I reached 70.  I suspect there may have been around 100 swans in the lagoon area.

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National Park Service – Northwestern Arctic Heritage Center

After lunch I went back to the bunkhouse for a short nap and to finish reading a book.   Around 6:00 pm, I headed back out to see what birds may have shown up – always something new this time of year.  Also, the wind had died down considerably.  It was nasty cold in the morning, with temperatures around 30 degrees.  By 6:00 pm, the temperatures had arisen to over 40 degrees and it felt nice outside (so long as the wind wasn’t blowing too hard).  Lots of daylight above the Arctic Circle!

I took about 3 hours checking out the birds (and photographing a few).  I took the road leading to the U.S. Air Force Long Range Radar Dome (or as locals call it – the Golf Ball) to see what birds might be there.  It was pretty quiet bird wise, but at the end of the road I stopped for some Redpolls and was rewarded with a beautiful Short-eared Owl.  This is my favorite owl.  I watched it glide across the road and over the side of the bluff and out of view.

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Hoary Redpoll

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Common Raven on a nest. That is one big nest.

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Someone keeping their sled dogs away from town and on the beach

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Wilson’s Snipe on a powerline

Friday – May 20

In the morning I went to check out the cemetery and an adjacent area as this is where the Bluethroat has been seen in previous years.  Despite the early arrival of some species, this is one species that hasn’t arrived yet.  At least I didn’t see or hear the species.  This would be a life bird for me.

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When I reached the top of the hill, I had a great view of the town below.  I decided to count the number of Tundra Swans on the lagoon near town – there were at least 135 swans.  WOW!!!  What a site.  This must be a staging area before they head out into the tundra to nest.

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Tundra Swans in the lagoon entrance

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Tundra Swans flying overhead

Some wildflowers were also starting to spring up in the tundra.

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Pink Woolly Lousewort

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Sweet Coltsfoot – and sweet smelling it was

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Sweet Coltsfoot (Petasites sagittatus)

I also spent time watching  Semi-palmated Sandpipers (SESA).  The shorebird flies up into the air, vocalizing at it goes, then hovering.  The call sounds sort of like a motor boat engine running.  Fun to watch.  As I was walking on a road through the tundra I came upon a pair of SESAs and worried that if they decided to nest in the general area, use of the area by locals would disturb the nest site.  People let their dogs run free along the road.  And what dog stays on the road?

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I saw my first Pacific Golden Plover today.  A pair landed in a wetland alongside the road, just past the second bridge near town.  Also here were Semi-palmated Sandpipers and Pectoral Sandpipers.  At least one male Pectoral Sandpiper was chasing a female, with his tail in the air.  The male bends forward as it chases the female.

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Pacific Golden Plover

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Pectoral Sandpiper

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Semi-palmated Sandpiper and Pectoral Sandpiper

For our first birding event we had 18 people attend.  Not a bad showing for the small community of Kotzebue.  The National Park Service/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sponsored event included popcorn, specialty breads (e.g., pumpkin), and hot drinks (coffee, hot chocolate, and cider) for the participants.  The tour was a cool (low 40s), overcast evening, with occasional light rain.

We saw 27 different species.  Surprisingly absent were the songbirds.  Maybe the rain kept them hidden – warm and safe.   The highlight for me and several others were two pairs of Red-throated Loons performing their courtship dance.  The birds would curve their necks into a question mark shape and then move through the water in unison.

We also had Canvasbacks and Redheads, which I didn’t expect to see.  According to the Western Sibley Bird Guide, Kotzebue is outside of these birds’ range.  Several new birds for the trip were the Black Scoter and the Black Turnstone.

Saturday – May 21

We had both a morning event (8:00-10:00 am) and an afternoon event (4:00-6:00 pm).  The morning was overcast with a light rain.  Only four hardy souls showed up, but we did see some great birds.  New birds for the trips included a Wilson’s Warbler singing its heart out in the willow trees, and a Black-bellied Plover.  We also had a Parasitic Jaeger, which was new for the spring trips.

GROUP-SAT-MORN

In the afternoon, the rain stayed away for most of the two hours.  We started out with about 14 people, of which five were interested birders.  The others belonged to a group of persons with disabilities.  They enjoyed seeing the big birds, such as the Tundra Swans, as well as partaking of the refreshments of donuts, cookies, pumpkin bread, popcorn, and hot drinks.  Personally I enjoyed them also – both the birds and the refreshments.

We were treated to a bird rarely found so far north – a Killdeer.  This bird was spotted by a great birder who works at the hospital.  She spotted the bird in a small pond near the airport.  So off we went in search of the bird, spotting it easily.

KILLDEER-POND

Pond where Killdeer was observed – in the grasses in the foreground

KILLDEER-1

Killdeer

CANVASBACK

This Canvasback pair was also in the pond near the airport

SPPL

Semi-palmated Plover

Other new birds observed during the tours included a Short-eared Owl, which was flying over the tundra.  Best views were through the scope.  Unfortunately not all people got to see it.  We also saw several Mallards.  I know, Mallard so what, right?  Well they don’t get a lot of Mallards around here so nice to see them.  We also had a Western Sandpiper and two Lesser Scaups.  Both new birds for the birding events.

Sunday – May 22

This morning, while sunny, there was a cold wind blowing from the southeast.  Brrrr.  Cold even to have the window open in the FWS vehicle I was driving.  Decided to go out once more on my own in search of the Bluethroat.  No luck.  Guess I am too early.  Not sure how common the bird is here even during the summer.  May need to go to Nome to find it.

I saw a total of 34 different species over a 4 hour period of time.  No new birds, but there were a lot more Savannah Sparrows and Wilson’s Warblers present than when I first arrived Thursday evening.   Late this afternoon we have our final bird outing.  I think I will wear my long underwear.

SASP-1

Savannah Sparrow

SPRING

Pussy Willows on the Willows – starting to bloom out

CORA

Common Raven

FEMALE-RNPH

Female Red-necked Phalarope

LALO-1

Male Lapland Longspur

LTJA-4

This Long-tailed Jaeger was sitting in the road for the longest time

LTJA-5

Long-tailed Jaeger in-flight

REDPOLL-2

Pair of Redpolls

FOSP-1

Fox Sparrow – Red Taiga.  This is a different subspecies of Fox Sparrow than we have in Homer.

WCSP-1

White-crowned Sparrow

For our final birding event we had six people join us, two who had been on earlier trips.  I love the enthusiasm of the participants when seeing a new bird (for them) for the first time – like a Red-throated Loon or a Whimbrel.  We had both birds on our evening tour.  We didn’t have as many birds as other trips the past few days, but the weather was nice (although windy at times, which can bring a chill to the bones).  Maybe the birds decided to take advantage of the winds and the warm, sunny weather, and head north.  I suspect there is still a lot of ground to cover for some of these birds.  Our total species count for the evening was 24 species.

LALO-2

Male Lapland Longspur

ANNABELLE BIRDERS-2 BIRDERS

NOSH

Female Northern Shoveler

LTDU-1

Male Long-tailed Duck in-flight

In total we saw 44 different species of birds on our four tours.  Not too bad.  I had a great time here and will miss the people and the birds.

Monday – May 23

I caught an early plane and headed back home to Homer.  When I arrived I was surprised at how green it had become in the six days I was away.

 

Sunset-sort-of

It’s Always a Great Day to Bird

 

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