Thursday 6th November 2025. Abdullah is a man of 80 that has a close affinity with his local wildlife. He knows no English, why should he? But every day he is up at dawn searching the cypress grove for a special bird that he can show off to clients of tour operators, or indeed anyone that has an interest. An advance phone call by Sisay our guide, which we knew nothing about, saw us stopping by the highway and asked to disembark, shake the old boy’s hand and follow him across a stretch of rough grassland to the edge of a wood. Still uncertain as to what this intrigue was leading to, we were directed to point our binoculars into the crown of one of the large densely foliaged trees and there peering down at us through deep orange eyes was a beautiful Abyssinian Owl, ear tufts raised in mild alarm, but soon settling into a careless doze. Smiles all round and Abdullah was pleased that his early mornings efforts had produced the desired reaction. Surprise No1 for the day on which we had a long drive from Robe at the base of the Bale Mountains to our next stop on the shore of Lake Langano, one of a chain of such lakes nestling in Ethiopia’s section of the Great Rift Valley.
50 kilometres later we once again stopped for no apparent reason while our guide spoke in Swahili to a local villager. Satisfied that he could astound us once again, he beckoned us to climb down some sloping rocky scree to the lip of what looked like a quarry. ‘Can you see it?’ He asked. ‘See what?’ Was the only logical reply. ‘There under the overhanging bush’. More intense staring and the 2nd bewilderment of the morning when binocular frames were filled with the face of a Cape Eagle Owl roosting not 20 metres from where we sat. A smile of satisfaction from Sissay, a smile of surreal happiness from us. What else could he produce to amaze? Plenty as it turned out but that would have to wait until tomorrow. In the meantime, we completed our journey and settled into our lodge by Lake Langano for a 2 night stay.
Friday 7th November 2025. It’s hot here by the shore of Lake Langano, very hot indeed. No option but to sit under the covered veranda of the restaurant, sip a cold beer and watch the wildlife. But we can’t keep still for long, curiosity gets the better of us. Let’s walk. A quick saunter along the shoreline of this vast body of water, sparkling in the bright afternoon sun, reveals a suspicious pair of Senegal Thick-knees keeping their wary yellow eyes on us. We keep a respectful distance and they settle down to pass the daylight hours loafing by the lake edge before coming to life at night to feed. Vociferous African Fish Eagles throw their heads back and utter their piercing cries to proclaim their territory. They are answered by another pair that have staked a claim to a patch further along the lake. A swirl of dragonflies carpets a patch of grass, making way for us as we temporarily interrupt their mass mating ritual. Pied Kingfishers occupy an overhanging bush, maybe half a dozen are present calling to one another whilst keeping a sharp eye on the waters below to plunge onto any tasty snack. A colourful Malachite Kingfishers zips across the lake, dwarfed by its relative the Giant Kingfisher that perches motionless in the boathouse patiently awaiting lunch to surface below. What with pelicans, ibis, pretty doves and weavers we are royally entertained. But it is very hot and airless so best get back to the shade and watch from the relative cool of a comfy chair.
The day had started with a dawn birding walk around the grounds of the lodge where an African Harrier Hawk crashing into the bushes beside us and a pair of endemic White-cheeked Turacos feeding quietly in a fruit laden tree made for a spectacular start.
However, not content with a wealth of colourful birds busy feasting on the fruits, Sisay had yet another ace up his sleeve (surprise No3), which he mischievously played at the end of the session. He said he had a special treat for us and stopped by an acacia bush next to which was a withered stump. ‘See it?’ He teased again. I couldn’t see anything unusual until he pointed out that what appeared to be a gnarly lump on the side of the stump was in fact a roosting African Scops Owl. Flabbergasted at such cryptic camouflage and astounded at how close to the path this little critter had chosen to spend the blistering hot day, I snapped away and couldn’t fail.
Just one more amazing episode in this bountiful holiday.
Later, after breakfast another local guide joined us for a walk by the shore of Lake Langano and the area adjacent to the lodge. This guy only had one functioning eye, but his ability to spot birds with that impediment was uncanny. One of the key birds we hoped to see on this leg of the trip was Ethiopian Bee-eater, a species that has been split from Blue-breasted Bee-eater but has much more pronounced blue markings over the eye and is generally more colourful. It didn’t take long. After 20 minutes or so we came upon a party of flitting bee-eaters and it was immediately apparent they were the target bird, larger and brighter that the Blue-breasted we saw in Uganda a couple of years ago and such gorgeous brilliant colours. Relief spread through me because you just never know with limited time whether you’re going to connect. I needn’t have worried because, not only were we able to admire these treasures for as long as we pleased, but they posed admirably for photographs, smiling into the lens like pros. The first ‘difficult’ Bee-eater in the bag and I felt good. There are a few more targets on this trip, one or two of which may prove a tad more troublesome. Read on to discover how we fared.
Saturday 8th November 2025. Today we drove back from Lake Langano to Addis Ababa (the name translates to New Flower), stopping along the way to stretch our legs and have a look at the local wildlife.
Upon arrival into Addis, we had plenty of time to spare before a late flight to Nairobi where we will commence the next stage of our expedition. Sisay took us to one of his local bars where we could relax for a spell. Whilst here a guy came over and, without much ceremony, stuffed a morsel of local food into my mouth. He retired to his table to observe the effect this morsel had upon the pasty Englishman. Once my nose had stopped running, my eyes had stopped watering and I almost regained the power of speech I indicated by thumbs up that I was still alive. His table collapsed into roaring laughter and friendships, albeit temporary, were forged on the spot. Later we were treated to an evening of traditional song and dance accompanied by a spread of tasty (although less spiced thank goodness) food and a slosh or two of rather pleasant honey wine. So, we leave Ethiopia, a country that has proudly never been colonised and a land of contrasts, dramatic wide vistas, abundant wildlife and charming people. Onwards to the next leg.