Ethiopian birds and other wildlife.
Jan. 19th, 2014 11:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Our local guide in the Simien Mountains had come to this conclusion based on the many tourists he had guided over the years...
"The Americans and British just want to see the birds, the Italians just want a discount, and the Japanese just want to take a quick snap and jump straight back on the bus."
Arf! Never a truer word spoken, but many people do come to Africa specifically for the wildlife, and while I had come to Ethiopia for the architecture (and food) many in our party were looking forward to the Simien Mountains and a spot of twitching,...
Hooded Vulture in Debark (1)

And indeed, the land was very rich in birdlife. In fact, literally within minutes of arriving at out first hotel in Gondar I spotted an interesting specimen...and whipped out my camera to snap it...

Stunning, you will agree. (2) Below... this little tike (3) was loitering near where we were eating our dinner in the hotel...

Lizard lurking in the Royal Enclosure of Gondar. (4)

Some variety of pigeon, posing near Empress Mentewab's Palace. (5)

Flowers on a tree in the Royal Enclosure Gondar. (6)

At Fasilides Bath - Gondar. (7)

In the town of Gondar. (8)

Flowers in the Simien Mountains, high altitude. (9)

Thick-billed ravens (10) Simien Mountains. They'll loot your packed lunch in seconds if you drop your guard. One guy (not in our group) had left his lunch tied in a bag hanging outside his tent. The ravens tore it to shreds and made off with the booty inside. It all happened so quickly we were powerless to defend his grub (that and we were pissing ourselves laughing so much.)


Mountain rose - Simien Mountains - looks not unlike something you'd find in the English countryside. (11)

Thrush? Simien Mountains (12)

As if being covered in vicious thorns over both stalks and leaves was not enough, this (according to our local guide) member of the tomato family is incredibly poisonous - fruit and entire plant. Overkill surely? To no avail though, the locals pick and dry the fruits, grinding them up to use the powder for washing clothes and sheets. I suspect the desired properties of this plant are less soaping-and-dirt-removing, and more disinfecting-and-killing bugs.

Gelada baboons (13)

Walia Ibex with fauns. (14)

One of the guys in the group found this (15) and was convinced it was black magic. My (rather less interesting) theory is that an unfortunate Ibex or Nyala got its feet tangled in some discarded rubbish and thus incapacitated, was found by the local wolves or possibly jackels and made short work of. Unfortunate for the Ibex, but hardly sinister.

Outside Axum Museum. (15)

Vivid bird by the Axum Stelae. (16)

Soaring... (17)

Hunkered down on a niche in Woldiya Rock Church. (18)

Attacking his own reflection in the hotel at Mekele. (19)

In the splendid garden of the Seven Olives Hotel in Lalibela, gorging on hotel left-overs. Mmmmmmm! Yummy firfir! (20)

Drinking laundry water at the Seven Olives. (21)

Egrets? (22) At a village near the Blue Nile Falls, Bahir Dar.

Bahir Dar hotel bird. (23)

And another bird hoping for a bit of my dinner at Bahir Dar. (24)

Pelicans on Lake Tana. (25)


Larger fowl spotted on Lake Tana. (26)

Coffee plant growing in the gardens of the Bahir Dar hotel. (27)

The Lion of Judah! (28)

The Lion of.... (29)

Cheeky red bird in Addis Ababa. (30)

Each photo has been given a number, as I can only identify (or mis-identify) a few of the creatures photographed, the numbers are there if anyone wants to identify the culprits. The first person to correctly identify all of them, (and I will check using the power of google,) or names more than anyone else, will be sent a souvenir brought back from Ethiopia! (Don't get your hopes up.)
"The Americans and British just want to see the birds, the Italians just want a discount, and the Japanese just want to take a quick snap and jump straight back on the bus."
Arf! Never a truer word spoken, but many people do come to Africa specifically for the wildlife, and while I had come to Ethiopia for the architecture (and food) many in our party were looking forward to the Simien Mountains and a spot of twitching,...
Hooded Vulture in Debark (1)

And indeed, the land was very rich in birdlife. In fact, literally within minutes of arriving at out first hotel in Gondar I spotted an interesting specimen...and whipped out my camera to snap it...

Stunning, you will agree. (2) Below... this little tike (3) was loitering near where we were eating our dinner in the hotel...

Lizard lurking in the Royal Enclosure of Gondar. (4)

Some variety of pigeon, posing near Empress Mentewab's Palace. (5)

Flowers on a tree in the Royal Enclosure Gondar. (6)

At Fasilides Bath - Gondar. (7)

In the town of Gondar. (8)

Flowers in the Simien Mountains, high altitude. (9)

Thick-billed ravens (10) Simien Mountains. They'll loot your packed lunch in seconds if you drop your guard. One guy (not in our group) had left his lunch tied in a bag hanging outside his tent. The ravens tore it to shreds and made off with the booty inside. It all happened so quickly we were powerless to defend his grub (that and we were pissing ourselves laughing so much.)


Mountain rose - Simien Mountains - looks not unlike something you'd find in the English countryside. (11)

Thrush? Simien Mountains (12)

As if being covered in vicious thorns over both stalks and leaves was not enough, this (according to our local guide) member of the tomato family is incredibly poisonous - fruit and entire plant. Overkill surely? To no avail though, the locals pick and dry the fruits, grinding them up to use the powder for washing clothes and sheets. I suspect the desired properties of this plant are less soaping-and-dirt-removing, and more disinfecting-and-killing bugs.

Gelada baboons (13)

Walia Ibex with fauns. (14)

One of the guys in the group found this (15) and was convinced it was black magic. My (rather less interesting) theory is that an unfortunate Ibex or Nyala got its feet tangled in some discarded rubbish and thus incapacitated, was found by the local wolves or possibly jackels and made short work of. Unfortunate for the Ibex, but hardly sinister.

Outside Axum Museum. (15)

Vivid bird by the Axum Stelae. (16)

Soaring... (17)

Hunkered down on a niche in Woldiya Rock Church. (18)

Attacking his own reflection in the hotel at Mekele. (19)

In the splendid garden of the Seven Olives Hotel in Lalibela, gorging on hotel left-overs. Mmmmmmm! Yummy firfir! (20)

Drinking laundry water at the Seven Olives. (21)

Egrets? (22) At a village near the Blue Nile Falls, Bahir Dar.

Bahir Dar hotel bird. (23)

And another bird hoping for a bit of my dinner at Bahir Dar. (24)

Pelicans on Lake Tana. (25)


Larger fowl spotted on Lake Tana. (26)

Coffee plant growing in the gardens of the Bahir Dar hotel. (27)

The Lion of Judah! (28)

The Lion of.... (29)

Cheeky red bird in Addis Ababa. (30)

Each photo has been given a number, as I can only identify (or mis-identify) a few of the creatures photographed, the numbers are there if anyone wants to identify the culprits. The first person to correctly identify all of them, (and I will check using the power of google,) or names more than anyone else, will be sent a souvenir brought back from Ethiopia! (Don't get your hopes up.)
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Date: 2014-01-20 01:45 pm (UTC)Then again... they might be <a href="Splendid Starlings... or... one of the 5 glossy starling varieties. AAAGH! A starling. Definitely. And pelicans.
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