Day 2: Bahar Dar, Blue Nile Falls, Lake Tana
Monday 9th February 2015
Bahar Dar – Blue Nile Falls – Lake Tana We rose at dawn to join Abiy in a walk around the hotel gardens where an exotic chorus of birdsong greeted us in the half-light. We found new several new species including Northern Puffback, but what really caught our attention was the flock of Silvery-cheeked Hornbills that flapped noisily all around us as they fed on the fruiting trees. As we sat down for breakfast, one bird even fell to the ground right outside the restaurant window! We drove into Bahar Dar and quickly left the tarmac road for the dusty drive to the Blue Nile Falls. We made slow progress through a road packed with vehicles, pedestrians and livestock; the burgeoning population was spread along the road for several kilometres. After about forty minutes we stopped by a smoking rubbish dump which played host to hundreds of raptors, corvids and storks. We saw Egyptian, Hooded, White-backed and Ruppell’s Vultures; Chris also picked out a close Tawny Eagle in a nearby tree. When we arrived at the Blue Nile, we parked our coach and took a boat across the river, watching Little Beeeaters flying out over the water to feed. Once safely across, we walked along the far bank and found more exciting birds, including our first Northern Carmine and Blue-breasted Bee-eaters. We had been told that the hydro-electric plant often reduces the flow of water over the falls to a trickle but we were lucky and the cascading water was an impressive sight. We all appreciated the spectacle of this great waterfall before retracing our steps to return to Bahar Dar for a delicious lunch overlooking Lake Tana. We spent the afternoon on a boat ride across the lake, first visiting the island monastery of Debre Maryam. We climbed up to the temple at the top of the steep island. Here we admired the vibrant mural paintings that are a key feature of all Ethiopian churches and monasteries. Next we sailed slowly across to the source of the Blue Nile; in these sheltered waters we found a group of Hippopotamus loafing near the shore. Birds around Lake Tana included herons, kingfishers, terns, gulls and huge flocks of Great White Pelicans. The boat dropped us back at our hotel where Abiy used playback to draw in four White-cheeked Turacos for everyone to see – a lovely way to complete a memorable day. After dinner, Marcus took a group back out to look for nocturnal mammals and we again found a White-tailed Mongoose close to the hotel.
Bahar Dar – Blue Nile Falls – Lake Tana We rose at dawn to join Abiy in a walk around the hotel gardens where an exotic chorus of birdsong greeted us in the half-light. We found new several new species including Northern Puffback, but what really caught our attention was the flock of Silvery-cheeked Hornbills that flapped noisily all around us as they fed on the fruiting trees. As we sat down for breakfast, one bird even fell to the ground right outside the restaurant window! We drove into Bahar Dar and quickly left the tarmac road for the dusty drive to the Blue Nile Falls. We made slow progress through a road packed with vehicles, pedestrians and livestock; the burgeoning population was spread along the road for several kilometres. After about forty minutes we stopped by a smoking rubbish dump which played host to hundreds of raptors, corvids and storks. We saw Egyptian, Hooded, White-backed and Ruppell’s Vultures; Chris also picked out a close Tawny Eagle in a nearby tree. When we arrived at the Blue Nile, we parked our coach and took a boat across the river, watching Little Beeeaters flying out over the water to feed. Once safely across, we walked along the far bank and found more exciting birds, including our first Northern Carmine and Blue-breasted Bee-eaters. We had been told that the hydro-electric plant often reduces the flow of water over the falls to a trickle but we were lucky and the cascading water was an impressive sight. We all appreciated the spectacle of this great waterfall before retracing our steps to return to Bahar Dar for a delicious lunch overlooking Lake Tana. We spent the afternoon on a boat ride across the lake, first visiting the island monastery of Debre Maryam. We climbed up to the temple at the top of the steep island. Here we admired the vibrant mural paintings that are a key feature of all Ethiopian churches and monasteries. Next we sailed slowly across to the source of the Blue Nile; in these sheltered waters we found a group of Hippopotamus loafing near the shore. Birds around Lake Tana included herons, kingfishers, terns, gulls and huge flocks of Great White Pelicans. The boat dropped us back at our hotel where Abiy used playback to draw in four White-cheeked Turacos for everyone to see – a lovely way to complete a memorable day. After dinner, Marcus took a group back out to look for nocturnal mammals and we again found a White-tailed Mongoose close to the hotel.