22nd November - Rira - Sanetti - Goba
The day began with a pre-breakfast amble around the grounds of our accomodation at Rira Eco lodge, a rather grand title for a cluster of mud huts with no electricity or running water… There were quite a few birds in the area, with Tacazze sunbird, Baglafecht weaver, Streaky seedeater, Groundscraper thrush, Chiffchaff and Rufous breasted sparrowhawk all noted as well as a new species in the form of Abyssinian oriole.
After a swift breakfast, we hopped into the minibus and drove through the forest as far as the Bale Mountain Lodge. A few stops revealed more activity than there had been the previous day, with several Guereza and Menelik’s bushbuck heading up the mammals, whilst further Abyssinian oriole, African emerald cuckoo and Ruppell’s robin chats were noted in addition to a couple of new birds for the trip; Grey wagtail was a surprising and seemingly out-of-place bird in the thick forest, though checking through old notebooks it seems I’d also seen this species in similarly dense forest on Mount Kinabalu. A good deal of activity in one area was rewarded with views of Northern black flycatcher feeding within a mixed species flock containing Tawny flanked prinia, Montane white-eye, Willow warblers and Common waxbill. We made our way back towards Rira after a while, and noted a large group of tourists staring intently into a dense patch of undergrowth. After a brief chat it became apparent that there was a small troop of Bale monkey unobtrusively feeding in a tangle of bamboo - a great start to the day and another hoped for mammal on the list!
We continued onwards and upwards, and managed to coincide our arrival on the Sanetti plateau with a brief sunny spell mid-morning. Once again there was an excellent mixture of raptors present, with especially good views of Mountain buzzard, Steppe eagle and Augur buzzard.
After an hour on the plateau I could once again feel the effects of the altitude on my body, but somehow it felt diminished in comparison to the previous day. We continued very slowly north over the plateau, checking all suitable areas and briefly stopping to enjoy a huge flock of Ethiopian siskin feeding by the roadside. After a couple of hours we met another tour, and after a frantic exchange in Amharic, our minibus accelerated off at breakneck speed - a promising sign. After 200m or so, Abbu jumped out of the van and sprinted up a slope, then began to wave frantically. Despite my low fitness levels, and seemingly long-standing AMS, I too attempted to run up the slope to his position, but after 100m I couldn’t go any further. I set up my scope with as much speed as I could muster, and there, in all of its gingery glory was a male Ethiopian wolf. Finally our top target of the trip had fallen, and despite all of the physical hardships we had endured, we were looking at this beautiful, rare canid not more than 500m away. Abbu gestured that we could get closer, but having reached this point, we were happy to just watch, however Abbu decided that he would get closer… the wolf stopped what it was doing and looked in his direction. By this time we had crouched low, and just had begun to creep a meter or two closer, but it seemed that Abbu’s direct approach on foot was too much, and it walked away and over a ridge, not be be seen again. It was an odd mixture of elation, relief and frustration at the brevity of the sighting, but we had to remind ourselves how lucky we were to actually be here, in this amazing environment, and be grateful for even a few brief moments with this very special animal. Quite how natural history film-crews get such good and lengthy views is beyond me!
Once again the heavens opened within a few moments of our sighting, and Abbu made the call that it would be too risky to be on the plateau without a 4x4 (we were not impressed by this given the expenditure and assurances that we would have a 4x4!) so we began our final descent from the second highest point in Africa. A couple of brief stops revealed the typical suite of species on the plateau; Moorland chat, Blue winged goose, Spot breasted lapwing and Ruddy shelduck, however a scan over the known site for Wattled crane failed to deliver the goods, perhaps we were too late, or our luck had run out. One last avian treat was in store before we began the drive to Goba, with an exceptionally show (albeit very damp) Rouget’s rail feeding right next to the road, allowing for some decent photographic opportunities.
The drive to Goba was uneventful save for a police roadblock, and we arrived at the Wabe Shabelle hotel mid-afternoon. We were shown to our room, and became almost hysterically overwhelmed at the sight of a working shower with hot water! The next day would see us travelling via several buses to Hawassa, so I spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering about the grounds enjoying some casual birding. Abyssinian catbird and Mountain thrushes were in the trees near our room, whilst overhead were Black vulture, Steppe buzzard and Fan tailed raven. The grounds also head a couple of pairs of the very impressive Thick billed raven, and it was the first opportunity I had to view these massive corvids at close quarters. Other birds in the gardens included Streaky and Brown rumped seedeaters, African citril, Speckled mousebirds, Ruppell’s robin chat, Brown woodland warbler and a brace migrant warblers; Lesser and Common whitethroat, Chiffchaff and Willow warbler. We enjoyed a fine dinner and a few beers, and a quick stroll around the garden after dark produced a calling Brown wood owl.
It had been a great day on reflection, with the wolf the clear standout, though the unexpected encounter with Bale monkey was also a great experience. We enjoyed an excellent and restful nights sleep, ahead of a very busy and rather stressful journey out of the mountains and into the Rift Valley the following day.