Lake Abijata, Ethiopia
22 January 2014
The extensive shoreline of Lake Abijata, a shallow lake situated in the Rift Valley, had a great variety of avifauna and we spent a very productive half day there.
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea was quite common and seemed to find an abundance of prey at the water's edge.
A Speckled Mousebird Colius striatus was tugging away at this hawser and appeared to be gleaning strands of the rope for nest building I assumed.
Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiaca was a very common species, seen throughout the country. Here it is seen with with Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus.
At times it seemed that wherever one looked there were Western Yellow Wagtails Motacilla flava, but it was frustratingly difficult to photograph one for it seemed they never stayed still for a moment.
The local African Fish Eagles Haliaeetus vocifer have developed a taste for flamingos and seemed to have a good deal of success in capturing them. This is all that was left of a recent kill. No doubt whatever the eagle might have left was rapidly cleaned up by Marabou Storks Leptoptilos crumenifer.
As we were leaving we were delighted to see these two Somali Ostriches Struthio molybdophanes moving across the grassland.
