birding...

Abyssinian Ground Hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus ©Nigel Blake http://www.nigelblake.co.uk/

Birding in Eritrea

From its scorching sub-desert flatlands to mist-enshrouded evergreen montane forests, Eritrea`s diverse habitats hold a wide variety of birds, many of which are confined to the Horn of Africa. With neighboring Ethiopia attracting birders from around the globe, one would assume that an Eritrea extension would be tailored onto any Ethiopian birding itinerary. Unfortunately however, safety is an issue and the prolonged war between the two countries systematically annihilated Eritrea`s once promising tourism industry. It is hoped that the Peace Agreement between the two nations will lead to harmony, something essential for the resurrection of the local tourism industry. This small, low-key country remains a poorly known but extremely rewarding destination for birders: in just 3 to 5 days, you can tick off a substantial list, including many near endemics and regional endemics as well as countless passage migrants.

I highly recommend the following route, which I was fortunate to complete in 1996.
Asmara & Surrounds
Asmara, the high-lying Eritrean capital, is largely surrounded by grassland and cultivated fields. The road connecting Asmara to the Red Sea port of Massawa, is famed for passing through terrain so diverse that visitors traveling along it can experience three seasons in three hours. The first bout of rewarding birding might happen shortly after you have left the capital - depending on time of year you are there, of course. About 20kms from the city is a small lake. A quick stop there revealed two Ethiopian/Eritrean endemics: the attractive and plucky Rouget`s rail and a single Abyssinian longclaw, which I disturbed in the grasses.

The Green Belt (Semienawi Bahri)
Leaving the tarred Asmara - Keren road at the village Serejeka, a somewhat rutted dirt road will take you to the village Weki-Zager, gateway to the beautiful Semienawi Bahri or Pendice Orientali, Eritrea`s Green Belt. No visiting nature enthusiast can afford to miss this place! Specials, began appearing in rapid succession pretty soon after I had arrived at Weki. First up was a pair of Rosy-patched shrikes, splashing around in a small rock-pool. A short drive along the narrow road had us at the Mount Meg`o, where you enter the mountain chain in which the impressive evergreen forests lie. You drive from Mt Meg`o to the agricultural area of Mt Sabur and Mt Medhanit, and then descend along an amazing pass, which snakes its way spectacularly down into the Filfil Valley, where the forests are at their most lush and impressive.

The awesome spectacle of these mist-enshrouded evergreen forests must be seen to be believed: it is the last thing you would expect to encounter in a country dominated by so much harsh, rugged terrain. Birdsong emanated from everywhere as we drove slowly along the Semienawi Bahri road. Conspicuous and especially raucous, were Clapperton`s and Erckel`s francolins, which sprinted across the road every so often. We stopped on one of the many hairpin bends over an impossibly steep ravine at Mt Medhanit. I looked down, to see a gang of five White-cheeked Turacous, (a regional endemic) in a bush about 10 feet directly below me. While I was mesmerized by these beauts, my guide (who had never traveled with birders before); enthusiastically dropped a stone the size of a brick onto the said shrub, which had my megaticks scattering rapidly in all directions. I was not pleased.

Deciding to take a pee, I scrambled up the same ravine, noting the likes of Variable sunbird, and noisy White-headed babblers making a racket in the bushes, while Tropical boubous and Ruppell`s robin-chats advertised their presence with their melodic calls. Up here, the stunted woods were draped in luxuriant Old Man`s Beard Moss. I spied a small owl perched in one of the shrubs and closer approach revealed it to be an African Scops Owl. For about 10 minutes, I stood within touching distance of the small owl, which eventually lost its nerve and flew to another bush. Along the roadside, small clusters of Serins could be seen feeding on seeding grasses - among these were African Citril, White-fronted Serin, Black-headed siskin and Yellow-crowned canary.

We continued our descent to Filfil, stopping first at Sabur. Just one large fruiting tree yielded several sought-after species: most notable were Bruce`s green pigeon, Black-headed forest oriole (an Ethiopia/Eritrea endemic); Black-billed barbet, Somali chestnut winged starling, White-billed starling, the lovely Red-shouldered cuckoo-shrike, Tacazze sunbird and Baglafecht weaver. In the Filfil Valley forests, we enjoyed spectacular views of one of Africa`s most sought after (but widespread) endemics - the Narina`s trogon. Three of them, flew just in front of us over the road and perched close by, in perfect light, posing exquisitely for all to admire. A truly wonderful sight! The next quality sighting happened just a few meters further along the road, where a Short-toed snake eagle sat quite still on a branch overhanging the road, for at least 20 minutes. Filfil in short, was just amazing, and not only from a birding point of view - I also noticed an impressive variety of forest butterflies flitting about in the dappled light or drinking at small puddles on the road. It is definitely a forest which deserves thorough investigation.

The road will take you out of the Semienawi Bahri (or Pendice Orientali as the Green Belt is also called) over Mt Solomuna, where the evergreen moist forests give way to dry deciduous woodlands. (Initially this is broad-leaved deciduous woodland). Here the foliage is less dense so if anything, birding is more rewarding. I found the following with ease in about 2 hours: Black-winged lovebird (Endemic to Ethiopia / Eritrea); Black-billed wood-dove, Blue-headed coucal, Blue-breasted bee-eater, Von der Decken`s hornbill, the rare Banded barbet (another Ethiopia / Eritrea endemic); Abyssinian woodpecker (also endemic to Ethiopia and Eritrea); Singing cisticola, Graceful prinia, Red-fronted and Buff-bellied warblers, Northern Crombec, Grey-headed batis, Common Camaroptera, more noisy parties of White-rumped babbler, Northern black tit, Montane white-eye, Beautiful sunbird, Northern puffback shrike, gangs of White helmet shrike and Ruppell`s long-tailed glossy starling. These, I must add, were only a few of the species I found in the narrow deciduous woodland band.

The Semi Arid Flatlands
After Mt Solomuna the deciduous woods are replaced gradually by dense thorn-bush, which initially looks almost impenetrable in places. Here I just added birds galore to my burgeoning list: Senegal coucal, Rufous-crowned and Abyssinian rollers, Abyssinian scimitar-bill and Red & yellow barbet; Shining and Northern pygmy sunbirds, Brubru and Grey backed fiscal shrikes, and Lesser grey shrike were all easy to see. Hemprich`s and Grey hornbills were fairly conspicuous and along an irrigation channel adjacent to a banana farm, I saw a small group of Jameson`s firefinch. Again, these were just a few of the species listed for that particular area of incredibly dense thorn-bush where the banana plantations are found.

As the thornbush becomes sparser and the terrain more harsh and desolate, so the surrounds become eerily silent, seemingly devoid of animal life. And this is where your guide or driver need to know the area well. We negotiated a maze of roads, tracks and non-roads in these barren flatlands. There were few birds evident, other than the striking Black bush robin and equally conspicuous Superb starlings which I saw nesting in small, flat-topped thorn-trees. Here and there, old battle tanks stood like grisly sentinels presiding over the barren landscape. We passed through a military camp where the men and women in uniform were all really friendly and welcoming. There was very little else seen until we arrived at the dilapidated village of Gahtelay, at the junction of the track and the tarred Asmara - Massawa road. (This is about 40km inland from Massawa).

Stop for a drink at Gahtelay. You won`t be disappointed, because birds await in large numbers - but again, I would assume this is seasonal. White-billed buffalo weavers, Superb starlings and Grey hornbills bordered on being a nuisance at our little table, hanging around in hopes of food handouts. Also there were White-bellied go-away birds. I found the 40kms stretch from Gahtelay to Massawa the best area ever, for Sandgrouse: immense flocks of Yellow-throated, Chestnut bellied and Black-faced sandgrouse, were aggregated near the roadsides. I had never seen anything like it. There were also Lichenstein`s and Spotted sandgrouse, but in far smaller numbers. I marvelled at the hordes of migratory Yellow wagtails in the pastures near Gahtelay.

MASSAWA - the Red Sea Coast
The junk birds of Massawa include Abdim`s storks and House crows, which are just everywhere in this delightful port. The waders and seabirds present make Massawa an important stop - of note were Crab plovers and Western reef herons, along with many gulls and terns. Most of my time at the coast, I actually spent at the Gurgusum Beach resort, about 15 minutes drive north of Massawa. En route, Thekla and Hoopoe larks and the lovely Little green bee-eater were quite often to be seen. While lazing in the sun at Gurgusum Beach, I noticed a small brownish bird coming and going from its nest in a sapling a few feet away from me. Turned out to be a Speckle-fronted weaver, something I had only seen behind bars to date. So watching the species where it belongs in its natural range, was a treat. I was distracted by larger, pale brown birds which came to drink out of a leaking garden tap in the hotel grounds. They were Fulvous chatterers, a delightful, sociable and eccentric species which followed me around for some time later that day, no doubt hoping to glean insects I disturbed. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention - somewhere in the area I stopped at some mangroves and saw another highlight, the White-collared kingfisher.

Back Up To Asmara - 3 Seasons In 3 Hours
For my journey back to Asmara, I took the direct road so often sold under the slogan experience 3 seasons in as many hours from Asmara to Massawa. It is a wonderful route, along which scenery changes from arid flat-lands, to thorn savannah, to hilly terrain and then to the rugged Eritrean mountains and the high plateau on which Asmara is situated. Where low, natural scrub has been cleared in the mountains, I was amazed at how much ghastly prickly-pear cactus has invaded the area. But birding in the mountains was good: I saw, among others, Little rock-thrush and Erckel`s francolin, as well as Thick-billed raven and White-naped pigeon, both Ethiopia/Eritrea endemics. Once again looking down into a ravine, I had an amazing sighting of a pair of the absurd Abyssinian ground hornbills slowly flying by. Last minute additions to my list near Asmara included Mourning and Red-breasted wheatears, while in Asmara itself Dusky turtle-dove, migratory Pied wagtail and the near-endemic Brown-rumped serin, were common.

I found birding in Eritrea a blast, a serious OOE (Orgasmic Ornithological Experience in Birder Speak); and would have no hesitation in recommending it to birders. On condition you are positive that safety has been established before you go and that you travel with a reliable, experienced ground operator once there.