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Simien Wolf E T H I O P I A Spot-breasted Plover place to watch the squadrons of pelicans passing overhead in formation. The acacia woodland attract a great number of rollers, hornbills, go-away birds, barbets, shrikes and glossy starlings. Our travels here are again very local, giving less time in the vehicles and maximum field time. We visit Lake Abiata where the migrant flocks of Barn Swallows can be enormous. This lake is famous for its large flock of flamingos but water abstraction for the local community has made the lake recede over the last decade. Days 6 to 8 We now pass through part of the Bale Mountains National Park on our way to Goba, our base for exploring the park where we stay for three nights. The park was designated to protect the Mountain Nyala, an antelope that we hope to see during the next two days, along with Bohor Reedbuck, the endemic subspecies of Bushbuck, and Grey Duiker. In the upland grasslands and marshes of the Bale Mountains, we will look for the rare Spotbreasted Plover. The moorland is dotted with vast spikes of flowering Giant Lobelia, like the upper slopes of Mount Kenya. Wattled Crane, Ruddy Shelduck, African Snipe, Verreaux’s Eagle, Lammergeier, Red-throated Pipit, Abyssinian Longclaw, Yellow Bishop and the endemic Simien Wolf may be seen here. At lower altitudes the park protects fine Harrena forest, the home of Mountain Buzzard, Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk, Abyssinian Parisoma, and three more endemics: White-backed Black Tit, Goldenbacked Woodpecker and Abyssinian Catbird. We also visit Sof Omar and look for Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Bristle-crowned Starling and Salvadori’s Serin. Day 9 Today we make the drive to Wondo Genet where we stay for one night. The Wondo Genet gardens and hot springs are a tourist attraction for local visitors. But for us the forest is more important. The Black-and-White Colobus, is common here and endemic birds species that we hope to see include Yellow-fronted Parrot, Black-winged Lovebird, Banded Barbet, Golden-backed Woodpecker and Black-headed Forest Oriole. We look for skulking African Black Duck, Halfcollared Kingfisher and Mountain Wagtail on a quiet forest stream. Other inhabitants of the forest include Ayres’ Hawk Eagle, Olive Pigeon, White-cheeked Turaco, Blue-headed Coucal, Lesser Honeyguide, Black Saw-wing and Yellowbellied Waxbill. Days 10 & 11 After some more birding around Wondo Genet we make the drive to Yabello where we stay for two nights. We visit the Yabello Wildlife Sanctuary, home to some key species including Stresemann’s Bush-Crow and White-tailed Swallow. We can also search for Pygmy Falcon, Somali Courser, White-bellied and Buff-crested Bustards, Foxy Lark, Red-naped and Rosypatched Bush-shrikes, and Golden-breasted and Shelley’s Starlings. Day 12 Today we leave Yabello and drive to Lake Awassa where we can look for Allen’s Gallinule, Blue-headed Coucal, Silvery-cheeked Hornbill, Red-breasted Wryneck, Spotted Creeper and White-browed Robin-Chat. We stay for one night at Awassa. Day 13 We make the drive to Awash National Park, with its lowland savannah. Awash is big game country, where we will see Beisa Oryx, Swayne’s Dikdik, and with luck, the localised Swayne's Hartebeest and Soemmering's Gazelle. In the golden grasslands, Northern Carmine Beeeaters use gazelles and even Kori Bustards (the world's heaviest flying bird), as roaming perches for their aerial sallies. Raptors are conspicuous and include all seven vulture species. There are five species of bustard in the park and Hartlaub’s is the commonest of them. Later we move to Bilen Lodge where we stay for the night. Days 14 & 15 After some birding around the lodge we leave Bilen and make the drive back to Addis. If time permits we may stop at Fantele Crater and Lake Beseka, where we can look for Boran Cisticola, Sombre Rock Chat, Bristle-crowned Starling and perhaps find the elusive Gillett’s Lark. After a final dinner we catch our late evening flight from Addis Ababa arriving in London the next morning. Outline Itinerary Day 1 Depart London Days 2-3 Addis Ababa Days 4-5 Langano Days 6-8 Goba Day 9 Wondo Genet Days 10-11 Yabello Day 12 Awassa Day 13 Bilen Day 14 Depart Addis Ababa Day 15 Arrive London Party Size Maximum of 12 clients (two leaders with more than six clients). Accommodation Accommodation in twin/double and single rooms with private facilities at lodges and hotels. In some areas, the accommodation will be of a lesser quality than can be expected in the West. It can be basic and hot water may not always be available. Transport By coach. Includes All flights, meals, accommodation, transport, entry fees, services of the leaders, airport taxes and tips. Gradings Good to Basic 340 Mainly Warm Moderate Special Moderate Good Easy Scheduled Black-winged Lovebird To make a booking please call Ornitholidays on 01794 519445 53
U G A N D A Uganda Birds & Primates Sunday 06 July – Friday 18 July 2014 Leaders: Nigel Jones and Harriet Kemigisha 2014 Cost £4,499 single room supplement £250 Queen Elizabeth National Park Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Fort Portal Kibale Forest National Park Lake Mburo National Park UGANDA Kampala Entebbe Lake Victoria T his country of forests, lakes and mountains sits astride the Equator and combines influences from eastern and central Africa. The great beauty of Uganda led Sir Winston Churchill to call it “the Pearl of Africa”. On this tour we travel to the forests of Kibale, then to the open savannah of the Queen Elizabeth National Park, and finally visit the great Impenetrable Forest of the south-west. For a small country, Uganda holds an unrivalled variety of primates and is currently one of the few places in the world where Mountain Gorillas can be seen fairly easily. Bwindi’s Impenetrable Forest is home to these magnificent creatures and (for those who wish to) we can spend a day tracking them through the dense forest. To observe them from just a few metres, as they go about their daily routine of sleeping, grooming and feeding is probably the ultimate thrill of a lifetime. During our time at Kibale we may also have a chance to see our other close relative – the Chimpanzee. Our itinerary this year allows for a longer stay in the Kibale area so we can track down more of the Albertine Rift endemic species. Throughout the tour we shall have the services of Harriet Kemigisha, who has co-led our last few tours to this country and whose assistance has proved invaluable with her extensive knowledge of the calls and habits of many of Uganda’s more elusive species. This will be Ornitholidays ninth tour to Uganda. Mountain Gorilla ITINERARY Days 1 & 2 We take an evening flight from London to Entebbe where we arrive the next morning. We visit the Mabamba Swamp where we start to see our first African birds. We take small boats into the reed-fringed channels and look for the diminutive but colourful Malachite Kingfisher, Swamp Flycatcher, Blue-breasted Bee-eater and White-winged Warbler. This swamp also gives us the chance to see one of Africa’s most soughtafter birds – the Shoebill. This large bird with an enormous beak is uncommon throughout its restricted range but we hope to be lucky here today (as we have always been on previous trips). We then travel to Fort Portal where we stay overnight. Days 3 & 4 We can spend the morning birding in the Semuliki National Park, an area of lowland rainforest and excellent for birding – interestingly it holds many species which are also commonly found in West Africa, and we can look for Black Dwarf and Piping Hornbills, African Piculet, Rufous-sided Broadbill, Maxwell’s Weaver and Blue-throated Roller. We then make the drive to the Kibale National Park rainforests. We have two nights here and on one morning we will track the Chimpanzees in this forest; the Kibale Forest is an extensive forest block of 560 sq kms and it is here that we could see Yellow-billed, Hairybreasted and Yellow-spotted Barbets, Yellowbill, Nahan’s Francolin, White-bellied Crested Flycatcher, Masked and Black-capped Apalis, White-naped Pigeon and perhaps a Greenbreasted Pitta. Here, also, the local community runs Bigodi wetland, an excellent place for seeing White-spotted Flufftail, Papyrus Gonolek, the elusive White-winged Warbler and Papyrus Canary. Other birds that we are likely to encounter include Purple-headed Glossy Starling, Blue-headed Coucal, Petit’s Cuckoo- Shrike, Green-headed and Green-throated Sunbirds, Black Bee-eater and perhaps the majestic African Crowned-Eagle. Kibale is a good place for Red Colobus Monkey as well as Grey-cheeked Mangabey, Black-and-White Colobus, and Blue and Peter’s Forest Duikers are infrequently encountered. Days 5 & 6 Today we transfer to the Queen Elizabeth (Ruwenzori) National Park for a two-night stay. The QENP is a relatively small park, only 2,000 sq kms, but due to its diversity of habitats, an astounding 535 bird species have been recorded here. The park has a wide range of habitat types, including an extensive area of crater lakes. Giant Forest Hog are frequently encountered during the day and Topi, Spotted Hyena, Leopard and Lion are all found here. On our launch trip on the Kasinga channel we may find Gull-billed Tern, African Skimmer, Spurwinged Lapwing, the majestic Goliath Heron and the brightly coloured Yellow-billed Stork, aside from numerous waders and Whiskered Tern. Hippopotamus are common here and along the shore we should also see Buffalo, Elephant and Uganda Kob. On our game drives we hope to see Papyrus Gonolek, Red-headed Lovebird, 54 For a previous tour report or further information please call: 01794 519445
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ORNITHOLIDAYS 2014 49 Our Forty-Nin
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49 Our Forty-Ninth Year ORNITHOLIDA
Page 5 and 6: I S O R N I T H O L I D AY S R I G
Page 7 and 8: L AT E 2 0 1 3 T O U R S Summary of
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Page 13 and 14: Bryce Canyon, Utah, USA
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Page 25 and 26: M E X I C O Mexico Western Mexican
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Page 29 and 30: C U B A Cuba Endemic Birds & Winter
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Page 35 and 36: G U YA N A Guyana Rainforests, Wate
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Page 75 and 76: I N D I A India - Goa Birds, Beache
Page 77 and 78: S R I L A N K A Sri Lanka Teardrop
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S PA I N Spain - The Island of Meno
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S PA I N Spain - Southern Catalonia
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S PA I N Spain - Catalonia - Photog
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S PA I N Spain - The Pyrenees Monta
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S PA I N Spain - Aragon Cranes, Lam
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P O R T U G A L Portugal at Leisure
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P O R T U G A L Portugal at Leisure
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I TA LY - S I C I LY Italy - Sicily
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I TA LY Italy Po Delta Po Delta Pal
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I TA LY Italy at Leisure Birds & Wi
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F R A N C E France - Wallcreeper To
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F R A N C E France - The Camargue,
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N E T H E R L A N D S Netherlands W
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I C E L A N D Iceland Winter Wonder
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I C E L A N D Iceland Land of Ice &
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T U R K E Y Turkey Turkish Delight
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B E L A R U S Belarus Europe’s La
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F I N L A N D Finland Owls, Woodpec
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H U N G A R Y Hungary Spring Tour S
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H U N G A R Y Hungary at Leisure Cr
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R O M A N I A Romania Danube Delta
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B U L G A R I A Bulgaria at Leisure
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O U R T E A M O F L E A D E R S Our
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O U R T E A M O F L E A D E R S Blu
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C A L E N D A R Calendar 2014 JANUA
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C O N D I T I O N S O F B O O K I N
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C O N D I T I O N S O F B O O K I N
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ORNITHOLIDAYS 29 Straight Mile Roms
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