introduction
INTRODUCTION
From December 1992  to December 1996 I lived in the small town of Abi Adi (130 36' N, 390 00' E) in the Tembien zone of Tigray, the northern most region of Ethiopia. My wife worked as midwife for a local NGO, the Relief Society of Tigrai (REST) in a primary health care program funded by the dutch NGO Memisa Medicus Mundi.
The Tembien zone used to be one of the poorest parts of Tigray. Because all infrastructure was grossly neglected by the former totalitarian regime, in the rainy season the area was inaccessible for motor vehicles. During our stay new earth roads were constructed linking Abi Adi with the regional capital Makele east of Abi Adi and with Adua and Axum, north of the little town. This made it possible to develop the area a bit and to extend services as medical care.
  (Map with kind permission taken from the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society in Addis Abeba)

Abi Adi is situated at the west side of a high north south laying mountain ridge, part of the so-called Western Highlands that extend from the Kaffa region in south-eastern Ethiopia into Eritrea, north of the country. From the Western Highlands two major feeds of the White Nile begin: the blue Nile that rises in lake Tana and the Takeze river that gets its water from numerous rivers rising in de ridge between lake Ashenge and Makelle and Adigrat. Less then 100 km east of Makele the mountains descend steeply into the Danakil depression of the Afar region.
I

our house in Abi Adi
 

our house (bottom right) in the outskirts of the Abi Adi. Ambera table mountain at the horizon.
                                            our back yard

From Abi Adi west to the Takeze river the country is hilly at approx. 1400 m in the river valleys, to 2000 m at some table mountains. Where possible agriculture is performed during the rainy season (approx. from June to mid September). Teff being the most important crop. Thousands of cows, sheep and goats eat away most of the vegetation in the remaining areas. Apart from spread Acacia trees, only trees grow in villages and/or around churches. In the higher mountains directly east of Abi Adi there is more woodland, though wood cutting and cattle grazing largely deformed it to scrub. Along the riverbeds some springs are found. For instance Mai Lomin (Lemon water), the spring that supplies Abi Adi.  These and a  few areas closed for human activities are real treasures where baboons and bush buck survive. Outside these areas erosion  is severe almost everywhere.

During our stay in Tigray I made extensive notes of the birds I saw during my 3 to 4 excursions a week. Most observations were done in the surroundings of Abi Adi and Makele. Accompanying my wife on her field trips resulted in observations in the neigbourhood, such as the Jijike and the Takeze river (South West of Abi Adi), the surroundings of Agbe and Yetchila (to the South), Hagere Selam  (to the East), Ambera (to the North West) and  Werk Amba and Adaha (to the north)(see map here).
Special birding trips were made to Adua and Aksum, Adigrat, lake Ashenge (mid winter waterbird counts) and surroundings and Desa'a forest north east of Makele. In three of the four years I was back in the Netherlands during the months of April, May and June. So that period is not well  covered.

This site will inform you about the rich bird life in Tigray. Although the rural areas are densely populated, birds are not really threatened. Fertilizers are hardly used and also the use of insecticides is low. Last but not least there is no hunting. For a general overview of the birds of Tigray click here.
 

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