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Tringa nebularia
This is one of the largest shanks, reaching some 30 to 35 cm in length, with brown back, and light-grey to whitish underparts and head. It has long greenish legs and a long, very slightly decurved (upwards) bill.
This is a common subarctic bird, wintering in Africa (and Asia), and here observed around the town of Awassa, on shores of lake of the same name, in Ethiopia.
Lake Awassa (or Hawassa) is a part of main Ethiopian Rift Valley series of lakes, situated at some 1700 m of altitude. Like most of Rift lakes in Ethiopian highlands, this is an endorreic lake (landlocked mass of water having no outlet and not connected to the sea), and as such surrounded by marshes that regulate its levels through evaporation. Because of marshes and its forested shores, the lake is known as birdwatcher's paradise - very rich with various waders. Unfortunately, many of these marshes, or at least those of an easy access to visitors are very polluted by plastic garbage - mainly plastic bottles and bags...
Spotted on Nov 30, 2013
Submitted on Mar 5, 2018
2 Comments
Three, beautiful photos....three, beautiful, portrait photos....
Beautiful bird, but so sad that it has to winter in a plastic-ridden habitat. This spotting is a good example of the impact of plastic on our environment.