Bird Site : Gefersa Reservoir

General Description of the Site

Gefersa Reservoir ( 38o 38' East 9o 3' North ) covers an area of about 5700 ha and is at an altitude of 2600 meters.It is 18 km west of Addis Ababa (by road) . The reservoir is in a shallow basin about 10 km wide, stretching between the Wechacha and Entoto mountains. The Gefersa river and its feeder streams are part of the Akaki river catchment.

The reservoir formed behind a main dam built in 1938 (and modified in 1954) and a second, smaller dam, built in 1966, upstream from the main dam; the water-storage capacities are c.6,500,000 m3 and c.1,500,000 m3 respectively, and the two dams control a catchment area of c.5,700 ha.

The reservoirs supply treated water to Addis Ababa. The reservoirs themselves are virtually free of large aquatic plants, probably due to the constantly fluctuating water-level. Patches of sedge occur where permanent streams flow into the reservoirs, and on the western and southern sides of the main reservoir, long, shallow valleys with small streams support swampy vegetation.

The area immediately around the dam and on the northern side of the reservoir is enclosed and supports well-established exotic trees of Eucalyptus globulus, Cupressus lusitanica, Pinus patula and P. sylvestris. Meadows in this enclosure have been protected from grazing for many years and have developed a flora quite different from the heavily used areas outside.

Much of the area surrounding the reservoirs has been closely planted with Eucalyptus, although there are some patches of small trees, e.g. Maesa lanceolata, Buddleja polystachya and Maytenus obscura, the climbers Clematis simensis and Jasminum abyssinicum and also bushes of Rosa abyssinica. All other areas are densely inhabited and farmed.

Key Species at Gefersa Reservoir

Blue-winged Goose (Cyanochen cyanoptera)
Wattled Ibis (Bostrychia carunculata)
Rouget's Rail (Rougetius rougetii)
White-collared Pigeon (Columba albitorques)
Dusky Turtle-dove (Streptopelia lugens)
Nyanza Swift (Apus niansae)
White-backed Tit (Parus leuconotus)
Brown Woodland-warbler (Phylloscopus umbrovirens)
Abyssinian Catbird (Parophasma galinieri)
Montane White-eye (Zosterops poliogastrus)
Moorland Chat (Cercomela sordida)
Abyssinian Slaty-flycatcher (Dioptrornis chocolatinus)
Tacazze Sunbird (Nectarinia tacazze)
Swainson's Sparrow (Passer swainsonii)
Baglafecht Weaver (Ploceus baglafecht)
Abyssinian Longclaw (Macronyx flavicollis)
Abyssinian Siskin (Serinus nigriceps)
African Citril (Serinus citrinelloides)
Brown-rumped Seedeater (Serinus tristriatus)
Streaky Seedeater (Serinus striolatus)

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