GAMBIA TOUR 1 - DAY 3 – 7TH NOVEMBER 2012

ABUKO NATURE RESERVE – LAMIN RICE FIELD    

Today we sat out in the warm morning air and ate breakfast on the terrace, a wonderful experience with all the bird calls and sounds of Africa. We set off at 8am and drove straight to Abuko making only one unscheduled stop to watch a Red-necked falcon that had perched on a roadside wire, click, click, went the cameras. 

Abuko is a large forested area with pools and well trodden trails, it can be full of birds or very quiet, you can list 20 species or on a good day 50, today was a good day. We made a series of good sightings starting from the first bridge where we encountered a Giant Kingfisher, a pair had taken up residence near the bridge and they showed well to us all. From the ‘Darwin Centre’ we looked over a large pool from a second floor terrace and added half a dozen new species to our list which include: Night Heron, Black-headed Heron, Purple Heron, African Darter, all new for the tour.  Back on the trail we heard the loud call of the Ahanta Francolin and after a short while two of them walked across the track just behind us, these are normally very secretive birds 

and we had done well to see them. Our next find was a real gem in the shape of a Pygmy Kingfisher; it was like going from the sublime to the ridiculous, first a Giant and then a Pygmy! It took us over an hour to walk the next hundred meters as the species list increased. We had excellent views of Common Wattle-Eye, Yellow Breasted Apalis, African Pied Hornbill, Fanti Saw-wing, Pied-winged Swallow, Little Greenbul, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher (and a hybrid), Lesser Honeyguide and lots of the common species.

We stopped for a cold drink at the animal sanctuary where we found Bronze Manakin, Blue-spotted Wood Dove and a Bearded Barbet, how can a bird be both beautiful and ugly at the same time!! We finished the forest and then retired for a long lunch; we sat under the shelter of a covered hut and ate bread, fruit, and cheese, washed down with cold drinks. We then sat and relaxed and waited for the heat of the day to subside.

Later in the afternoon we took a walk onto the rice fields of Lamin and spent 3 hours having a great time and seeing some great species. There were lots of egrets and herons, the Black heron went down particularly with the group but also a Jacana with very small chicks took a lot of attention.  

A creek with a sand bar held many birds; with over 20 African mourning Doves we saw Spur-winged Plover, Wattled Plover, Whimbrel, Hammerkop, Senegal Thick-knee and a Wood Sandpiper. But it was the last hour that really captivated us. We stood in one spot and were mesmerised by the activity in front of us.  A short area with a few bushes and dead trees  held over 20 species. The Blue-bellied Rollers, (8 in all,) were simply stunning in the late afternoon sunlight. Even the common Village Weaver looked ammerkopHhhhhfantastic with its bright red eye and dark brown head. We watched a party of Yellow-billed Shrikes hunting flying insects whilst a party of young Piapiacs played with a piece if netting that was hanging from a branch, it was very comical. Whilst all this was going on the rollers were pairing off and mating every few minutes, the display flight was fantastic. We also watched Brown Babblers, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, 3 species of sunbirds, Long-tailed Glossy Starlings, Senegal Coucal, Grey Headed Sparrow, Grey Plantain-eaters, Hornbills and lots of species up in the sky. 

We eventually dragged ourselves away from this spectacle and headed off back the hotel as the light was beginning to fade. We had seen over 80 species today and over 100 in the first two days, what a place, a birder's dream.