THE GAMBIA TOUR 1 - DAY 4 – 8TH NOVEMBER 2012

BRUFUT WOODS AND TANJI BEACH

Another early start saw us leaving the hotel at 7:30am for the journey to Brufut woods, we made it in good time despite the atrocious state of the sandy tracks. God knows how you travel here in the rainy season.

Anyway, it was another beautiful morning, great light and a warm 25C. We were soon watching lots of birds on the wide approach track to the woods. A Klaa’s Cuckoo was a nice start and then a pair of Bronze Sunbirds (my first) showed very well. We found a fruiting fig tree which contained Green Turaco, African Green Pigeon, Yellow Throated Leaflove, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, African Golden Oriole, a couple of Yellow White-eyes and lots of Common Bubuls. They were all in one tree, amazing!! We also found many other species along the track, a Bearded Barbet was nice, seen eating a fig, a Grey-backed Camaroptera was only seen by me and both the Yellow Breasted Apalis and the Yellow fronted Tinkerbird were very vocal.

We ventured into the wood itself along a side track and had great views of Black-billed Wood Dove, Variable Sunbird and a Long-tailed Nightjar. Another area of open scrub produced Black-crowned Tchagra, Northern Red Bishop (a beautiful male in full summer plumage), Grey Headed Sparrow and lots of Weavers.

We took a break in a small seating area where we were served cold drinks as we watched a drinking pool for the birds. During the next hour we saw: Lavender Waxbill, Red-cheeked Cordonbleu, Greater Honeyguide, Village Weavers, Common Bubuls, Leafloves and lots of doves.

Our lunch was taken at a beach-side restaurant with a terrace that overlooked the mouth of a river at Tanji.  A bridge across the river provided nest sites for Little Swifts, Wire-tailed Swallow and Red-chested Swallows.

Along the shore of the river we saw Western Reef Heron ( a black morph), Whimbrel, Common Sandpiper, Caspian Tern, grey headed Gull, Long-tailed Cormorant and a couple of Pied Kingfishers were using the telephone wires as perches from which to fish from. In the bushes there were a couple of beautiful Gonoleks, Village Weavers, Grey Headed Sparrows and a White Wagtail.

After lunch we took a walk on the beach and walked to the mouth of the river where a gulls roost held, Grey-headed, Slender-billed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Royal and Lesser crested Tern (1) and a Sanderling. A little further away a large roost held many of the larger gulls and at least two Kelp Gulls.

Waders along the shoreline included: Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Bar-tailed Godwits and Whimbrel. We left the area at 3pm in order to be back early at the hotel so that we could pack in readiness for our journey upriver tomorrow.