THE GAMBIA TOUR 1 - DAY 5 – 9TH NOVEMBER 2012

BANJUL TO BARRA (across the river by ferry) – Kaur Wetlands – Georgetown

What a Fantastic day! Despite travelling over 200Km upriver, taking two ferry crossings and not making too many stops we recorded 111 species, incredible really, 45 species were added to our trip tally which now stands at 180 after 4 days!

It was dark and cool as we left our hotel at 6:30am, we boarded the bus and drove quickly to the ferry terminal in Banjul. We needed to catch the first ferry at 7:30am so that we could be on the road north of the river by 9am. Everything went to plan except that the hotel forgot to make our packed-breakfast, this meant that we had to stop in Barra, on the north side of the river, to eat our breakfast. So by 9:45am we were on our. The crossing was excellent and we listed quite a few terns and gulls as well as two Pomerine Skuas, a Gull-billed Tern was new for the list too.

Our drive upriver also went smoothly, we stopped umpteen times to look at perched birds and for the photographers to do their stuff. Brilliant views were had of both of the Bishops, Northern Red and Black-winged, we also stopped for Lizard and Grasshopper Buzzards. One stop was made to look at a Dark Chanting Goshawk , italso produced Veillot’s Barbet and Striped kingfisher in the same tree and a Melodious Warbler flew out from it. Another stop was made to pick up a Pygmy Kingfisher that we saw sitting in the road, it had obviously been hit and was dazed, it couldn’t fly so we took it under our wing, so to speak!

A scheduled stop next to a large wetlands was superb we spent a great hour there. The marshes were packed solid with birds, thousands of them. We saw both Pelican species in high numbers, hundreds of great White Egrets with Intermediate, Cattle and Little Egrets. Also Western Reef Egrets, Grey, Purple and Squacco Herons, Yellow-billed Storks, African Spoonbills and the superb Black Heron which were striking up their umbrella feeding pose, fantastic. All around this mass of black and white were Sengal Thick-knee, Spur-winged Plover, Wattle Plover and a single Greenshank.

Other birds seen around the marshes were Zitting Cisticola, Black-faced Quailfinch, Long-tailed Cormorant and a few Yellow-billed Kites. We drove into Farrafenni where we picked up picnic supplies for lunch which we ate sitting by the side of a large watering hole a few miles further east. Despite the disturbance of frequent visits to the water by herds of cows we logged a good number of bird species there. A large mixed flock of birds were regularly visiting the pool, the flock was made up of weavers, buntings, canaries and lots of doves were also there. The Long-tailed Whydah, Namaqua Dove, Green bee-eater, Cut-throat Finch, Cinnamon Breasted Bunting and the Red Bishop added a lot of colour to the throngs. 

We drove to a second pool where there was less disturbance from cattle and watched even more birds, it was a delight to see so many species. New birds here were Bush Petronia, Pin-tailed Whydah and Red-billed Quelea.

We continued on our eastward journey and made brief stops at small wetlands where we again added more species to the growing daily tally,  Black Crake was seen several times and a family party of the colourful, but tiny Pygmy Goose  was an excellent find. We also saw more Squacco herons, Malchite Kingfisher and Jacana.

The vast expanse of the Kaur Marsh was our next destination, it again held thousands of birds but our main interest was focused on finding the ‘Crocodile bird’ AKA as the Egyptian Plover. It took us all of 2 minutes to locate one, what a beautiful wader. There were also hundreds of wintering Collared Pratincoles, Yellow Wagtails, White Wagtails and huge total of Senegal Thick-knees, I have never seen so many.

It was now getting late and we had still quite a long way to go so off we went, only stopping at the ferry across to Georgetown Island. We crossed the river to the ‘island’ of Georgetown in the dark and the only species that was added to the list was an African Scops Owl two of them called from a tree above us as we sat and ate our dinner.

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.

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.

GAMBIA TOUR 1 - DAY 2 - 6TH NOVEMBER 2012

KOTU STREAM – CASINO CYCLY TRACK –  KOTU RICE FIELDS – KOTU SEWER WORKS (HOW 

NICE) - BIJILO FOREST NATURE RESERVE    
               

Our first full and what a successful day we had! We all met at 7am for breakfast which we ate out on the terrace that overlooks the gardens. Every few minutes some-one would rush for their camera. We had good close views of Black-necked Weavers, Beautiful Sunbirds, Speckled Pigeon and a few of the doves before we finished our toast!

At 8am we loaded onto the bus and set off for the short trip to the Kotu Stream and as soon as we got off all hell let loose. Birds were everywhere cameras point5ing in all directions, chaos! After an hour we all settled and realised we had seen 35 species whilst just standing on the bridge! Wow, how much better can the Gambia be! Our highlights were the Pied Kingfishers of course, beautiful and so obliging! We also saw Malachite Kingfisher and Woodland Kingfisher, there were lots of waders, gulls and egrets and the usual array of herons and egrets, a Striated Heron perched on a telephone wire seemed a little odd. Talking of wires, we had great views of Wire-tailed Swallow too!

Kotu stream from the brdde looking towards the beach

We set off to walk along the cycle track and nearly trod on a mixed party of Red-billed Fire-Finches and Red-cheeked Cordon Bleu, we got so close you could almost touch them. Along the track we added variable Sunbird, Scarlet chested Sunbird, Hammerkop, White-billed Buffalo Weaver, Shikra, Northern Red Bishop (a fantastic male) and several other species.

On the return journey we stopped to look for a Common Gonolek and whilst doing so we found Northern Puffback, Black-necked Weaver, Green Wood Hoopoe, Grey Woodpecker and another Gonolek.

Our walk across the rice fields was very productive as it was now getting very hot, but we did find Little Bee-eater and a very obliging Woodland Kingfisher. At the sewer works (which was very smelly) we added Black-winged Stilt, Wood Sandpiper, White faced Whistling Duck, African Jacana, Little Swift and Palm Swift.

We then drove back to the hotel for a long lunch break and a siesta, we re-emerged at 4pm when we loaded onto the bus and drove less than a mile to the forest nature at Bijilo. A 2-hour walk produced a good number of sightings including Oriole Warbler which performed well as we found two singing males on territories. We also got great views of Swallow-tailed and White-throated Bee-eaters, the latter being our most sought after for this particular venue. The track through the forest led us to open views of the ocean across some scrubland and it was there that we found another of the group’s favourite sightings, the Blue-bellied Roller, what a stunning bird this is.

We headed back as it got dark well pleased with our late afternoon sortie. Dinner was at eight which was followed by very loud drum beating and African Dancing....well its good night from me!!!!

THE GAMBIA - TOUR 1 - DAY 1 - NOVEMBER 5TH 2012

BANJUL AIRPORT – TRANSFER TO KOLOLI DISTRICT – SENEGAMBIA HOTEL

 

I arrived on time and alone! My group didn’t arrive until much later, so I was collected by my guide Modou and taken to the Senegambia Hotel. As I stepped off the plane a blast of hot air hit me and the humidity immediately produced beads of sweat on my brow, I had forgotten about that part.

My trip to the terminal from the aircraft produced several Hooded Vultures, Speckled Pigeon, Pied Crow and some distant hirundines. The passage through immigration and baggage control went much smoother than previous times so we were on the road within an hour of touching down. 

The short drive to the hotel went uneventful and I never saw as many species as last time but the usual White-billed buffalo Weaver colonies were still in the baobab trees hundreds of doves sat the wires whilst Yellow-billed Kites circled with the Hooded Vultures.

BROAD-BILLED ROLLER

As I was on my own for the rest of the afternoon I took a stroll in the sumptuous gardens of the hotel and had a very enjoyable few hours getting reacquainted with the calls of all the common birds. The doves are a nightmare at first but soon you can separate Vinaceous, Red-eyed, laughing Doves from Speckled Pigeon and African Collared Dove.  I also caught sight of quite few other birds: four different glossy starling, Greater Blue-eared, Lesser Blue-eared, Purple and Long-tailed, North Black flycatcher, Common Bubul, Brown Babbler, Broad-billed Roller, Hammerkop, Yellow-billed Shrike, Grey Woodpecker, Red-billed Hornbill, Grey Plantain Eater, Senegal Parrot, Woodland Kingfisher and Grey-headed Sparrow.

A SCENE FROM THE EXPANSIVE GARDENS OF THE HOTEL

SPECKLED PIGEON

YELLOW-BILLED SHRIKE

I met up with Modou once again at 9pm when we drove back to the airport to meet my group of clients; they arrived 30 minutes late at 10pm from Brussels. We finally sat down to dinner at 11:30pm and I was in bed at 12:30am after rising at 4am......a long day to say the least, but I am now in beautiful Gambia and raring to go tomorrow!