THE GAMBIA TOUR 2: DAY 8 - 23rd NOVEMBER 2012

RIVER-BOAT ‘HIPPO-CRUISE’ ALONG THE RIVER GAMBIA

Another successful ‘hippo cruise’ was taken from the jetty in the garden of the camp, the boat was 15 minutes late so we had time to bird-watch in the trees in the nearby hedgerows. An impressive list was obtained in that short period of time: Gonolek (2), Fine-spotted Woodpecker, Senegal Coucal, Senegal Parrot, Yellow-billed Shrike, Swamp Flycatcher, Long-tailed Glossy Starling, Great White Egret and Spur-winged Plover.

We spent four magical hours drifting down the river, switching from north bank to south when we pleased and notching up nearly 60 species of birds as well as Hippopotamus (5), Vervet Monkey, Red Colobus Monkey, Baboon and Nile Monitor Lizard.

We had some great views of kingfishers as you can imagine, we saw 6 species, two of which were new for us. The Grey-headed variety was seen frequently early on in the trip, along the north bank, but the real find was a Shining Blue Kingfisher, this was seen along the south bank, it flew towards the boat and flashed by behind us, most of us saw it, afterwards we tried to find it perched but failed. Other delights were a pair of African Fish Eagles, with a chick on the nest, we saw our first Western Banded Snake Eagle, and just as we were watching it a Black-headed Plover flew over us, another first. Palm-nut Vultures perched well for our cameras, as did Striated Heron, Long-tailed Cormorant, Hammerkop (also seen nest building) and Black-crowned night Heron.

The boat trip finished at 12:30pm, we then sat in the courtyard to each our lunch of sandwiches and whilst doing so we saw beautiful Sunbird, Black-rumped Waxbill, Village Indigobird and the ubiquitous Common Bubul.

For our afternoon walk we drove a little way from the camp towards the eastern end of the island where open woodland was the general habitat. We spent a couple of hours walking through the scrub and finding a good variety of species. Of special note were the new species for the tour, first we hard and saw a Levaillant’s Cuckoo but only briefly then we found a large flock of weavers, they were mainly Little Weavers but some of them were Vitelline’s Masked Weavers. A Melodious Warbler was next on the list and then a Greater Honeyguide, we saw an adult and a juvenile, the latter having a strongly marked yellow throat. 

A small flock of six Black-headed Plovers flew over whilst we were trying to track down a Fish Eagle that was calling. We then bumped into a troop of baboons so we decided to leave the Fish Eagle alone and headed off in the opposite direction! As the light began to fade more birds started calling we heard: Spotted Thick-knee, Four-banded Sandgrouse and many more species. We eventually found the sandgrouse but not the thick-knee, we also found Double-spurred Francolin, Abyssinian Roller, Black-rumped Waxbill, African Silverbill, Grey Kestrel, Red-necked Falcon and plenty of common species.

THE GAMBIA TOUR 2: DAY 7 - 22ND NOVEMBER 2012

TENDABA TO GEORGETOWN ISLAND – VIA SOMA WETLANDS - PANGHAN MARSHES – KAUR WETLANDS – WASSU QUARRY.

This was a transfer day so we spent most of the day travelling and making short stops along the way. Our first impromptu stop was not far from the gates of Tendaba Camp when a Pearl-spotted Owlet flew across the road and landed just beside the bus, unfortunately it did land out of sight so most of us missed it. 

After an hour we had travelled just 30km when we arrived at Soma Wetlands, we stopped for 30 minutes and found out first Egyptian Plover, what a lovely, colourful bird and a super find. We also found Pink-backed Pelican, Striated Heron, Common Greenshank, Black-winged Stilt, Caspian Plover and several common species.

From Soma we drove to the ferry at Farafenni and caught a ferry within minutes of arriving, soon we were on our way heading eastward on the north bank of the river. We stopped to buy our food for lunch in the town and then drove 20km to a couple of well known watering holes which are used by many species of birds as well as cattle. When we arrived a large group of Little Swifts were above the pool, the flock also held a single White-rumped Swift, Red-rumped Swallows and a couple of Mottle Spinetails. The pool itself was fairly quiet but we did see Chestnut-back Sparrow-Lark, Long-tailed (Exclamatory) Whydah Both the male in breeding plumage, with its extremely long tail feathers, and the female. A Yellow-fronted Canary, Bush Petronia and Northern Red-Bishop came down in small flocks, as did Namaqua Dove, Black-billed Wood-Dove and lots of Laughing Doves.

At the second pool we sat down to eat our lunch in the shade of the bushes, it was now getting very hot. Our lunch was interrupted by many sightings, many of the same species as before but after an hour a very large flock of Red-billed Quelea arrived, a couple of the males were still in breeding plumage, they were accompanied by Northern Red-bishops and a host of other birds, We saw for the first time: Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Pin-tailed Whydah (a female) and Black-rumped Waxbill but the star of show was a Sudan Golden Sparrow, what a that one is, it made the Yellow Canary look pale!

After lunch we set off again but before long we reach the wonderful wetlands of Kaur, there are always lots of birds there and today was no exception. Very close to the roadside we found Egyptian Plover, in fact there 7 in the area, we got good photographs this time! A Black-faced Quail-finch was also near the road, it was a male and it was holding a feather in its beak, nesting material one assumes. 

In the near distance a flock of some 60 Senegal Thick-knees stood in the water together with Cattle Egret (20) and a single Hadada Ibis, there were also a flock of 50+ Ruff, Spotted Redshank (2) and a nice find, Kittlitz’s Plover (4). Collared Pratincoles numbered over 100 and as we searched the expanse of marsh we found Greenshank, Yellow Wagtail, Comb (knob-billed) Duck (8), White-faced Whistling Duck (4), Spur-winged Goose (4) and also many egrets, herons, Spur-winged Plovers and Wattled Plovers. It is truly one of Gambia’s premiere birding spots and a great place to visit.

A smaller wetland some 10km further along the north bank is found at Panghan, this consists of large reed fringed pools which have large areas of lilies and is ideal for some species. We quickly found African Jacana, Pygmy Goose, Black Crake and a Common Moorhen. Several Pied Kingfishers were milling about and it is a favoured place of the Squacco Heron, several were fishing from the edge of the reeds. It was much too hot for a walk so we just scoped from the road in search of Purple Swamphen and other species but we failed to locate anything else.

Our excursion of the afternoon was a sand quarry found just west of the village of Wassu. It was mid-afternoon and extremely warm so we kept in the shade when we could. The quarries hold an impressive number of Red-throated Bee-eaters and to our great delight there were about 100 of them present. This is most colourful of all the Gambian Bee-eaters and my favourite, I took lots of pictures of them (again) they were glorious. During our walk we also came across a family party of Northern Anteater-Chats, a flock of some 50+ European Bee-eaters, also we saw our first Little Weavers, Village Indigobird, Beaudouin's Snake Eagle and a Green Sandpiper. There were many other species present but none of them were  new for the trip list, a male Pin-tailed Whydah was an excellent find.

Our last stop of the trip was to look at yet another Martial Eagle; this one was circling above the road and was being mobbed by a Grasshopper Buzzard which looks miniscule compared to the huge eagle.

At 4:30pm we reached the ferry for crossing over half of the river to Georgetown Island., we had to wait for 30 minutes before we arrived on the island and a quick, short drive to the camp at Baobolong. 

We settled into our rooms and met again at 7:30pm for the bird-log before a nice dinner and a cold beer. Just after dinner we walked into the courtyard to track down a calling African Scops Owl which showed up very well under torch-light, an excellent finish to another great birding day in the Gambia. We saw 108 species, 27 of which were new for our tally which now stands at 231, with 7 days to go.

THE GAMBIA TOUR 2: DAY 6 - 21ST NOVEMBER 2012

TENDABA MANGROVE CREEK CRAWL – TANDABA FOREST – KIANG WEST NATIONAL PARK

After our breakfast we walked to the jetty and climbed aboard our pirogue, a long flat bottomed boat that held about 15 people. We set off upriver and then crossed it to enter a channel that led us into the mangrove swamp. The tide was high but ebbing so we hoped to see many species on the exposed mudflat once we had travelled into the swamp.

We saw a pair of African Hobbies on the way across the river and also Little Swift, Pink-backed Pelican, Great White Egret, Yellow-billed Black kite and several other species. As the channel narrowed we got very close to the mangroves where we found several; nest of the Mouse-brown Sunbird, most of the nest had birds in attendance. there were also many Blue-breasted Kingfishers calling from on top of dead sticks. 

Over the next 3 hours we discovered many species as the terrain changed from thick mangrove to open areas of grass, pools and mudflats. The number of bird species was amazing; we logged just under 70 species. The highlights of the trip were; a pair of Martial Eagles at their nest, likewise with the White-backed Night Heron, a flock of some 20 Comb (Knob-billed) Ducks, sheer numbers of waders, herons, egrets, pelicans, storks and later, the birds of prey! It is a fantastic experience and one of the true spectacles of Gambia birding.

A short mid-afternoon walk was taken by two of us to try to relocate the Cuckoo-Shrike but we failed to do so. However we did see a number of species including a new bird for the list: a pair of Red-winged Pytilla. There was also a pair of Lanner Falcons perched nicely, Yellow Penduline Tit, Northern Puffback, Bearded Barbet, Fork-tailed Drongo and several common species.

Later in the afternoon we drove to the forest tracks at Kiang where were walked the around the peanut fields in search of new species. A Grasshopper Buzzard sat nicely for us, a Tree Pipit did the same but an African Golden Oriole was less obliging. We added Striped Kingfisher and African Cuckoo to our list then we saw a couple of Four-banded Sandgrouse in flight. A second local guide had joined us for this part of the trip and he had good local knowledge of where to find Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, however our luck was out as we never found one, he did flush a Black-bellied Bustard but it flew off over the fields away from us and not one of us saw it. WE then found not one, but two, African Cuckoos and whilst we were following the cuckoo we found a large number of Senegal Parrots, they were coming down to eat the peanuts that had fallen by the wayside after harvesting.

We were now losing light as the sun went down so we drove a little deeper into the forest to a place where our guide knew where Spotted Thick-knee and nightjars were to be found. We only got a brief glimpse of the Thick-knee but we had a spectacular display from the nightjars. There were two species present, Standard-winged and Long-tailed, we even found a Standard-winged Nightjar showing its elongated ‘standards’, they were not very long but clearly visible. During this time we also heard Stone Partridge and we saw a couple of Double-spurred Francolins. It was now dark and we drove back to Tendaba very slowly along some very bumpy tracks.

THE GAMBIA – TOUR 2, DAY 5:- 20TH NOVEMBER 2012

SENEGAMBIA TO TENDABA – STOPPING AT PIRNAG SHRIMP FARM AND VARIOUS ROAD SIDE STOPS.

We set off at our usual time of 7:30am, with cases stowed on top of the bus we headed out of town along the south side of the river. We made a short stop to look at a Lizard Buzzard and ended up finding: Fort-tailed Drongo, Variable Sunbird, Yellow-fronted Canary and a small flock of the enigmatic White-crested helmet Shrike.

We then made a scheduled stop at Pirang shrimp Farm and although the farm itself was inaccessible due to farming of shrimps we still enjoyed a lovely couple of hours seeing many species. The highlights were close views of Malachite Kingfisher, Mosque Swallows coming to drink in a nearby pond, a party of Northern Crombecs and a really good selection of birds on the shrimp pools. We did see African Hobby, Long-crested Eagle and Lanner Falcon in flight as well as, a good bird for me, the Brown-headed Parrot.

Along the main feeder channel we found many pairs of the obliging Pied Kingfisher, Crested Lark, Wire-tailed Swallow and a single Subalpine Warbler. In the distance we could see a large number of birds: Pink-backed Pelicans, Yellow-billed Storks, African Spoonbill as well as gulls, terns and waders. We added Gull-billed and Little Terns to our list and Ruff to the wader list.

We stopped off to buy provisions for our picnic lunch and then drove a little further to eat it. From where we sat we could see down onto some rice paddies where vultures and birds of prey come to drink. We saw White-backed and Hooded vultures as well as Dark Chanting Goshawk, African harrier Hawk and a Shikra. One super find was a Dwarf Bittern; it flew out of the rice fields into to a tree before disappearing into thicker cover. We also saw Yellow-throated Leaflove, Black-headed and Squacco Herons.

We arrived at Tendaba at 3pm and arranged to meet up again at 4pm. We all settled into our rooms before emerging to discover our new environment. The Tendaba camp sits right on the south bank of the river, the accommodation is basic and consists of a number of square or round blocks each holding four rooms. The gardens have plenty of flowers and they were full of butterflies. 

Our afternoon walk in very humid conditions didn’t produce many species, perhaps it was too hot! We walked into the forest just south of the camp and followed a trail that ran parallel to the river. The best species seen was a Red-shouldered Cuckoo-Shrike; a pair of these birds was flitting about in the bushes. We also had sightings of Abyssinian Roller, Yellow-fronted Canary, Grey-headed Sparrow, Northern Puffback, but not much else.

We had dinner in the open air restaurant with many other people, the camp was full, we sat looking over the river contemplating our river-boat trip scheduled for the following morning!

THE GAMBIA TOUR 2 - DAY 4 - 19TH NOVEMBER 2012

BRUFUT WOODS & TANJI BIRD RESERVE

The 40 minute drive to Brufut took through the suburbs of southern Banjul and through the village itself. The track was bumpy and full of large dips and rises but we got to the woods in one piece. As usual there was a flurry of activity during the first hours or so and then it petered off as the day warmed up.

We walked the broad sandy track which had hedges of mature trees and shrubs, in the one of the first mature palm trees we found a Tawny-flanked Prinia, Splendid Sunbird and a Fine-spotted Woodpecker. A Bearded Barbet came next and was followed by Beautiful Sunbird, Shikra, African Green Pigeon Band a small flock of Bronze Mannikins.

We searched a large Baobab tree for quite a while before we located a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, which blinked at us showing off its pink eye-lids. One fruiting tree held both, the Green, and the Violet Turacos, as well as African Thrush, African Golden Oriole, Bearded Barbet, Yellow-Throated Leaflove and lots of Common Bubuls. 

Our walk took us into the thickest part of the forest where we searched for and found Long-tailed Nightjar; we then came into some open areas of grassland where we watched some superb Red Bishop Birds in full breeding plumage. A Red-winged Warbler showed well as did a couple of Little Bee-eaters. A Black-winged Kite gave a nice display as it hunted over the fields and a Black-crowned Tchagra called but failed to show.

Back in the woods we settled down in a makeshift shelter to drink cold beverages whilst watching many birds came to drink from trays provided for them. We had a great time watching a couple Pygmy Kingfishers; they would dive in quickly, take a drink and be off in a flash. We also enjoyed Lavender and Orange-cheeked Waxbills, Brown Babblers, Red-cheeked Cordonbleu, Red-billed Firefinch and both species of Wood-Doves.

It was soon time for lunch so we jumped into the bus and drove to Tanji Beach but before we got there we stopped to look at a Black Wood-hoopoe that was perched nicely on top of a small tree. During that stop we also found a pair of Black-crowned Tchagra, two White-backed Vultures and a Variable Sunbird.

At Tanji beach we sat on a terrace and looked over the mouth of a river as it made its’ final approach to the sea. It was high tide so there were not too many species on show, a couple of Whimbrel, a single Common Sandpiper, Pied Kingfisher, Grey-headed Gull and Caspian Tern were all noted nearby. A small colony of Wire-tailed Swallows were nesting under the bridge that spanned the main road, we also saw Red-chested Swallow, Little Swift, White Wagtail and several House Sparrows!

After lunch we walked onto the beach and down to river mouth where a large roost of gulls, waders and terns were loafing. With a great number of Lesser Black-backed Gulls we found two Kelp Gulls and amongst the many Sandwich Terns there were 4 Common Terns, a dozen or so Royal Terns and two lesser Crested Terns. Waders seen included: Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Common Sandpiper and Whimbrel. A single Western Reef Heron and a Grey heron joined the gull roost at one stage.

After an hour or so we decided to head back to the hotel for an early shower because tomorrow we will be heading upriver for four nights, so there was also packing for us to do.