Gambia - Final day

With checkout at the hotel at 12pm we only had a chance for a couple of hours walk around the local area.

I was not expecting to see anything new but it would be a good way to take a few more photos and say goodbye properly to Modhu.

We met at 7.30 and would be back by 9.30 so that I could make the most of a copious breakfast before leaving.

We walked to some other pools which were potentially pretty but there was a fair bit of little which spoilt the view somewhat.

Nevertheless, I was straight into a Giant Kingfisher but I still had the lens cap on - schoolboy error!

Red Breasted Swallow was another new addition before a tiny Malachite Kingfisher at the back of the reads gave good views though stretched my cameras ability to the max.

A Long Tailed Cormorant, Little Grebe, Common Moorhen and Purple Swamphen were the only other birds.

A walk back towards the sewage works and we had excellent views of Black Headed Heron and Black Heron which is known locally as the umbrella bird as it covers the water with its wings to shade its shadow when feeding.

After more of the same we saw (and badly photographed) a Northern Puffback (type of shrike)

It was back to the hotel but there was one last new bird to add to the list - House Sparrow!!

Overall, I had a total of 192 species which is quite incredible.

I have never been anywhere with such a massive variety of birds in such a relatively small area. The furthest we travelled was 50 minutes from the hotel. I am sure we missed at least four other species as we could not be sure!

Photography was great but with so many birds coming thick and fast it is hard to spend any time on a decent photo before wheeling round to try and take a photos of the next new species.

A brilliant trip and one I would suggest is a must for any birder but do remember to have a guide - Modhu was priceless!

Gambia - Day 3

Another pick up and journey to another birding area called Sotokoi which is a mixed habitat of woods, scrub and adjoining fields.

After my first couple of days I was wondering a little why we should come here as, at first glance, it seemed very similar to where we had been before.

I should not have doubted my guide!

Within two minutes of being there we saw a Pearl Spotted Owlet resting in a tree.

Whilst taking a quick photo I realised that the adjoining bushes and trees were stuffed full of tiny birds though most we had seen. However, Orange Cheeked Waxbill was a pretty, new bird.

Walking a bit further into the wood I asked Modhu if there was something particularly special about the area and he said the reason he wanted us to visit was that it was one of the few areas you may get Brown Necked Parrot. This is a rarity and he pointed out that he had only seen once before this year and once the year before but always likes to give it a go.

Well, as if by magic, we had walked no more than another 20 yards when one appeared in a tree a bit of a distance away. Still it stayed long enough for me to get a couple of record shots.

I noticed in a very distant tree some sort of falcon and Modhu identified this as a Shikra and whilst watching this a pair of Lanner Falcons flew over.

Once again, I was blown away by the sheer diversity of birds!

Next up was another speciality - Vitelline Masked Weaver which is similar to the much more common Masked Weaver but has a red eye. A female duly obliged!

It is difficult when every bird is new, to be any more wowed by one bird than another. We do not appreciate the rarity value quite as a regular bird watcher does. Whilst watching another new bird, Yellow Fronted Canary (first below) Modhu starting poking me in earnest to look at the next bush where another yellow looking bird was bobbing about. This was a Yellow Penduline Tit which he said was a super bird and rarely seen.

Two of the prettiest birds were the stunning Scarlet Chested Sunbird and its shiny cousin the Copper Sunbird which both gave decent views.

Black Rumped Waxbill beat the camera before Pallid Swift and a glorious Yellow Billed Stork flew over before the final two birds of this area. One - another rarity called a Brubru (a type of shrike) just beat me to a photo before a pair of distant Viellots Barbet were captured by a quick record shot.

A short drive to us to our last destination of the day and was called Pirang Forest.

On the forest edge there is a little bar called the Jungle Bar (tin hut with three types of soft drink so hardly Chicagos) and here we met a young man who I am sure was called Snatch but was too embarrassed to ask again!

Modhu said that for the price of a Coke (50p) he would show us a few rarities as he knew the forest intimately.

This was the nearest I saw to true jungle with Vervet and Red Columbus monkeys swinging through the trees Tarzan style and cut away paths with local woman walking with pots on their heads. It was humid and beautiful.

First new bird was Palm Nut Vulture which seemed to be hiding behind branches then just as we got a decent view, flew off!

However, perhaps my favourite bird of the day was to come next.

Snatch(?) pointed high into a tree and a huge Veirreux Eagle Owl was half dozing. They are easily identified as they have the most obvious pink eyelids!

Numerous small birds came and went but in such dense shrubs they were too hard to photograph - Snowy Crowned Robin Chat, Green Crombec, Common WattleEye, Yellow Breasted Apalis, Green Hylia, Collared Sunbird, Pad Bellied Paradise Flycatcher and Melodious Warbler before a Buff Spotted Woodpecker and Violet Turaco were added sitting next to each other but again for just a split second.

However, the second Turaco found in Gambia - Green Turaco - was distant but obliging!

With the forest so dark, photos were a problem as birds were often some way away and there was little light. An African Pied Hornbill and ready to pounce Lizard Buzzard show just record shots below.

Last bird of the jungle itself was yet another owl - African Brown Wood Owl which again gave a half decent view.

Back to the Jungle Bar and it was time to buy Snatch his Coke and I bought us a drink too and we sat on wooden benches watching a few bowls of water put out for birds.

Even these added three new birds in Blue Spotted Wood Dove, Green Bulbul and Red Cheeked Cordon Blew which was badly taken but too pretty not to show.

Yet another breathtaking day and we agreed to just to meet up the next day for a couple of hours of local wandering before my flight home. Even that was worthwhile so see day 4!

Gambia - Day 2

I went to reception at the agreed 7.15 time and was not met by my guide but a Senegalese driver and car called Ngong. He said we would pick Modhu up on the way. Once we collected him, we made our way to Tujareng.

This was a quite different habitat of sandy scrub and bushes.

However, the day was the same as yesterday with bird after bird being found.

Within 10 minutes I had added a pair of flyover African Spoonbills, Tawny Flanked Prinia, Black Scrub Robin, African Palm Swift and African Thrush before I could even take my lens cap off!

We made our way through the bush and spotted Grey Headed Sparrow, Double Spurred Francolin, Agrican Green Pigeon and this stunning Rufous Crowned Roller.

Once again though the birds were coming so fast I was struggling to keep up! I asked Modhu if we could just stay in one place for a few minutes so that I could update my list.

No sooner had we done this but more new birds came into view. The first was African Grey Hornbill and the next a singing Red Winged Warbler.

As we started to walk again we had a flyover Osprey, Whistling and Singing Cisticola, Black Headed Lapwing, Senegal Batis and this confiding Yellow Bellied Eremomela.

Northern Crombec, Woodchat Shrike and Mosque Swallow were briefly enjoyed before we had great views of the prettiest of African Doves - Namaqua Dove.

Each bush seemed to contain birds and one held both a Northern Black Flycatcher and the beautiful Yellow Crowned Gonolek.

Literally, the next bush and we added Chestnut Crowned Sparrow Weaver and White Fronted Blackchat.

There was more to come - Cardinal Woodpecker stopped briefly, Purple Glossy Starlings, Hoopoe, Winchat, Temminks Courser, Barn Swallow, Common Wattleye and zooming Mottled Spinetail flwe over.

Another pretty bird, Lavender Waxbill,  stopped long enough for me to get a photo and a breather! 

Modhu then got really excited (first time he had not been matter of fact) when he spotted a White Sided Black Tit. It was not particularly striking but he assured me that it was the first he had seen for a number of years and many regular Gambian birders had not seen at all! It was too far away for great photos but my record shot below.

We had been out less than two hours and still had two more great birds before moving on. A distant Lizard Buzzard and the gorgeous Swallow Tailed Bee Easter.

Back to the car and to our next destination known as Tanji Beach which is good for Gulls and Terns.

He was right!

The most prolific were the Grey Headed Gulls but there were a decent number of Sandwich Terns, Royal Terns and the Lesser Crested Tern which looks very similar to a Sandwich Tern but stands lower to the ground. (see nearest bird in first photo below).

I find it hard to enthuse about gulls but the immature Kelp Gull below is a rarity and Slender Billed Gull was great to see.

We also added Turnstone, Crested Lark, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Audouins Gull and distant Great White and Pinked Back Pelicans.

Our final destination of the day was Brofut Woods.

This is a deciduous woodland, quite similar to our own but at the edge of the woods they have put some water trays fashioned out of old containers which the birds use in the extreme heat of the day.

Simply by watching we had Lesser and Greater Honeyguide (shown), Chiffchaff, and also shown a Yellow Throated Leaflove.

We moved into the woods with a view to stopping again on the way back as Modhu said we would definitely get more if he topped up the containers with  fresh water.

First bird in the wood was a tiny African Pygmy Kingfisher which is surprisingly a woodland bird! Above were Fanti Saw-Wings (a blackish type of swallow) and African Hen Harrier. However, the speciality of the wood was Long Tailed Nightjar which is hard to find but Modhu managed this particularly well disguised individual.

Back at the water baths we added three new birds in Black Billed Wood Dove, Black Winged Bishop and Yellow Fronted Tinkerbird - all below.

Just as we were leaving Modhu pointed out deep in the back of a tree, a Northern White Faced Owl - the first owl of the trip.

Final bird of the day was a Dark Chanting Goshawk in a distant tree.

Just another phenomenal day!

It cannot get better than this - surely?