tim@Grimston!
New member
Gambia November 13th-27th 2016
A birding holiday for the usual suspects Tim, Joanne, Ade and Jeanette; this time to somewhere away from our normal European destinations! We hired a bird guide for most of our trip which we felt was essential.
The flight went well and we arrived at the airport to be met with our first experience of Africa. It proved to be initially nerve-wracking but ultimately enlightening and made us realise how much we have and yet take for granted in the Western world!
Our initial concern were the so called “Bumsters”, these are locals who are very keen to sell you anything from fruit, money, woodcarvings, clothing, daytrips, taxi rides and themselves! Although the first day or so this was of concern as they are very pushy, you soon learn how to handle this, a polite but firm “no thanks” and a show of no interest and you were soon left alone! Having a guide with you reduces this stress.
Our base was the highly recommended Bakotu hotel which suited us perfectly, nice clean rooms, good food, very pleasant and helpful staff, nice pool and Birding in the hotel grounds! Vervet Monkeys, Fruit Bats and Monitor Lizards and Tortoise were all resident too. During the first night Ade and Jeanette thought there had been an earthquake but it was just the local monkey troop playing on their tin roof! The hotel had large trees, ornamental pools for dragonflies, and a large viewing platform into the creek. Kotu Bridge, the beach, restaurants and mini supermarkets were only a 5 minute walk away. The Bakotu happily provided a packed breakfast for early starts.
We were recommended our Birding guide Foday Bojang [email protected] by our friend John Hewitt , a seasoned Gambian veteran! We planned our itinerary with Foday via email. Foday is an Official Bird Guide working with the Gambian Bird Associated and he proved a good choice with 15 years experience. His knowledge and field craft were excellent both around the coastal area and whilst we travelled upriver. He seemed to know and be known in every town and village we visited. Foday arranged everything whilst we were out Birding including all transport, accommodation, boat trips, food, soft drinks, and entry to all reserves. Our only expected extras were alcoholic drinks and small tips for the boat captains and reserve wardens (we were told 100-300 Dalasi per warden was usual), without these you would not see many of the target birds particularly Owls & Nightjars.
After research we were led to believe a target of 250-300 species was realistic; we achieved 273 and heard a few more, not bad at all considering we had at least 4 lazy days. We set out with the following key targets: Egyptian Plover, 4 Roller species, 7 Bee-eater species especially Carmine, 9 Kingfisher species, 5 Owl species, Long Tailed Nightjar, African Finfoot, Painted Snipe and White Spotted Flufftail. We succeeded with 8+ Egyptian Plover at point blank range, all of the Rollers, all of the Bee-eaters and all but one of the Kingfishers (Shining Blue), all 5 Owl species, 2 Long Tailed Nightjars and Painted Snipe. Sadly we missed the Finfoot and the Flufftails, frustratingly we heard the Flufftail in dense jungle about 30mts away but couldn’t see it!
The area around Kotu where most of the Hotels are provides great Birding in varied habitats such as the beach, hotel gardens, sewage pools, Casino cycle track and the Kotu creek and mangroves. The area around the Bird Association Hut where the Official guides hang out provides essential drinking pools for the local birds including Red Billed Firefinch, Red Cheeked Cordon Bleu, African Silverbills, African Thrush, White Crowned Robin Chat, Oriole Warbler, Yellow Throated Leaflove as well as various Kingfishers, Hornbills, Woodpeckers, Western Grey Plantain Eaters etc! The creek area produced numerous Herons, Egrets, Hamerkops, Plovers, Senegal Thick Knees, 4 species of Kingfisher, several Hirundine species, Hooded Vultures, Shikra, Yellow billed and Black Kite and more, it was non- stop!
Amongst many other places, we visited Paradise beach for the scarce White Fronted Plover finding 3 after a long very hot walk along the beach. At Tanji beach we found a single Kelp Gull as well as Caspian, Royal and Lesser Crested Terns and numerous Grey Headed Gulls. Whilst watching these my attention was drawn to a Plover on the beach, closer scrutiny revealed an American Golden Plover a major rarity in Gambia with only a handful of previous records! Foday was delighted as this was a new bird for him!
We had 3 days inland / up river staying at 2 camps, Tendaba and Baobolong in Georgetown. On the way up river, it was Raptor central, Foday was not only spotting them whilst driving but identifying them usually before we had even seen them! We had been forewarned that the accommodation upriver was basic with only cold water and no daytime electricity, but it had mosquito nets and we managed fine. The buffet dinners, relaxation areas and locations were great, with a lovely ambience; in fact we wished we had had a longer stay.
Our boat trips upriver were amazing; the first being the Tendaba boat trip in the mangroves which lasted about 4 hours and during which time we were serenaded by the Mouse Brown Sunbird. We were surrounded by birds at very close quarters including Martial Eagle, Grey Woodpeckers, Blue Breasted Kingfishers (Foday’s favourite), Wooly Necked and Yellow Billed Storks, Hamerkops and other Heron and Egret species. More birds appeared around every turn in the narrow tributary of the Gambia River. Special sightings were viewing a pair of White Backed Night Herons and their 2 chicks and several crocodile dens.
Our second boat trip was a totally different experience being from Georgetown which is on an island in the Gambia river, this was an evening trip and we saw Numerous Vervet and Colobus monkeys as well as 30+ Guinea Baboons and Joanne’s ultimate Gambian target of 5 Hippos including a young calf. We watched for half an hour at less than 100 metres range! As the light was fading rapidly on our return, the last 45 minutes was completed in total darkness, no lights on the boat or river side, so it was quite relieving to see the lights of the dock at Georgetown appear, the captain got us back, and how we will never know! We were treated to squadrons of Herons and Egrets flying over to roost, African Fish Eagle, Fruit Bats and our first ever Fireflies around the boat as dusk fell, magical!
Foday was in constant touch with other guides, the boat captains and wardens to keep up to date with what was being seen where and when. With our guide we saw the real Gambia and we felt very safe and that we could ask anything. Foday was very knowledgeable and accommodating to help make our trip just as we wanted.
Almost all species were seen well and even photographed. Highlights were numerous including watching Egyptian Plover at 20ft and Long Tailed Nightjar perched on the forest floor at 6-8ft in broad daylight! Every day saw different highlights; Bearded Barbets and Pearl Spotted Owlet, 7 Sunbird species, Vulture feeding, 6ft African Monitor lizards and Four -Banded Sandgrouse watched at 20ft range. Other wildlife was prevalent with impressive Butterflies, Dragonflies and Damseflies as well as Several Lizard species, one snake species, Fruit Bats, a single Patas monkey, and very interesting Insect species including Mantids.
After our time with Foday, we had failed to find Painted Snipe due to water levels being high until January. We tried several areas and still couldn’t find them so decided to use a guide one last time to help us find them, he managed to find us a single female in a local rice field only 15 minutes walk from our Hotel! Well worth the extra effort.
Gambian weather as expected was very hot not dropping below 22 degrees centigrade overnight. Air-con is not provided as standard and is very expensive to add on! At the coast the daytime temperatures were in the mid 30s, upriver it was over 40 with humidity of around 80%, it was tough going, by mid afternoon most days we were flagging! Mosquito repellent was essential as Jeanette would testify, but Ade didn’t receive a single bite.
Evening meals were varied from western style omelettes, Burgers, Pizzas to traditional Gambian meals of Fish, Chicken etc usually served with Fried rice, vegetables and coleslaw. All were well cooked and reasonably priced from £5 -£15, Butterfish, Yassa and Benechin were favourites. Sadly for Joanne the advertised chocolate cake was never available. The local Beer Julbrew was very passable, less than £1 a bottle in the Hotels but less than 50p a bottle if bought from non tourist supermarkets. The wine however was a little more expensive than in the UK.
A return trip in January should get us the Finfoot, Flufftails, Bustards and Coursers as well as 30+ other new species.
Tim Isherwood
www.birdwatchingthegambia.com , www.gambia-birdingexperience.com
A birding holiday for the usual suspects Tim, Joanne, Ade and Jeanette; this time to somewhere away from our normal European destinations! We hired a bird guide for most of our trip which we felt was essential.
The flight went well and we arrived at the airport to be met with our first experience of Africa. It proved to be initially nerve-wracking but ultimately enlightening and made us realise how much we have and yet take for granted in the Western world!
Our initial concern were the so called “Bumsters”, these are locals who are very keen to sell you anything from fruit, money, woodcarvings, clothing, daytrips, taxi rides and themselves! Although the first day or so this was of concern as they are very pushy, you soon learn how to handle this, a polite but firm “no thanks” and a show of no interest and you were soon left alone! Having a guide with you reduces this stress.
Our base was the highly recommended Bakotu hotel which suited us perfectly, nice clean rooms, good food, very pleasant and helpful staff, nice pool and Birding in the hotel grounds! Vervet Monkeys, Fruit Bats and Monitor Lizards and Tortoise were all resident too. During the first night Ade and Jeanette thought there had been an earthquake but it was just the local monkey troop playing on their tin roof! The hotel had large trees, ornamental pools for dragonflies, and a large viewing platform into the creek. Kotu Bridge, the beach, restaurants and mini supermarkets were only a 5 minute walk away. The Bakotu happily provided a packed breakfast for early starts.
We were recommended our Birding guide Foday Bojang [email protected] by our friend John Hewitt , a seasoned Gambian veteran! We planned our itinerary with Foday via email. Foday is an Official Bird Guide working with the Gambian Bird Associated and he proved a good choice with 15 years experience. His knowledge and field craft were excellent both around the coastal area and whilst we travelled upriver. He seemed to know and be known in every town and village we visited. Foday arranged everything whilst we were out Birding including all transport, accommodation, boat trips, food, soft drinks, and entry to all reserves. Our only expected extras were alcoholic drinks and small tips for the boat captains and reserve wardens (we were told 100-300 Dalasi per warden was usual), without these you would not see many of the target birds particularly Owls & Nightjars.
After research we were led to believe a target of 250-300 species was realistic; we achieved 273 and heard a few more, not bad at all considering we had at least 4 lazy days. We set out with the following key targets: Egyptian Plover, 4 Roller species, 7 Bee-eater species especially Carmine, 9 Kingfisher species, 5 Owl species, Long Tailed Nightjar, African Finfoot, Painted Snipe and White Spotted Flufftail. We succeeded with 8+ Egyptian Plover at point blank range, all of the Rollers, all of the Bee-eaters and all but one of the Kingfishers (Shining Blue), all 5 Owl species, 2 Long Tailed Nightjars and Painted Snipe. Sadly we missed the Finfoot and the Flufftails, frustratingly we heard the Flufftail in dense jungle about 30mts away but couldn’t see it!
The area around Kotu where most of the Hotels are provides great Birding in varied habitats such as the beach, hotel gardens, sewage pools, Casino cycle track and the Kotu creek and mangroves. The area around the Bird Association Hut where the Official guides hang out provides essential drinking pools for the local birds including Red Billed Firefinch, Red Cheeked Cordon Bleu, African Silverbills, African Thrush, White Crowned Robin Chat, Oriole Warbler, Yellow Throated Leaflove as well as various Kingfishers, Hornbills, Woodpeckers, Western Grey Plantain Eaters etc! The creek area produced numerous Herons, Egrets, Hamerkops, Plovers, Senegal Thick Knees, 4 species of Kingfisher, several Hirundine species, Hooded Vultures, Shikra, Yellow billed and Black Kite and more, it was non- stop!
Amongst many other places, we visited Paradise beach for the scarce White Fronted Plover finding 3 after a long very hot walk along the beach. At Tanji beach we found a single Kelp Gull as well as Caspian, Royal and Lesser Crested Terns and numerous Grey Headed Gulls. Whilst watching these my attention was drawn to a Plover on the beach, closer scrutiny revealed an American Golden Plover a major rarity in Gambia with only a handful of previous records! Foday was delighted as this was a new bird for him!
We had 3 days inland / up river staying at 2 camps, Tendaba and Baobolong in Georgetown. On the way up river, it was Raptor central, Foday was not only spotting them whilst driving but identifying them usually before we had even seen them! We had been forewarned that the accommodation upriver was basic with only cold water and no daytime electricity, but it had mosquito nets and we managed fine. The buffet dinners, relaxation areas and locations were great, with a lovely ambience; in fact we wished we had had a longer stay.
Our boat trips upriver were amazing; the first being the Tendaba boat trip in the mangroves which lasted about 4 hours and during which time we were serenaded by the Mouse Brown Sunbird. We were surrounded by birds at very close quarters including Martial Eagle, Grey Woodpeckers, Blue Breasted Kingfishers (Foday’s favourite), Wooly Necked and Yellow Billed Storks, Hamerkops and other Heron and Egret species. More birds appeared around every turn in the narrow tributary of the Gambia River. Special sightings were viewing a pair of White Backed Night Herons and their 2 chicks and several crocodile dens.
Our second boat trip was a totally different experience being from Georgetown which is on an island in the Gambia river, this was an evening trip and we saw Numerous Vervet and Colobus monkeys as well as 30+ Guinea Baboons and Joanne’s ultimate Gambian target of 5 Hippos including a young calf. We watched for half an hour at less than 100 metres range! As the light was fading rapidly on our return, the last 45 minutes was completed in total darkness, no lights on the boat or river side, so it was quite relieving to see the lights of the dock at Georgetown appear, the captain got us back, and how we will never know! We were treated to squadrons of Herons and Egrets flying over to roost, African Fish Eagle, Fruit Bats and our first ever Fireflies around the boat as dusk fell, magical!
Foday was in constant touch with other guides, the boat captains and wardens to keep up to date with what was being seen where and when. With our guide we saw the real Gambia and we felt very safe and that we could ask anything. Foday was very knowledgeable and accommodating to help make our trip just as we wanted.
Almost all species were seen well and even photographed. Highlights were numerous including watching Egyptian Plover at 20ft and Long Tailed Nightjar perched on the forest floor at 6-8ft in broad daylight! Every day saw different highlights; Bearded Barbets and Pearl Spotted Owlet, 7 Sunbird species, Vulture feeding, 6ft African Monitor lizards and Four -Banded Sandgrouse watched at 20ft range. Other wildlife was prevalent with impressive Butterflies, Dragonflies and Damseflies as well as Several Lizard species, one snake species, Fruit Bats, a single Patas monkey, and very interesting Insect species including Mantids.
After our time with Foday, we had failed to find Painted Snipe due to water levels being high until January. We tried several areas and still couldn’t find them so decided to use a guide one last time to help us find them, he managed to find us a single female in a local rice field only 15 minutes walk from our Hotel! Well worth the extra effort.
Gambian weather as expected was very hot not dropping below 22 degrees centigrade overnight. Air-con is not provided as standard and is very expensive to add on! At the coast the daytime temperatures were in the mid 30s, upriver it was over 40 with humidity of around 80%, it was tough going, by mid afternoon most days we were flagging! Mosquito repellent was essential as Jeanette would testify, but Ade didn’t receive a single bite.
Evening meals were varied from western style omelettes, Burgers, Pizzas to traditional Gambian meals of Fish, Chicken etc usually served with Fried rice, vegetables and coleslaw. All were well cooked and reasonably priced from £5 -£15, Butterfish, Yassa and Benechin were favourites. Sadly for Joanne the advertised chocolate cake was never available. The local Beer Julbrew was very passable, less than £1 a bottle in the Hotels but less than 50p a bottle if bought from non tourist supermarkets. The wine however was a little more expensive than in the UK.
A return trip in January should get us the Finfoot, Flufftails, Bustards and Coursers as well as 30+ other new species.
Tim Isherwood
www.birdwatchingthegambia.com , www.gambia-birdingexperience.com
