Montana audubon tours - birding in the Gambia 2011
Here's a recap of the 2011 trip to the Gambia...
28 October - 11 November 2011
Left to right: Ron Farmer, Cheryl Farmer, Dembo Sonko, Gwen Haferkamp, Steve Gniadek, Solomon Jallow, Robin Wolcott, Richard Wolcott (in back), Carolyn Jones, Chris Nixon (far back), Ed Harper, Dillon Potter (in back), Jeff Marks, Bob Jones, Bob Martinka
Leaders: Jeff Marks and Dembo Sonko
For more amazing photos head to this Flickr site.
The fourth Montana Audubon tour to the West African country of The Gambia was a grand adventure. Temperatures during the first week were unseasonably warm and at times downright oppressive, whereas those in the second week were more tolerable, either because they had moderated, or we had become acclimated (or both!). We saw a few clouds but experienced no rain, which was expected given that we arrived at the start of the dry season. We tallied 288 bird species and saw four species of primates and a small group of hippos. To the delight of many of us and the disappointment of a few, we saw no cobras or mambas. The vegetation was still green and the grass tall and dense, which had much to do with us seeing no bustards or Abyssinian Ground Hornbills (which are tough to find even under the best of conditions). Highlights included a White-backed Night-Heron on its nest, scope views of a Red-chested Goshawk, seven Egyptian Plovers and more than 500 Collared Pratincoles at one stop, a sunlit flock of 10 Brown-necked Parrots, great looks at all eight species of bee-eaters (including >100 Northern Carmine Bee-eaters at once), and a small group of rarely found Chestnut-bellied Starlings. We also encountered more Western Baboons than Jeff has seen before and higher-than-expected numbers of Bateleurs, Wahlberg’s Eagles, African Cuckoos, African Green-Pigeons, and Fanti Saw-wings.
Day 1, 28 October (Night at Kombo Beach Hotel): The group arrived in London at least one day early, and most of us enjoyed a wonderful meal at the 700-year-old Ye Olde Six Bells Pub near the Gainsborough Lodge on the night of the 27th. This morning we birded near the pub from 10:00 until 12:30, finding more than 20 species that included a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jackdaws, Eurasian Jays, Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tits, European Greenfinches, Common Chaffinches, and a White Wagtail. The departure time for our nonstop flight to The Gambia, normally at 9:00 a.m., inexplicably was changed to 17:30 p.m. After the usual hassles with carry-on baggage, we boarded on time and touched down at the airport in Banjul about 5 hours later, checking in at our hotel in Kotu at midnight. The accommodations were nice, although several of us had to change rooms owing to nonfunctional air conditioners. There also was no bottled water in the rooms, which made things difficult given that the lateness of the hour prevented us from changing money and hitting a nearby market.
Day 2 ,29 October (Night at Kombo Beach Hotel): We had a leisurely breakfast and met Dembo at 08:30 to visit the nearby Fajara golf course, Kotu sewage ponds, and Kotu Stream. A small flock of Great White Pelicans was one of only a few sightings of that species, and what surprisingly turned out to be our only look at a Black Heron was of a bird perched in a lone tree near the Kotu Bridge, allowing an excellent scope view but no examples of the species’ fascinating “umbrella” foraging behavior. Diurnal raptors included Osprey, Yellow-billed Kite, Hooded Vulture, Shikra, Gray Kestrel, and Red-necked Falcon. Other species seen well included Little Grebe, Black-headed Lapwing, Wattled Lapwing, Spur-winged Lapwing, Senegal Parrot, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Western Gray Plantain-eater, Blue-bellied Roller, African Gray Hornbill, Little Bee-eater, Green Woodhoopoe, Little Swift, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Gray Woodpecker, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Fork-tailed Drongo, Piapiac, Pied Crow, Lesser Blue-eared Starling, Long-tailed Glossy-Starling, Beautiful Sunbird, Splendid Sunbird, White-billed Buffalo-Weaver, and the near-ubiquitous Village Weaver.
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Beautiful Sunbird (E. Harper) |
We returned to our hotel for a pool-side lunch and then drove south along the coast to Tujareng Woodlands for savanna and grassland species. We succeeded in seeing Booted Eagle, African Harrier-Hawk, Dideric Cuckoo, Greater Honeyguide, Cardinal Woodpecker, Black-crowned Tchagra, Brubru, three species of cisticolas, Senegal Eremomela, Copper Sunbird, the rare Heuglin’s Masked-Weaver, Northern Red Bishop, Black-winged Red Bishop, Red-billed Firefinch, and Red-cheeked Cordonbleu. By day’s end we had tallied a respectable 105 species. We returned to the hotel by about 7:00 p.m. and convened for dinner an hour later.
Day 3, 30 October (Night at Kombo Beach Hotel): After a full-night’s rest, we established our morning routine of breakfast and coffee from 6:45 to 7:15 so that we could meet Dembo at the bus by 7:30. Today’s focus was the remnant patch of Guinea-Congo forest at Abuko Nature Reserve, a small (105 ha) protected area near the village of Lamin less than 30 minutes’ drive from the hotel. It was another hot morning, but most of the walk was in the shade of tall trees, the trail terminating at the “animal orphanage” where cold drinks, bananas, and Pringles© were available for purchase. (The washed-out road dictated that we retrace on foot our route through the forest back to the bus.) Wild mammals that we encountered were Green Vervet (Callithrix) and Western Red Colobus monkeys and Gambian Sun Squirrels. The colobus is listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Avian highlights were Ahanta Francolin (always tough to see in the dense understory vegetation they favor), Green Turaco, Violet Turaco, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Giant Kingfisher, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, African Pied Hornbill, Buff-spotted Woodpecker, Red-bellied Paradise-Flycatcher, Little Greenbul, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Snowy-crowned Robin-chat, Collared Sunbird, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Black-necked Weaver, and Western Bluebill, the latter seen well by all.
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Green Vervets (B. Martinka) |
We left Abuko at 14:15 for the drive to Lamin Lodge, which got high marks for location, creative architecture, and cold beer but served up the only mediocre buffet lunch of the trip. After lunch we birded at Lamin Rice Fields and added White-faced Whistling-Duck, Double-spurred Francolin, Black-shouldered Kite, Black Crake, Wood Sandpiper, Levaillant’s Cuckoo, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Broad-billed Roller, Woodland Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, and Yellow-throated Leaflove to our cumulative list of birds, which now totaled more than 140 species.
Day 4, 31 October (Night at Kombo Beach Hotel): Today was a Halloween without candy. Perhaps of even sadder significance, this also was the day when the human population of Earth was slated to reach 7 billion people. We began the day at Farasutu Forest near Dembo’s home village of Kuloro. This also is a remnant of Guinea-Congo forest, albeit a narrow one along the south bank of the River Gambia about 25 km SE of Kotu as the Pied Crow flies. Soon after we arrived, the local guide Baba took us to a White-backed Night-Heron on a nest, the site next to some ponds that harbored a small number of West African Crocodiles (formerly treated as a subspecies of Nile Crocodile) and large numbers of Tilapia. The highlight in the forest was an adult Red-chested Goshawk. Actually, a pair was present, but we only got scope views of one bird. Formerly considered a subspecies of the more widespread African Goshawk, this species is now considered a West African endemic. Other new trip birds included Lizard Buzzard, Dark Chanting-Goshawk, Blue-spotted Wood-Dove, European Pied Flycatcher, Green-headed Sunbird (seen well by only a few), and Pin-tailed Whydah, the latter in a field in which we also got great looks at side-by-side male Black-winged Red Bishops and Northern Red Bishops. We also heard but did not see several Green Crombecs and Gray-headed Bristlebills.
By 13:30 we were back at the Kombo Beach for lunch. Two hours later we departed for the famous birding locale of Bund Road near the capital city of Banjul. At the mouth of the River Gambia, this is a good area for gulls and waders when the tide is low enough to expose an expanse of mudflats. As the tide receded, we saw fair numbers of waders that included Black-bellied Plover, Common Ringed Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Redshank, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, and a single Curlew Sandpiper. Gulls and terns seen were Lesser Black-backed Gull, Gray-headed Gull, Caspian Tern, Sandwich Tern, and Royal Tern. A couple of us also saw a Western Olivaceous Warbler and a male Village Indigobird (which Jeff confusingly identified by shouting “Village Weaver!”). We ended the day at the Cape Point wetlands between Banjul and Kotu. Here we added African Darter, Pink-backed Pelican, Western Marsh-Harrier (seen by a few on the drive from Bund Road), and the afternoon’s highlight: two Slender-billed Gulls spotted by Ed.
Day 5, 1 November (Night at Kombo Beach Hotel): The morning began with a longish drive south and west past Tanji Bird Reserve, Tujareng, and Gunjur to the Darsilami wetlands and the Marakissa area. We were joined for the first time by legendary bird guide Solomon Jallow, who was supposed to have been with us for the entire trip but had been called away for a joint project with the governments of Senegal, The Gambia, and the United Kingdom to monitor wintering Ospreys that had been equipped with satellite transmitters on the breeding grounds in the UK. It was yet another hot day, but we enjoyed an excellent buffet lunch and much-needed downtime at the Marakissa River Camp. The day yielded 105 species, with new birds including Purple Heron, Banded Snake-Eagle, Common Snipe, Marsh Sandpiper, African Green-Pigeon, African Cuckoo, Bearded Barbet, Fine-spotted Woodpecker, Gray-headed Bushshrike, African Golden Oriole, Pied-winged Swallow, Blackcap Babbler, Northern Wheatear, and White-crowned Robin-chat. We also saw three different Peal-spotted Owlets and had great looks at Hamerkops, Lizard Buzzards, African Harrier-Hawks, Shikras, Wood Sandpipers, Common Greenshanks, and Green Sandpipers.
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Yellow-billed Shrike (E. Harper) |
Day 6, 2 November (Night at Kombo Beach Hotel): Again in the company of Dembo and Solomon, we visited the beautiful patch of Guinea-Congo forest near Pirang village in the morning, with a stop in Brikama for ice to cool the soft drinks that our superb driver Aladdin had brought for us. As we entered the forest a small group of White-crested Helmetshrikes appeared briefly, seen well by only a few of us. A flock of the rare and declining Brown-necked Parrot whizzed by, but we could not see them through the dense canopy of tall trees overhead. Gray-headed Bristle-bills were singing from deep within the forest, and we finally managed fair looks at several that responded to the iPod. Also here were Green Crombecs (seen well, by Jeff Solomon, and Dembo but sadly, not many others), Green Hylias, Little Greenbuls, and Common Bulbuls. We left the forest for the nearby Pirang Shrimp Farm, with its wetlands and grasslands surrounded by mangroves. The European owner denied us access to the shrimp ponds (an increasing problem in recent years), but nonetheless we managed to see Palm-nut Vulture, Peregrine Falcon, Eurasian Spoonbill, Crested Lark, Western Yellow Wagtail, Mosque Swallow, Red-rumped Swallow, Red-billed Quelea, Black-rumped Waxbill, and Black-faced Quailfinch.
On the way to famed Faraba-Banta Bushtrack, we stopped to see a Northern White-faced Owl that was roosting in a roadside mango. Found by one of Solomon’s local guides, this proved to be the only one of this species that we saw. We had a rather mediocre box lunch on the Bushtrack, washed down with cold sodas and bananas. The Bushtrack itself did not disappoint, with great looks at a perched Brown Snake-Eagle and African Hawk-Eagle and an accommodating adult Bateleur than flew over the bus as we disembarked and then turned to pass directly overhead in great light. We also saw a Gray Kestrel, Red-necked Falcon, several Dark Chanting-Goshawks and Lizard Buzzards, and our first Vieillot’s Barbet. On a whim we snuck over the border into Senegal to visit a small waterhole near Seleti, where we saw a Long-crested Eagle and got scope looks at an Orange-cheeked Waxbill. We returned to the hotel by 19:00 with a cumulative trip list of more than 205 bird species.
Day 7, 3 November (Night at Kombo Beach Hotel): Our last day afield with Solomon began at Brufut Woods, a forest remnant that has been protected by the local grassroots conservation organization, the West African Bird Study Association. The birding was rather slow in the heat, but we did see Rufous-crowned Roller, Klaas’s Cuckoo, African Green Pigeon, Mottled Spinetail, Northern Crombec, Singing Cisticola, Red-winged Warbler, Splendid Sunbird, Variable Sunbird, Copper Sunbird, and several Vitelline Masked-Weavers in addition to the usual forest birds. Ed also saw a Green-headed Sunbird, a species that continued to elude Jeff and most of the others.
We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at the Paradise Inn near Tanji Village. Several of us saw a pair of Oriole Warblers, and anyone who tried could watch Red-billed Hornbills, Western Gray Plantain-eaters, and Long-tailed Glossy-Starlings that frolicked in the trees by the giant mango under which we dined. After lunch we birded the beach at Tanji Village, noting Eurasian Oystercatchers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Whimbrels, Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings, several Kelp Gulls, and lots of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Gray-headed Gulls. Caspian, Sandwich, and Royal terns also were seen well, as were a Giant Kingfisher and several White Wagtails. We returned to our hotel at 16:15 to give us plenty of time to pack for the ferry crossing from Banjul to the north bank at Barra the next morning. Our cumulative species total at day’s end stood at 215.
Day 8, 4 November (Night at Bird Safari Camp): Moving day, our first goal being a ferry crossing at the mouth of the River Gambia to Barra on the north bank and then a drive of some 250 km to Janjanbureh (formerly called Georgetown) and Bird Safari Camp, which would be our home for the next two nights. The ferry crossing went smoothly, for the most part. The bus crossed over the night before and was stored at the local police station in Barra. We loaded all of our bags onto a different bus and departed Kombo Beach Hotel at 06:30 for the drive to Banjul. There the bags were unloaded and tied to a hand-pulled cart under the watchful eyes of Aladdin, Dembo, and Sanna. Told that the cart would be wheeled aboard the ferry “no problem,” Jeff became concerned when a ferry official demanded the cart be unloaded for the crossing. A couple of strangers pitched in (for a price) and helped carry the bags onto the ferry, where they were piled on the back deck and guarded by Dembo and Sanna (a trainee bird guide who will be with us for the rest of the trip). They were tied onto a different cart at Barra and then loaded back onto our bus with nothing missing, miraculously. Chris Nixon lost 1,450 Dalasis (50 USD) to a pickpocket, likely in the rush to board the ferry, but he took it in good stride. Birding from the ferry produced three jaegers, at least two of which surely were Pomarines, and several Common Terns, in addition to the expected Gray-headed Gulls and Caspian Terns.
The north bank road is in relatively fine shape, enabling us to make the drive to Georgetown in good time, even with several birding stops along the way. Many fewer people live away from the coast, and the road passed through vast areas of sparsely settled agricultural areas and savanna woodlands with few villages. One of our first stops was at a small village between Barra and Farafenni, where Robin spotted some birds on a cement wall that turned out to be Chestnut-bellied Starlings, a species that has all but disappeared from The Gambia south of the river (Jeff had not seen one since 2001). In total we counted six different birds. Across the highway a Northern Anteater Chat sang from the top of a nearby hut (we saw several more anteater chats later in the day). We made brief stops for a Striped Kingfisher and several Red-rumped Swallows perched on roadside power lines and passed many Namaqua Doves, which are much more common here than on the south bank. Soon after we parked in a shady spot to eat our box lunches, a Grasshopper Buzzard soared overhead while several ardent photographers jockeyed for position to photograph an Abyssinian Roller perched in the scrub. Indeed, we saw dozens of Rufous-crowned and Abyssinian rollers as we drove east, and noted the relative scarcity of Blue-bellied Rollers.
The wetlands at Kau-ur have always been a reliable locale for new trip birds, and today was no exception. Soon after the bus parked on the shoulder, Jeff spotted an Egyptian Plover on the south side of the road. Ed was out the door in a flash and had taken multiple exposures of the bird before the last person was off the bus. In total, we found at least seven individuals of this highly prized species, which does not breed in The Gambia and has been extirpated from its namesake country of Egypt. The nearest known breeding occurs along the River Gambia in Senegal not too far east of where the river enters The Gambia. Many water birds were present, including Long-tailed Cormorant, Hamerkop, Gray Heron, Purple Heron, Squacco Heron, Little Egret, African Jacana, Spur-winged Lapwing, Wattled Lapwing, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, and more than 500 Collared Pratincoles! The roadside reeds supported several displaying Yellow-crowned Bishops in full breeding regalia, and a Black-faced Quailfinch allowed close approach as it fed along the roadside. Dembo spotted two Black-crowned Cranes far in the distance to the south, which nonetheless were easy to identify through a spotting scope.
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Egyptian Plover (E. Harper) |
Another highlight was the roadside waterhole at km 31 east of Farafenni. Known as “Solomon’s Waterhole” according to Dembo, this oasis in the drier Sudan-Guinea savanna usually attracts a constant stream of interesting birds. In less than an hour, we recorded Namaqua Dove, Black-billed Wood-Dove, Little Green Bee-eater, White-throated Bee-eater, Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Red-billed Quelea, Northern Red Bishop, Red-billed Firefinch, Red-cheeked Cordonbleu, Sahel Paradise-Whydah, Yellow-fronted Canary, and Cinnamon-breasted Bunting. Reluctantly, we left Solomon’s Waterhole to allow time for a visit to the nesting colony of Red-throated Bee-eaters near Wassu. The stop was fruitful, with great looks at dozens of Red-throated Bee-eaters as well as Double-spurred Francolin, Brown Snake-Eagle, Bruce’s Green-Pigeon, Cut-throat Finch, and White-rumped Seedeater. Nonbreeding Northern Carmine Bee-eaters also occur here, but none was present today. We left Wassu for the short ferry crossing to Janjanbureh and Bird Safari Camp, arriving at Bird Safari about 20 minutes after sundown. The road in was rough but easily passable, and the camp itself was clean and comfortable, with the evening buffet wonderful as always. African Scops-Owls were singing when we arrived, and Jeff saw one perched in front of his hut after dinner. Later that night, Robin heard a vocalization that surely was a Northern White-faced Owl.
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Girl with chicken (J. Marks) |
Day 9, 5 November (Night at Bird Safari Camp): Soon after first light, several Stone Partridges were running around the huts at Bird Safari Camp. A walk before breakfast produced a Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl that was seen well by only part of the group. Other species seen this morning included Bearded Barbet, Green Woodhoopoe, Broad-billed Roller, and Long-tailed Glossy-Starling. After breakfast we drove off the island to the south bank and then west through the villages of Fula Bantang and Brikama Ba to the Jahally rice fields, by which time the heat was oppressive. We stopped briefly in Fula Bantang to observe a nesting colony of Marabou Storks, and drove to what turned out to be a small rural cemetery beneath some large trees to look for a roosting Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, without success. The stop produced a rare White-headed Vulture, however, along with a good number of White-backed Vultures and a Booted Eagle. Continuing south we saw Wahlberg’s Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, and Dark Chanting-Goshawk. Targets at the rice fields were African Pygmy-Goose and Black Coucal. We lucked out by seeing eight pygmy-geese but no coucals. Other new birds in the marsh were Winding Cisticolas and Black-headed Weavers, and we also saw good numbers of White-faced Whistling-Ducks, African Jacanas, and Yellow-crowned Bishops. A Beaudoin’s Snake-Eagle was seen by a few at the marsh, and the entire bus saw a second one shortly after we returned to Janjanbureh for lunch. Also seen along the south bank road were two groups of Patas Monkeys, the world’s fastest primate. Several of us looked for the Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl after lunch, without success, although some of us saw an African Paradise-Flycatcher and a White-crowned Robin-chat. Later in the afternoon, several people elected to stay in camp, while others bussed into the village to bird some scrubby savanna past the Baobolon Lodge. Several Four-banded Sandgrouse provided the only new species for the trip, but we also saw Red-billed Queleas, Red-billed Firefinches, Black-rumped Waxbills, Village Indigobirds, and Pin-tailed Whydahs.
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Red-billed Firefinch (B. Martinka) |
Day 10, 6 November (Night at Tendaba Camp): We packed up the bus early in the morning and then boarded the Lady Hippo for a leisurely 4-hour cruise down the River Gambia to Kuntaur, where we would meet the bus for the drive to Tendaba Camp on the south bank. Owing to ferry trouble at Farafenni, we were forced to drive back to Janjanbureh from Kuntaur, and then cross on the bridge to the south bank. While at the Bird Safari Camp dock we saw several Hadada Ibises and a pair of Swamp Flycatchers. Soon after setting off downriver, we had great looks at Hamerkops, African Fish-Eagles, Palm-nut Vultures, and a Long-crested Eagle. Also seen were Spur-winged Geese, many Pied Kingfishers, Blue-breasted Kingfishers, a lone Gray-headed Kingfisher, and several colonies of Village Weavers, their nests hanging over the river. Western Red Colobus and Green Vervet monkeys hugged the shoreline trees, but the mammalian highlight was the collection of three adult Hippopotamuses that we saw in midstream, one accompanied by a baby. Despite near-constant vigilance for the African Finfoot, we failed to see that species.
Aladdin was waiting for us at the Kuntaur dock, and we loaded up for the eastward return trip to Janjanbureh and the south bank, first stopping at Wassu to search for the Northern Carmine Bee-eaters that had eluded us two days earlier. We lucked out this time, finding more than 100 of these gorgeous birds perched in the trees and sallying into the air to capture flying insects. Great scope looks were had by all. Leaving Wassu, we had a short trip to the ferry to Janjanbureh and then drove across the island to cross the bridge to the south bank for the westward trek to Tendaba. Stopping for lunch along the highway, we heard but did not see Pygmy Sunbirds and Bush Petronias. Another roadside stop produced several looks at a Spotted Thick-knee, and as we continued west we were lucky to see two different troops of Western Baboons (one with more than 100 individuals) and several troops of Patas monkeys, thus completing the grand slam of seeing all four of The Gambia’s diurnal primates in one day. We kept a constant eye out for raptors, failing to find a Martial Eagle but seeing good numbers of White-backed Vultures and a smattering of other species that included Brown Snake-Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier, Yellow-billed Kite, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Long-crested Eagle, Gray Kestrel, and Red-necked Falcon.
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Little Bee-eaters (B. Martinka) |
The road turned to rutted dirt at Soma, about 35 km east of Tendaba Camp. A brief stop at the Soma wetlands produced a single Egyptian Plover at the water’s edge along the road. Continuing on, we arrived at Tendaba Camp just before 6:00 p.m. Sadly, the camp had gone downhill. Tendaba has always been basic, and it is the only place to stay between the coast and Janjanbureh. Yet, it had not been kept up and accurately could be described as shabby. The setting along the River Gambia was lovely however, and the surrounding area was loaded with birds.
Day 11, 7 November (Night at Tendaba Camp): The morning tide was right for a pirogue trip across the river, and after a decidedly meager breakfast, we loaded up into the boat for the trip across the river. We were accompanied by local guide Wandi Touray, who is renowned for his extraordinary skill at spotting birds hidden in the mangroves. As we entered Kisi Bolon directly across the river from Tendaba Camp, we heard a Mangrove (Mouse-brown) Sunbird but did not get more than a fleeting glimpse of it. We also heard a couple of African Blue Flycatchers that were seen well only by the Jeff and the local guides. We did see many waterbirds, including Spur-winged Goose, Yellow-billed Stork (distant soaring birds), Wooly-necked Stork, Great Cormorant, African Darter, Pink-backed Pelican, Goliath Heron, Striated Heron, Hamerkop, Sacred Ibis, and African Spoonbill. Wandi spotted a seldom-seen White-crested Tiger-Heron deep in the mangroves, but it disappeared before anyone else got a definitive look at it. He also found a roosting African Scops-Owl that the rest of us saw only after much difficulty. This sighting made a believer out of anyone who may have doubted Wandi’s skill at spotting well-concealed birds! Other birds included a wide variety of shorebird, kingfisher, and roller species seen previously and Swallow-tailed, Blue-cheeked, and European bee-eaters.
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Goliath Heron (E. Harper) |
We returned to Tendaba for lunch, which took nearly 1.5 hours to arrive, a fact that did nothing to improve our outlook on the running of the camp. To make matters worse, it became clear that bottled water was in short supply, although Jeff was assured that more water would arrive soon. On the bright side, the supply of cold beer seemed in no danger of disappearing. After lunch, part of our group elected to visit the Batelling Bush Track along the edge of Kiang West National Park, an area of mostly unspoiled savanna forest. We first stopped at the Tendaba “airport” to glass for ground-hornbills and waterbirds near the lake. We got great looks at several White-crested Helmetshrikes and a Bush Petronia but saw no hornbills. Aladdin dropped us off on the bush track and continued on to a village 30 km distant to buy bottled water. We saw a nice variety of savanna birds here, including Black Scimitarbill, Senegal Eremomela, African Yellow White-eye, Vitelline Masked-Weaver, Lavender Waxbill, Pin-tailed Whydah, Yellow-fronted Canary, and Brown-rumped Bunting. We also saw more than half a dozen Yellow-billed Oxpeckers riding some penned-up cattle on the way to the bush track. After a buffet of fish, chicken, and rice, we boarded the bus for a short night drive along Tendaba’s access road, hoping to see owls and nightjars. We ended up with a good view of a female Standard-winged Nightjar but saw nothing else.
Day 12, 8 November (Night at Kombo Beach Hotel): Several of us were treated to great looks at a Bronze-tailed Starling during breakfast. Shortly after 7:30 a.m., we left Tendaba Camp for a longer visit to Kiang West National Park and the Batelling Bush Track than we had yesterday. Woodpeckers continued to be in short supply in the bush, but we had decent looks at African Cuckoo, Striped Kingfisher, Green Woodhoopoe, Black Scimitarbill, Vieillot’s Barbet, Senegal Batis, Brubru, White-shouldered Black Tit, Yellow Penduline Tit, Senegal Eremomela, Pygmy Sunbird, Variable Sunbird, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, Bush Petronia, Vitelline Masked-Weaver, Lavender Waxbill, Exclamatory Paradise-Whydah, Yellow-fronted Canary, and Brown-rumped Bunting. Raptors were overhead almost constantly, including White-backed Vulture, Beaudouin’s Snake-Eagle, Bateleur, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Booted Eagle, and African Hawk-Eagle. On the drive out from the bush track, we saw several more Yellow-billed Oxpeckers and then emerged onto the main road to the coast. We made few stops en route, one of which was for a Rüppell’s Griffon that was quite high in the air by the time others got out of the bus to look at it. Drive-by sightings included three different troops of Patas Monkeys, African Harrier-Hawk, Lizard Buzzard, Grasshopper Buzzard, and Gray Kestrel. We stopped for a decent lunch where the road crosses Bintang Bolon at Kilagi. Several of us got scope views of a perched Dark Chanting Goshawk and Levaillant’s Cuckoo, and Little Swifts were constantly in view from the nearby nesting colony under the Kilagi Bridge. After lunch we drove directly back to the Kombo Beach Hotel. We did not stop for a Lanner flying along the road, which no doubt would have been gone before we could have pulled over to watch it. (Fortunately, we saw two more the next day at Cape Point.) We arrived before 5:00 p.m. and had plenty of time to check in at the hotel, shower, and unpack. Miraculously, no one needed to change rooms this time around!
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Spur-winged Lapwing (E. Harper) |
Day 13, 9 November (Night at Kombo Beach Hotel): After consulting with Dembo, we decided to start the morning at Faraba Forest, hoping to see the rare Brown-necked Parrot. Carolyn got a nice look at a Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike, but the bird would not cooperate for anyone else. At 09:05, Dembo shouted “Brown-necked Parrots coming,” and a moment later a flock of 10 flew right over us in beautiful light. Next we returned to Farasutu Forest on the news that local guide Baba had found a pair of Grayish Eagle-Owls that had been seen daily for nearly a week. After much effort, we got the scopes homed in on a bird roosting deep in a tall mango tree. We saw five cuckoo species before heading back to the hotel for lunch: Senegal Coucal, Levaillant’s Cuckoo, Klaas’s Cuckoo, Dideric Cuckoo, and African Cuckoo. After lunch we visited the craft market at Bakau, and then Aladdin dropped some of us off at the Cape Point wetlands and took the remainder back to the hotel. At Cape Point we saw one Lanner Falcon on a mudflat eating a bird it had captured, while another one streaked by at high speed in pursuit of a Speckled Pigeon. After walking to the beach to glass the ocean, Jeff spotted a couple of distant jaegers (probably Pomarines), and we also saw Eurasian Oystercatchers, Common Ringed Plovers, Bar-tailed Godwits, Eurasian Curlews, Common Redshanks, Common Greenshanks, and a Slender-billed Gull on the beach and surrounding inland wetlands.
Day 14, 10 November (Night at Kombo Beach Hotel): Our last full day in The Gambia began with a visit to the Tanji Bird Reserve, where we walked thought the savanna forest in pursuit of new birds. We heard but did not see Sulphur-bellied Bushshrike and got great looks at African Green-Pigeons, Violet Turaco, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Fork-tailed Drongo, and Melodious Warbler. Moving to the beach at Tanji Village, we again saw lots of waterbirds that included good numbers of Gray-headed Gulls, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns, and Caspian Terns and a smattering of Kelp Gulls. A single Black-headed Gull was new for the trip. We also saw two color-marked Lesser Black-backed Gulls: one had been banded as a nestling in the Netherlands in 1996, and the other had been banded as an adult in Spain in 2007. Both birds had been seen in previous winters according to the sources that provided information to Jeff. Lunch at Paradise Inn again was a big hit with wonderful food and cold beer. For the afternoon we decided to revisit the Bund Road area, but a traffic jam caused by the approach of President Jammeh’s motorcade forced us to turn back, and we hastily decided to revisit the nearby wetlands at Cape Point. Highlights there included three Slender-billed Gulls, more than 60 Common Ringed Plovers, and a Woodchat Shrike, which was new for the trip.
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Banded Lesser Black-backed Gull (B. Martinka) |
Day 15, 11 November (Return to London): We took several group photos at Kombo Beach Hotel after breakfast, and then some of us walked with Solomon and Dembo to the Kotu Bridg. After more than 10 minutes of trying, we obtained good looks at an Oriole Warbler and also had great views of two Northern Crombecs, a Subalpine Warbler, and a Little Weaver, the latter a new bird for the trip. Hooded Vultures and Yellow-billed Kites soared overhead, as did African Palm-Swifts, Little Swifts, and Red-chested Swallows. We were loaded up and on the way to the airport at 13:45, spotting a Black-shouldered Kite, Lizard Buzzard, and Levaillant’s Cuckoo on the drive in, each perched on a roadside power line. The flight to London-Gatwick departed on time at 17:30, and we arrived at Gatwick by 23:00 and spent the night at the Gainsborough Lodge near the airport. Owing to a schedule change instigated by Delta Airlines, several of us had to bus to London-Heathrow the following day for the return flight to the U.S.
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Yellow-billed Kite (B. Martinka) |