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Senegal and Gambia 14.12.2000 – 11.1.2001
Juha Honkala (writer) & Veronica Limnell
Address: Erkontie 4, 04400 Järvenpää, Finland
E-mail: juha.honkala@nic.fi
Report of the birdwatching trip in Senegal and The Gambia 14.12.2000 – 11.1.2001 by public transport.
Introduction
After consulting various tripreports our group (Veronica Limnell and the writer Juha Honkala) made a decision to use public transport during the Senegambian trip. Reason for that was mainly lack of sufficient amount of money, as we had learnt that hiring a car in these countries would be quite expensive. By using public transport one needs more travelling days to cover same area than when using own car. Travelling by minibuses can be very slow at times and one is not able to stop the car when spotting birds in roadsides. Especially that can be very frustrating! Generally it was possible to reach most destinations by minibus, but sometimes it was more convenient to have a taxi. For more details to travel in both countries we recommend to obtain a copy of Lonely Planets travel guide for the area.
For Senegal there wasn’t much choice when choosing trip-reports, so we obtained them all. For The Gambia we chose only one from the internet, as we didn’t know if we are going there at all.
The currency used in Senegal is Central African Franc (CFA), one French franc is 100 CFA. French franc is also valid currency virtually everywhere In Senegal. In The Gambia the currency is dalasi. One dalasi is about half a french franc. In The Gambia CFA was widely accepted. We recommend to change as much your travellers cheques to local currency in one time as you dare, as we wasted hours and hours in various banks. Only in St. Louis moneychanging wasn’t a big issue. In The Gambia it is also possible to change money and even travel cheques in the street (= black market). In Georgetown one shopkeeper changed CFAs to dalasis. In generally we noticed that when changing money in the street (or in the shop) we got better rate and wasted less time.
We used mostly low budget accommodation and that was usually fine enough. In many places we had even hot water. Names of the hotels are mentioned in itinerary. In Niokola Koba nights were surprisingly cold and we really missed our sleepingbags.
Travelling was mostly easy, though we had some communication problems as we don’t speak much french. We strongly recommend to get a french phrasebook if your french is poor. We didn’t have any safety or health problems and just one minor stomachupset. (did we really spend a month in Africa?)
One thing we missed were sound recordings as we have found them very useful in other countries. If they are available it would be wise to get a set.
Of four weeks on the road some time was devoted for birdwatching. Many nice birds was seen, but for some unknown reason a few common species managed to avoid us. There is only one solution: we have to go back! We are sure it would be v-e-r-y fun to go to Casamance and continue to Mali and Burkina Faso and Benin and Niger and Chad... Originally we planned to go to Casamance (in southwestern Senegal), but time was limited and also we heard some bad rumours of armed robberies. Anyway, peace negotiations were going on, so maybe in near future it is again really safe to travel all around Casamance.
References used:
A brief summary of our travel-dates and the most important sites:
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Itinerary
14.12.
Arrived Dakar in the evening.
Airport was very crowded and looked confusing. Fortunately our Senegalese friend met us and drove us to suburbs of Dakar. Not even a single bird seen.
15.12.
Dakar - St. Louis.
Met friends and local people in suburbian area. In late afternoon we took a taxi from Dakar to St. Louis for 300 FF. Took 3,5 hours. We got a room from Auberge de Jeunesse (mentioned in Lonely Planet) which was clean and nice but near mosque. Staff speaks english and there is hot water in shower.
Birds: Palm-nut Vulture, Pied Crow, Ring-necked Parakeet.
16.12.
St. Louis.
9.00 - 12.00 am in the shore watching seabirds. Not much happening: Great White Pelican 1, Red Knot 5, Grey-headed Gull 150, Brown-headed Gull 10, Royal Tern 3, Sandwich tern 100, Pomarine Skua 1. Lots of people in the beach, fishermen and -women, and kids of course, so if going there you are likely to get many new friends.
In the city in the afternoon we saw Speckled Pigeon 20, Laughing Dove 30, African Palm Swift 1, Little Swift 500, Common Bulbul 10, Garden warbler 1. Not an exciting bird day, but we enjoyed the atmosphere of the city and little by little settled down. In the evening we met a guy in the street who organized a taxi to Djoudj. After some negotiation the price dropped to 15000 CFA (=150 FF). There are no minibuses to Djoudj. To get a taxi is no problem, they are everywhere, a minor problem is to find a taxidriver with whom you have common language.
17.12.
St. Louis – Djoudj.
When having a breakfast in the hotel we met two british travellers who wanted to share a taxi to Djoudj with us which was fine as the payment dropped to half. Reached Djoudj National Park at 11.00 am. Distance from St. Louis about 60-70 km. It is possible to find the park if driving yourself as it is well signposted on the mainroad which goes to Richard Toll. From the main road it is still some 20-30 km to Djoudj and the road is not all the way well signposted, so you might have to ask some advice on the road. Environs of that dirt road looked very interesting and there is probably lots to see. In Djoudj we checked the price of expensive hotel (Hostellerie du Djoudj) and then went to parkgate where we impressed our urge to stay at the biological station (Campement du Djoudj). The station is situated just besides the main entrance. We got a private cabin for 6000 CFA/person. There are no proper shops in Djoudj but one can eat at the biological station where they serve meals at 7 am, 1 pm and 7-8 pm (food was excellent). It is also possible to eat at the hotel. Soft drinks and waterbottles are available in both places. We birded around the biological station 11.30 am - 1.00 pm and 3 pm - 7 pm. Didn’t go inside the park as the surroudings where interesting enough. Some 60 species were seen, among them were: Pink-backed pelican 1, Great White Pelican 250, African Darter, Black Egret 20, White-faced Whistling Duck 60, Black Crake, Senegal Thick-knee 30, Kittlitz’s Plover 1, African Mourning Dove 40, Blue-naped Mousebird 20, Olivaceous Warbler 10, Subalpine Warbler 8, Tawny-flanked Prinia 5, Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling 8, Long-tailed Glossy Starling 8.
18.12.
National park of Djoudj.
7.40 am - 11.30 am we walked 1 km south from HQ to the village which is beside the main road when coming to park. We walked very slowly and watched the birdlife in the reedbeds and slightly wooded areas around the village. There is a small shop in the village where one can buy coca-cola, but not much else.
Afternoon was spent beyond the hotel in the wooded area. Beyond that there is bush and after that open plain. We walked eastwards some two km to the open plain and returned when it got dark. Tried to locate Stendard-winged Nightjar, but no success. Long-tailed Nightjar was common in the woods, we flushed 5-6. Also they came to park compound in the evening, where we saw and heard 2-3 birds. Some 80 species were seen today. Among them were: Greater Flamingo 120, Montagu’s Harrier 1, Collared Pratincole 200, Senegal Coucal 6, Blue-naped Mousebird 6, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater 30, Grey Woodpecker 3, Wryneck 1, Black Scrub Robin 1, Winding Cisticola 6, Rufous Cisticola 1, Sudan Golden Sparrow 30, Zebra Waxbill 3.
Raptors were scarce: some Ospreys and Marsh Harriers were seen but not much else.
19.12.
National park of Djoudj.
7.40 am - 12.30 pm by bicycle in the park. We paid the fee at the gate and rode to Grand Lac and stayed in the watchtower for quite a long. From the HQ to the Grand Lac it is about 4 km. We rented flashy mountain-bikes from the hotel for 5000 CFA/day, which is quite a lot! It took some time to hit the road, as the tyres were empty and no-one had a pump. Eventually one of the workers had to give up and we got a mountain-bike he had just used. He wasn’t too happy. Anyway, the morning was great and so was the afternoon.
After the lunch in biological station we rode back to the park and tried to find a Small Lake. Well, we found one lake, but were never sure if it really was a Small Lake. There was also a watchtower and enough to watch. The place is a paradise for both birds and birdwatchers! (I mean whole Djoudj is a paradise!). The amount of birds is just unbeliavable. Some estimates says that some 3 million birds overwinter in Djoudj area.
Besides the birds we saw lots of warthogs, 2 jackals and in the Grand Lacs watchtower there was a huge boa in the grassroof. Veronica noticed the snake’s movement after we had been in the tower one hour. It was something, a magnificent stranglersnake half a meter from your neck. It seemed that snake was reluctant to strangle us, so we decided to stay. Soon after that a beautiful male Arabian Bustard passed the tower. That was totally unexpected as we had thought that Bustards are very rare and in practice impossible to see. Nothing is impossible, it seems. During the day we saw some 90 species, among them were: Black Stork 6, Spoonbill 150, African Spoonbill 4, Yellow-billed Stork 60, Spur-winged Goose 4, Black-crowned Crane 2, African Fish Eagle 2, Marsh Harrier 25, Osprey 15, Pallid Harrier 1, Arabian Bustard 1, African Jacana 4, Kittlitz’s Plover 3, Marsh Sandpiper 20, Slender-billed Gull 1, Namaqua Dove 7, Jack Snipe 1, Long-tailed Nightjar 3, Malachite Kingfisher 6, Rufous Scrub Robin 1, Stonechat 1, Southern Grey Shrike 1, Sudan Golden Sparrow 5.
20.12.
Djoudj – St.Louis.
Morning hours were spent around the HQ. At 10 am we left Djoudj. Park’s chief gave us a free ride to St. Louis. No new species today. For some reason we stayed rest of the day in St. Louis. It would have been more clever to continue straight to next destination. Also it could have been wise to spend one more day in the park and rent bike to get further. Veronica had strained her knee just before the trip and was not able to more biking so we made our decision. One species we probably overlooked in Djoudj was African Collared Dove. We didn’t see species neither elsewhere as we didn’t visit desert area.
21.12.
St. Louis – Thies.
By minibus to Thies, 4 hours, costed 2100 CFA/person. Soon after St. Louis there were 6 Rueppels Griffon Vultures on the main road, only birds we were going to see! Arrived to Thies in the afternoon and took a doubleroom from Hotel-Bar Rex. We made a stroll in the city and watched birds in small park (Olivaceous Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Red-cheeked Cordon-Bleus) but were pested by local kids. There is goodlooking scrubarea northeast of railroad (Lonely Planets map) which we noted when leaving the city.
22.12.
Thies – Foundiougne.
Yesterday afternoon was spent trying to figure out where to go next, as trip-reports didn’t give many options. We wanted to visit River Saloum-area but the accommodation looked very expensive in many places and we didn’t know how good those areas would be for birdwatching. We decided to take a risk and go to Foundiougne. We didn’t have any knowledge of the birds or places in the area but we were lucky and quite soon noticed that it was really good area and well worth a couple of days visit. From Thies to Kaolack by bushtaxi (Peugeot 504) 2500 CFA/person. From Kaolack immediately to Foundiougne by minibus 700 CFA/person. Foundiougne "bus-station" is some 1-2 km out of the city. We were offered a donkeycart-ride to our choice of accommodation Campement du Baobab for few hundred CFAs. The place is also known as Chez Ann-Marie. Most of the accommodation is in the same area and many of these are owned by foreigners. Our choice was the cheapest, very quiet and friendly and punctual (breakfast was always ready at 6.50 am). We paid 8000 CFA/double after some bargaining. The owner (Ann-Marie) was satisfied when noticed we were going to stay few days.
Foundiougne is a small town (or a big village) with many shops. It is a peaceful place with slow traffic. Saloum-river is still at least 1,5 km wide and high and low tides are recognizeable. There is not much mangroves in riversides though. Landscape is flat, mostly there is only low bushes and large areas of grass. Villages are surrounded by woods. It doesn’t sound too exciting but we saw 85-90 species/day and many of them were good species which we didn’t see afterwards elsewhere. It is probably possible to organize a rivertrip, but we didn’t see any reason for that, as we didn’t know if there is any larger mangroves or creeks around. There is ferry which crosses Saloum-river. Timetable is in the Lonely Planet and also in ferryjet. It costs 100 CFA to across. It was really worthwhile to visit another side of river also as you can read further.
In the late afternoon we walked to south and out of the village to the edge of open plain. We saw some birds of interest: Great Flamingo 5, Hooded Vulture 1, African Fish Eagle 1, Senegal Thick-knee 10, Kittlitz’s Plover 1, Senegal Parrot 1, Abyssinian Roller 15, Bearded Barbet 2, White-rumped Seedeater 3, Grey-headed Sparrows, Village Indigobird 1, Cut-throat Finch 15.
23.12.
Foundiougne, 7.20 - 12.30 and 15.05 - 18.05.
Morning was spent in open plain south of Foundiougne. We walked slowly to next village which is visible from Foundiougne. The village is some 2,5 km away from Foundiougne. It is surrounded by woods. On the western/northwestern side of this village was a waterpool which attracted many birds. The pool is in the middle of bushes and not clearly visible far away so to find it is better to walk slowly around, however it is not further than 100 m from the village. Surroundings of this village were very productive.
Afternoon hours were spent in the eastern side of Foundiougne. Our route followed River Saloum upstreams some 1 km and as we didn’t want to wade across the small stream we turned back to Foundiougne direction and birded bushy and wooded area in eastern limits of the town.
90 species were seen, including: Saddle-billed Stork 1, Sacred Ibis 1, African Hawk-eagle 1, African Swallow-tailed Kite 7, Double-spurred Francolin 6, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse 22, Slender-billed Gull 25, Little Tern 1, Piapiac 10, Rufous-crowned Roller 2, Senegal Parrot 11, Western Grey Plantain-eater 2, Red-billed Hornbill 8, Bearded Barbet 1, Chestnut-backed Sparrow-lark 4, Mosque Swallow 10, Red-chested Swallow 5, Tree Pipit 1, Singing Cisticola 2-3, Sudan Golden Sparrow 4, White-rumped Seedeater 15, Northern Red Bishop 40, Yellow-crowned Bishop 10, Little Weaver 2, Cut-throat Finch 10, Quail-Finch 2, Red-headed Quelea 40.
24.12.
Foundiougne, 7.20 - 13.00 and 16.00 - 19.20.
In the morning by ferry across the river. We explored the moor (not much to see) and then bushy area and area with some trees in both sides of main road. There is also some cultivation and small freshwaterpools about 100-200 m west of the main road. A singing Green-winged Pytilia was in the dry area (west from the main road) where there are only small bushes here and there and not much else. A male White-bellied Bustard was east of the main road in the area which is little bit damp here and there and which is covered with low bushes. Distance to main road some 100-300 m and to ferrydock about 1,5 km. The Bustard was flushed either by some grasscutting villager or by us. It flew low some 100 m and dropped behind the trees. We didn’t go after as we didn’t want to scare it more. According the guidebook the habitat is suitable for the species. Surroundings looked also quite peaceful, so the bird might be resident?
Afternoon was again spent west of Foundiougne in open plateau. During the day we noted 83 species, among them where: African Spoonbill 16, Yellow-billed Stork 1, Black-shouldered Kite 2, African Swallow-tailed Kite 2, Montagu’s Harrier 15 (including 1 ad male dark morph individual. First we thought it must be kind of melanistic bird but after consulting Dick Forsman’s Raptors-book we were glad to learn about this form). Pallid Harrier 1, African Harrier-Hawk 1, Peregrine Falcon 1, Lesser Kestrel 6, Double-spurred Francolin 8, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse 50, White-bellied Bustard 1 male, Wattled Plover 1, African Grey Hornbill 10, Tawny Pipit 1, Green-backed Eremomela 4, Senegal Batis 1, Village Weaver 30, Green-winged Pytilia 1.
25.12.
Foundiougne – Kaolack – Tambacounda.
It took 10 hours to reach Tambacounda (2 flat tyres and one broken minibus for some other reason) The cost of this adventurous journey was 4500 CFA/person. We got a room from Chez Dessert in Tambacounda for 6000 CFA/double. One more no-birding day.
26.12.
Tambacounda – Dar Salam, Niokolo Koba.
The morning was wasted in two ways: first we wanted to visit Niokolo Koba National Park’s office for some unknown reason. Walked up there and then back to city being as wise as we were before the visit. Then few hours in the bank where we met two western tourists with whom we decided to get a taxi to Dar Salam which is situated in the entrance of Niokolo Koba National Park. Checked out of the hotel and got the ancient Peugeot 504 taxi for 10000 CFA to Dar Salam. In Dar Salam we took a hut from Dar-Salam Campement which is just beside the entrance gate to the national park. The price of hut was 3000 CFA/person. Meals and cold drinks are available. There is no proper shop in Dar Salam so for some supplies it is better to do shopping in Tambacounda. It would have been wise of us to carry lots of waterbottles and food to Niokolo Koba, as meals there are quite expensive and not available at times when hunger strikes. Reason to stay in Dar Salam for one night was the erroneous information we got from the Lonely Planet as we learnt that it is not allowed to walk around Niokolo Koba without the guide – so we decided to stay near the park and watch birds just by ourselves first. (and we weren’t impressed of thought to hire a frenchspeaking guide or to get a two hours jeepsafari).
Birding around Dar Salam was good. The landscape is dominated by well wooded savanna which is cultivated under the trees here and there. Main crops are cotton and groundnut. Bushes and grass are burnt almost everywhere which amazed us. Anyway, there was quite a lot to see in the afternoon hours. Behind the campement were couple of fruiting trees which attracted starlings, sunbirds, sparrows etc. We walked on the footpaths in the "forest" for about one km and noted one feeding flock which included Red-headed Weavers. Among other birds were: Brown Snake Eagle 1, Shikra 1, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse 2, Black-headed Plover 4, Mottled Spinetail 4, Green Wood Hoopoe 10, Northern Carmine Bee-eater 1, Brown-backed Woodpecker 1, African Golden Oriole 1, Pygmy Sunbird 1, Grey-headed Bush-shrike 1, Lesser Blue-eared Glossy Starling 5, Purple Glossy Starling 20, White-billed Buffalo-weaver 50, Red-headed Weaver 2.
27.12.
Dar Salam - Simenti, Niokolo Koba.
In the morning we went to the entrance gate and paid the park-fee for two days. Then we started to wait for transportation to Simenti (=headquarters). Some touristcars passed by, but they were full. After one hour came pick up with some local guys who charged us 15000 CFAs to Simenti (we were still a group of four). That sounded quite heavy because the guys were going to Simenti anyway. We decided to pay because we wanted to get in the park as soon as possible. It was dusty and bumpy road, roadsides were burnt even inside the park. We were told it is just because it is easier to see wildlife when grass doesn’t prevent view! Well, there was deer and antilopes and warthogs and apes and monkeys and baboons. On the road car broke down for a half an hour. Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird was seen and heard, and learnt also, continuous "pink pink pink...".
In Simenti we had the cheapest accommodation, which was also the worst of the entire trip: a very basic hut with two bunks with dirty mattress and no bedclothes. All this for 7000 CFA/double. In nighttime it got pretty cold even though we had almost every piece of cloth on we had and couple of sheets on top. Hotel itself was loaded with packagetourists. Somehow we felt we are lower cast people... From the hotel-restaurants terrace it is really nice view over the river, over the sandbanks and over Egyptian Plovers... Around midday we visited "mirador" = a hide, which is situated in the corner of the open marshy area just 2 min walk away from hotels reception desk. It is really nice place to spend couple of hours and scan around. In the afternoon we organized a boattrip. That cost us 3500 CFA/person. Boatman drove first someway downstreams and then back and someway upstreams and then back -the trip lasted 1h 40 min instead of two hours. Birds we saw during the boattrip and not elsewhere were Swamp Flycatcher and Grey-headed Kingfisher. Other birds from the boat: Black-headed Herons, more Egyptian Plovers, one more African Pied Wagtail, African Harrier-hawk, Woodland Kingfisher, White-crested Helmet-shrike.
All together 60 species-day. Other birds around the hotel: Hamerkop 1, Striated Heron 1, Black Crowned Crane 4, Spur-winged Goose 50, Hadada Ibis 2, Palm-nut Vulture 1, Bateleur 4, Brown Snake Eagle 2, Grasshopper Buzzard 1, Helmeted Guineafowl 11, White-crowned Plover 3-4 (seen from the restaurant, in sandbank), Black-billed Wood-dove 4, Broad-billed Roller 15, Blue-bellied Roller 2, Red-throated Bee-eater 20, White-crowned Robin-chat 1, Lavender Waxbill 1.
28.12.
Simenti, Niokolo Koba 7.40 - 10.30 Nature Trail, 11.30 - 13.15 same Mirador as yesterday, 15.00 - 18.10 walking to airport and back.
Nature Trail starts from the Mirador and makes a circle, it is quite short trail actually, but it took some time when trying to see all the vocal birds.
In midday the wind rose and as we still had huge holes in our raptorsection, so we thouhgt it would be wise to stay again in mirador with scope and see if there is anything in the air... There was!
In the afternoon I went to guides cabin in the entrance gate and asked the situation of the airport. I still thought they won’t let us go there alone, but I got instructions for the right way and no-one showed any interest to join us. It is 40 min walk to the airstrip which is a strange, quiet place. I was hoping to see Asian Ground Hornbills, Forbes’s Plovers and Sunlark but with these species we dipped. For latter two I’m sure there wasn’t any around. From the forest we heard sounds which we thought was Asian Ground Hornbill’s voice, but as we didn’t have soundrecordings...
Mammals: 2 Hippos seen in the river and lots of smaller animals.
Birds: 78 species, among them: Woolly-necked Stork 2, Black Crowned Crane 4, Spur-winged Goose 50, Hadada Ibis 2, White-backed Vulture 2, African Harrier-hawk 2, African Hawk Eagle 1, Martial Eagle 2, Booted Eagle 2, Bateleur 2, Brown Snake Eagle 2, Western Banded Snake Eagle 2, Grasshopper Buzzard 2, Shikra 2, African Hobby 1, Grey Kestrel 1, Stone Partridge 5, Double-spurred Francolin 1, Helmeted Guineafowl 30, Four-banded Sandgrouse 4, African Jacana 70, Egyptian Plover 2, Temminck’s Courser 3 (airstrip), Black-headed Plover 10, White-crowned Plover 1, Red-eyed Dove 3, Broad-billed Roller 30, Blue-bellied Roller 2, Red-throated Bee-eater 40, Red-shouldered Cuckoo-shrike 1 (nature-trail), Melodious Warbler 3, African Paradise Flycatcher 1, Bush Petronia 6 (airstrip), Orange-cheeked Waxbill 1.
29.12.
Simenti – Dar Salam, Niokolo Koba
We couldn’t arrange transportation to Camp du Lion (all the park’s cars were away till afternoon) and we didn’t want to stay in Simenti longer, so we decided to leave the park. We got a lift in back of the pick-up to Dar Salam where we met a belgian/gambian family going next day to The Gambia. They offered us a ride. So, we stayed one more day in Dar Salams campement and birded again in surroundings. In Dar Salam we were out birding 10.00 – 12.00 on the main road which leads to Kedogou and 15.30 – 19.20 again in the bush behind the campement. In dusk two owls were heard. For these we had sound recordings.
Birds seen and heard: Bateleur 2-3, Shikra 3, Double-spurred Francolin 20, White-faced Scops Owl 1, Pearl-spotted Owlet 1, Bearded Barbet 3, Whistling Cisticola 3, White-shouldered Black Tit 1, Redstart 3, Pied Flycatcher 1, Black-crowned Tchagra 2, Exclamatory Paradise Wydah 4.
30.12.
Dar Salam - Basse, The Gambia
The family met yesterday came punctually at 9 am and pick us up and to The Gambia we went. In the morning we noted a few nice birds in the campements backyard: Gabar Goshawk 1, Shikra 1, Lanner Falcon 1, African Golden Oriole 2, Grey-headed Bush-shrike 2, Sulphur-breasted Bush-shrike 2, Village Indigobird 15.
Formalities in customs went through quickly in Senegal side, but The Gambian side was like a bad joke. The officer was smartlooking young guy but full of shit. He read our passports for a very long time, asking stupid questions. Then he didn’t have a tourist stamp and of course he wanted our luggage to be checked. When he didn’t find anything suspicious he had let us to The Gambia. Soon we were in Basse. There we headed straight to Immigration office and got our passports stamped properly. Lunch at the Traditions. Delicious sandwiches we got and nice view overlooking River Gambia. Lots of raptors in the air. We were recommended a new hotel which is situated in opposite bank of the river. We went there, Fulladu Campement is the name of the place. They asked 360 D/night for double which is quite a lot, we managed to drop it to 200 D/double. It was a beautiful place, very clean and new, but there wasn’t electricity in the evening and it was difficult to get a shower. It is probably more convenient (and also cheaper) to stay in the city and avoid the rivercrossings.
Afternoon hours were spent in the eastern side of the city. If you pass Traditions and keep going for hundred meters you will find a cheap hotel which is not in the guidebook. Soon after that city turns to countryside and almost immediatly you are in middle of quite nice birding. We were tired, it was hot and flies were biting, so we were kind of powerless. Some birds were seen anyway, 60 species, among them: White-faced Whistling Duck 70, Hooded Vulture 100, Tawny Eagle 2, Black-shouldered Kite 1, Shikra 1, Stone Partridge 1, Senegal Thick-knee 2, White-crowned Plover 6, Red-throated Bee-eater 40, Yellow-billed Oxpecker 3, Black-rumped Waxbill 30.
31.12.
Basse – Georgetown
North bank of River Gambia 6.50 – 7.50, nothing important identified. Then in terrace of Traditions 8.55 – 9.45 having breakfast and watching Egyptian Plovers and Giant Kingfisher coming and going.(we didn’t see them yesterday). Later on we noticed we didn’t see any species in Basse which we didn’t see elsewhere. From Basse we headed to Georgetown. The journey was shortish and fast by minibus. In midday we jumped off the minibus in the Georgetown ferrydock. (Georgetown lies on the islands northern bank) There we were approached by extremely talkative gambian hassler who drove us nuts. I was about to bunch him in the face... The guy followed us to Georgetown (there happened to be a governments pick up which is free for all, so we all jumped in the back of the pick up and drove two km to the city of Georgetown). To get rid of the sleazy guy we took the room from the guesthouse he was recommending us. That was totally against our principles! Later on we came to see that it was a really big mistake to stay in Alakabung Lodge. The price was 80 D/person. In the heat of the afternoon we walked around the city, were pested hard by local kids and didn’t see much. Returned to lodge and ordered meal. It took two hours to get it ready. Little by little I started to miss Senegal...
In Lonely Planet’s guidebook Baobolong Camp is mentioned. The camp has been run by local birders, so we decided to pay a visit there and see if we would get some birding information for the area as we didn’t know where to go and what to do. In Baobolong Camp we met a local birder Lawrence Bangura (originally he is from Sierra Leone) and he seemed to be an enthusiastic birder and really nice guy (not pushy at all). We talked a lot and as we were interested in nightbirds we went out with him. Lawrence had a cassetteplayer and selfmade tapes to lure owls out. We walked eastwards from Baobolong camp for some 2 km. The area is a mixture of pastures, cultivation and woods. The walk wasn’t very productive: Pearl-spotted Owlet 2, Long-tailed Nightjar 1. By the way, Lawrence Bangura is the guy who found Adamawa Turtle Dove. These shy birds are still around Georgetown feeding in rice fields with Turtle Doves. We didn’t see them, but we didn’t ask straight enough where to find them. I guess with hiring Lawrence as a guide we could have had better chance. But, generally, we don’t hire guides.
Birds of the day in Georgetown: Marabou Stork 5, Palm-nut Vulture 1, Hooded Vulture 50, White-backed Vulture 5, Tawny Eagle 2, Brown Snake Eagle 1, Grey Kestrel 1, Red-necked Falcon 2 (Basse), Four-banded Sandgrouse 6, Egyptian Plover 2 (Basse), Pearl-spotted Owlet 1(Basse) 4 (Georgetown), Long-tailed Nightjar 1 (Basse), 1 (Georgetown), Giant Kingfisher 1 (Basse), Northern Carmine Bee-eater 1, Red-throated Bee-eater 25, White-crowned Robin-chat 1.
Lawrence Bangura, Baobolong Camp, Jangjangbureh Town, Central River Division, The Gambia. Tel: 220-676133
1.1.
Georgetown 7.10 - 13.30 and 17 - 19.30.
Owners of the hotel were partying over midnight so we didn’t sleep much. When the party was over and it got silent, owls were audible. They moved around the town and were very vocal. (Lawrence had mentioned that darker the night, more vocal they are. Full moon is not good at all.) In the morning we walked through the silent town westwards and towards Birdsafari Camp, some 3 km away and well signposted. Small road goes through wooded and cultivated land, with many footpaths to the riverbank. We walked slowly and tried to pick Adamawa Turtle Dove out of passing Eurpean Turtle Dove flocks. There was almost constant stream of Turtle Doves going westwards. (We figured that they had been feeding in the ricefields somewhere and were now going to their daytime-roost). Reached Birdsafari Camp 9.15 where we had breakfast. We discussed with workers but it seemed that those guys didn’t know too much of birds. After breakfast we went to Birdsafari Camps boat-jetty. There were already many raptors in the sky – we stayed there at least 2,5 hours and it was very productive, indeed.
In late afternoon hours we were again in same area than yesterday, east of the town, trying hard to find Standard-winged Nightjar, but no luck.
85 species seen, including: Hamerkop 4, Black-headed Heron 2, Goliath Heron 1, Marabou Stork 8, Yellow-billed Stork 20, White-faced Whistling Duck 50, Knob-billed Duck 5, European Griffon Vulture 3, White-backed Vulture 5, African Harrier-hawk 2, African Fish Eagle 4, Wahlberg’s Eagle 1, African Hawk-eagle 1, Long-crested Eagle 1, Brown Snake Eagle 1, Western Banded Snake Eagle 1, Short-toed Eagle 1, Dark Chanting Goshawk 1, Gabar Goshawk 3, Shikra 5, Lanner Falcon 1, Grey Kestrel 3-4, Four-banded Sandgrouse 8, European Turtle Dove 1000, Bruce’s Green Pigeon 2, Pearl-spotted Owlet 5, African Scops Owl 2+2, White-faced Scops Owl 2, Long-tailed Nightjar 1, Giant Kingfisher 1, White-crowned Robin-chat 4, Olivaceous Warbler 2, Melodious Warbler 1, Yellow-crowned Gonolek 10, Northern Red Bishop 500.
2.1.
Georgetown – Serrekunda.
Owners of the hotel had partied almost through the night. Lots of loud music. Sometimes it is nice to party, sometimes it is nice to watch birds but the basic thing is the possibility to make your own choice. Before leaving Georgetown we went to the riverbank and noted Pearl-spotted Owlet 1, Woodland Kingfisher 1. We walked 2 km to southern bank’s ferryjet and crossed the river. Giant Kingfisher 1 was seen. There were many minibuses going to Serrekunda-direction, but one guy told that big, fast bus is just coming and it is better for us to wait for that. After one hour waiting that fast bus hasn’t materialized and minibuses were gone and probably far away... We jumped to the next minibus, which brought us to Soma. We changed some travel cheques in the bus-station (good rate again) and continued to Serrekunda. From Serrekunda bus-station we took a taxi to Sukuta-camping which is few kms away from the city. Sukuta-camping felt like an oasis! It felt really good to get there, and have a nice meal in relaxed atmosphere. (In Lonely Planet there is more about the place).
During the night White-faced Scops Owl 1 was calling in Sukuta-camping.
3.1.
Abuko Nature Reserve 8.35 - 16.00.
We didn’t get up early enough, as it took 1h 10 min to get to Abuko from Sukuta. From Sukuta we took a minibus to Serrekunda bus station and from there a minibus which goes to Brikama. Those minibuses are easy to find as the bus attendants shout the name of the destination. The minibus dropped us just in front of the Abuko main entrance. Minibusfare was just a couple of dalasis. The entrance fee to reserve was 31,50 D and we didn’t get a ticket. We tried to demand them to avoid possible future conflict and also because the money is needed for conservation, not for the welfare of the ticket seller. Anyway – Abuko is a really great place (I got 19 lifers) and although birding is little bit slow in times, it can be really rewarding too. We made a whole circle with extension area too.
66 species were seen, among them were: African Goshawk 1 (ext. area), Yellowbill 1 ad. (ext. area, in thicket, not far away from high ironwatchtower) , Blue-spotted Wood-dove 3, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater 1, Violet Turaco 7, Green Turaco 1, African Pied Hornbill 2, Fanti Saw-wing 2, Bearded Barbet 1, Grey Woodpecker 1, Yellow-throated Leaflove 1, Little Greenbul 2, Snowy-capped Robin-chat 6, Green Crombec 1, Yellow-breasted Apalis 3, Common Wattle-eye 10, African Paradise Flycatcher 5, Red-billed Paradise Flycatcher 2, Northern Puffback 1, Copper Sunbird 1, Black-necked Weaver 40.
In Sukuta: White-faced Scops Owl 2 heard in the night.
4.1.
Abuko – Tanji Bird Reserve
7.20 - 11.00 Abuko. We woke up a little bit earlier and got to Abuko 7.20. Officially the reserve opens at 8 am, but day before we had noted a sign which said that keen birdwatchers are welcome at 6.30. Well, there we were and the gate was locked... After waiting for 15 min a guy woke up in the ticketbooth (!) and sold us proper tickets. Yesterdays birding in Abuko was such a joy, that we wanted to keep going on.
Some birds we didn’t seen the day before were seen: Black Crake 4, one more Yellowbill 1 ad ( there is a bench nearby the sign no: 90, we sat on the bench quietly for 15 min. and watched inside the bush, and there it was), Verreaux Eagle-owl 2 ( Bamboo Pool Resthouse, a pair have a nest in top of a high palmtree. When coming down the stairs from the showroom/resthouse you are looking at the right direction. The owls were disturbed by Pied Crows) Giant Kingfisher 2, Blue-breasted Kingfisher 1, Melodious Warbler 1, Green Turaco 2, Buff-spotted Woodpecker 2, Grey-headed Bristlebill 4, White-crested Helmet-Shrike 5, Collared Sunbird 1.
It was again easy to get a minibusride from Abuko to Serrekunda and continue to Sukuta-camping with another minibus. Minibuses which goes to Bijilo or Tanji passes the camping. Don’t take Sukuta minibus as Sukuta itself is three km away.
In the afternoon we tried to go to Tanji from Sukuta. All the Tanji –going minibuses will pass Sukuta-camping, but they are also full! We stood an hour in the sunshine and then took a minibus to Serrekunda and changed to Tanji minibus. On the road to Tanji we passed the HQ of the bird reserve. It is some 2-3 km before coming to Tanji. We settled at Nyanya Beach Camp. The hut was quite basic and breakfast was included to the price (I don’t remember the price). Tanji itself is a large village with many shops and friendly athmosphere. In the evening we didn’t see anything remarkable.
5.1.
Tanji Bird Reserve – Serrekunda. 7.10 - 12.30 and 14.00 - 14.45
Breakfast didn’t materialize... somehow I knew it. The guy didn’t have anything to serve, so we made an agreement to get a breakfast when back from the reserve.
Nyanya Beach Camp is almost in reserve already, reserve starts from the other side of Tanji river. So, when walking on the main road you are in reserve. There is lot of bush to explore, also open sandy areas and beach lagoons and mangrove in the banks of Tanji-river. A good spot to watch seabirds was some 500 m from Tanji-river to HQ direction. There was a sign "no cars" (or something like that). From that sign a small footpath leads to the lookout-point in the middle of bush. Seabirds were very near, roosting in the sandbar. And there was a Kelp Gull.
It took some time to reach HQ. Birding from the main road wasn’t too good. HQ looked empty, but from the bush came a guy. The fee was paid. I asked about White-fronted Plovers but the guy didn’t answer the question. Well, the birds are there if they are and if they are, we will see... this is, more or less our way to do the thing, anyway...
From the HQ the foodpath goes to thick forest which was very silent. After a while the path divides. There is a white ironpole in the crossroads. Lefthand path leads to dead end. Righthand path leads to seashore and to bush and to lagoon. By wading across the lagoon the sanddunes are reached. No rare plovers were there neither. Surroundings of lagoon were interesting: Oriole Warblers singing and Crimson-headed Woodpecker digging a nesthole.
After crossing lagoon it is possible to walk through the bush back to Tanji-village.
In the heat of the afternoon we made a short walk to mangroves. Not much was seen there. Later we travelled back to Sukuta-camping for one more night.
Birds of today: 68 species, among them were: Hamerkop 1, Sacred Ibis 1, Lizard Buzzard 2, Kelp Gull 1 ad, Common Tern 3, Yellow-legged Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull 60 (one of them was ringed, later we came to know the bird was ringed as an fledgling in Lancashire, UK. The ringer had ringed some 8300 Lesser Black-backeds and this bird was the most distant.) Caspian Tern 30, Royal Tern 50, Lesser Crested Tern 1, Senegal Coucal 25, Violet Turaco 1, Wire-tailed Swallow 1, Variable Sunbird 15, Bronze-tailed Glossy Starling 4, Yellow-backed Weaver 30.
6.1.
Bijilo Forest Park – Bund Road, Banjul.
We hired bikes from Sukuta-camping to reach Bijilo Forest Park. Well, the morning was dark and the tyre was empty. No pump nearby. We decided to walk as a lady in Sukuta-camping had told us it is only 3 km away. Well, it took us 1h 10 min to get in the park. It was probably 5 km walk. In Bijilo 8.25 - 11.00.
We walked most of the trails. In generally it was quiet place, but few nice birds were seen: Lizard Buzzard 2, Grey Kestrel 1, Stone Partridge 4, Piapiac 10, Little Bee-eater 20, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater 3, White-throated Bee-eater 2, Fine-spotted Woodpecker 1, Splendid Sunbird 3.
In the afternoon we moved to Banjul. We settled in Abbey Guesthouse, 120 D/double, including breakfast. We walked to Bund Road which is only 1 km away. It is a big area, so we were able to cover only a small part of it.
Some birds of interest were seen: Great Spotted Cuckoo 1, Malachite Kingfisher 1, Red-chested Swallow 10, Reed Warbler 1( it would be nice to know how to sort out African Reed Warblers, it must be possible!)
7.1.
Banjul – Karang, Senegal.
Quite a day. In the morning we hurried to ferry dock. Waited for ferry for 2 hours. Ferry was really crowded. By minibus to the Gambian border where the officer told us we are not likely to enter Senegal today as there is an election day. That amazed us – we didn’t want to go back to Banjul as it has already took lot of time to get on the border. We drove over no-mans land in the back of the donkey-cart. The border was full of people, most of them already sitting on the ground... Officers in the customs told us to go to nearby police-station. A policeman spoke english and confirmed what we already knew. We were not going to enter Senegal before midnight. Whole country was closed. We met some europeans who had a flight in the afternoon. They were told that all flights were cancelled. We sat down in the shade and had a rest. In the afternoon we left our luggage in some small shop and walked through the fields for 1 or 2 km. (16.00 - 18.30) (This small village on the border is Karang).
Some birds were seen, including: Short-toed Eagle 1, Grasshopper Buzzard 1, Dark Chanting Goshawk 1, Shikra 2, Grey Kestrel 1, Four-banded Sandgrouse 1, Whinchat 1, Northern Anteater Chat 15, Yellow-fronted Canary 10.
8.1.
Karang – Dakar.
Before the midnight minibuses were loaded, the border opened and very quickly we were heading to Dakar. Arrived there about 6.00. We took a room in Hotel Continental, which was clean and had hot water. It is also very conveniently situated. No birding-day.
9.1.
Dakar.
A tourist-day. Visited Ile de Goree. No birds around, even the sea was almost empty, just one Northern Gannet passed by.
10.1.
Ile de N’Gor, Dakar. Seawatching 9.15 - 11.47 and 14.20 - 15.10
We took a minibus from city to village of N’Gor. Minibus stop/terminus is shown in the map of Lonely Planet-guide. Ile de N’Gor is in northern Dakar just by the road which goes to the airport. If coming from the city by minibus or by own car turn left where there is new modern Shell gas-station. There is a big sandybrown hotel just by the beach from where the boats goes to an island. Return-ticket for the boat 500 CFA. The hotel is a good landmark, from the hotel go westwards for 200 m and you will find the boats. There is also accommodation in island and many restaurants.
According to reports in ABC-bulletin and Birding World-magazine Ile de N’Gor is a great place to watch seabirds in spring and autumn. We didn’t see anything really exciting, but the birds we saw passed quite near. It must be really fine to be there in right time of year.
Birds seen: Northern Gannet 295 S (total), Pomarine Skua 13 S (total), Skua sp 22 S (total), Shoveler 28 N, Audouin’s Gull 3 N, Yellow-legged Gull 1 S, Sandwich Tern 700 N, Royal Tern 40 N, Whiskered Tern 1 S.
11.1.
Malika Lake, in the afternoon. Malika Lake is a small marshy lake in suburbian area of Dakar. It is situated in the village of Malika. The place is shown in the map of Lonely Planet. I don’t know how to get there as our friend drove us there. We had only 40 min time to be there and had no chance to explore it properly. There is also Lac Rose nearby which we didn’t visit.
Birds seen in Malika: Little Grebe 300, Cattle Egret 150, Black-winged Stilt 200, Green Sandpiper 30, Marsh Sandpiper 10, Ruff 150, Little Stint 100, Common Moorhen 1, Brown-headed Gull 100, Slender-billed Gull 10, Crested Lark 3, Yellow Wagtail 20.
Systematic list of the observed birds in Senegal and The Gambia