Trip
Report: The Gambia, November 1-8, 1998
Gruff
Dodd, 2 Clos Tawe, Barri, Bro Morgannwg, Cymru/Wales; Gruff@doddg.freeserve.co.uk
Introduction
and Strategy
The
trip was planned as a short winter break and an introduction to tropical African
birds. My only previous trips to Africa were to Ethiopia in February 1998 and
Morocco in September/October 1994. I am hoping to make more African trips in the
future, and saw The Gambia as a perfect introduction, not only to the birds but
also to the complications and difficulties of African birding, in a relatively
easy environment. In this respect, the trip worked out perfectly.
The
first decision I had to make was whether or not to visit some up-country sites,
or stick to the coastal areas. I was particularly tempted by a trip to Basse for
Egyptian Plover. In the end, though, I decided to restrict this trip to the
coastal areas, and the furthest site to which I ventured was Pirang (about 1
hour inland). This decision was made for 4 reasons:
In
retrospect, I believe that I made the right decision. Due to the weather
conditions (see below), I generally restricted my birding to between dawn at 7am
and c.12pm, rested in the afternoon, and went out again from c.4pm until dusk at 7pm There are so many good sites in the immediate vicinity of
the tourist areas that I was only able to visit most sites once. I would have
liked to do several more trips to Abuko, but time just didn’t allow it. I
didn’t manage to visit some sites such as Tanji, Bijilo, Bund Road etc at all.
I
am sure that if I had gone up-country, it would have turned into a very
frustrating and uncomfortable trip, with a high percentage of time wasted in
travelling. Besides, The Gambia was such a wonderful birding destination that I
am certain to visit again, and will try to cover the up-country areas on
subsequent trips!
Despite
restricting my itinerary so much, and the relaxed pace of the birding, I still
managed to see 180 species in a week, including 92 lifers. As an indication to
the first-time African visitor, if I had not previously visited Ethiopia, my
total number of lifers would have been 129.
Please
also note that, largely due to the extreme heat, I didn’t make any effort to
see a few special birds which I had seen previously, for example Black-crowned
Crane and Verreaux’s Eagle Owl. Sites for both seemed to be readily available,
but I just didn’t have the energy. I am sure that a really keen birder
prepared to bird throughout the day, or one with more aptitude for birding than
me could easily produce a list well in excess of 200 birds even in the limited
geographical area that I covered.
The
timing of the trip was largely governed by work. Work commitments ruled out a
trip between mid November and mid February, so early November was just about the
only option. This again seemed to work out very well, however. November is the
breeding season for many African species, so there was plenty of birdsong and
other activity. More importantly, many of the more difficult birds, such as
sunbirds, weavers, bishops, whydahs, widowbirds etc were in full glorious
breeding plumage, which makes life a lot easier and more pleasant!
I
believe that The Gambia is a particularly suitable destination for someone like
myself with a non-birding partner. Sara was able to spend her time around the
pool, or on excursions organised by the tour company and the local nature of the
birding meant that we were still able to meet up several times during the day.
It
is important to emphasise at this point that The Gambia is not a typical tourist
destination. Anyone expecting resort areas such as might be found in Greece or
Spain is in for a shock! I believe that there are only some 15 hotels in the
main tourist area, and outside the immediate vicinity of these, you are plunged
into what is a typical third world African country, with all the attendant
poverty and hand to mouth living. The culture shock may be significant. However,
this allows you to sample a fascinatingly different way of life, while at the
same time enabling an occasional retreat into the relevant luxury of your hotel.
As seems to be almost universally the case, the poorer the people you meet, the
more friendly and hospitable they are, and The Gambia was certainly no
exception.
Logistics
and costs
We
booked our holiday through The Gambia Experience (Tel. 01703 730888), who I
believe are the first company to offer weekend departures to that country. We
stayed for one week on a Bed and Breakfast basis at the Bakotu Hotel in Kotu
Beach. The holiday cost £369 per head, plus a £15 Sunday supplement.
The
flight was with Sabre Airlines from London Gatwick to Banjul, although we
actually returned on an Air 2000 flight. Both flights were 6 hours in duration,
and very comfortable with in flight entertainment throughout. On the way out, we
did have a little hassle with the weight of our hand baggage – this was
apparently restricted to 5 kg. I customarily pack my hand baggage with all the
(heavy) birding essentials – scope, binoculars, books etc, and have never had
any problems with this before. The problem seemed to be more about the
individual weight of bags, (in case one fell on someone’s head) – if we had
carried some items on our persons, we would have had no trouble at all. However,
after a little arguing, we were allowed to take them on board!
The
outward flight was originally scheduled for 9am Sunday 1.11.98. We were
notified shortly before hand that it had been moved to 10:30am, but when we
arrived at Gatwick we learned that the flight had been delayed due to a
technical fault, eventually departing at 1pm, arriving in Banjul at 7pm This unfortunately meant that it was dark when we arrived, losing us a few
hours birding on the first evening – pretty frustrating!
The
return flight left Banjul at 4:15pm on Sunday 8.11.98, arriving back in
Gatwick at 10:15pm As well as the Sunday Gatwick flight, The Gambia
Experience also offers Friday departures from Gatwick and Manchester.
Incidentally,
please note that during the winter The Gambia uses Greenwich Mean Time, so there
is no time difference between there and the U.K. – I don’t know about the
summer.
We
parked our car at Park’n’Save (01293 772244) at Salbrook Road, Redhill near
Crawley at a very reasonable £3 per day, including efficient courtesy coach
transfer to Gatwick Airport.
Insurance
was organised through General Accident (now CGU – Tel 0800 121007) at a cost
of £29.38 per person. I have consistently found them to offer very reasonable
travel insurance.
Bird
Guides, Hustlers and Hassle
One
of the first decisions you will need to make is whether or not to hire a bird
guide. I decided to do so for 3 reasons:
I
also believe that it is important, wherever possible, to ensure that local
people make money out of birding, as this is more likely to translate into
concern abut the local environment. Visiting an area is not always enough –
most tourists will tend to spend the vast majority of their spending money in
and around resort areas, and the people living in or adjacent to the better
birding spots often derive no benefit whatsoever from this. However, by
employing a guide, you are putting money directly into the pockets of real
people.
But
it does not necessarily stop there. My guide told me that in The Gambia the
guides contribute every year to a fund used to pay villagers at two sites (Brufut
and Faraba Banta) to keep clear paths running through the woods, in order that
the guides and visiting birders can gain access to some of the more interesting
areas. Thus, two sets of villagers, living on a very meagre income, benefit
directly each year as a result of bird tourism. No prizes for guessing what this
is likely to do to their attitudes towards birds and wildlife in general!
From
the great deal of help and advice offered by various Ebnetters, I was concerned
about the apparent wide variation in quality and cost between guides, and also a
little unsure about how to go about hiring one. I was reluctant to contact one
of the many recommended guides in advance, as I was fairly sure that this would
make me appear too eager, with a resulting dramatic increase in the prices
charged.
Many
correspondents suggested that the best way to find a guide was to wait in the
vicinity of the lower Kotu Bridge, and wait until I was approached. I therefore
decided to wait until I got there and, armed with a list of recommended guides,
went out in search of one on my first morning.
The
guide I was primarily seeking was one called Seedy Saidy, who had been warmly
recommended to me by several correspondents as being reasonably priced, very
knowledgeable and a very nice bloke as well.
In
the event, practically the first person I met on leaving the hotel was Seedy’s
brother Gib Saidy. After a quick chat I decided to hire him for the morning, and
quickly decided to appoint him for the whole week. I would like to recommend Gib
most warmly to anyone considering hiring a guide. Not only was he very
reasonably priced, and found me a lot of good birds, but he was also one of the
nicest blokes you could ever hope to meet. Also he insisted on carrying my scope
and tripod throughout which, given the extreme heat, quickly became a necessity
rather than a luxury!
Gib
has been a bird guide for some 3 years, and has a pretty good knowledge of the
local area and birds. He found me the majority of the specials that I was after,
including some real skulkers.
His
brother Siaka (also a really nice guy) is a taxi driver, and the combined rates
for guiding and transport was extremely reasonable. As an example of this, the
standard rate for a return taxi trip (without a guide) to Abuko, including some
2 hours waiting is around £20. With Gib, a 4 hours guided visit, with taxi,
cost me just £25.
In
truth, he made a few ID errors, but as I insist on confirming all ID’s myself
in any case, this never mattered. It was actually much more enjoyable discussing
the finer ID points with someone than just being lectured. I am sure that there
are more experienced and knowledgeable guides operating in the area (I met a
few), but I tended to find them a little arrogant and at times almost seemed to
find the job a chore. In contrast, Gib was an absolute pleasure to be with, and
clearly just loves birding. He invited myself and my wife back to his home for
dinner one night, and introduced us to the whole family. It is no exaggeration
to say that in a very short space of time he turned from being a guide to being
a friend, and birding with him was just great fun throughout.
Gib
can be contacted at P.O. Box 2239, Serekunda, The Gambia (Tel +220 370031). Say
hello from me!
Once
you are with a guide, you certainly tend to get left alone by the more annoying
elements of Gambian society. I must emphasise that the large majority of
Gambians I met were genuinely friendly and hospitable, and were very keen to
welcome you to their country, wanting nothing in return. However, inevitably,
you will encounter many hustlers, especially immediately outside the hotels.
Most of these are taxi drivers looking for business, as well as beggars, bird
guides and people trying to sell you things including, on one occasion, hashish
(speaking in a very loud voice soon got rid of him!). Just be firm and state
that you have already organised transport, guiding etc, and they will soon leave
you alone. If possible, keep walking purposefully, and try not to stop. At a
push, one tactic I found very effective was to suggest a possible future
interest, and ask for a business card – this seems to keep them happy. I have
to confess that I rather enjoyed the daily banter on leaving the hotel – it
was almost all in very good humour!
The
quality of bird guides varies very considerably. It appears that new guides are
appearing very regularly, and many know very little about the birds. Try and
pick one with a name tag, and test him on some of the commoner but difficult
birds, such as waders, weavers etc.
I
did meet one pair of birders who had a great deal of difficulty with one
particularly persistent bird guide. Despite repeated requests for him to go
away, he insisted on following him around for a whole morning, and then demanded
payment at the end. He didn’t get any! It is a particular shame because the
guide in question was a quite superb birder, but unfortunately has a bad
reputation for hassling and ripping off visiting birders, so he is generally
shunned by the rest of the guides.
Accommodation
We
stayed at the Bakotu Hotel in Kotu Beach. Most hotels in The Gambia occur in two
clusters, around Kololi (Holiday Beach Club, Kairaba and Senegambia), which is
handy for Bijilo, and within walking distance of the Kotu area, and around Kotu
itself (Palma Rima, Badala Park, Kombo Beach, Bakotu, Bungalow Beach, and Fajara).
Further up the coast towards Bakau are the African Village and Sunwing hotels,
while on the outskirts of the capital Banjul are the Palm Grove and the
Atlantic.
We
chose the Bakotu for a combination of price and location – it backs onto Kotu
Creek and the Fajara Golf Course, and is very near the Casino Cycle Track area.
The
room at the Bakotu was very pleasant, as were the grounds of the hotel. The only
drawback to the hotel was the lack of air conditioning which, in the weather
conditions we experienced, would have been a real blessing. We hired a fan from
hotel reception at a cost of £10 per week, and this just about kept us sane,
but if I went back I would definitely pay the extra for air conditioning.
The
staff at the hotel were wonderful, and always asked me what birds I had seen!
Also the exchange rate offered by the hotel’s reception was among the best I
saw (see Money).
One
thing to bear in mind is that The Gambia experiences frequent power cuts,
usually of a very short duration. Most nights the power in the hotel would
suddenly cut out, and then start up again after a few minutes. This was not a
major inconvenience, except that the fan would stop!
Food
Food
in the Gambia was a real eye opener. We ate every night at Sir William’s
Restaurant which was part of the Bakotu Hotel. The food there was exceptionally
good, and very reasonably priced - a normal meal for two with drinks averaged
between £14 and £18. Gib invited us to his house one night and cooked us Beef
Domada (a peanut-butter based sauce) which was fantastic.
We also ate occasional snacks from street vendors, and these were again very tasty, as well as extremely cheap – breakfast for 3 for about £1.
Red tape
You
will need a full passport to visit The Gambia, but UK passport holders do not
need a visa. You will be required to complete a form on entering and leaving the
country.
Formalities
at the airport were pretty relaxed, although the Customs staff at Banjul on
departing did try to extract some cash out of us "to buy some cold
drinks". There was a veiled threat that my bag might be searched rather
thoroughly if I didn’t oblige, but I pleaded poverty and they didn’t pursue
the matter. I have also heard of bags being broken into and robbed on the way
home, but no personal experience of this.
While
driving around The Gambia we regularly encountered police checkpoints, but we
were invariably waved through them. I left my passport in the hotel throughout,
but I did hear of someone who was asked to produce it at a routine stop near
Basse in the extreme east of the country, so it might not be a bad idea to keep
it on your person.
Telephone
The
easiest way to make calls seems to be using the Gamtel offices you will see in
most towns. You can buy a card, or just call, and settle with the cashier at the
end. There is a Gamtel office directly opposite the Bakotu Hotel in Kotu Beach.
The Gambia has direct international dialling, and making calls home was very
straightforward.
If
you call the UK, you need to dial 00 44, followed by the UK STD code and number,
leaving off the first 0 in the STD code. If you call from a Gamtel office, you
should dial 0 00 44.
Transport
Self-drive
car hire seems to be very scarce in The Gambia, with none of the large
international companies (Hertz, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Europcar etc) represented
to the best of my knowledge. I believe that there are some local hire companies,
but the cars they rent apparently tend towards the ancient.
In
truth, the standard of the roads was quite acceptable, certainly no worse than
some I have seen in Turkey, Morocco, Israel etc. I would have no hesitation in
driving myself from this point of view. I have heard many adverse comments about
the quality of local driving, but again I didn’t see anything worse than
Turkey or Morocco, and any regular London driver would find it a doddle!
However,
there are two very significant drawbacks to self-drive. The most noticeable was
the almost complete absence of road signs in most of the areas I visited. Most
routes from the Kotu Beach area will take you through Serekunda, which as the
largest settlement in The Gambia is a real maze, with no signing at all. Of
course, with a guide this would be less of a problem, but they seem to be able
to secure such attractive prices for taxis that self-drive ceases to be
attractive.
The
other main problem is the condition of the cars. Most are very old and battered
and breakdowns, punctures etc must be regular occurrences. I suspect that under
such circumstances, the level of backup support is likely to be very poor or
even non-existent. Insurance may also be a problem. Finally, I have also heard
that the penalty for driving offences can be harsh, often including
imprisonment!
Being
cynical, I suspect that the lack of self-drive car hire is the result of
official discouragement, as this might damage the very lucrative local taxi
trade. Given the above, however, I cannot recommend it.
The
most often recommended mode of transport is by bush taxi, or "tankatank".
These highly variable vehicles are yellow, with two green stripes, and are
absolutely everywhere. They operate fixed routes, and are supposedly very cheap.
However, they do not always like to stop for tourists, and while it may not be
too hard to get to some of the better sites, such as Abuko, Brufut, Pirang etc,
their remoteness means that getting home may be much trickier.
I
didn’t actually use bush taxis myself, as Gib’s brother was a tourist taxi
driver, and Gib got me some exceptional rates. Tourist taxis usually tend
towards the expensive (£20 for a half-hour drive to Abuko), but they may be
acceptable if part of a group. Their advantage is that for a price they will
take you anywhere you want to go, and wait for you until you are ready to
return.
Money
The
Gambian currency is the Dalasi (D), divided into 100 Bututs. The exchange rate
during the time of my visit was quite variable. The Hotel Bakotu was offering £1
to D17.80, compared to just D16.50 next door in the Bungalow Beach Hotel. The
foreign currency office across the road was offering D17.85. I changed most of
my money at the Bakotu, and consequently I have used the rate of D17.80
throughout this report.
Visa,
Mastercard etc seems to becoming quite widely accepted in the tourist resorts
themselves, e.g. at Sir William’s Restaurant, but there was little evidence of
acceptability outside these areas. Travellers’ cheques do not appear to be
widely used.
It
really isn’t worth changing money into Dalasis before you arrive in The Gambia
– even if you can find any, the rate will be far inferior to anything you can
get out there. I decided to take my currency as sterling cash, which I left in a
safe deposit box at the hotel, and changed into Dalasis as the need arose.
However sterling, even pound coins, were very widely accepted, including taxis,
shops etc, and some people actually preferred them. Interestingly, the rate
offered by e.g. the local supermarket at Kotu Beach and the tourist shop at
Banjul airport were very similar to those offered by the foreign exchange
bureaux – I normally expect to get ripped off in such places.
Weather
conditions
One
slight drawback to my trip was the weather, which was extremely hot (apparently
45oC (113oF) on our first day!). Even the local Gambians
were complaining, claiming that it is not usually that hot at that time of year.
Just my luck to arrive in Africa during a heatwave! Typically it is a relatively
cool 35oC (95oF) in November! What made it worse was
that it was also quite humid, which made any extended exercise quite unpleasant.
Practically,
what this meant was that I found I had no appetite for birding during the period
from about 12 pm to 4 pm, most of which time I spent under a cold shower! It
also meant that bird activity died down dramatically after around 11 am, and
birds were really quite hard to find after that time, until later in the
afternoon when it cooled down somewhat.
The
good news is that it very rarely rains at that time of year. The Gambia has a
relatively short rainy season, usually around July – August. On our last two
days it was a little overcast, but never looked like rain.
Health
No
vaccinations are compulsory, but as it is a tropical third world country, we
decided not to take chances. We were inoculated for tetanus, typhoid, polio,
hepatitis ‘A’ and yellow fever before going. I had also previously been
inoculated for meningitis and diphtheria, but would otherwise have got these
too, just in case.
Malaria
also occurs, so take tablets – our doctor prescribed a mixture of mefloquine
and chloroquine, although I have heard of others recommending larium – check
with your doctor before you travel. One of our party who had not taken tablets
was taken ill with suspected malaria during our trip!
Having
said that, I was very pleasantly surprised by the lack of mosquitoes. I was very
lax in my precautions against being bitten, and still only got bitten four or
five times. Even the wetland areas such as Kotu Creek and Pirang were no problem at
all.
I
did manage to pick up a few ticks, mainly in the scrub around the casino Cycle
Track. They took a bit of getting rid of (even applying a lighted match had
little effect!) so check yourself regularly. I also came home sporting various
other assorted insect bites, including ants etc.
Inevitably,
I suffered a slight attack of stomach upset towards the end of the trip, though
it was very mild, and caused no problems at all. As usual, take sensible
precautions – avoid ice in drinks and ice cream, don’t eat salads or any
fruits with edible skins, make sure that any beef, pork etc is well cooked, and
so forth.
References
Books
·
A
Birdwatchers’ Guide to The Gambia
(Rod Ward) – worth getting for the maps and detailed systematic lists alone.
Good intro to the main sites.
·
A Field
Guide to the Birds of The Gambia and Senegal
(Barlow, Wacher and Disley) - I
thought this was an excellent field guide – one of the best I have used. I found the plates very accurate, and the supporting text was
very informative. Try using the old
West Africa guide after this!
Trip
reports
·
Birding in
The Gambia, 2 - 23 January 1985 – Steve Whitehouse (obtained from Steve
Whitehouse, Foreign Bird Reports and Information Service)
·
The
Gambia, 17 – 24 November 1997 – Allen Chartier (obtained from Urs Geiser’s
web site http://www.xnet.com/~ugeiser/Birds/TripReports/TripReports.html
– brilliant site – check it out!)
·
The Gambia,
9 – 16 January 1998 – Liz Watson (obtained directly from Liz)
·
The Gambia,
7 – 10 April 1990 and 28 February – 7 March 1997 – Nicola Duckworth
(obtained directly from Nicola)
Maps
Apparently
a really good map of The Gambia and Southern Senegal can be purchased locally,
but I didn’t bother because I was being guided throughout.
I
haven’t drawn any maps in this report. The ones in the Ward book, and those in
Steve Whitehouse’s report are excellent, and better than anything I could
produce.
Itinerary
Sites
visited were as follows:
|
2.11.98 |
7am –
12:30pm – Kotu Creek and ponds, Casino Cycle Track, Fajara
Golf Course 5pm –
7pm – Kotu Creek, Casino Cycle Track |
|
3.11.98 |
7:30am –
12:30pm – Abuko 5pm –
7pm – Fajara Golf Course |
|
4.11.98 |
7am –
1pm – Brufut Woods and Bridge 4pm –
5pm – Fajara Golf Course 5pm –
7pm – Yundum |
|
5.11.98 |
7:30am –
1pm – Pirang 1pm –
2pm – Faraba Banta 4pm –
7pm – Bakau, Cape Creek |
|
6.11.98 |
7am –
4:15pm – Barra and Essau |
|
7.11.98 |
7am –
1pm – Brufut Woods and Bridge 4:30pm –
7pm – Kotu Creek and ponds, Casino Cycle Track |
|
8.11.98 |
7am –
12pm – Kotu Creek and ponds, Casino Cycle Track, Fajara
Golf Course |
Acknowledgements
Special
thanks firstly to Gib and Siaka Saidy for their invaluable contribution to a
great holiday. Also to fellow EBN subscriber and correspondent Ken Hermann whose
Gambian holiday overlapped mine by a day and a half, and who is still enjoying
the birds there while I write this at home. Good to bird with you Ken!
As
usual, members of both EBN and Birdchat proved an absolute goldmine of
information, and provided assistance with the usual level of generosity – what
an outstanding resource you really are. Many thanks to Nicola Duckworth and Liz
Watson for providing me with copies of their trip reports, and to Bevan
Craddock, Chris Carpenter, Christine Tarski, Jan-Joost Bouwman, Ed Blaas, John
Norton, Kay Bullen, Ken Tucker, Lawrie Phipps, Matt Toronto, Mikko Seppanen, Sue
Bryan, Phil Bryant, Richard Ranft, Risto Juvaste, Roy Hargreaves, Sean Scanlon,
Tina Macdonald, Tom Clarke, Tony Todd, Urs Geiser and Wilken Agster for all
their tips and advice – quite invaluable. I really hope that I haven’t left
anyone out, but if I have, sorry and thank you.
Finally,
thanks to my wife Sara for putting up with yet another totally bird orientated
holiday – sooner or later, Sara, you’ll eventually start birding yourself!
Daily
account
Sunday,
1 November
Left
Gatwick at 10pm (2.5 hours late). Arrived in Banjul airport (actually at
Yundum) at 7pm just as it was going dark. It was already incredibly hot
even at that time! We met our courier and were transported by coach back to our
hotel (half an hour in transit). We ate dinner at Sir William’s – D400 (£22.47).
Having been up since 6am, we had an early night, ready for an early start the
next day.
Monday,
2 November
Up
at 6:15am and out at dawn at 7am. Immediately bumped into Gib Saidy and
hired him.
We
headed down to lower Kotu Bridge, and took a track northward through some rice
fields along the south side of the creek. This whole area provided an excellent
introduction to the commoner birds, such as doves, weavers, waders, Pied
Kingfisher, egrets etc. The better birds included three Bearded
Barbets, the only two Northern Crombecs of the trip, great views of a
Gymnogene foraging in a colony
of White-billed Buffalo Weavers, two Shikras,
Beautiful Sunbird, very close views
of three Little Bee-eaters, and two Palm-nut Vultures
close overhead.
We
then took a short cut to the adjacent Kotu Sewage Ponds. Highlights here
included a Black-billed Wood Dove on the path, a flock of
White-faced Whistling Duck, Marsh
Sandpiper, Lesser Blue-eared Glossy Starling and
Fork-tailed Drongo.
We
came out on the Kotu – Serekunda road, turned right back to the Lower Bridge,
and took a path downstream on the south side of the creek. This quickly produced
several Green Woodhoopoes, a Senegal
Coucal, two more Bearded Barbets, and a
Wire-tailed Swallow. The path continued until it met a laterite path leading
down to a beach bar. We turned left along this path, until it reached the cycle
track that leads from the Palma Rima Hotel in the southwest to the Bakotu Hotel
in the northeast, and on to the Fajara Hotel where it meets the road to Bakau.
We
followed the cycle track westwards towards the Palma Rima, birding the scrub
along the way. This produced a Lizard Buzzard, two
African Grey Hornbills, two
Piapiacs, a Senegal Parrot, two Black Flycatchers, a
Red-billed Hornbill and two Mosque Swallows perched on top of a nearby tree.
By
this time it was around 12:30pm and extremely hot, around 45oC,
but I decided to press on for a little while. We walked back along the cycle
track and road to the Bakotu Hotel, and on to the Fajara Golf Course behind. A
quick walk here produced excellent views of a Wattled
Plover, two Black-headed
Plovers and a Yellow-billed Shrike. By this time, however, it was becoming
apparent that I had badly overdone my first day in the sun, and I was feeling
pretty ill with a dose of heat-stroke. By the time I got back to my room I was
shivering so badly that I couldn’t get my shoes off! Half an hour sitting
under a cold shower was followed by a few hours fitful sleep in the sweltering
heat.
By
5pm, however, the thought of all those birds out there had overcome any
remaining feeling of illness and I headed out again to meet Gib, armed with less
baggage and a lot more water than in the morning! We again headed firstly among
the rice fields between the creek and the sewage ponds. New birds included
Broad-billed Roller, two Fine-spotted Woodpeckers and
Hammerkop, as well as another
Bearded Barbet.
We
then headed again along the cycle track aiming for the scrub behind the Palma
Rima, which is a famous site for Long-tailed Nightjar. New birds on this
afternoon walk included Splendid Sunbird, Tawny-flanked
Prinia, Snowy-crowned Robin-chat, Brown and
Blackcap Babblers. We also re-found the Senegal
Parrots,
which seemed to be nesting just at the start of the Palma Rima hotel gardens.
We
were in position as dusk fell, and Gib soon picked out a Long-tailed Nightjar
perched on the branch of a nearby tree, which then started flying around.
Standard-winged Nightjars are also found in this area, but Gib suggested that
they are more reliable from January onwards. However, they also seem to be more
susceptible to disturbance than the Long-tailed. The first day had already
produced nearly 80 species despite not birding for 4 hours in the early
afternoon – not a bad start!
The
day’s guiding by Gib cost just D200 (£11.24) – he actually asked for £10
but asking for change seemed far too petty! Again ate at Sir William’s –
cost D350 (19.66).
Tuesday,
3 November
Met
Gib at 7:30am for a morning’s trip to Abuko Reserve. Gib had arranged a
taxi driven by his brother Siaka for the trip. Unfortunately, Abuko doesn’t
open until 8am, losing you the best hour of the day, which is pretty
frustrating when it is so hot. Some excellent birds were seen, including Blue-breasted,
Malachite and Giant
Kingfishers, African Jacana, Red-billed Wood
Doves, Splendid Sunbird, Vitelline Masked
Weaver, Broad-billed Roller, Fanti
Saw-wing, Lesser Honeyguide, Red-bellied Paradise
Flycatcher, Common Wattle-eye
and Little Greenbul (eventually – lots heard, but getting a look at them is a
completely different matter!).
Although
obviously a great place for birds, I actually found Abuko quite frustrating. The
forest is really dense, and seeing singing birds isn’t easy. The thick trees
don’t allow any breezes to pass through, so it gets extremely hot and humid,
and we saw hardly any birds at all after about 10:30am, when it went really
quiet. The only notable birds on the return leg of the walk were a Dark Chanting
Goshawk, and two overflying Pink-backed Pelicans. On the whole, I found Brufut
Woods an infinitely more pleasant place to go birding (see later).
I
think that to get the most of Abuko, you need to make several visits.
Regrettably, due to the shortness of my stay, and the number of other sites I
wanted to visit, we never did get round to making a return visit.
The
combined price for the guiding and taxi (returning back to the hotel at 1pm) was D450 (£25.28), compared with £20 being asked by some taxi drivers
just to drive you there and back with a two hour wait.
After
resting up in the afternoon I went for an evening stroll along the golf course
at about 5pm This produced the usual golf course birds, including great views
of Double-spurred Francolin, Red-billed
Hornbill, Broad-billed Roller, Green
Woodhoopoe, Black-headed Plover, Piapiac,
Long-tailed Glossy Starling, Palm
Swifts, and Spur-winged Plovers.
I
then bumped into a couple of kids (Lamin and Abbas) who offered to show me an
owl for D20 (£1.12). I decided that such an enormous investment might be
justified, so off we went! Sure enough, within half an hour they had found a
Pearl-spotted Owlet. The boys called it up by imitating its song, and then
quickly located it in the tree without the benefit of any binoculars, which made
my efforts at seeing where they were looking pretty embarrassing at first. This
quickly wore off, however, after getting really superb views in perfect light,
and I duly paid up.
Ate
again at Sir William’s, by which time I had realised that they took credit
cards. I confidently handed over my credit card, only to be greatly embarrassed
when the waiter returned a few minutes later saying that it had been rejected. A
quick check showed that I had brought the wrong card, and that it was past its
expiry date! Luckily, I had brought a spare. Total cost was about £14.
Wednesday,
4 November
Up
early for a 7am start on my trip to Brufut Woods with Gib and Siaka.
Definitely my favourite site of all those visited. Brufut consists of quite open
woodland, with large bare acacias (perfect for picking out perching birds) mixed
in with smaller tress, and lots of low scrub. The area is criss-crossed by a
network of easy tracks, making covering the area quite straightforward. We
actually saw a quite different set of birds here to those we saw on Abuko, and
the birds I saw on my second visit were quite similar to the first. I would
therefore definitely recommend at least one visit to both sites, as we saw a
number of species at each that were not seen elsewhere.
The
big difference between Brufut and Abuko is the much greater ease of birding at
the former. The birds are very much easier to see, and we failed to see hardly
any birds first located by song. The large acacias made birding particularly
easy – perching birds could be seen and scoped from a long way away. Good
birds seen included African Golden Oriole, Pin-tailed
Whydah, Splendid, Collared,
Beautiful and Scarlet-chested
Sunbirds, two Violet
Turacos (very elusive
yesterday at Abuko), two Collared Sunbirds, several
Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters, Wryneck,
Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Bronze-tailed Glossy
Starling, Black-crowned
Tchagras, Orange-cheeked Waxbill and Whistling
Cisticola.
However,
the best bird was probably nice close up views of a Stone Partridge which I
found perched on a branch of a tree, looking like a displaced village chicken
– a very peculiar bird, and not usually easy to see.
We
then moved on to an area which Gib called Brufut Bridge. I haven’t been able
to find this on any maps, but it was not far from the first area of woodland
covered, and is probably part of the same area. We firstly worked our way along
a slow moving stream, picking up Lizard Buzzard, Black-headed
Weaver, Black
Crake and Malachite Kingfisher. By this time, it was
12pm so we headed
away from the stream to an open cultivated area hoping for some raptors. We
managed a few, in the form of Gymnogenes, Lizard
Buzzards, Marsh Harrier and an Osprey, but not as many as we had hoped for. We also found
Blue-bellied and
Rufous-crowned Rollers and a Beautiful Sunbird, and a
Purple Heron on the stream
on the way back. At 1pm we called it a day and headed back to Kotu.
A
quick stroll on the golf course at 4pm produced the usual Wattled and
Black-headed Plovers, Long-tailed Glossy Starlings and
Piapiacs, as well as
Beautiful Sunbird and Rose-ringed Parakeets. I then bumped into another bird
guide, Lamin, and we got chatting. I mentioned that I hadn’t yet seen
Abyssinian Roller, so he took me to a nest site near the Bakotu Hotel, and one
duly performed. As I had nothing planned for the following evening, we agreed
that he would guide me for three hours for £10, and that he would show me some of
the birds that I had not seen at that time. I agreed (foolishly) to give him a
D100 (£5.62) deposit towards the following night’s work.
At
5pm, Gib and Siaka collected me again, and we set off for Yundum, to try
and see some Four-banded Sandgrouse at a drinking pool near the airport. We got
there by 5:30pm, giving us just over an hour to work the scrub before getting
into place for the sandgrouse. This was another great site, and one at which I
wish I had spent more time. In the short space of time we had, we managed
Heuglin’s Masked Weaver, Siffling Cisticola,
Red-necked Falcon (perched),
Levaillant’s Cuckoo, Purple Glossy Starling,
Blue-bellied and Rufous-crowned
Rollers and, best bird of the whole trip, the rare and difficult to see Green
Hylia. In fact it was a life bird for Gib (so was the Heuglin’s Masked
Weaver,
also very localised), and most of the other guides have never seen one! When I
found it first, it performed so well for a bird with a reputation as an
notorious skulker that I thought my ID must be wrong, but the combination of
greenish upperparts, greyish underparts, and an enormous cream supercilium right
round to its nape was pretty unmistakable. The jizz was also quite distinctive
and totally unlike say Phylloscopus or Hippolais warblers.
Elated,
we headed off to the sandgrouse pools, and got into position by about 5:45pm They flew in very late, and it was almost dark when at least
four Four-banded Sandgrouse were picked out
landing on the far side of the small pool. This seemed an incredible place to
see sandgrouse. I have been lucky enough to have previously seen sandgrouse of
five different species (Black-bellied, Pin-tailed, Liechtenstein's, Spotted and
Crowned) in three countries (Fuerteventura, Israel and Turkey). Without exception,
they were all very nervous birds, who would fly off very quickly given the
slightest noise or disturbance. Anyone familiar with the Liechtenstein's stakeout at the pumping station at Eilat, Israel will know how well birders need
to behave to avoid disturbing them.
And
yet, here at Yundum, we had them drinking quite unconcerned at a small pool
right alongside the main road, and about thirty yards from the airport perimeter
fence. Cars and lorries were hurtling along with horns blaring the whole time,
an aircraft took off, and people were constantly walking along the road a few
yards away talking and shouting. It didn’t feel right somehow!
The
whole day with Gib and Siaka, for eight hours guiding and taxis throughout (total
two hours driving) cost D850 (£47.75). Dinner at Sir William’s was about £18.
Thursday,
5 November
Up
early for a 7:30am start for the hour long drive to Pirang, the furthest site
visited during my trip. This was another nice areas, mixing woodlands, scrub,
rice fields, marsh and river birding. We birded the area from 8.30 am until
11.30 am producing a good list of species, including several not seen
elsewhere, including Black-shouldered Kite, Gabar
Goshawk, Oriole Warbler,
Yellow-crowned Bishop, Intermediate Egret, Lavender
Waxbill, Northern Puffback,
Plain-backed Pipit, Pied-winged Swallow and
Yellow-shouldered Widowbird.
I
finally got really good views of Yellow-crowned Gonolek (what a skulker!), and
the Northern Puffback was, if anything, even harder work. Other highlights
included Wattled Plover (very close), Shikra,
Broad-billed Roller, Senegal
Parrot, Black-billed Wood Dove, lots of Green
Herons, Fine-spotted Woodpecker,
Palm-nut Vulture, Bearded Barbet (never got bored of those), Yellow-billed
Oxpecker, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Beautiful Sunbird
and Senegal Coucal. A
Vieillot’s Barbet called frustratingly too far away for us to be able to find
it (and not for the last time, either!).
We
then headed for a nearby abandoned shrimp farm, previously owned by Scangambia,
a Scandinavian – Gambian consortium. This previously employed 1,500 people,
but someone got too greedy, and it was closed down. This was typically easy
modern fishpond birding – lots of square pools with varying water levels, and
easy walking around them. Highlights included Black Egret,
Spur-winged Goose,
African Darter, Crested Lark and African Silverbills. We also saw a bird that
may have been a Flappet Lark, but the heat haze was too strong to allow a
definite ID.
At
12.30 pm we headed to an area of bush track on the outskirts of Faraba Banta,
heading towards Jiboroh Ki, which is an excellent raptor site. Regrettably, it
was just too hot to be in such an open arid area, so we quickly gave up and
headed back to Kotu, but not before having Rufous-crowned,
Blue-bellied and
Abyssinian Rollers all in view at the same time! The guiding and taxi fare for
today cost D600 (£33.71).
In
the evening I was supposed to meet Lamin, the guide I had met last night.
However, I had heard a lot of worrying things about him, so I decided to give
him a miss. I therefore hooked up with another guide called Baba and set off for
some birding with him. Unfortunately, Lamin then showed up, and got a bit
unpleasant. He eventually started demanding "compensation" for his
loss of business. I pointed out that he had already been paid over half the
agreed fee, at which point he claimed that had been for the previous night’s
guiding (about twenty minutes!). This was exactly the sort of thing I had heard
about him, so I felt a lot better about letting him down.
Incidentally,
there are a lot of guides called Lamin – I believe that it’s the commonest
Gambian first name. I don’t remember this one’s surname, but please note
that he was not Lamin Siddibeh who is one of the best and most highly
recommended bird guides in The Gambia.
In
retrospect, I have very mixed feelings about this incident. I have heard a lot
of bad things about this Lamin, including efforts to rip off customers after
guiding them. I have previously mentioned that a couple I met had also bumped
into him, and he followed them around, unwanted, for a whole morning, and then
tried asking for money. He is shunned by the other bird guides, and will not
approach any of the hotels, insisting on meeting you in places like the golf
course.
Having
said that, he appears to be a real quality birder, and could almost certainly
have shown me a lot of birds that I missed. For example, he found me Abyssinian
Roller quickly enough, and claimed to know of a roosting site for White-backed
Night Heron. Maybe I should have stuck with him, agreed a firm fee at the start
(payable at the end) and subsequently dismissed any further claims, and tried to
explain to him that while his birding might be top class, his methods were
letting him down.
I
am afraid that the sad fact is that I wasn’t willing to trust him on my own.
If I had been one of a group, I would probably have given him a go – at £10
for three hours, it might be worth the risk.
And
what about Baba? He took me firstly to the Crocodile Pool at Bakau, where he
found for me White-crowned Robin-chat, African Pygmy
Kingfisher, Woodland Kingfisher, Levaillant’s Cuckoo
and Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, but
failed to find Black-necked Weaver or Oriole Warbler. We then headed for Cape
Road where, despite much searching, he failed to find Yellow-throated Longclaw.
Baba
is certainly a first-class birder, and has birded extensively in the UK. His
observational skills are exceptional – how on earth he found the tiny Pygmy
Kingfisher, deep in thick vegetation, I will never know. However, I found him
very expensive. He charged me £25 for not much over two hours guiding, and only
found two species which Gib had failed on (out of four promised), and one of these
(the Robin-chat) we found later in the week.
I
also found him somewhat remote, especially after Gib. With Baba, it felt very
much like teacher and pupil – he found the birds, told you what they were, and
you looked at them, before trotting after him waiting for him to find the next
one. Discussions about ID were certainly not encouraged, and to be honest there
was nothing much I could add to his knowledge. It was all a little too
regimented for my liking. You also felt that his heart wasn’t in it somehow.
Gib would get very excited each time we found a new bird, and always had a look
through my scope after I had. Baba showed no obvious reaction at all, and would
just start looking for the next bird.
I
suppose it all depends on what you want. If your priority is for a long list,
and you can afford him, then Baba, or one of the other top guides, is probably
your man. I wanted a bit more fun out of my birding, and also a chance of
checking out the ID for myself, and found Gib the perfect choice for this. OK,
so I probably missed out on some species – all the more reason to go back some
day!
That
evening Gib and Siaka had invited Sara and myself out for the evening. An
open-air disco was being held in the grounds of the school at their home village
of Kuloro, near Pirang. They collected us at 9pm, and off we went. Having
firstly gone to their family home to meet their family, we headed off to the
disco, where we stayed until about midnight, before they took us back to our
hotel. We had a really enjoyable evening. Not surprisingly, we were the only
Europeans there, and everyone gave us a terrific welcome. Of course, it wasn’t
a proper disco – nobody got drunk or threw up, there was no fighting, you
could hear yourself think, and the drinks weren’t four times the normal price!
Wouldn’t work at home at all!
This
was a purely social occasion, so there was no charge for anything, despite Gib
and Siaka travelling an hour each way to fetch us and take us home – what
wonderful hospitality!
Friday,
6 November
Today
was, in truth, a bit of a disaster, and I have to take most of the blame. We had
decided to make a trip to the north bank of the river, around Essau, by taking
the ferry from Banjul to Barra. I had learned that the first ferry sailed at
7:30am, so we arrived nice and early at 7:15am, only to discover that the
ferry had in fact sailed at 7am! Of course, I should have checked the
sailing times, and also arranged for us to get there a lot earlier than we did.
We therefore had to wait until the next ferry departure at 9am - good
views of Little Swifts from Banjul harbour, plus White Wagtail and the only
House Sparrows of the trip! Needless to say, that was late leaving, so we
didn’t get to the Essau area until 10am which, on the hottest day of my
trip, was far too late.
We
managed some decent birds, including White-rumped
Seedeater, Copper Sunbird,
Singing Cisticola, Melodious and Olivaceous
Warblers, Bearded Barbet,
Grey Woodpecker, Abyssinian and
Rufous-crowned Roller, and Yellow-billed Oxpecker. A
taste of home was provided by Marsh Harrier, Northern Wheatear and Whinchat.
However, in the burning heat, bird activity was very low and we completely
failed to see any of the north bank specials, such as Anteater Chat, Sudan
Golden Sparrow, Speckle-fronted Weaver, Chestnut-bellied Starling,
Chestnut-crowned Sparrow Weaver etc. We also heard another calling Vieillot’s
Barbet which we were unable to locate.
We
decided to take the 2pm return sailing (which duly left at 3pm!), so
we returned to Barra to finish off around Fort Bullen, just north of the town.
The birding along the beach north of the fort was somewhat better, with great
views of Caspian, Royal and
Sandwich Terns, but no obvious Lesser Cresteds. An
immature Greater Flamingo was a bit of a surprise, and there were plenty of
waders to sort through, including Sanderling, Whimbrel,
Oystercatchers, Common
Sandpipers etc. Seawatching from the front of the return ferry produced good
views of more Caspian and Royal
Terns, and Grey-headed and Yellow-legged Gull at
Banjul harbour.
We
finally got back to Kotu at 4:15pm, feeling very hot and extremely tired, so
packed it in for the day.
The
Barra and Essau area appears a great one to visit, but the north bank is drier
and hotter than the south, so an early start is even more essential. With
hindsight, once I realised that we’d missed the 7am ferry, I should have
postponed the visit until the following day, and gone somewhere else – at 7:15
am, that would not have been a problem. I still had a full day the next day,
so I could have, and should have, rescheduled it for then. Oh well, you live and
learn! If we’d caught the 7am ferry we would have been in the prime
sites by 7:45am, probably in plenty of time.
Despite
my protests, Gib held himself to blame for the lack of birds today, and would
only take D400 (£22.47) for the day’s guiding and taxi – nine hours work! It
cost me a further D100 (£5.62) each way for the car and driver on the ferry,
and D3 (£0.17) each way for each of Gib and myself. That’s a total of D212 (£11.91)
for a return ferry trip lasting over an hour in total - not bad at all.
At
5:30pm I was due to meet up with Ken Hermann, a fellow Ebnetter and e-mail
correspondent, whose holiday was overlapping slightly with mine. His flight was
a little late so we eventually met up at about 6:30pm, just in time for a
quick visit onto the golf course. We arranged for Ken to accompany Gib and
myself on a return visit to Brufut the next day. I must thank Ken for his great
company during the rest of the trip – I hope he enjoyed his holiday as much as
I did.
That
evening, Gib invited Sara and myself back to the house he shares with his
brothers Siaka and Seedy in Serekunda for a traditional Gambian meal of Beef
Domada – quite delicious. He also told us that if we ever visit The Gambia
again, we are welcome to stay at their home with them! I must admit that we
didn’t quite know what to expect, as most of the homes we had seen were very
rustic and dilapidated. In truth, their house was a bit of a palace – big and
airy, with all the modern conveniences, and a lovely cool patio area and lush
garden. Bird guiding and taxi driving obviously pays OK! We had a great evening
with the Saidy brothers, with Siaka again ferrying us back and forth from our
hotel.
Saturday,
7 November
Up
very early today, to meet Ken and Gib for a 6:30am start to Brufut again.
Another wonderful morning’s birding, with temperatures cooler than they had
been earlier in the week. Most of the birds seen were as on the earlier trip,
although Green-backed Eremomela and Yellow-fronted Canary were new. Specials
such as Violet Turaco, African Golden Oriole and Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters again
performed. We also finally managed to get good views of the elusive Vieillot’s
Barbet, as well as fleeting views of a Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, another bird
which had been taunting us with its calls all week, but which we had been unable
to pin down.
However
the day’s highlight, undoubtedly, was a glorious African Hobby found perched
in a tree early on. It gave wonderful views in perfect soft sunlight, and
allowed quite close approach without taking flight.
Other
highlights included White-crowned Robin-chat, Lesser Blue-eared and
Purple
Glossy Starlings, Mosque Swallow, two more Red-necked Falcons and
Striped Kingfisher.
We
returned to Kotu at 12pm, and met up again at 4pm for a walk around
the Kotu area. Species seen were much as before, although we got our best views
of the trip of Senegal Parrot at the nest site at the Casino Cycle Track, and
Black and White-winged Black Terns at Kotu Ponds were both new for the trip. We
ended up again at the nightjar site near the Palma Rima, where two Long-tailed
Nightjars performed wonderfully again. Actually, it was a lot more overcast than
on my earlier visit, so they appeared a little earlier, giving better and more
prolonged views.
Gib
charged Ken and myself D400 (£22.47) each for the day’s guiding and taxi to
Brufut. Ate again at Sir William’s - £18.
Sunday,
8 November
I
thought hard about how to spend my last morning in The Gambia, considering such
sites as Abuko and Yundum. In the end, however, I decided on a nice relaxing
walk around the Kotu area, with Ken and Gib. This proved a good decision, as I
managed to pick up another three life birds that morning, namely Village
Indigobird,
Pygmy Sunbird and Mottled Spinetail, the last of these just 15 minutes before
having to go back to the hotel to pack! The morale - never stop birding until
you have to! We also had nice views of a Subalpine
Warbler, Fine-spotted Woodpecker, Yellow-billed
Kite, Gull-billed Tern, Malachite
Kingfisher,
Senegal
Thick-knee and Lizard Buzzard, and heard another
Pearl-spotted Owlet.
At
12pm we returned to the hotel for a quick last beer with Gib and Ken,
before saying our sad farewells. Left the hotel at 2pm to the airport, and
flew home at 4:15pm
Species
List
Sites
mentioned are as follows:
Fajara
Golf Course, between Bakotu and Fajara Hotels.
Kotu
Creek and Ponds – the area of mud, scrub and rice paddies south of Kotu
Creek, and east of the Kotu – Serekunda road.
Casino
Cycle Track – the area of scrub between Kotu lower bridge and the Palma Rime
hotel, bordered by the cycle track and the sea.
Brufut
Woods and Bridge
Abuko
– we only covered the part between the entrance and the zoo, not the extension
to the north.
Brufut
Woods and Bridge.
Pirang
Marsh – the area of woods and marsh between the village and the creek.
Pirang
Shrimp Farm - the abandoned shrimp farm north east of Pirang village.
Yundum
– area of scrub and sandgrouse drinking pools along a track immediately west
of the airport.
Barra
and Essau – scrub and grassland area around Essau, beach area north of Fort
Bullen, in Barra.
Please
note – where I have not accurately counted the number of a particular species
seen, I have preceded the location with ‘n’. Numbers of each species seen
are understated in many cases, especially regarding the commoner species –
I’m not always as diligent as I should be in keeping numbers of species seen.
1.
Little Grebe
(Tachybaptus ruficollis) – 1 Kotu Ponds 2.11.98, 1 Kotu Ponds 7.11.98
2.
Long-tailed Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax africanus) – 1 Kotu Creek 2.11.98, 2 Pirang Marsh 5.11.98, 1 Kotu Creek 7.11.98, 1
Kotu Creek 8.11.98
3.
African Darter (Anhinga
rufa) – 1 Pirang Shrimp Farm 5.11.98
4.
Pink-backed Pelican
(Pelecanus rufescens) – 3 Abuko 3.11.98, 2 Bund Road 6.11.98
5.
Black-crowned Night Heron
(Nycticorax nycticorax) – 1 Abuko 3.11.98
6.
Squacco Heron (Ardeola
ralloides) – 1+ Kotu Creek 2.11.98, 1 Kotu Creek 8.11.98
7.
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus
ibis) – 4 Kotu Ponds 2.11.98, 3 Pirang Marsh 5.11.98, 3 Cape Road 5.11.98, n
Essau 6.11.98, 3 Kotu Ponds 7.11.98, n Casino Cycle Track 8.11.98
8.
Green-backed Heron (Butorides
striatus) – 1 Kotu Creek 2.11.98, n Pirang Marsh 5.11.98, 1 Kotu Creek 8.11.98
9.
Black Egret (Egretta
ardesiaca) – 1 Pirang Shrimp Farm 5.11.98
10.
Little Egret
(Egretta garzetta) – 1 Kotu Creek 3.11.98
11.
Western Reef-Egret (Egretta
gularis) – 1 Kotu Creek 2.11.98, 4 Kotu Creek 3.11.98, 3 Pirang Shrimp Farm
5.11.98, 2 Cape Road 5.11.98, 1 Brufut Bridge 7.11.98, 1 Kotu Creek 8.11.98
12.
Intermediate Egret (Egretta
intermedia) – 1 Pirang Marsh 5.11.98, 1 poss. Casino Cycle Track 7.11.98
13.
Great White Egret (Egretta
alba) – 1 Casino Cycle Track 2.11.98, 1 Casino Cycle Track 8.11.98, 1 Kotu Creek
8.11.98
14.
Purple Heron (Ardea
purpurea) – 1 Brufut Bridge 4.11.98
15.
Grey Heron
(Ardea cinerea) – 3 Kotu Creek 2.11.98, 1 Pirang Marsh 5.11.98, 1 Brufut Bridge 7.11.98
16.
Hamerkop
(Scopus umbretta) – 1+ Kotu Creek
2.11.98, 1 Abuko 3.11.98, 2+ Kotu Creek 3.11.98, 1 Pirang Marsh 5.11.98
17.
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus
ruber) – 1 Barra 6.11.98
18.
White-faced Whistling
Duck (Dendrocygna viduata)
– n (resident flock) Kotu Ponds 2.11.98,
n Pirang Shrimp Farm 5.11.98, n Kotu Ponds 7.11.98
19.
Spur-winged Goose (Plectropterus
gambensis) – 3 Pirang Shrimp Farm 5.11.98
20.
Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus
caeruleus) – 1 Pirang Marsh 5.11.98
21.
Black Kite (Milvus
migrans) – 1 Casino Cycle Track 8.11.98
22.
Palm-nut Vulture (Gypohierax
angolensis) – 2 Kotu Creek 2.11.98, 1 Pirang Marsh 5.11.98
23.
Hooded Vulture (Necrosyrtes
monachus) – very common throughout – seen in large numbers every day.
24.
Gymnogene (African
Harrier Hawk) (Polyboroides
typus) – 1 Kotu Creek 2.11.98, 2 Brufut Bridge 4.11.98, 1 Brufut Woods 7.11.98, 2
Brufut Bridge 7.11.98, 1 Kotu Creek 8.11.98
25.
Western Marsh Harrier (Circus
aeruginosus) – 1 Brufut Bridge 4.11.98, 1 Essau 6.11.98
26.
Dark Chanting Goshawk
(Melierax metabates) – 1 Abuko 3.11.98
27.
Gabar Goshawk (Melierax
gabar) – 1 Pirang Marsh 5.11.98
28.
Shikra (Accipiter
badius) – 2 Kotu Creek 2.11.98, 1 Brufut
Woods 4.11.98, 2 Pirang Marsh 5.11.98, 2 Brufut Woods 7.11.98, 1 Brufut Bridge
7.11.98, 1 Kotu Ponds 7.11.98
29.
Lizard Buzzard
(Kaupifalco monogrammicus) – 1 Casino Cycle Track 2.11.98, 2 Brufut Bridge 4.11.98, 1 Casino Cycle
Track 8.11.98
30.
Osprey (Pandion
haliaetus) – 1 Brufut Bridge 4.11.98, 1
Pirang Shrimp Farm 5.11.98, 1 Brufut Woods 7.11.98
31.
Red-necked Falcon
(Falco chicquera) – 1 Yundum 4.11.98, 2 Brufut Woods 7.11.98
32.
African Hobby (Falco
cuvieri) – 1 Brufut Woods 7.11.98
33.
Double-spurred Francolin
(Francolinus bicalcaratus) – 1 Kotu Creek 2.11.98, 3 Fajara Golf Course 3.11.98, 1 Pirang Marsh
5.11.98, 1 Cape Road 5.11.98, 2 Brufut Woods 7.11.98, 1 Casino Cycle Track
7.11.98, 1 Casino Cycle Track 8.11.98. Many others heard.
34.
Stone Partridge
(Ptilopachus petrosus) – 1 Brufut Woods 4.11.98
35.
Black Crake (Amaurornis
flavirostris) – 1 Brufut Bridge 4.11.98
36.
African Jacana
(Actophilornis africanus) – 1 Abuko 3.11.98
37.
Oystercatcher (Haematopus
ostralegus) – 2 Barra 6.11.98
38.
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus
himantopus) – n Kotu Ponds 2.11.98, 2 Pirang Marsh 5.11.98, n Kotu Ponds 7.11.98
39.
Senegal Thick-knee (Burhinus
senegalensis) – 5 Kotu Creek 2.11.98, 2 Kotu Creek 8.11.98
40.
Little Ringed Plover (Charadrius
dubius) – n Casino Cycle Track 2.11.98
41.
Grey
Plover (Pluvialis
squatarola) – 2 Kotu Creek 2.11.98, 1 Kotu Creek 3.11.98, 2 Barra 6.11.98, 1 Kotu
Creek 7.11.98
42.
Wattled Plover (Vanellus
senegallus) – 3+ Fajara Golf Course 2.11.98, 1 Fajara Golf Course 4.11.98, n Pirang
Marsh 5.11.98, 1 Essau 6.11.98, 1 Kotu Creek 8.11.98
43.
Black-headed Plover (Vanellus
tectus) – 2+ Fajara Golf Course 2.11.98, n Fajara Golf Course 3.11.98, n Fajara
Golf Course 4.11.98, 4 Fajara Golf Course 8.11.98
44.
Spur-winged Plover (Vanellus
spinosus) – abundant e.g. Kotu Creek, Fajara Golf Course, Pirang Marsh, Cape Road
45.
Common Snipe (Gallinago
gallinago) – 2 Pirang Marsh 5.11.98
46.
Whimbrel (Numenius
phaeopus) – 1 Kotu Creek 2.11.98, 1
Casino Cycle Track 2.11.98, n Kotu Creek 3.11.98, n Barra 6.11.98, 1 Kotu Creek
7.11.98, 1 Casino Cycle Track 8.11.98
47.
Common Redshank (Tringa
totanus) – 1 Kotu Creek 2.11.98, 1 Pirang Shrimp Farm 5.11.98, 2 Cape Road 5.11.98,
1 Kotu Ponds 7.11.98
48.
Marsh Sandpiper (Tringa
stagnatilis) – 1 Kotu Ponds 2.11.98, 1 Kotu Creek 3.11.98, 1 Pirang Marsh 5.11.98, 1
Kotu Creek 7.11.98, 1 Casino Cycle Track 8.11.98
49.
Greenshank (Tringa
nebularia) – 1 Kotu Ponds 2.11.98, 1
Casino Cycle Track 2.11.98, 4 Casino Cycle Track 8.11.98
50.
Green Sandpiper (Tringa
ochropus) – 1 Kotu Creek 3.11.98, 1 Pirang Shrimp Farm 5.11.98
51.
Wood Sandpiper (Tringa
glareola) – 1 Kotu Ponds 2.11.98, n Kotu Ponds 7.11.98
52.
Common Sandpiper (Actitis
hypoleucos) – 1 Kotu Creek 2.11.98, 2 Kotu Creek 3.11.98, 1 Pirang Marsh 5.11.98, 1
Cape Road 5.11.98, 1 Barra 6.11.98, 1 Kotu Creek 7.11.98, 1 Kotu Ponds 7.11.98,
2 Casino Cycle Track 8.11.98
53. Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) – 1 Ca