Travel Reports English
Our first birding trip to the Gambia
January 2017, we fly to The Gambia for birdwatching. We are staying at Palm Beach Hotel.
From this hotel we already see many birds. We walk in the afternoon to Kotu bridge, a famous bird spotting place. We already see 48 species this afternoon.
On the recommendation of a friend who has been here before, we meet with guide Omar the next day. He drives with us to Kartong, stopping frequently on the way to point out a bird. In Kartong, we take a boat trip. We see lots of Terns, Pelicans, Goliath Heron, Green Cormorant, African Green Pigeon and many more.
Then it’s Tanji’s turn, this fishing town has a large supply of fish, and we see the Slender-billed Gull here. And more species. After lunch to Brufut wood. Here Omar hired a local guide to go with us to see the Long-tailed Nightjar. What a camouflage colour these birds have.
The next day Omar takes us to Lamin rice fields. Again, new species here. Like the Black-shouldered Kite, Abyssinian Roller, Sacred Ibis, African Golden Oriole, Lizard Buzzard and many others. We cross the road and head for Abuko. Here we see the Bearded Barbet, Giant Kingfisher, Red-eyed Dove, Plantain Eater among others.
The 4th day again early on the road. We go to several beautiful places, where we enjoy the birds. The Lizard Buzzard, Tawny Eagle, African Spoonbill, Yellow-billed Shrike, Violet and Green Turaco, Grey Hornbill, Red-headed Shrike. Too many to mention them all. But I’ll just mention the 3 owls we saw today: Greyish Eagle Owl, Northern White-faced Owl and the African Wood Owl.
We still go to a place where water troughs have been hung and there are mostly the small birds on them. Such as Black-necked Weaver, Red-cheeked Cordonbleu , Orange-cheeked Waxbill and Tawny-flanked Prinia.
Day 5 Omar again manages to find a beautiful spot. We go for a walk and see beautiful birds again. The Beaudouins Snake Eagle flies over as well as Black Kites and Yellow-billed Kites. The Senegal Parrots show themselves beautifully. All kinds of Herons walk around here.
We walk on to Marakissa, a bird camp, but you can also just sit there on the terrace. Here you have a beautiful view of the feeding garden. The Greater and Lesser Honeyguides, different species of Glossy Starlings, Red-billed Firefinch, all kinds of weavers and all kinds of Sunbirds. What a mega place.
Back to the hotel early today, it is very hot, and we dive into the ocean for a while.
This morning another bird-rich area. We see many pigeon species but to our surprise a Striped Kingfisher. We have seen many Kingfisher species this vacation, but this one is new. On a burned peanut field we see the Black-headed lapwing. Also, among others, the Piacpiac, Rufous-crowned Roller, Blue-cheeked Bee-Eaters, Green Bee-Eaters, Red-billed Hornbill and Pied Crows.
We drive past Tanji and hit the beach for a while. We see many Grey-headed Gulls, Slender-billed Gulls, all kinds of Terns, Pelicans, Bar-tailed Godwits and Yellow-legged Gulls.
The last day we went to Omar’s house. Very cozy.
At the hotel we also saw a lot during the week. Almost all the Kingfisher species. Lots of Heron species. Many Bee-Eaters and Sunbirds. Actually, too much to mention. In 1 week, we saw 191 species. Next time we will go for 2 weeks. And Omar will be our guide again.
Travel report of our second trip to Gambia
January 2019, we go with 2 friends, 12 days to The Gambia and stay again in Palm Beach.When we arrive, of course we first go to Kotu bridge, on the way we already see beautiful birds again, including Black heron, Senegal Coucal, Pied Crow, Black Kite, Hooded Vulture and many species of Kingfishers.
On the road early the next morning with Omar, we visit several beautiful places for bird watching, as well as flowers. We start well and see the Grey Falcon, Intermediate Egret, Yellow-billed Oxpecker and Hoopoe among others.
We also enjoy the colorful people we see everywhere. We go to Kartong in the afternoon to take a boat ride. So many species of Terns together, beautiful! Then to the beach at Tanji, again many Terns, Slender-gilled Gulls, Pelicans and Bar-tailed Godwits.
Then we leave for Tendaba, a camp from which you can do beautiful birding.
On the way, of course, we see lots of things and Omar stops immediately when he sees something.
For example, the Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, over a meter high, really a huge bird.
From Tendaba we take 2 boat trips through the mangrove forests.
Fantastic, we see, among others, the Wooly-necked Stork, African Darter, Green-backed Heron, Yellow-billed Stork, Pelicans and crocodiles. But also the rare African Finfoot. We sail through a colony of Cormorants nesting in the trees. But also the smaller birds show themselves, Sunbirds, Kingfishers and Bee-eaters. The Oprey, Long-crested Eagle and African Fish Eagle also show themselves regularly.
fter a few days of Tendaba, we return to Palmbeach. We still go to Marakissa and at the watering holes we see all kinds of birds again. Village weavers, Grey-backed Camaroptera and Greater Honeyguide.
At Brufut Wood we again see theLong-tailed Nightjar, Standard-winged Nightjar and the Greyish Eagle owl.
We are still going to Lamin ricefields and Abuko. Again, wonderful places for bird watching.
We visit the Kuloro Nursery School, the school Omar’s little son attends. We are shocked by the condition of the furniture and learning materials. We need to change that.
We have lunch at Omar’s home and see all the family members again. We get Gambian clothes.
We see 203 species this time.
Third trip to The Gambia
11- 25 January 2020
We stay in Palm Beach again and go bird watching in the afternoon when we arrive immediately.
We see the Pied Kingfisher, Blue-Breasted Kingfisher, Giant Kingfisher and the Malachite Kingfisher near the bridge. We also see the Sacred Ibis, African-Wattled Lapwing, Spur-winged Lapwing and Whimbrel.
We see another 51 species that afternoon. A paradise here.
Omar, our guide, joins us the next morning and we walk around the area. There is so much to see around here! Especially with a guide. We also see beautiful butterflies like the African Monarch and the Citrus Swallowtail. Lots of Bee-eaters, Kingfishers, Sunbirds, Common Ringed Plovers, Senegal Thick-knees, Black Kites, Yellow-billed Kites, Hooded Vultures and many small songbirds. Too many to mention.
This year, we will first go to Tendaba, a camp on the Gambia River, where we will take beautiful boat trips.
Then on to Janjanbureh, another beautiful spot on the water further inland. Two boat trips and we saw the rare Adamawa Turtle Dove.
On the way back, another night at Tendaba and then we return to Palm Beach.
The next few days we take day trips. We visit Brufutwood, Marakissa, Kartong (with boat trip), Tanji, Lamin ricefields, Abuko, Pirang Bonto Forest and Serekunda, where we visit the crocodile museum.
We also visit the Kuloro Nursery school and visit Omar and family. We meet a lot of acquaintances again and enjoy a delicious lunch.
We see a lot of birds, 216 species this trip and have had a wonderful holiday.
Our 4th trip to the Gambia and Senegal
We are going with Marina, Hans, Peter, Geke and Henk W. January 2023
We last went 3 years ago because of the corona, but we get to go again.
Omar picks us up from the plane and then we go for a walk towards the bridge. Lots of birds to see again. There are many black kites this year. But the waterbirds and bee-eaters also show up nicely. Many species again.
The next day we stay near the hotel, you can really walk beautifully there. There are 3 new people with us this year, so for them everything is new.
The next day’s programme includes Lamin Ricefields and Abuko. Again, there is a lot to see here. The Golden-tailed Woodpecker and the Grey Woodpecker. Lots of dragonflies seen. The Lizard Buzard sits nicely at the top of the tree. At the ponds, we see the African Jacana, African Spoonbill, Sacred Ibis, Little Egret, Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Western Reef Egret, Black Egret, Cattle Egret, Green backed Heron, Black-headed Heron and Grey Heron. Almost all the heron species seen. The Palmnut Vulture also comes flying over.
A day later, we leave for Tendaba, where we stay for 1 night. We immediately take a boat trip and see a lot again. The Bataleur comes flying over, always special. The Montagu’s Harrier is hunting. The Yellow-billed Stork, Great Cormorant, Pink-backed Pelican and African Spoonbill are together along the shore.
Beautiful trip through the mangroves. The next day we leave early, heading for Kaolack in Senegal. Lots of hassle at the border and without a bribe you won’t get anywhere. But we are here for the birds and there are plenty of them. We were hoping for lots of African Swallow-tailed Kites, but we only saw a few. They had already left. Lots of Greater Flamingos, though. A Winding Cisticola, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Brown Sunbird, Chestnut-bellied Starling, Spotted Thick-knee, Cut-throat Finch, Crested Lark and African Silverbill.
After 2 nights, we return to The Gambia and spend another night in Tendaba and take a boat trip. During the trip back, we also see the Bronze-winged Courser.
When we are back in Palm Beach, we will go on another day trip there with Omar. And complete our list with new species, but also the common ones are wonderful. For example, all the pigeons we saw there, Laughing Dove, Namaqua Dove, Black-billed Wood Dove, Blue-spotted Wood Dove, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Speckled Pigeon, Red -eyed Dove, African Mourning Dove and Vinaceous Dove.
This trip also saw many birds of prey, Lanner Falcon, Red-necked Falcon, African Hawk Eagle, Booted Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Grey Kestrel, Common Kestrel, Shikra, African Goshawk, Lizard Buzzard, Dark Chanting Goshawk, African Harrier Hawk, Grasshopper Buzzard, Long-crested Eagle, Bateleur, Montagu’s Harrier, Western Marsh Harrier, African Fish Eagle, Osprey, Black-shouldered Kite, African Swallow-tailed Kite, Black Kite, Yellow-billed Kite.
196 species seen
Our 5th trip to Gambia and Senegal
January 2024
Omar picks us up from the airport and takes us to Palm Beach. Then he tells us we can come along to a Naming Ceremony tomorrow. We want to. Then we head towards the bridge for birdwatching. What fun again, we already see 49 species today and that in an afternoon just near the hotel.
The next day we go bird watching first, driving across a busy market and then past the goat market. Then on to Kuloro, to Omar’s family where a 4-day-old baby is given her name. It’s all very special and we get to be everywhere and take photos. Here again, we meet many of Omar’s relatives, whom we all know. We eat with them and it’s a delicious lunch.
After time, we go to Farasuta Wood where we see lots of birds, including a pair of Greyish Eagle Owls. Then back to the hotel and enjoy the ocean. Tonight we have dinner at John Raymond’s. Marie is happy to see us again.
Then a day to the Lamin Ricefields, Abuko and the nature trail at Kotubridge. In the evening, a lot of stickers, as we saw a lot again.
The next day we go bird watching to Tendaba where we stay 1 night. Next morning, a 3-hour boat trip. Enjoy! This is what we saw.
African Darter, Long-tailed Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Squacco Heron, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, Intermediate Egret, Grey Heron, Hammerhead, Yellow-billed Stork, Osprey, Palmnut Vulture, Hooded Vulture, Black Kite, Yellow-billed Kite, Beaudouin’s Snake Eagle, Senegal Thick-knee, Common Greenshank, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Malachite Kingfisher, Blue-breasted Kingfisher and Pied Kingfisher.
After the boat trip, we go for a walk, again many birds, and then on to Bintang.
A beautiful lodge by the water. The boat trip the next morning yields new species. For example, the African Finfoot. But more, of course. We then go for a walk and see many Yellow-billed oxpeckers on the cows, African Harrier Hawk and the Common Hoopoe.
The following day we stay at the hotel, but there is so much beauty there. Among others, we see the Little Bittern, Double-spurred Francolin, Greater Painted-Snipe, Common Snipe, Namaqua Dove and Northern White-faced Owl.
On to Senegal, to Keur Saloum. At the ferry, it’s chaos, but we get on board. During the crossing, we see Arctic Skua, Great Skua, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Grey-headed Gull, Caspian Tern and Whiskered Tern, among others.
We arrive at Keur Saloum, how beautiful it is here. Birds everywhere. This Hotel is on the delta of the Senegal River. After breakfast another boat trip. We see the Golith Heron very often. But the icing on the cake is the White-crested Tiger Heron. This is also easy to see when it assumes the pole position. We agree with the boatman that we want to do another trip tomorrow afternoon.
In the morning, we go out with a local guide and walk through a beautiful area with lots of water. We see the White-headed Vulture, Purple Heron, Little Grebe and Black Crake, among others. Then on to a dry area where we see the Black-headed Lapwing.
When we are away by boat, we often see the Osprey, Beaudouin’s Snake Eagle, African Fish Eagle.
As darkness falls, we head to a roost of all kinds of heron species. We anchor and see the birds come over us in large numbers and perch in the trees on the island. Amazing.
We return to Palm Beach the next day and the next day we walk near the hotel and Kotubridge. Many beautiful species again. The next day, we go with Omar to Marakissa and from there to Kuloro Nursery School. Here we receive a warm welcome and I give an English lesson to a class of more than 50 children.
We then go to Omar’s house, where Mariama has cooked delicious food again. So nice to see everyone again. After lunch, we drive to Pirang Bonto forest. We look for the African Wood Owl and find it. In the wood bar, we see the Greater Honeyguide and the African Golden Oriole. And, of course, lots of other small stuff.
The following day, we visit Brufutwood, where we see the Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Long-tailed Nightjar, Violet Turaco, African Paradise Flycatcher, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, Copper Sunbird, North. Grey-headed Sparrow, Northern Red Bishop, and Village Indigobird see.
Then on to Tanji, the fishing town where we saw all kinds of gulls, terns and pelicans.
We saw 197 species. Remarkably few raptors.
