Gambia & Senegal
Superb West African birdwatching
Friday 13 - Friday 27 November 2009 (15 days)
Join us for some wonderful tropical birding, with parrots, hornbills, rollers, bee-eaters, sunbirds, kingfishers, and more than a dozen species of heron - all only six hours away from the UK.
© Bill Atwell/Nature Portfolio
Little Bee-eater
The Gambia is a small, narrow country running up the River Gambia and completely surrounded by Senegal or the sea. Yet there is a wide variety of habitats within just a few miles: estuary, mangrove swamp, riverine forest, marshland, and the edge of the West African Forest.
The Gambia makes an ideal introduction to African birdwatching coupled as it is with easy access from Britain, comfortable hotels on the coast, and a friendly welcome from the locals. Our trip also visits the fabulous Saloum Delta in Senegal. We spend the first week in Gambia on the coast, with the second week travelling into Senegal and up the River Gambia, to make up a fabulous fortnight's feast of African birding.
What birds we will find. Almost on arrival we will be watching Red-billed and Grey Hornbills, Senegal Coucal, Long-tailed Sunbird, Hooded Vulture and many more. The hotel grounds offer superb birding and our first morning's stroll should produce fine views of some spectacular species: the dazzling Gonolek, with its oriole-like calls, White-crowned Robin-chat and a host of small finches and weavers. And as usual, we shall be keeping an eye on the general wildlife of the area including some spectacular butterflies and reptiles, Nile Monitor Lizard, and monkeys such as Green Vervet and Red Colobus.
Prices: £ 1,995
Single supp.: £ 235 per person
Deposit: £ 300 per person
The prices are per person and includes return charter flights from Gatwick to The Gambia, accommodation as outlined, all meals, excursions as outlined above and the services of the leaders.
The price excludes holiday insurance, optional tips for the driver and local guide, drinks and other personal expenses.
Please note that there are options to upgrade to 'premier class' with extra leg-room on the flights (please enquire for cost), and also for air conditioning in the rooms at the Senegambia (£ 84 per room for 7 nights).
Please note that it may be possible to fly to The Gambia from UK regional airports - please contact us for details.
Leaders: John Muddeman and local guides
Itinerary
Days 1 - 5
We fly from London Gatwick to Banjul, arriving in the afternoon, and transferring to our hotel on the coast. There may be some time for a little birdwatching in the excellent hotel grounds before dinner.
During the first week our excursions will take us to the famous Abuko rainforest reserve, home to spectacular bird species like Abyssinian Ground-hornbill, the startlingly-coloured (even by Gambian standards) Violet Plantain-eater, and some rather dozy-looking crocodiles. The tall trees here with their superb buttress roots are worth seeing in their own right. For lunch we will drive to a highly distinctive creek-side restaurant where Caspian Terns fly past, resting during the heat of the day before visiting the dry fields nearby. These fields can be excellent for raptors including Dark Chanting Goshawk and the spectacular Long-crested Eagle, while our last trip also gave us views of the elusive Temminck's Coursers that come here in the dry season.
To the north of the peninsula are a series of wetlands packed with birds. We could see up to 14 species of heron in the area, from the magnificent Goliath Heron to the distinctive small Black Heron which turns its wings into an "umbrella" to shade its fishing area. With so many and such colourful birds to see - Blue-bellied Roller, Senegal Parrot, or perhaps a passing Palm-nut Vulture, a delightful Little Bee-eater, or a magnificent Giant Kingfisher perched over a creek - it is often hard to know where to look. Perhaps you prefer smaller birds - there are wintering Olivaceous Warblers here joining the local resident warblers such as the Nuthatch-like Crombec and Grey-backed Camaroptera.
Other trips will take us further south, to an area of pools near the Senegal border for Jacana and Black Crake, where a previous visit also gave us splendid views of more than a dozen Painted Snipe. We also visit an excellent forest area where the huge kapok trees shelter a good variety of species. On our last visit we saw Pearl-spotted Owlet and the huge Verreaux's Eagle Owl, with its striking pink eyelids.
Five nights Senegambia Hotel
Days 6 - 7
We take the ferry across to the North Bank. From here we drive north to Keur Saloum, a huge area of mangroves, freshwater pools and savanna, where we stay for two nights at a lodge overlooking a large creek and its associated mangrove swamp. While there, we will take a boat trip out into the mangroves to a spectacular heron roost one afternoon.
Two nights Keur Saloum, Senegal
Days 8 - 10
We head inland today via the excellent Kaur wetlands. Anywhere from here on we will start looking for one of the star birds of the area, the gloriously-patterned Egyptian Plover. We continue onwards to our camp near Georgetown. Here we will hope to see a good variety of typically African savanna species, with raptors such as Bateleur, Martial Eagle and others.
We continue up to Bassé. Here stunningly beautiful Egyptian Plovers are most likely. Carmine and Red-throated Bee-eaters can be found along with monkeys including the spectacular Western Red Colobus, Savanna Monkey and Guinea Baboon. We will visit a quarry featured in David Attenborough's Life of Birds where we hope to see nesting Red-throated Bee-eaters.
Three nights Baobolong Camp, Georgetown
Days 11 - 12
We drive back down river to the unique and colourful Tendaba Camp. Now under much improved new management, the experience of staying here is quite unforgettable. Here a cool beer will probably be in favour as we sit under the thatched veranda overlooking the river, watching Pink-backed Pelicans, Ospreys and Fish Eagles fly by.... As night falls the local villagers sometimes bring drums to dance by a bonfire at the riverside. There is also a swimming pool - but do not stray into the crocodile pond by mistake.
We shall be taking a trip across the Gambia River up one of the fantastic wild creeks with huge mangrove trees, providing some of the best birdwatching in the Gambia. Here Senegal Thicknees run alongside the canoe, Darters wait in the dead branches, and there is always the chance of a colourful speciality such as Blue-breasted Kingfisher or Fairy Blue Flycatcher.
Two nights Tendaba Camp
Days 13 - 14
We return to the coast, with stops for raptors and Crowned Cranes en route. Next day we visit an excellent new site with the possibility of White-faced Scops Owl and other forest birds, before returning for a final night at the Senegambia.
Two nights Hotel Senegambia
Day 15
We have a relaxed final morning's birdwatching before going back to Yundum Airport in time for our afternoon flight home.
Accommodation
On the coast we stay at the Senegambia Beach Hotel. This is one of the best hotels in the Gambia, set in its own large well-tended gardens, hosting an amazing variety of birds. It also has its own beach and, of course, swimming pool. It makes an excellent place for relaxing during the heat of the day and a safe place for independent early morning and evening birding. All rooms have private facilities. Accommodation at Keur Saloum is excellent, while accommodation 'upriver' in The Gambia is as outlined in the itinerary: it is generally basic but adequate with rooms in thatched huts or rondavels. All rooms have private facilities (shower & WC).
Walking
Short walks of up to two miles over relatively flat terrain. Walking shoes or boots needed to protect you from thorns.
Transport is by small coach with local driver. Please note that the roads can be rough and full of potholes - but we think the hard travelling is worth it get to birds like Egyptian Plover!
Numbers: Max. 12 clients
Days 1 - 5
We fly from London Gatwick to Banjul, arriving in the afternoon, and transferring to our hotel on the coast. There may be some time for a little birdwatching in the excellent hotel grounds before dinner.
During the first week our excursions will take us to the famous Abuko rainforest reserve, home to spectacular bird species like Abyssinian Ground-hornbill, the startlingly-coloured (even by Gambian standards) Violet Plantain-eater, and some rather dozy-looking crocodiles. The tall trees here with their superb buttress roots are worth seeing in their own right. For lunch we will drive to a highly distinctive creek-side restaurant where Caspian Terns fly past, resting during the heat of the day before visiting the dry fields nearby. These fields can be excellent for raptors including Dark Chanting Goshawk and the spectacular Long-crested Eagle, while our last trip also gave us views of the elusive Temminck's Coursers that come here in the dry season.
To the north of the peninsula are a series of wetlands packed with birds. We could see up to 14 species of heron in the area, from the magnificent Goliath Heron to the distinctive small Black Heron which turns its wings into an "umbrella" to shade its fishing area. With so many and such colourful birds to see - Blue-bellied Roller, Senegal Parrot, or perhaps a passing Palm-nut Vulture, a delightful Little Bee-eater, or a magnificent Giant Kingfisher perched over a creek - it is often hard to know where to look. Perhaps you prefer smaller birds - there are wintering Olivaceous Warblers here joining the local resident warblers such as the Nuthatch-like Crombec and Grey-backed Camaroptera.
Other trips will take us further south, to an area of pools near the Senegal border for Jacana and Black Crake, where a previous visit also gave us splendid views of more than a dozen Painted Snipe. We also visit an excellent forest area where the huge kapok trees shelter a good variety of species. On our last visit we saw Pearl-spotted Owlet and the huge Verreaux's Eagle Owl, with its striking pink eyelids.
Five nights Senegambia Hotel
Days 6 - 7
We take the ferry across to the North Bank. From here we drive north to Keur Saloum, a huge area of mangroves, freshwater pools and savanna, where we stay for two nights at a lodge overlooking a large creek and its associated mangrove swamp. While there, we will take a boat trip out into the mangroves to a spectacular heron roost one afternoon.
Two nights Keur Saloum, Senegal
Days 8 - 10
We head inland today via the excellent Kaur wetlands. Anywhere from here on we will start looking for one of the star birds of the area, the gloriously-patterned Egyptian Plover. We continue onwards to our camp near Georgetown. Here we will hope to see a good variety of typically African savanna species, with raptors such as Bateleur, Martial Eagle and others.
We continue up to Bassé. Here stunningly beautiful Egyptian Plovers are most likely. Carmine and Red-throated Bee-eaters can be found along with monkeys including the spectacular Western Red Colobus, Savanna Monkey and Guinea Baboon. We will visit a quarry featured in David Attenborough's Life of Birds where we hope to see nesting Red-throated Bee-eaters.
Three nights Baobolong Camp, Georgetown
Days 11 - 12
We drive back down river to the unique and colourful Tendaba Camp. Now under much improved new management, the experience of staying here is quite unforgettable. Here a cool beer will probably be in favour as we sit under the thatched veranda overlooking the river, watching Pink-backed Pelicans, Ospreys and Fish Eagles fly by.... As night falls the local villagers sometimes bring drums to dance by a bonfire at the riverside. There is also a swimming pool - but do not stray into the crocodile pond by mistake.
We shall be taking a trip across the Gambia River up one of the fantastic wild creeks with huge mangrove trees, providing some of the best birdwatching in the Gambia. Here Senegal Thicknees run alongside the canoe, Darters wait in the dead branches, and there is always the chance of a colourful speciality such as Blue-breasted Kingfisher or Fairy Blue Flycatcher.
Two nights Tendaba Camp
Days 13 - 14
We return to the coast, with stops for raptors and Crowned Cranes en route. Next day we visit an excellent new site with the possibility of White-faced Scops Owl and other forest birds, before returning for a final night at the Senegambia.
Two nights Hotel Senegambia
Day 15
We have a relaxed final morning's birdwatching before going back to Yundum Airport in time for our afternoon flight home.
Accommodation
On the coast we stay at the Senegambia Beach Hotel. This is one of the best hotels in the Gambia, set in its own large well-tended gardens, hosting an amazing variety of birds. It also has its own beach and, of course, swimming pool. It makes an excellent place for relaxing during the heat of the day and a safe place for independent early morning and evening birding. All rooms have private facilities. Accommodation at Keur Saloum is excellent, while accommodation 'upriver' in The Gambia is as outlined in the itinerary: it is generally basic but adequate with rooms in thatched huts or rondavels. All rooms have private facilities (shower & WC).
Walking
Short walks of up to two miles over relatively flat terrain. Walking shoes or boots needed to protect you from thorns.
Transport is by small coach with local driver. Please note that the roads can be rough and full of potholes - but we think the hard travelling is worth it get to birds like Egyptian Plover!
Numbers: Max. 12 clients