Senegal and Gambia birding, Feb 2015

Links

• List of birds

Friday
The flight to Dakar was uneventful and so was Senegalese immigration and customs. Getting a taxi at 1am outside a notoriously crime-ridden airport was another matter. The first ‘taxi-driver’ that accosted me immediately outside the terminal building looked innocuous enough so I followed him, but when we were joined by another two guys who wanted to sell me local currency and SIM cards, I got edgy. The first guy insisted he was an official taxi driver and when we reached his taxi, it did have the same colour scheme as the other taxis around it. But we still had the other two guys around us. They first wanted to help load my bag in the trunk and it seemed they wanted to climb in the taxi with us. I insisted having my belongings all on the back seat with me, thereby also taking up all the space in the back. One of the guys started getting into the passenger seat in the front but when I told the driver I don’t trust this, he shooed them away and then drove off. At least the road into downtown Dakar was well-lit and sign-posted so I knew we were heading in the right direction. Twenty minutes later we reached my hotel without any interference and I quickly checked in without any trouble – it was 2am in the morning. After dumping my bags I washed my hands and jumped straight into bed for some snooze-time.

Saturday
I was up at 8am, had breakfast at 08:30 and after a quick shower, met my guide and driver, Ansumana Jawara, and Abduhlai. We left at 10am and drove for about an hour to get out of Dakar before we were able to stop for a spot of birding. The harmattan wind was blowing strongly but the temperature was quite pleasant. Apart from the numerous Pied crows and Black kites that were technically our first birds, our first ‘real’ birds were African wattled and Black-headed lapwings. We were birding on some arid scrubby plains, hoping to get sparrowlarks but these seemed to be hiding away. Instead we got things like Little bee-eater, Northern wheatear, Namaqua dove, Red-cheeked cordonbleu, Green-winged pytilia and Double-spurred francolin. I got a second sighting of Yellow-crowned gonolek and definitely the highlight of the stop: Black scrub-robin. Around Fatick we stopped again and picked up White-billed buffalo weaver, Chestnut-bellied and Long-tailed glossy starlings. For lunch we just pulled off the road under a couple of acacias for fresh bread, sardines, viennas and fruit. At some salt pans we picked up Gull-billed terns, Slender-billed gulls and beautiful Crested larks. We reached our day’s destination, Kaolack, around 16:30 and after checking into our hotel (Le Relais), we took a short rest before birding at the Saloum river and adjacent sewerage ponds. Here we added Little and Great egrets, White-breasted and Reed cormorants, Lesser black-backed gull, Western yellow wagtail, Green sandpiper and Pallid swift together with a few others. At 7pm the sun was settling behind the horizon and it was time for dinner and bed. We ended the day with 66 species, 28 of which were new for the year – an excellent start to the trip!

Sunday
Today I learned a very effective and quick way to make butter: take a can of fresh milk, put it in your car’s trunk and drive from Kaolack to the Gambian border – you’ll have perfectly good butter when you get to the border! The day started well with some good mixed woodland birding about 20kms south of Kaolack. New birds included Yellow-billed shrike, Common chiffchaff, Rufous scrub-robin, Brown babbler, Western olivaceous and Subalpine warblers. But shortly after, the road all but disappeared and was nothing more than a bunch of big holes joined by a few flecks of tar. We bumped our way south east and had another short birding stop in Senegal (a few fairly common waterbirds) but we literally shook the car apart as the center console on the dashboard broke to pieces from all the shaking. We stopped in a town just short of the border and took about an hour to get it all glued up together again. Crossing the border was quick and painless – I didn’t even have to get out of the car! In Farrafenni we discovered the mechanic who helped fix the dashboard dropped his phone in the car so Abduhlai dropped us to change currency while he re-crossed the border to get the mechanic his phone back. After picking us up again, we headed east and stopped at the Chala marshes for lunch. Birding was quite good despite the intense mid-day heat (about 35 degrees C) and we saw Yellow-billed oxpecker, African harrier hawk, Short-toed eagle, Western marsh harrier, Lanner falcon, Hooded vulture and Dark-chanting goshawk. Lunch was another fish and processed chicken-filled sandwich under a large mahogany tree and provided some good entertainment for the local kids who sat at a short distance staring at us the entire time. Another 20kms or so down the road we took a walk across some sandy scrub to look for larks and pipits. It was blisteringly hot but we did pick up Chestnut-backed sparrowlark, White-rumped seedeater and Bruce’s green pigeon. We then entered the Central River region and stopped at the Kau-Ur wetlands. This was very productive and armed with Ansu’s scope, we carefully made our way onto the muddy shores from where we scoped Little ringed plover, Common, Marsh and Wood sandpipers, Ruff, Common greenshank, a massive flock of Black herons, Collared pratincole, Pink-backed pelican, Common redstart and a couple of Red-rumped swallows. At a waterhole just outside Njau we hoped to see some Egyptian plovers but these were not around. Our last stop for the day was at a sandpit outside Wassu where Red-throated bee-eaters breed in the hard mud banks. Apart from being able to get fantastic close-up photos of these pretty bee-eaters, we also saw Green bee-eaters, Anteater chats, Rose-ringed parakeets and a single Senegal eremomela. It was now past 6pm already and the settling sun finally started giving up on scorching us to death. About 10kms past Wassu town we reached the Gambia river for the first time and crossed on a ferry to Janjangbureh (Georgetown) where we were to spend the next two nights at Baobolong River Camp. The accommodation here was pretty rough but the food was good. There were a number of other birders around as well and we chatted away over dinner. Typing up my list after dinner, I discovered that I silently crossed the 2000 lifer mark in the day with a Common snipe! I also saw a whopping 44 new African birds for the year, bringing my total to 578!

Monday
The morning started with breakfast at 7am, followed by a half-day boat ride along the Gambia river at 07:30. I was joined on the boat by a Brit (Ian) and his guide – good company and more eyes to spot birds! Before getting on the boat we had a mixed flock of starlings that contained Long-tailed glossy, Bronze-tailed and Lesser blue-eared starlings. Soon after casting off we had nice views of White-crowned robin-chat, Brown-throated wattle-eye and Swamp flycatcher. We motored downstream and stuck close to the banks, mainly looking for African finfoot. But it wasn’t until we got to a quieter and much narrower channel that we got our first (and only) finfoot – still a young one with not a lot of colour on the legs and bill. But it provided good photo opportunities and we stuck with it for a while as it swam in and out of the thick overhanging vegetation. In the same channel we also saw Blue-breasted, Malachite and Woodland kingfishers, African hawk-eagle, Yellow-throated greenbul, Bearded barbet and Black-rumped waxbill. We headed further downstream as the morning started to get hot. Other good sightings included Western banded snake eagle, Giant kingfisher, Hooded and White-backed vultures. By 10:30 it was very hot and if it wasn’t for the slight breeze on the river and the movement of the boat, we would’ve been fried. Tsetse and horse flies were a common nuisance too and resulted in frequent slapping all around. Not long after we turned back upstream, two hippos’ ears were spotted hiding in the shade of overhanging tree branches. We stuck around for some photos and our driver called in another small boat with tourists to see the hippos. We were back in camp at noon and had a break before and after lunch to wait out the worst of the heat. At 15:30 we drove out to some rice paddies where prisoners did some hard labour. The only thing of interest we saw here was a Ruppel’s vulture and as it was soaring with the sun behind it, the views were terrible. It was absolutely stinking hot with the mercury almost certainly hovering around 40 degrees and I was hugging the shade wherever possible. Just before we left the paddies, a Violet turaco made a nice addition to the year list. At a clay quarry near Bantang we had another Red-throated bee-eater colony nesting in the clay banks and two Green bee-eaters provided some additional entertainment. Approaching a few hills above the quarry I got good views of Stone partridges and with the sun finally dipping behind the hills, we got some relief from the heat. Back at Baobolong camp, dinner was at 8pm followed by a welcome cool shower and off to bed.

Tuesday
After breakfast at 7am, we left immediately and made a couple of short stops to look at Marabou storks and Verreaux’s eagle owls. A far-off African grey woodpecker was my first lifer for the day but at the Madina rice paddies, I couldn’t add anything new. By the time we left the rice paddies it wasn’t even 10am and it was already pushing past 33 degrees. Just before Pakali Ba bridge I got a very nice view of a low-flying Beaudouin’s snake eagle and shortly after also added Splendid glossy starling to the year list. We drove for another hour or so past Pakali Ba bridge, stopped in Soma to pick up supplies and then sat under a tree at the roadside for lunch. In the shade, the temperature was just about bearable but back in the car for the half hour drive to Tendaba was like sitting in an oven. At Tendaba camp I got my room assigned and rested in the marginally cooler dark until 15:45 when we went to Kiang West National Park just down the road. We visited several different spots within the fenceless park and got good birds such as Temminck’s courser, Vieillot’s barbet, Northern crombec, Lavender and Black-rumped waxbills, Grasshopper buzzard and Blackcap babbler. I added two lifers as well: Red-winged warbler and Brown-rumped bunting. With dusk bringing some welcome relief, we stopped along the Tendaba access road to look for Standard-winged nightjars but to no avail. At dinner I joined Ian, who’s had basically the same journey as me for the last three days and we shared stories over a three-course meal.

Wednesday
Six of us (tourists) and four guides got into a boat just after breakfast and motored across the width of the Gambia river to the north bank. At this point the river was over a mile wide and heavy with sea salt. Consequently, mangrove forests lines the banks and we were heading for two quiet mangrove creeks on the north bank. However, our outboard motor gave some trouble and it cut out several times. Finally our driver managed a semi-permanent fix and we were able to go along without any further trouble. Apart from the common birds like African darter, White-breasted cormorants, kingfishers and herons, we also had frequent (but brief) views of Mouse-brown sunbird, White-throated bee-eater, Blue-cheeked bee-eater and Abysinian roller. At the back-end of the creek, where it was only about 3-4m wide, one of the guides spotted a White-backed night heron and we all managed to get a very obscured, but decent view of this secretive nocturnal bird. We were back at the camp around 10am and immediately, Ansu and I left to bird the arid plains just above Tendaba village. We were looking mainly for Bronze-winged courser but dipped on this – we did see Chestnut-backed sparrowlark, Four-banded sandgrouse, Lavender and Black-rumped waxbills, Red-cheeked cordonbleus and a couple of other common birds. It was again agonizingly hot and with the temperature creeping to the wrong side of 35 degrees, we quit at noon and went back to camp for lunch and a siesta. My chicken and chips was obviously not of the best quality because by 3am, about an hour before we were due to start the afternoon’s birding, I had to run to the toilet. Despite the upset tummy, we started birding again at 4pm and first visited some shady trees bordering an x-airfield. We didn’t add anything exciting here and the shallow pools on the airfield didn’t produce much either, apart from some Grey plovers and Royal terns. At 6pm we drove out to Kiang West park again and stopped at another spot where Standard-winged nightjars are apparently seen quite frequently. We waited until after sunset, swatting flies and midges, but with no luck. But the sandy track back to Tendaba was still going to deliver and we got fantastic close-up views of a female Standard-winged nightjar and shortly after, a male Long-tailed nightjar. Back at the camp I had to run to the bathroom again and didn’t feel like dinner at all. I spent a rather uncomfortable night battling tummy cramps, toilet visits and a few hours without electricity to power the fan.

Thursday
I felt better this morning but still not entirely happy. I had a decent enough appetite for breakfast and immediately after, we started birding along a track towards the next village that ran all along the edge of the river. Birding was reasonable and we got a few birds we haven’t yet seen on the trip (Pale flycatcher, African sacred ibis, Golden-tailed woodpecker) but the single highlight was some Ahanta francolin scrubbing along some tall grass on the slope above the river bank. We were back in camp just before 11am, packed up and left. The harmattan winds had picked up again and it was searing in the car. Not long after we crossed into the Western region of Gambia, we stopped at a bridge for lunch and afterwards birded the tall trees and palms in the slight depression. This was a fantastic raptor site and we saw Eurasian griffon, Lanner falcon, Grey kestrel, African harrier-hawk, Booted and Wahlberg’s eagles, Grasshopper and Lizard buzzards. Of bigger interest though was an addition of two new year list species: Blue-bellied roller and Pied-winged swallow. My tummy had started cramping again a bit after lunch and birding in over 35 degrees heat didn’t help. We stopped briefly at Ansu’s compound so that he and the driver could do their mid-day prayers but then drove straight towards the coast. Ansu phoned the manager of Pirang forest and was told the owls we were hoping to see there (African wood owl, Barn owl and Northern white-faced owl) has not been seen recently. Consequently we skipped visiting the forest and checked in at Woodpecker Resort around 4pm. The accommodation here was a step up from the lodgings of the past four days and I relaxed in cool bliss under the air-conditioner. A couple of cold cokes helped to ease the tummy too and by dinner time I was feeling almost normal again.

Friday
We left for the Brufut woods after an early breakfast. The Brufut woods proved quite a popular birding destination as we encountered five other birding groups. The birding did not disappoint despite the dusty and windy weather – we got Northern white-faced owl, Splendid, Copper, Variable, Beautiful and Western violet-backed sunbirds, Orange-cheeked and Lavender waxbills, Black-necked weaver, Northern red and Black-winged bishops, Blue-spotted wood dove and Long-tailed nightjar. A quick stop at the Tujareng woods got us White-fronted black chat and Northern wheatear and on our way to lunch, we stopped at a small lagoon outside Tanji to pick up Caspian and Lesser crested terns, Crested lark and a couple of Grey-headed gulls. Lunch was at the Eco-lodge down the road from Tanji, a nice-looking place, where we tried the barracuda with chips and had pawpaw with mint and honey for dessert. We left just after 2pm but on the way back to the hotel, our car ran out of petrol. Abduhlai hopped in a taxi and came back soon with a few extra litres but then depleted the battery to try and re-start. We ended up pushing the car about 100m down the road to a roadside mechanic who helped to jumpstart the car from another vehicle. Back at the hotel just before 4pm it was time to have a rest and start taking stock of the past week’s birding. It was to be an early night for and early rise to make the ferry across the 8km stretch of the Gambia river mouth.

Saturday
It’s only 305kms from the Woodpecker Resort in Serrekunda to my hotel in Dakar. Google estimated our route should take about 5 hours. We managed it in eleven and a half. Ansu picked me up at 6am but forgot his money at his lodgings so I had to pay the bill. Then we had to detour via their place to pick his money up before going to ferry. As a consequence we arrived when most of the ferry has already been loaded and despite our ‘VIP’ parking spot at the docks, there was no more space left on the first ferry. It steamed away into the harmattan fog, leaving us watching gulls and terns from the docks. Apart from the usual birds, we also picked up the occasional Black-headed gull and a Pomarine skua. The ferry returned about 08:40 and after off- and on-loading we finally got underway at 09:20. Getting off on the other side was a big mad rush and then we stopped by an exchange to get CFAs (West African francs) before heading for the border. The border stop also took much longer than the previous crossing – about an hour – and we only got into Senegal just before noon. Then the awful Senegalese roads slowed us down even further and for the next hour and a half we crawled along the dusty back roads, trying not to shake the car apart. Again. In Kaolack we stopped to buy bread and sardines and then pulled off the road half an hour later to eat a rather miserable lunch of wind-dried bread, sardines and water. It was still hot, but perhaps not quite so much as in Gambia. We got going again and after enduring Dakar traffic, finally made it to Onomo hotel just down the road from the airport at 17:30. The Onomo is perhaps a tad run down but spotless, friendly and perfectly adequate. I said goodbye to Ansu and Abduhlai, took a very welcome shower, packed my bags and had a good dinner before getting into bed.

Sunday
The trip back home was uneventful. Got up at 4am, made it to the airport by 04:30, checked in, did the whole immigration and security thing and had breakfast in the lounge. The flight from Washington was on time and everyone leaving Dakar joined the 8-hour flight back home. This week-long trip was very successful. I hoped to get over 600 birds for the year by the end, and managed 641. The trip total was 258 of which 243 were seen in Gambia (Senegal’s count was 94). Conditions were not easy though. I knew it was the dry season but did not expect it to be quite as dry and dusty as it was. I was perhaps also expecting more riparian forest along the river banks but apart from the few mangroves in the lower part where the water is more estuarine in nature, it’s all arid woodland. I’m led to believe it’s much greener and prettier in the wet season (Jun-Sep) but then you have the high humidity to contend with. On this trip, humidity was quite low and the nights (outside the accommodation) and early mornings (until 8am) were quite pleasant. But on every single day, the temperature at 10am was already past 30 degrees and by 2pm, it really was not fun anymore. I will probably not have a chance to return to this part of African soon, but my advice would be to rather go in December when temperatures might be slightly cooler. My guide Ansu was well equipped, knew the birding sites like the palm of his hand and very capable in spotting and identifying birds. He was also very attentive to my requests and requirements - I'd happily recommend him to anyone wishing to see Gambia's birds.