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The Gambia.
A country with bird diversity almost out of proportion with
its size (571 species in 11,295 km2), The Gambia is an excellent
introduction to African birdlife, with very diverse habitats comprising
from semiarid sahelian areas in the north, through open savannah
and acacia woodland (known as Guinea Savannah), to gallery forests
along the banks of the river that names the country.
The Gambia’s popularity as a birding destination, mainly among the British, is due to its privileged location, the fact that it’s one of the few West African countries in which English is spoken, and its long-standing political stability. It’s a safe, cheap, English-influenced country. However, the appalling state of some of its principal roads came as a surprise, tourism being one of its main sources of income.
 
Dogs are reasonably well-treated in the Gambia.
There are probably more detailed Internet trip reports on the Gambia than on any other African country,
most of them taken during more productive times of the year,
and also many websites offering a wealth of information about every aspect of its birdlife
(see a list of links at the end of this text). Our visit took place at the end of the rainy season,
which meant that vegetation was so high and dense that made visibility in the field almost nil.
Rain itself rarely posed a problem since it fell mainly in the evening, although often torrentially.
Most birding trips are taken later in the dry season, when grass has thinned out and all wintering species have arrived.
Although we missed some of the country’s most sought-after specialties, our dates had the advantage of several species
retaining their full breeding plumage: Red and Yellow-crowned bishops, Wydahs and some Sunbirds were at their courtship best,
and especially the former offered a wonderful spectacle along the road to Tendaba,
helping to alleviate the rigors of the drive.
Eight members of SEO-Huesca (the local branch of the Spanish Society of Ornithology) and yours truly,
from Madrid, embarked the 6th of October, 2005, on a Spanair flight to Banjul, the capital,
from where we were transferred to the Senegambia hotel in Senekunda, the main resort and tourist area.
From there we divided our itinerary in two main parts: the coastal area (four nights)
and the surroundings of Tendaba, about 165 km up river (three nights).
After that, the rest of the group returned to Spain and I took an extra week to visit Senegal.
(There’s a birdlist for both countries in English, Latin and Spanish).
8 elements from SEO-Huesca plus a Madrileño
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| Monkeys crossing...
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| The dreadful road to Tendaba |
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| Abyssinian Roller |
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| Kampanti rice fields |
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| Poor visibility in Guinea Savanna |
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| Red Bishop |
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| Yellow-crowned Bishop |
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THE COASTAL AREA.
The very popular Senegambia hotel is the headquarters of most of the birders visiting the country.
In its extensive gardens a large amount of birds can be easily seen,
plus Vervet Monkeys and some truly enormous Nile monitor Lizards (Varanus niloticus).
It is also very convenient as a starting point to a number of short excursions to several bird-rich sites.
The gardens extend to the beach, from which a good number of terns and gulls can be seen.
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to spend more than 10 minutes on the beach without some African
approaching to start a conversation, which invariably leads to a request for money.
Bijilo
Bijilo:
A forest reserve that runs parallel to
the coast, a mere 10 minute walk from the Senegambia hotel. Traversed by a well-marked network of trails, it comprises
an interesting portion of gallery forest on sandy substrate, and a dense wild
Rhun Palm (Borassus aethiopum) forest, the last one remaining intact in
the country. Between the latter and the beach there’s a stretch of scrub,
almost totally overgrown by grass at the time. Even before reaching the reserve,
on the walk from the hotel, we saw Violet Turaco and Levaillant’s
Cuckoo; the first examples of species we would see many times along the
trip, such as African Harrier-hawk, Palm Vulture, Blue-breasted
Kingfisher, Red-billed Hornbill, large numbers of Little
Bee-eater and a few Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters. A small group of Rock
Partridge showed briefly on the trail.
Vervet Monkey
Vervet monkeys (Cercophitecus
aethiops) abound at the reserve, and many move to the gardens of the Senegambia and other resorts after midday. A good number of terns and gulls could be
seen from the beach, among them Lesser Crested Tern.
Abuko: "Crocodile Pond"
Abuko Forest Reserve: One of the last
intact portions of gallery forest of The Gambia,
along the Lamin River. The forest is surrounded by open
savannah. Although relatively small, the reserve contains more than 200 bird
species. A small forest pond (“Crocodile Pond”) can be viewed from an
observatory, from which we could see Malachite Kingfisher, Black-headed
Heron, Striated Heron, African Jacana, African Black Crake,
and, best of all, a pair of White-backed Night-heron on their nest. The
three monkey species at the reserve are easy to see: Vervet Monkey, Western
Red Colobus (Piliocolobus badius temminckii), and Patas Monkey
(Cercophitecus patas).
Following the main trail that leads to the
“Animal Orphanage”, we saw a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl roosting on a huge
tree, a female Shikra and our first Copper Sunbirds. Along the
road to the reserve there were several Blue-billed Roller perched on telephone
lines.
The Croc that names the pond at Abuko |
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| Copper Sunbird |
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Vervet Monkeys playing
at the Senegambia gardens |
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| Violet Turaco |
Little Bee-eater |
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| Blue-breasted Kingfisher |
Red-billed Hornbill |
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| Gambian Sun Squirrel |
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| Blue-bellied Roller |
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| Malachite Kingfisher |
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TENDABA AND ITS SURROUNDINGS.
The village of Tendaba lies by the Gambia River, some 165 km from the coast.
Tendaba Camp was founded in 1971 by a Swedish seaman. He eventually sold it to his African employees,
who now manage it very efficiently. The ageing founder is still around the camp,
and it’s probably due to his influence that the bar is so unusually well-stocked.
 The group at Tendaba
The camp faces the Gambia
River, and from its shore we saw species like Hammerkop,
Osprey, Western Reef Egret, Spur-winged Goose… with low
tide, large numbers of Mudskippers (Periophtalmus barbarus) and Fiddler
Crabs (Uca tangeri) filled the mudflats.
From the camp there are boat rides to the
Gambia tributary creeks (Kisi and Tunku Bolons) that flow into mangrove and
swampy areas, where African Fish-eagle, Goliath Heron, Spur-winged
and Wattled lapwings, Yellow-billed and Wolly-necked Stork
could be seen. Not far from Tendaba, Kiang West
National Park is a large reserve of open acacia woodland and savannah, at this
time of the year difficult to access due to the dense vegetation and the poor
state of roads and trails.
 Abyssinian
Ground Hornbill
We birded its surrounding areas and saw Klaas’s
Cuckoo, Bateleur, Senegal Batis, and we were lucky to see a male Abyssinian Ground Hornbill perched
on a tree stump; the high grass made it impossible to see this and other
species on the ground.
The same happened with an obliging Double-spurred
Francolin, after many frustrating glimpses when crossing trails. On the
nearby Tendaba Airfield we could see Rock
Partridge, and Dark Chanting Goshawk was the most common raptor
around the area.
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| Tendaba: the river Gambia |
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| Hamerkop |
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| Western Ref. Heron |
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| Mudskipper |
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| Spur-winged Lapwing |
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Double-spurred Francolin |
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Dark Chanting Goshawk |
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Klaas’s Cuckoo |
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We made several stops along the seemingly
endless drive between Tendaba and the coast, where we could see species like Giant
Kingfisher, African Pied Hornbill and Pearl-spotted Owlet.
Thanks to Alberto Bueno and José Mª
“Cani” Canudo for their excellent photos.
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| Wattled Lapwing |
African Pied Hornbill |
Pearl-spotted Owlet |
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| Alción senegalés |
Martín pescador pío |
Polluela negra africana |
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Some Gambia-related links:
Birdtours
Has a large collection of trip reports on The Gambia.
Fatbirder
Offers and exhaustive informative section on The Gambia.
The
Gambia birding group
Keeps an updated website with the latest sightings and the best
sites in the country.
The
African Bird Club
Offers a comprehensive chapter on Gambia, and on every African country.
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