The Banc d’Arguin National Park is an Atlantic coastal area comprising some 1,200,000 ha, between sea, protected seashore (at least in theory), and islands. For a detailed set of statistics and data concerning the park, take a look at the UNESCO webpage.   For a birdwatcher, the Park's appeal lies not so much in the particular species that can be found (especially for a Spanish birder, since practically all of them can be seen at home) as in their sheer numbers. Where in the following list I write “common at Banc D’Arguin” after a species, it means by the thousands, or by the hundreds of thousands in some cases. The park has an estimate bird population of 2,5 million, of which 2,3 million are Palearctic shorebirds, the largest concentration in the World. Particularly numerous are small shorebirds, such as Sanderling and Ruddy Turnstone, which gather in large flocks around the garbage that invariably surrounds every village and settlement along the coast. The numbers of terns are also huge, Caspian being the most notable, followed by Sandwich, Gull-billed and Little. Royal were less numerous and Bridled, sadly, totally absent at the time of our visit; they arrive in the area to breed, in March-April.

The coastline inside the park is very long (some 290 kms), so birds have room to scatter around, and during the day they are found in small but very diverse groups: Pelicans, Flamingos, Cormorants (White-breasted and Long-tailed), many different shorebirds, Gulls (Slender-billed, Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed), and assorted terns and herons. It's in the early morning hours that one can see the enormous flocks that fly from the offshore islets where they sleep to the mainland and the coastal mudflats. For this, boat rides are available using the local fishermen’s sailboats from the village of Louik (or Iwik, as locals seem to call it…). They leave shortly after dawn (if your boatman doesn’t oversleep, as mine did) and take about 2-3 hours, although you can negotiate a longer trip. A park ranger always goes in the boat, together with the skipper and a boy in charge of preparing an endless supply of tea (which comes in handy, since it can be chilly in the early morning). The ride is truly fantastic; since the boats don’t have motors there is no other noise apart from the sea and the, literally, millions of birds flying low over the water to reach their feeding grounds.

A permit is necessary in order to access the Park. It can be obtained at the Park’s office in Nouakchott (see address above); in our case our agency did it for us. Driving north from the entrance of the Park in Nouamghar, in the small village of Louik, there’s a small tourist camp facing the sea, its nearby beach full of shorebirds and an excellent watchpoint for dolphins and seabirds. Facilities are very basic, and lodgings consist in tents. Within walking distance there is a small settlement from which the boats depart. As with every other human habitation throughout the country, there is garbage all around, but birds seem to appreciate it.

There are some 1,000 human inhabitants within the park limits, mainly of the Imragen ethnic group. Traditionally these people were nomadic fishermen, but nowadays they live in squalid settlements hardly deserving the name village. Official literature presents them as an idyllic example of human coexistence with nature, an image somewhat spoilt by the huge quantities of litter and rotten fish surrounding the settlements, and by the general impression of extreme poverty and destitution. However, it’s possible that I missed some other settlements.
For details on the Imragen, you may check:
www.afrol.com/Countries/Mauritania/backgr_Imraguen.htm
Further North from Louik there’s another settlement in which you can rent a large jaima, positively luxurious after the dinghy tents of Louik’s camp. This seems to be a supplemental source of income for local women, who pitched and prepared it at the end of a small peninsula, far away from the village, where huge numbers of pelicans, terns and shorebirds gathered to sleep. In the morning we were awakened by their noise.

That is as far as we went. My non-birding mate was starting to grumble to himself, probably plotting to dump me and my telescope into some rubbish heap and take off with the car. Besides, we were running out of time and had a predictably exhilarating drive ahead of us before reaching Nouakchott (indeed, we had yet another flat tyre even before leaving the park, and were forced to spend half a day flywatching in the shanty outskirts of Nouamghar). Continuing North along the coast one can reach the Cap Blanc, where reportedly Sudan Sparrow can be found, and where the last couple of hundred remaining Monk Seals of the Mediterranean still live. Certainly more than enough reason for another trip, preferably in the breeding season.

Bird list:

Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus). Common at Banc d’Arguin.
White-breasted Cormorant (Phalacrocorax lucidus). Common at Banc d’Arguin 
Long-tailed Cormorant (Phalacrocorax africanus). Common at Banc d’Arguin
Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea). Both the nominal Palearctic subspecies and the distinctive, very pale endemic subspecies A. c. monicae (see photo) are common at Banc d’Arguin.
Western Reef Egret (Egretta gularis). Common at Banc d’Arguin, with an estimated population of 1,500.
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta). Common at Banc d’Arguin.
Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia). Both the nominal form and the local endemic subspecies P.l. balsaci, lacking the yellow bill spot, are common at Banc d’Arguin.
Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus rubber). Common at Banc d’Arguin. Osprey (Pandion haliaetus). Common at Banc D’Arguin. In certain stretches of the road to the park along the coastline, roughly one specimen can be found every 600-700 metres, sitting on the beach. They were also seen fishing during the boat ride from Iwik.
Black Kite (Milvus migrans). Frequently found in desert and semi-desert areas, flying singly or in groups, probably on migration northward. Western Marsh Harrier (Circus aeroginosus). One at Banc d’Arguin.
Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus). One flying near Ouadane, along the oued (a dry river bed; what in Arabia is called wadi) that seemed some kind of northbound route for migrants.
Lanner Falcon (Falco biarmicus). One near the town of Chinguetti, sitting on a sand dune, and several seen along desert roads.
Peregrine (Falco peregrinus). One perched on the island facing the tourist camp in Louik, in Banc D’Arguin.
Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostrelagus). Common at Banc d’Arguin.
Eurasian Thick-knee (Burhinus oedicnemus). Several pairs around the camp at Banc D’Arguin.
Cream-colored Courser (Cursorius cursor). Several pairs seen along the road in the Adrar area.
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola). Common (although not in great numbers) at Banc D’Arguin
Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula). Common at Banc d’Arguin. Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus). A few in the beach near Nouakchott, and also in Banc d’Arguin.
Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica). Common at Banc d’Arguin.
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus). Common at Banc d’Arguin.
Common Redshank (Tringa totanus). Common at Banc d’Arguin. Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) Common at Banc d’Arguin.
Common sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) Common at Banc d’Arguin. Ruddy turnstone(Arenaria interpres) Common at Banc d’Arguin.
Red knot (Calidris canutus) Common at Banc D’Arguin.
Sanderling (Calidris alba). Common at Banc D’Arguin. Especially numerous around garbage in human settlements.
Little Stint (Calidris minuta). Common at Banc D’Arguin.
Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea). Common at Banc D’Arguin. Dunlin (Calidris alpina). Common at Banc D’Arguin.
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus). Common at Banc D’Arguin. Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus). Common at Banc D’Arguin. Slender-billed Gull (Larus genei). Common at Banc D’Arguin.
Gull-billed tern (Sterna nilotica). Common at Banc D’Arguin.
Caspian tern (Sterna caspia). Common at Banc D’Arguin.
Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis). Common at Banc D’Arguin.
Royal tern (Sterna maxima). Found at Banc D’Arguin, but in much smaller numbers than the previous species. Usually 2-3 would be found in a group of hundreds of other terns.
Little tern (Sterna albifrons). Common at Banc D’Arguin, again in smaller numbers.
Speckled pigeon (Columba guinea). One in Nouakchott.
African Collared Dove (Streptopelia roseogrisea). A few around the oued at Ouadane.
Laughing Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis). Common throughout. Great Spotted Cuckoo (Clamator glandarius). Several seen in the trees in the oued at Ouadane, probably on migration northwards. Both adults and subadults.
Pallid Swift (Apus pallidus). Common in Nouakchott.
Bar-tailed Lark (Ammomanes cicturus). One seen at the roadside from Banc d’Arguin to Nouakchott.
Desert Lark (Ammomanes deserti). Several seen on hillsides in Terjit and the fort Saganne.
Greater Hoopoe Lark (Alaemon alaudipes). Individuals and pairs were frequently heard and seen in desert areas .
Dunn’s lark (Eremalauda dunni. Several pairs seen in the bush desert between Chinguetti  and Ouadanne. Bold and curious, they would fly around me at eye level, calling loudly.
Crested Lark (Galerida cristata). A pair in the village of Amghar, at the entrance of Banc d'Arguin.
Rock Martin (Hirundo fuligula). Common in rocky areas and towns.
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica). Several pairs and single specimens seen flying over desert areas, probably on migration.
White Wagtail (Motacilla alba). Several seen around human habitations. Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava iberiae). Several pairs at Banc d'Arguin. Re-throated Pipit (Anthus cervinus). One at banc D’Arguin.
Subalpine Warbler (Sylvia cantillans). One seen in the trees on the road from Nouakchott to Chinguetti.
Spectacled warbler (Sylvia conspicillata). A pair seen near the road between Nouakchott and Chinguetti, where an area of trees and orchards near a gas station seems to be a migrant magnet.
White-crowned Black Wheatear (Oenanthe leucopyga). Very common throughout the interior. The most commonly seen bird away from human settlements (where only House Sparrow outnumber it).
Northern Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe). A few seen in semi desert areas.
Isabelline Wheatear (Oenanthe isabellina). A few seen in semi desert areas, on the road from Nouakchott to Chinguetti.
Fulvous Babbler (Turdoides fulvus). A few seen around farms in Chinguetti and Atar. Southern Grey Shrike (Lanius meridionalis). Several seen in bush and semi-desert areas.
Brown-necked Raven (Corvus ruficollis). Common in desert areas, their calls being the most characteristic sound of the sand dune desert.
House sparrow (Passer domesticus). Common in all towns and human settlements.
Desert Sparrow (Passer simplex). One of the species I was eagerly looking for. Only one pair seen, looking for food at the small village of Tanouchatt. While trying to get a photo of the male, a local woman protested, thinking I was trying to photograph her. When I finally convinced her that it was the bird’s picture I wanted, she looked at me like I was dangerously insane.
Trumpeter Finch (Bucanetes githagineus). A couple of small groups seen in the rocky hills around Terjit, and also near the Saganne colonial fort, usually mixed with House Buntings.
House Bunting (Emberiza striolata). Seen around several villages and camps in the desert. Especially numerous in and around the oasis of Terjit.

Mammals:

Northern Pygmy Gerbil (Gerbillus sp.). Any night walk in desert areas would produce a good number of these diminutive rodents. They inhabit small burrows concealed at the base of bushes, and move so fast that it’s hard to tell whether they run or jump.

Jird (Meriones sp.) Common around the camp at Banc d’Arguin. They inhabit burrows at the base of bushes. Mainly nocturnal, but they are curious and not too shy, and frequently emerge during the day to feed and take a look around. (Foto: Jird)

Gundi (Felovia vae). A charming, strange-looking rodent found in rocky areas around Ouadane, and near Fort Saganne. At a distance I took them for Hyraxes, but they are smaller and have short, bushy upturned tails. Their faces are very peculiar, with eyes positioned backward in the head close to very small ears and long, blunt snouts. They run along rocks, so fast that I couldn’t take any good photos, and hide in crevices. Once located they aren’t difficult to observe, especially in the late afternoon, if one stays quiet.

Red-headed Rock Hyrax (Procavia ruficeps). One family group seen in rocky outcrops in the oued near Ouadane. They didn’t look very “red-headed”, but according to Kingdon this is the species found in the area.

Reptiles & amphibians :

Toad (Bufo sp. (mauritanicus?). One seen at the oasis in Tarjit. Similar to some B. mauritanicus I’ve seen before, but with less defined markings.

Spiny-tailed lizard (Uromastyx acanthinurus).Very common in the rocky slopes around Ouadane, and almost anywhere with large rock boulders. They continuously crossed the road in front of our car, so fast that despite his obvious efforts our driver couldn’t run over any of them.

Wall gecko (Tarentola mauritanica).Only one seen, in the camp at Ouadane.

Ground gecko (Stenodactylus sp).Another beautiful reptile that I haven’t been able to identify with certainty. Found during a night walk when camping near the village of Bennichab. (I would really appreciate any input as to the correct ID of the above toad and gecko).