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Friday 5 December to Friday 12 December 2008 Friday 30 January to Friday 6 February 2009 Friday 4 December to Friday 11 December 2009 with James Lidster and a local guide as leaders. Cost: £1180 plus about £380 for flights (2009) Click here for explanation of price breakdown Maximum group size: 14 with 2 leaders. 2 leaders will join regardless of group size
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'I found James to be resourceful, patient and energetic. He was a delight to be with'. C. Smith 2008
'James is the perfect leader - professional, confident and personable' C. Beacroft 2007 |
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Tucked away on the tropical west coast of Africa is the tiny country of Gambia. Despite its small size – just over 190 miles long and little more than 30 wide – Gambia has become a favoured haunt for birdwatchers from all over the world. This is because the facilities developed to allow holidaymakers to escape the winter gloom of Europe also give birdwatchers access to some superb habitats, most within a day’s journey of our comfortable coastal hotel. These include sandy beaches, coastal lagoons, mangroves, dry forest and most productive of all, Abuko Nature Reserve. Here we’ll encounter bird families endemic to the continent alongside more familiar European migrants. We’ll also spend one night up-river at a comfortable lodge to look for some different species including the elusive African Finfoot. Whether you are looking for an introduction to birding in Africa, or just somewhere warm to spend a relaxed bird-filled week, the Gambia is the perfect destination. Day 1: The tour starts with a flight from London to Banjul from where we’ll transfer to our hotel on the Atlantic coast. If time allows there will be chance for some birding in the hotel grounds for a great introduction to local birds with Senegal Coucal, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Lavender Waxbill, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu, Yellow-billed Shrike, Beautiful Sunbird all possible. Night at Palm Beach Hotel. Days 2-3: The excitement of waking up in Gambia cannot be overemphasized as unusual bird sounds will have us out before breakfast. Hooded Vultures and Yellow-billed Kites will be sat around waiting for the day to warm up while resplendent Green Woodhoopoes and various species of vivid glossy starlings and weavers will keep us busy. The extensive grounds of the hotel are rich in bird life, and anyone wishing to sit out a birding session can always lounge by the pool or use the hotel’s private beach and still record a respectable bird list! At Abuko Reserve well-marked paths lead through dense areas of forest to small pools where Red-eyed and Vinaceous Doves, and Blue-spotted and Black-billed Wood Doves will compete for our attention with Senegal Eremomelas, Grey-backed Camaropteras, Snowy-crowned Robin-chats or maybe a Black Crake scurrying among African Jacanas. This isolated area of gallery forest is also home to some skulking, forest specialities including Buff-spotted Woodpecker, Western Bluebill and Grey-headed Bristlebill. Herons and egrets will be well represented with Hamerkop, Black-headed Heron and Black Egret and this is one of the best areas to see both Green and Violet Turacos. We should also get our first look at a roosting Verreaux’s Owl, blinking down at us with its pink eyelids, or a raucous Giant Kingfisher perched alongside striking Pied Kingfishers. A visit to the coastal savannah at Tanji is a must on any itinerary and we’ll spend some time scanning through flocks of wintering waders for White-fronted Plover. The surrounding savannah should produce Vieillot’s and Bearded Barbets, Yellowfronted Tinkerbird, Black-crowned Tchagra, Variable Sunbird and Oriole Warbler, while Ospreys and Black-shouldered Kites regularly float overhead. Down on the beach the flocks of gulls and terns should contain a powerful Kelp Gull or two among the Grey-headed Gulls, or an equally impressive Caspian Tern dwarfing nearby Sandwich Terns. Nearby Brufut and Yundum have a different selection of species again. The open habitat here is ideal for striking Blue-bellied and Abyssinian Rollers as well as small parties of Blue-cheeked, Little and Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters. Careful checking of the swallow flocks should reveal Wire-tailed and Pied-winged Swallows while woodland clearings are the favoured haunt of Fanti Saw-wing. Raptors will be in evidence throughout the tour and during these first few days we hope to see Lizard and Grasshopper Buzzards, Dark Chanting Goshawk, African Harrier-Hawk, or maybe a sleek Grey Kestrel or dashing Red-necked Falcon. Kotu Creek and sewage pond are also famous birding areas close to our hotel, and time spent here should yield unbeatable views of White-faced Whistling Duck, Sacred Ibis, Pink-backed Pelican, Pied and Malachite Kingfisher, and maybe a Greater Painted-snipe. Nights at Palm Beach Hotel. Day 4: Today we’ll begin our journey up river, ensuring we catch the early ferry across to where we could see both Arctic and Pomarine Skuas as well as Royal Terns from the boat. Our drive to Tendaba Camp will be halted for a variety of birds including White-backed and Rüppell’s Vultures, Montagu’s Harrier, Chestnut-backed Sparrowlarks, or maybe a Temminck’s Courser. Although very rare at this time of year, the one special bird of this region is Egyptian Plover and we’ll make every effort to find this striking wader. The wetlands favoured by the plover are sure to hold Senegal Thick-knees and excitable flocks of Spur-winged Plovers. We’ll aim to reach the Tendaba Camp in time for a late dinner. Night at Tendaba Camp. Day 5: Today we take to the water using a boat to explore secluded creeks where, drifting quietly among the mangroves, we may chance upon the much-desired African Finfoot, White-backed Night Heron or African Blue Flycatcher. These species all require a great deal of luck but there will be plenty of other birds to enjoy while we look. Stately African Fish Eagles sitting on exposed branches, groups of African Darters drying their wings and a selection of herons from Western Reef to Squacco and from the small Striated to the aptly named Goliath. Another speciality of the mangroves is the Mouse-brown Sunbird, a rather drab species, especially compared to the Scarlet-chested, Splendid and Pygmy Sunbirds that we should have seen by now. Returning to the camp we will have time for lunch and maybe a siesta before we explore the dry savannah nearby. Specialities in this area include White-shouldered Black Tit, African Yellow White-eye, Brubru and maybe an elusive Bronze-winged Courser. In the evening we’ll wait until dusk at a small pool to watch Four-banded Sandgrouse coming to drink and after dinner there will be an optional night drive. The real targets on the drive are African Scops Owl and Spotted Thick-knee and maybe a Long-tailed or Standard-winged Nightjar. Night at Tendaba Camp. Day 6: After a leisurely breakfast we will start our bumpy journey towards the coast, stopping en route for new birds which could include a massive Martial Eagle or African Hawk Eagle, poorly named Brown-rumped Buntings or a flock of White-crested Helmet Shrikes. If time allows we may visit the Farana Banta bush track, famed for its raptors and woodland species as well as possibly producing Stone Partridge or a roosting Greyish Eagle Owl. Night at Palm Beach Hotel. Day 7: With so much birding still to do we’ll spend our final full day seeking out those species that eluded us on our first trips to Abuko as well as exploring some new areas such as Pirang where we stand our best chance of seeing Black-crowned Crane and Quailfinch, as well as Long-tailed Cormorant, African Spoonbill, Plain-backed Pipit and Crested Lark. The woodland at Pirang is some of the finest we will see and offers our best chance of seeing Green Hylia, Green Crombec among Common Wattle-eyes and Yellow-breasted Apalis More familiar European migrants will also be much in evidence and at times it will be difficult to know whether to enjoy a skulking Melodious Warbler or admire a noisy Senegal Parrot. We will stay out until dusk at a nearby site offering another chance of a Nightjar or two. Night at Palm Beach Hotel. Day 8: There will be chance for some final birding close to our hotel in the morning before we catch a flight back to London where the tour ends.
E-mail or phone +44 (0)1767 262522 for availability.
Last updated September 2008 |
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Bird List - a week in December 
The noisy calls of Yellow-crowned Gonoleks greet each dawn in the Gambia. 
Senegal Coucals can be found in our hotel grounds...
while the massive Giant Kingfisher is a regular sight in Abuko Forest...
as is Green Turaco. 
Egyptian Plover will be one of the special birds of the trip...
as is the distinctive profile of a Red-billed Hornbill.