This was our first birding holiday to The Gambia and after looking at some trip reports on the internet we decided to give it a go. We pre-booked our guide Ya Ya Barry by email, after seeing his name on the credits of the birding in The Gambia video by Malcolm Rymer. we stayed at the senegambia hotel, a nice basic hotel with friendly staff and good food at a resonable price.
Our guide Ya Ya and his driver Abdullah picked us up daily at our hotel at 7.30am and arriving back somewhere between 5-6 o'clock with a meal at 1.30pm. The itinerary for the 5 and a half days was as follows:
Day 1: kotu creek and fields, golf course, sewage ponds and the cycle track.
Day 2: abuko nature reserve, and the lamin rice fields and gardens.
Day 3: brufut woods, and tanji coastal reserve.
Day 4: pirang and mandinaba, and faraba banta.
Day 5: marakissa river camp and surrounding area.
Day 6: this half day was at the bond (on the sign ) bund road and cape creek.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable experience of birding in The Gambia and hopefully we will go back soon, this time up river. We would have no hesitation in recommending our guide Ya Ya Barry, he is punctual, polite and fun to bird with and knows where to find the birds. He can be contacted at www.kingbirders.
apalis, yellow-breasted
babbler, blackcap
babbler, brown
barbet, bearded
barbet, vieillot's
bee eater, blue cheeked
bee eater, little
bee eater, swallow tailed
bishop, northern red
bluebill, western
bristlebill, grey-headed
bulbul, common
bushshrike, grey-headed
buzzard, grasshopper
buzzard, lizard
camaroptera, green-backed
canary, yellow-fronted
chiffchaff, common
cordon-blue, red-ckeeked
cormorant, long-tailed
coucal, senegal
crake, black
crombec, northern
crow, pied
cuckoo, klass's
cuckooshrike, white-breasted
darter, african
dove, black-billed
dove, blue-spotted
dove, laughing
dove, mourning african
dove, namaqua
dove, red-eyed
dove, vinaceous
drongo, fork-tailed
duck, white-faced whistling
eagle, beaudouin's snake
eagle, long crested
eagle, wahlberg's
eagle owl, greyish
eagle owl, verreaux's
egret, great
egret, intermediate
egret, little
egret, cattle
eremomela, green-backed
falcon, lanner
falcon, red-necked
firefinch, red-billed
flycatcher, african paradise
flycatcher, northern black
flycatcher, red-bellied paradise
fracolin, double-spurred
godwit, bar-tailed
gonolek, yellow-crowned
goshawk, dark-chanting
goshawk, gabar
grebe, little
greenbul, little
greenshank, common
gull, grey-headed
gull, lesser black-backed
gull, slender-billed
hammerkop
harrier, montagu's
harrier, western marsh
harrier, hawk african
helmetshrike, white crested
heron, black
heron, black-crowned night
heron, black-headed
heron, grey
heron, purple
heron, squacco
heron, striated
heron, western reef
honeyguide, greater
honeyguide, lesser
hoppoe, eurasian
hoppoe, green wood
hornbill, african grey
hornbill, african pied
hornbill, red-billed
ibis, sacred
indigobird, village
jacana, african
kestrel, grey
kingfisher, african pygmy
kingfisher, blue-brested
kingfisher, giant
kingfisher, grey-headed
kingfisher, malachite
kingfisher, pied
kingfisher, striped
kite, black
kite, yellow-billed
kite, black-winged
lapwing, african-wattled
lapwing, black-headed
lapwing, spur-winged
leaflove, yellow-throated
mannikin, bronze
moorhen, common
nightjar, long-tailed
oriole, african golden
owl, northern white-faced
owlet, pearl-spotted
oxpecker, yellow-billed
parakeet, rose-ringed
parrot, brown-necked
parrot, senegal
partridge, stone
pelican, pink-backed
piapiac
pigeon, african green
pigeon, speckled
plantain-eater, western
plover, ringed
plover, grey
plover, little ringed
prinia, tawny-flanked
puffback, northern
qualfinch, black-faced
quelea, red-billed
redshank, common
redstart, common
robinchat, snowy-crowned
robinchat, white-crowned
roller, abyssinian
roller, blue-bellied
roller, broad-billed
roller, rufous-crowned
sandpiper, common
sandpiper, curlew
sandpiper, marsh
sandpiper, wood
saw-wing, fanti
shikra
shrike, woodchat
shrike, yellow-billed
snipe, greater-painted
sparrow, grey-headed
spinetail, mottled
starling, greater-blue eared
starling, lesser blue eared
starling, long-tailed
starling, purple
starling, splendid
stilt, black-winged
stork, yellow-billed
sunbird, beautifil
sunbird, collared
sunbird, copper
sunbird, scarlet-chested
sunbird, splendid
sunbird, variable
swallow, barn
swallow, mosque
swallow, pied-winged
swallow, red-rumped
swallow, wire-taied
swift, african palm
swift, little
tchagra, black-crowned
tern, caspian
tern, gull-billed
tern, lesser-crested
tern, royal
tern, sandwich
thick-knee, senegal
thrush, african
tinkerbird, yellow-fronted
turaco, green
turaco, violet
turnstone, ruddy
vulture, hooded
vulture, palm-nut
wagtail, western yellow
warbler, african,reed
warbler, melodious
warbler, oriole
warbler, subalpine
warbler, willow
wattle-eye, common
waxbill, black-rumped
waxbill, lavender
waxbill, orange-cheecked
weaver, black-necked
weaver, little
weaver, village
weaver, white-billed buffalo
wheatear, northern
whimbrel
white-eye, african yellow
whitethroat, common
whydah, pin-tailed
woodpecker, african grey
woodpecker, brown-backed
woodpecker, buff-spotted
woodpecker, fine-spotted
yellowbill
osprey