Photos with this report (click to enlarge) | |||
 African Finfoot |
 Greater Painted-Snipe |
 Northern Carmine Bee-eater |
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 Greyish Eagle-Owl |
 Savile's Bustard |
 Western Bluebill |
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Day 1 - Kotu
We arrived at our hotel in Kotu at 3am on our first day, and therefore decided to have a relaxed day to recuperate and get a hang of the birds before being guided for the remainder of the trip. Nonetheless, we woke at 7:30am and managed eight hours of birding, producing a total of 89 species.
The hotel we booked was the Palm Beach Hotel, and arriving during the night, it was hard to get a grasp of its setting. Stepping out of the hotel entrance in the morning, we were amazed to find ourselves looking right out across Kotu Creek, greeted by an assortment of waterbirds, including Giant Kingfisher, Whimbrel, Spur-winged Plover, Long-tailed Cormorant, Gull-billed Tern, Black Heron and Pink-backed Pelicans.
Walking up the track away from the hotel, two Blue-bellied Rollers perched up on posts in a field; the best views we received all trip.
We soon bumped into one of the many unofficial bird guides, all of whom will have an owl in a nearby tree that they wish to show you; a cunning tactic for use on newly arrived birders. The official bird guides in the Bird Guides Association will not do this. The number of guides is hardly surprising though, since the guides in the association now do a lot of teaching on birds in schools around Gambia, and there has now been a big increase in pupils leaving school with their heart set on becoming a bird guide... which can't be a bad thing.
Anyway, he showed us both Pearl-spotted Owlet and Northern White-faced Owl, before following us around and showing us the secret spot for Greater Painted-Snipe which you would never find without a guide. It is best to visit this spot in the evening when the sunlight is right behind you. The snipe are only 15 or so metres from the viewing screen, and give exceptional sustained views.
A look around the wetlands to the east of the bridge revealed a single Spotted Redshank which is slightly on the scarce side. Large numbers of Wattled and Spur-winged Lapwing were roosting on the mud, with half a dozen Little Ringed Plover, singles of Grey Plover and Hamerkop, and a few each of Common, Wood and Green Sandpiper. A beautiful Blue-breasted Kingfisher perched up wonderfully close, making the odd dive down into the shallow water.
We then had a walk around the golf course where we had great views of a couple of Green Woodhoopoes in a large mixed flock of Yellow-billed Shrikes and Blackcap Babblers.
Since the internet was out at our hotel, we got one of the official bird guides at Kotu Bridge to ring Ebrima 'hawkeye' Sidibeh (our bird guide for the following six days) up for us, and we arranged to meet after lunch at the hotel to go over the upcoming six day trip. Ebrima arrived on time and we discussed the itinerary before he wrote us a receipt.
After a quick rest, we headed back out and had a wonder around the Kotu sewage farm lakes. It was great here, with a large flock of White-faced Whistling Ducks, Black-winged Stilts, African Jacanas, Yellow Wagtails, a flyover Bearded Barbet and displaying African Grey and Western Red-billed Hornbills.
We ended the day back watching the Greater Painted-Snipe in the perfect golden light. Possibly the best place in the world to get such close views of this species. A Black-crowned Night Heron put in a brief appearance under the mangroves and a Little Bee-eater perched up on top. On the walk back we stopped off where some ladies on the beach prepared a large plate of tropical fruit to share, before getting an early night for the week ahead.
Day 2 - Kotu to Morgan Kunda
After breakfast at 7am in our hotel, Ebrima arrived early for a 7:30am pick-up and we headed out onto the main highway that runs along the south side of the river. The road has been tarmacked for the last few years which meant that the ride was a lot smoother than it must have been for birders in the past when Ebrima started out as a guide in his early twenties some 20+ years ago.
A flyover Lanner Falcon was the best bird seen from the car before our first stop off; an area of scrub and grassland near Sotokoi Village. This area had a scattering of some all important mature grey plumb trees that have sustained a small population of this stop's target bird; the Brown-headed Parrot. After a while of searching, Ebrima spotted some of the parrots feeding in the top of a tree. Despite trying our hardest to get a view of the birds with the sun behind us, the birds didn't cooperate, however the views were good nonetheless.
While feeding, the parrots were incredibly hard to spot.
Other birds seen at this stop off included a flyover Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle, Long-crested Eagle, a couple of Wahlberg's Eagles and a Palmnut Vulture. A few African Green Pigeons were in trees and a Stone Partridge was flushed.
The next stop, a little further up the road was at the Kampanti rice fields. These fields are irrigated with water through the dry season, which attracts many raptors in for a drink. On approach, a couple of Grasshopper Buzzards perched in trees and a few African Harrier-Hawks were flying around. Then suddenly there were three Wahlberg's Eagles sharing the skies with the omnipresent Black Kites. Then we realised there was also a Tawny Eagle... amazing. We set up under a tree to view the area that the raptors come down to drink from, and soon, an African Hawk-Eagle landed on the ground right in front of us, spending the following 20 minutes lapping up water from a puddle, and giving us breathtaking views in the process.
Another Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle was spotted high overhead, and then a much larger Brown Snake-Eagle appeared behind us before itself also coming down for a drink.
Other birds seen in the area included Northern Crombec, Yellow-throated Greenbul, a couple of Abyssinian Rollers, and a few Yellow-billed Oxpeckers that were pecking away at a large sore on the back of a cow.
During a stop off at Brumen Bridge at a cafe for lunch, we were joined by some Splendid Starlings before continuing to two area of good habitat outside Nema Kuta and at Toniataba. Ebrima employed his Pearl-spotted Owlet whistling technique to attract in the birds in. Small passerines hate owlets, so soon there were 25+ birds, the majority being sunbirds, anxiously flitting around. In fact it really suprised me how well this always worked. Birds would just appear out of nowhere; presumably having been roosting in the shade of bushes to escape the worst of the midday sun. It makes you realise just how many birds there are when you multiply these small areas up to a larger landscape scale. The highlights from these stops were Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Brown-backed Woodpecker, White-rumped Seedeater, Black-crowned Tchagra, Yellow-breasted Apalis, Senegal Batis, Vieillot's Barbet, Pygmy and Collared Sunbirds, Brown-backed and Fine-spotted Woodpeckers, and a Brown Babbler.
A few minutes after driving off, we spotted a dead donkey at the side of the road, so Ebrima reversed up a bit and we got out to enjoy amazing close views of 10+ Ruppell's Griffon Vultures, three White-backed Vultures and 10+ Hooded Vultures. They quickly left the feast and perched in nearby trees, obviously wary of our presence, so we decided to leave them be.
A ghostly male Montagu's Harrier was seen from the car in the dying daylight just before arriving at Morgan Kunda, a lovely sustainable, well run lodge set up by an Englishman. The money made from your stay here goes directly into the community, providing an education for its children, and supporting a maternity project.
Day 3 - Morgan Kunda to Georgetown
A quick look around the grounds of the lodge before breakfast showed a Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Grey-backed Camaroptera and 20+ Gull-billed Tern that flew over, presumably having just left their night-time roost.
After breakfast, we headed out to the countryside near to the lodge. A pair of Pearl-spotted Owlets were seen in a grove of trees, one of which had a stand-off with a Grey Woodpecker which lasted a few minutes.
We spent a while looking through some barren fields where Ebrima had seen a family of Temminck's Coursers on all of his previous visits here this winter, however it was clear that they had moved on. There were however four Black-headed Lapwings, ten Little Ringed Plovers, and the trip's only four Hoopoes. Small passerines were conspicuous by their absence in what was great habitat, perhaps due to the higher than normal wind. Ebrima pulled a few good species out of the bag though, including a nest building Speckle-fronted Weaver, Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver, ten Northern Anteater Shrikes and brief but good views of two huge Warthogs, tailed by a row of piglets.
We then stopped off at a huge wetland area called Dibba Kunda where a family of Black Crowned Cranes have been present. We drew a blank at the first stop-off point, but managed to find two very elegant Marsh Sandpipers, a couple of Ruff roosting with the lapwings and thick-knees, and a Plain-backed Pipit in the short grass at the edge of the water.
At our second view point we were relieved to see that the cranes were together feeding happily out on the marsh. The family group was composed by two parents and three young, and were a treat to watch with both Marsh and Montagu's Harriers dancing in the background. Two Purple Herons at this location were also the only records from our trip.
The next stop was what proved to be one of the more memorable parts of our trip. Ebrima asked us whether we'd like to walk out into the bush to look for bustards. Despite the 40+ degree midday sun, of course we had to say yes. We spread out to cover more area and began walking out into the middle of nowhere. First, we flushed some Singing Bush Larks, which at times gave good views. I then flush what looked like a minutely small quail from a couple of metres, and shouted to Ebrima. The bird flew right passed him and we were able to identify it as a Quail-Plover. A very rare bird for Gambia, for which there are only a handful of previous records. Despite it landing within about 30 metres, we couldn't flush the bird again. After another 20 or so minutes of wondering through the dry spiky grass, I locked eyes with a bustard right in front of me; a Savile's Bustard. It showed very well before flying over us into denser grassland, by which time I had also clocked some White-bellied Bustards in the distance. With a bit of field-craft, using bushes for cover, we managed to get really close to these fantastic looking birds; four in total. However, we were getting dehydrated so we left the bustards in peace and returned back to our now very hot drinking water.
We then had a lunch break at the reservoir in Njow, a site that gets Egyptian Plovers during the first part of the dry season, however we were a month too late. Ebrima set about making us all delicious baguettes while we watched the fantastic looking Sahel Paradise Whydah, which we were glad to see had clung onto its long, showy tail feathers. The reservoir held the usual assortment of common wetland birds, and other than that, an Orange-necked Falcon gave a couple of high speed flypasts, and on a later nearby roadside stop, a couple of Cut-throat Finches perched up nicely.
A little further down the road, we stopped at Wassu Quarry where there was a large colony of Red-throated Bee-eaters. There must have been over 30 birds here using the steep sandy side of the quarry to dig their nest holes. I enjoyed giving one of the local school children a view of them through the scope on their walk back home.
Just as the sun was setting, we arrived at the ferry port that connects travellers on the north bank to Georgetown. However, the long line of lorries queued up confirmed our fears that the ferry had broken down, and we were told that it would need two days of repair work to get it working again. So we sat down enjoying the sunset over the River Gambie while Ebrima arranged for a small passenger boat to take us over directly to our lodge for the night, and paid some guards to keep watch over the car during the night. We felt perfectly safe during the trip, and never had one hint of hostility. However, one can't be too careful leaving an unattended car at a busy ferry port full of angry truckers!
Day 4 - Georgetown to Tendaba
Be began the day with a three hour boat trip to visit the creeks to the north-west of Georgetown, sharing the company of a couple of other English birders we'd met the day before. On the journey out, two Banded Snake-Eagles perched up on the other side of the river, and we passed right under an impressive African Fish Eagle.
Several Violet Turacos were seen making their way through the trees, three Oriole Warblers showed well low down in the bank-side vegetation, and four Swamp Flycatchers perched on low overhanging branches.
We turned a corner and made our way up a narrow creek, and after five minutes of scanning, the moment of truth came when an African Finfoot was picked up making its way along a bank. We spent about ten minutes watching this enigmatic species at extremely close range while it exhibited its natural behavior, completely unphased by our presence. It would swim back and forth, stopping to peck through the muddy bank sides for invertebrates, occasionally darting up over the bank to chase any prey items making an escape.
We then turned back to the main river and when around to the channel of the river that runs around the south side of MacCarthy Island, where hippos can often be seen. Unfortunately, the tide was too high for them to come out onto the river from where they forage deep behind the thick vegetation on the riverside. Despite this, a flock of 12 Knob-billed Ducks and a Gabar Goshawk flew over.
With the ferry out of action, we had to travel back the way we came. We stopped off at a series of ponds to look for African Pygmy Goose, but drew a blank. This species would have been nailed on if we had been able to continue across to the south bank.
After a long drive, and having crossed back over to the south using the new road bridge, where the Georgetown ferry itself had been operating just two years ago, we stopped off back at Toniataba where after a long search, found two Brown-rumped Buntings in the top of a tree. Other birds in the area included Brubru, Yellow Penduline Tit, Green Bee-eater, Red-winged Prinia and White-fronted Black-Chat.
A little way down the road near Nema Kuta, we finally connected with some Temminck's Coursers in a barren field. We received great views of two birds as they slowly circled us, approaching closer and closer. Then another six flew over showing their blunt ended, lapwing-like wings, which for some reason I hadn't expected having never seen coursers before.
Arriving at Tendaba Camp, we were pleased to see that it wasn't as bad as we had expected having heard a number of reviews. Our room was clean enough, and they have apparently got their act together now on the food front too.
Day 5 - Tendaba to Farasutu
We began the day with another boat trip. This time across the River Gambie, which, now we where further down stream, was a good couple of kilometres across. We made for a network of channels surrounded by mangroves and saltmarsh, and saw a small flock of Spur-winged Geese during the crossing.
After going a short way into the mangroves, we stopped the boat after Ebrima heard some African Blue Flycatchers high in the trees. After five or so minutes, we managed to catch glimpses of them hopping about behind the branches. Several Mouse-brown Sunbirds were seen foraging low in the mangroves and large numbers of African Darters and Great Cormorants roosted in trees, the latter being a mix of the white bellied and black bellied subspecies.
When the boat made it to an area of extensive saltmarsh, Wooly-necked and Yellow-billed Storks were seen foraging, and Ebrima pointed out a Martial Eagle perched in a distant tree with some large Mosque Swallows off to the left. A White-throated Bee-eater also made a brief appearance.
We then moved on to the main day roost of the White-backed Night-Herons, however, after an extensive search along the length of trees, and ingesting an unhealthy amount of engine exhaust smoke, we drew a blank and had to move on. Four or five boats had been out and had seen the herons the previous day, and it was assumed that this disturbance had made them change their roost site, or at least gone a lot deep into the wood away from the river.
Compensation, however, came a few minutes later when I spotted the head of an African Clawless Otter near the river bank. As we moved closer, its pup was seen briefly before diving down to keep a low profile. The parent gave great close views for around five minutes, scrabbling around on the bank, and obviously trying to distract us from the youngster. This was a very rare encounter that Ebrima said he had only ever seen a handful of times, and none of them as sustained and as close as this one was.
On the journey out of the maze of mangrove channels, we got good flight views of a Goliath Heron as it was disturbed from the bank.
Once back at the lodge, we had a search of the trees in the grounds which we had been told were roost sites for fruit bats. Sure enough, right up in the top of the crown of one particular tree, we found five of them, lazily staring down at us, giving great scope views.
Back on the road again, we stopped after Ebrima heard a White-shouldered Black Tit from the car, but despite a long search, we couldn't find the bird. We did however see our only Striped Kingfisher and Bateleur of the trip.
The final birding spot of the day was Farasutu Forest, which I would highly recommend every birder to visit. The forest is a community forest and all entrance fees (50p per person I think) go towards supporting the local village. Make sure you bring some extra cash with you as you'll definitely want to give a bit extra - we wished we'd brought more - the bird drinking stations are packed with variety and give exceptional views. It makes you realise just how important ecotourism is to the area, as without it, the forest would inevitably have been removed to make way for more farmland.
A stunning male Western Bluebill was the highlight, but we also saw Violet Turaco, Little Greenbul, Common Wattle-eye, Grey-headed Bristle-bill and Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird amongst others.
We then went off with the young man who keeps the water stations filled up and does a lot of work monitoring the birds in the forest. He brought us right to a spot where an African Wood Owl was roosting. This beautiful owl remained asleep as we enjoyed great views of it through the scope.
The theme of owls continued when we were taken out of the forest to a more open area. We soon found two Greyish Eagle-Owls roosting in a tree, this time a little more alert.
Nightjars were the next order of the day, with one each of Long-tailed and Standard-winged Nightjars expertly found in the leaf-litter by the young man. The Standard-winged shocked us both by how small it was.
After this, we we rowed across the river to where we were staying for the night - the amazing Sita Joyeh on Baobab Island. This was by far the nicest place we stayed the whole trip, and again, we would really recommend it. Despite this though, we were the only guests, and it was hard to work out why it wasn't busier, especially having just come from the much more inferior Tendaba which was at full capacity. We enjoyed the evening watching the bats flying around and perching up in the open air dining building, and watched five African Scops Owls in the beautiful grounds.
Day 6 - Farasutu to Marakissa
We finished the day where we had left off the day before, visiting a water station, however this time in a different, more open area of Farasutu. Again, you'll want to make sure you have some spare cash with you. The water bowls were heaving with birds coming and going, the best being three species of honeyguides, Greater, Lesser and the rarer Spotted Honeyguide, a good selection of wintering warblers, including Blackcap, Whitethroat, Western Olivaceous Warbler, Willow Warbler and Subalpine Warbler, a few Little and Black-necked Weavers, Blue-spotted Wood-Dove, along with a few Lesser Blue-eared Starling, a Bronze-tailed Starling, and some showy Bearded Barbets.
We then moved onto Bonto Forest (another community project) in the search for some Verreaux's Eagle-Owls. They apparently change their roosts quite often, and understandably so considering the numbers of noisy Western Plantain-eaters in the canopy. Ebrima, phoned around to muster some help from some locals who keep track of the owls, and after a bit of a wait, one was found high up in a large tree.
A wonder through the rest of the forest revealed a Green Crombec, two Northern Puffbacks, Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike, Collared Sunbird, Buff-spotted Woodpecker, African Paradise Flycatcher and a showy African Pygmy Kingfisher. However the most surreal moment was meeting Iolo Williams leading a birding group, of whom which we happened to follow around for the for the rest of the day and the morning of the following day.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing at Marakissa River Camp. A Giant Kingfisher perched up above a small pool, and Iolo and I watched an Osprey flying over the small nature reserve that adjoins the camp, and contemplated whether it may have been Welsh.
Day 7 - Marakissa to Tanji
The highlight from a quick walk around some habitat near to the lodge first thing was a Melodious Warbler; the only one of the trip. A Grey Kestrel and a couple each of Blue-bellied Rollers and Pearl-spotted Owlets were also in the area among other common species.
On to Kartong, and we quickly set about trying to search for Grey-headed Kingfishers in an area of farmland, however with no luck. We were rewarded with the trip's first Great White Pelican flying high, distantly towards the sea, and a Tree Pipit low down in a bush. Again, similarly, on a long search for a single Northern Carmine Bee-eater along the sand dunes by the beach, we were almost going call it a day when Ebrima spotted it with a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater on top of a distant tree. We soon had incredible close views as it flew into a tree right next to us and began fly-catching. While the hunt for the bee-eater ensued, Ebrima also picked out some flyover Quailfinches which did the decent thing and landed giving us good views of them perched.
We cut through over the top of the dune ridge onto the beach and quickly saw two White-fronted Plovers around a small pool with Common Ringed Plovers. One of the White-fronted Plovers was sporting some colour-rings/flags; a bird that was ringed by the people at the Kartong Bird Observatory. Looking out to sea, a large flock of Lesser Black-backed and Kelp Gulls loafed on the sea to the south, in what were probably Senegalese waters.
We then tried another spot where the Grey-headed Kingfishers had been seen earlier in the day, and sure enough they were both sat in the same tree. It all comes good in the end.
Ebrima was keen to get going to our next destination, Brufut Woods at Tanji, as soon as possible, because our next target, the Green Turaco, only comes to visit the water bowls once, or twice if you're lucky, around midday. It was already 12:15pm so we were cutting it fine. After an hour waiting at the drinking station, it became apparent that the long searches for the bee-eater and kingfishers had cost us. Ebrima had phone a contact who said that it had been seen about half an hour before we arrived. A brief glimpse of a Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat and great close views of the commoner birds on the water bowls ensured that it wasn't a wasted visit.
Driving back towards the sea, we stopped along the river mouth to view hundreds of roosting Caspian and Royal Terns. On closer inspection, two Lesser Crested and eight Sandwich Terns were among them with five buoyant Little Terns flying out to sea. Several elegant Slender-billed Gulls also loosely associated with the flock, and on the way back up the dune sides to the car, a couple of Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters perched up.
After a lovely traditional meal at Ebrima's family home, courtesy of Mrs Sidibeh, we headed back out with two of his young children to Kotu Creek and added another two new species, Sedge Warbler and Zitting Cisticola, to bring our final trip list up to 270 species. Ebrima's eldest son is definitely picking up his dad's passion for birds, so don't be surprised if he comes along to help in the not too distant future!
Overall, we found The Gambia to be one of the most amazing birding destinations either of us has ever visited. We would truly recommend Ebrima as a guide. He was kind, helpful, took such joy in finding and showing us birds, was an incredibly sharp birder, reliable, up to date with bird news, experienced, a leading authority in the Gambian bird scene, and most of all, a top bloke. His email address is ebrimasidibeh@hotmail.com if you fancy booking a tour up with him.
Day 1
1 White-faced Whistling-Duck
2 Double-spurred Francolin
3 Little Grebe
4 Rock Dove
5 Speckled Pigeon
6 Mourning Collared Dove
7 Vinaceous Dove
8 Laughing Dove
9 Black-billed Wood-Dove
10 Namaqua Dove
11 Western Plantain-eater
12 Senegal Coucal
13 African Palm-Swift
14 Common Moorhen
15 Senegal Thick-knee
16 Black-winged Stilt
17 Grey Plover
18 Spur-winged Lapwing
19 Wattled Lapwing
20 Little Ringed Plover
21 Greater Painted-Snipe
22 African Jacana
23 Whimbrel
24 Common Sandpiper
25 Green Sandpiper
26 Spotted Redshank
27 Common Greenshank
28 Wood Sandpiper
29 Grey-hooded Gull
30 Gull-billed Tern
31 Caspian Tern
32 Royal Tern
33 Long-tailed Cormorant
34 Great Cormorant
35 Pink-backed Pelican
36 Hamerkop
37 Grey Heron
38 Black-headed Heron
39 Intermediate Egret
40 Little Egret
41 Western Reef-Heron
42 Cattle Egret
43 Squacco Heron
44 Black-crowned Night-Heron
45 African Sacred Ibis
46 African Spoonbill
47 Hooded Vulture
48 Shikra
49 Black Kite
50 Northern White-faced Owl
51 Pearl-spotted Owlet
52 Green Woodhoopoe
53 African Grey Hornbill
54 Western Red-billed Hornbill
55 Malachite Kingfisher
56 Blue-breasted Kingfisher
57 Giant Kingfisher
58 Pied Kingfisher
59 Little Bee-eater
60 Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
61 Abyssinian Roller
62 Blue-bellied Roller
63 Broad-billed Roller
64 Bearded Barbet
65 African Grey Woodpecker
66 Ring-necked Parakeet
67 Senegal Parrot
68 Yellow-crowned Gonolek
69 Glossy-backed Drongo
70 Black-headed Paradise-Flycatcher
71 Yellow-billed Shrike
72 Pied Crow
73 Western Olivaceous Warbler
74 Red-chested Swallow
75 Wire-tailed Swallow
76 Common Bulbul
77 Blackcap Babbler
78 Long-tailed Glossy Starling
79 Beautiful Sunbird
80 White-billed Buffalo-Weaver
81 Village Weaver
82 Northern Red Bishop
83 Red-cheeked Cordonbleu
84 Red-billed Firefinch
85 Bronze Mannikin
86 Village Indigobird
87 House Sparrow
88 Western Yellow Wagtail
Day 2
89 Stone Partridge
90 Red-eyed Dove
91 African Green-Pigeon
92 Violet Turaco
93 Mottled Spinetail
94 Common Swift
95 African Harrier-Hawk
96 Palm-nut Vulture
97 Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle
98 Long-crested Eagle
99 Wahlberg's Eagle
100 Dark Chanting-Goshawk
101 Rufous-crowned Roller
102 Greater Honeyguide
103 Grey Kestrel
104 Lanner Falcon
105 Brown-necked Parrot
106 African Golden Oriole
107 Senegal Eremomela
108 Tawny-flanked Prinia
109 Common Grasshopper Warbler
110 African Yellow White-eye
111 Yellow-billed Oxpecker
112 Purple Starling
113 Scarlet-chested Sunbird
114 Splendid Sunbird
115 Variable Sunbird
116 Black-winged Bishop
117 Lavender Waxbill
118 Orange-cheeked Waxbill
119 Northern Grey-headed Sparrow
120 Yellow-fronted Canary
121 Helmeted Guineafowl
122 Brown Snake-Eagle
123 Tawny Eagle
124 African Hawk-Eagle
125 Piapiac
126 Northern Crombec
127 Yellow-throated Greenbul
128 Splendid Starling
129 White-backed Vulture
130 Rüppell's Griffon
131 Swallow-tailed Bee-eater
132 Green Bee-eater
133 European Bee-eater
134 Vieillot's Barbet
135 Brown-backed Woodpecker
136 Fine-spotted Woodpecker
137 Senegal Batis
138 Black-crowned Tchagra
139 Pied-winged Swallow
140 Brown Babbler
141 African Thrush
142 Collared Sunbird
143 Pygmy Sunbird
144 Sahel Bush Sparrow
145 White-rumped Seedeater
Day 3
146 Bruce's Green-Pigeon
147 Black-headed Lapwing
148 White Stork
149 Montagu's Harrier
150 Eurasian Hoopoe
151 Woodchat Shrike
152 Green-backed Camaroptera
153 Common House Martin
154 Common Whitethroat
155 Lesser Blue-eared Starling
156 Common Redstart
157 Northern Anteater-Chat
158 Speckle-fronted Weaver
159 Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver
160 Black Crowned-Crane
161 Ruff
162 Marsh Sandpiper
163 Purple Heron
164 Black Heron
165 Western Marsh Harrier
166 Red-throated Bee-eater
167 Plain-backed Pipit
168 Collared Pratincole
169 White-bellied Bustard
170 Savile's Bustard
171 Quail-plover
172 Grasshopper Buzzard
173 Common Kestrel
174 Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark
175 Singing Bushlark
176 Red-necked Falcon
177 Red-rumped Swallow
178 Red-billed Quelea
179 Black-rumped Waxbill
180 Sahel Paradise-Whydah
Day 4
181 Knob-billed Duck
182 Little Swift
183 Black Crake
184 African Finfoot
185 African Darter
186 Banded Snake-Eagle
187 Gabar Goshawk
188 African Fish-Eagle
189 Grey-headed Bushshrike
190 Oriole Warbler
191 Common Chiffchaff
192 Swamp Flycatcher
193 White-crowned Robin-Chat
194 Great White Egret
195 Cut-throat
196 Pied Wagtail/White Wagtail
197 Temminck's Courser
198 Brubru
199 Yellow Penduline Tit
200 Red-winged Prinia
201 White-fronted Black-Chat
202 Brown-rumped Bunting
203 Ruddy Turnstone
204 Yellow-billed Stork
Day 5
205 Spur-winged Goose
206 Woolly-necked Stork
207 Goliath Heron
208 Martial Eagle
209 White-throated Bee-eater
210 African Blue Flycatcher
211 Mosque Swallow
212 Mouse-brown Sunbird
213 Bateleur
214 Striped Kingfisher
215 Northern Wheatear
216 Blue-spotted Wood-Dove
217 Standard-winged Nightjar
218 Long-tailed Nightjar
219 African Scops Owl
220 Greyish Eagle Owl
221 African Wood-Owl
222 African Pied Hornbill
223 Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
224 Cardinal Woodpecker
225 Brown-throated Wattle-eye
226 African Paradise-Flycatcher
227 Yellow-breasted Apalis
228 Grey-headed Bristlebill
229 Little Greenbul
230 Northern Black-Flycatcher
231 Black-necked Weaver
232 Western Bluebill
Day 6
233 Klaas's Cuckoo
234 Lesser Honeyguide
235 Spotted Honeyguide
236 Green Crombec
237 Willow Warbler
238 Eurasian Blackcap
239 Subalpine Warbler
240 Bronze-tailed Starling
241 Little Weaver
242 Verreaux's Eagle Owl
243 African Pygmy-Kingfisher
244 Buff-spotted Woodpecker
245 Northern Puffback
246 Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike
247 Osprey
248 Barn Owl
Day 7
249 Striated Heron
250 Lizard Buzzard
251 Melodious Warbler
252 African Swamphen
253 Common Ringed Plover
254 White-fronted Plover
255 Common Redshank
256 Lesser Black-backed Gull
257 Kelp Gull
258 Great White Pelican
259 Grey-headed Kingfisher
260 Northern Carmine Bee-eater
261 Crested Lark
262 Quailfinch
263 Tree Pipit
264 Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat
265 Slender-billed Gull
266 Little Tern
267 Sandwich Tern
268 Lesser Crested Tern
269 Zitting Cisticola
270 Sedge Warbler