15 DAYS BIRDING THE GAMBIA

AND SOUTH EAST SENEGAL

TOUR SUMMARY

THIS BIRDWATCHING TOUR IN GAMBIA AND SENEGAL IS THE PERFECT TRIP TO STIMULATE ALL OF YOUR SENSES WITH THE UNFORGETTABLE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF THE TWO COUNTRY'S ABUNDANT AVIAN LIFE AND THE DISTINCTIVE TASTE SENEGAMBIAN HOSPITALITY. THE TOUR KICKS OFF IN THE COASTAL ZONE AND THEN GOES TO THE INTERIOR PART OF THE COUNTRY WHERE WE WILL EXPLORE SOME OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING BIRDING AND WILDLIFE AREAS BOTH IN THE GAMBIA AND SOUTH EASTERN CORNER OF SENEGAL.

DAY ONE

ARRIVAL AT THE BANJUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND TRANSFER TO THE HOTEL WHERE WE WILL STAY FOR 5 NIGHTS.

If time permits ( early flight), already first bird watching, unless you prefer to relax after the traveling. If you wish, your guide can get you at a good rate some Gambian and Senegalese money. !!!Think at your watches , there is a time difference between europe and the gambia!!! And one last thing : get used to the gambian traffic, it brings you always where you want to be.....

DAY TWO

KOTU CREEK, RICE FIELDS, CYCLE TRACK AND FAJARA GOLF COURSE.

Kotu Creek is a perfect place to kick-off our birding adventure. An early start after breakfast we will take a walk through the rice fields and cycle tracks to look for little bee-eater, yellow crowned gonolek, northern puffback, northern crombec beautiful sunbird, pearl spotted owlet, green wood hoopoe, broad billed roller, blue bellied roller and oriole warbler. We will take an hour boat trip along the Kotu Creek in search of various kingfishers, black egret, sacred ibis, herons, and lots of migrant waders and water birds.

DAY THREE

BRUFUT WOODS AND TANJI BIRD RESERVE

Today, we will have a full day to explore range of coastal habitats including lagoons, scrubs, beaches, forest and savanna wood lands. We will start the day with a visit to Brufut woods where we look for long tailed nightjar, violet and green turacos, orange cheeked waxbill, greater honey guide, buff spotted wood pecker, lavender waxbill, yellow white eye, swallow tailed bee-eater and white faced scops owl. After lunch we will head to Tanji bird reserve where we expect to see a fantastic array of sea birds including Caspian tern, royal tern, lesser crested tern, kelp gull, slender billed gull alongside host of other migrant waders and water birds. We will also explore the wooded areas for veiellot’s barbet, cardinal woodpecker, four bandet sandgrouse, pied winged swallow, lanner falcon osprey and host of others exciting species.

DAY FOUR

GUNJUR FOREST AND KARTONG WETLAND

We will set out for a whole day exploration of these bird rich coastal habitat. Kartong wetland holds numerous water birds and waders whiles Gunjur forest harbours remnant pocket of gallery forest. On this day we have a good chance of finding species such as white fronted plover, greater painted snipe, spotted crake, purple swamphen, blue cheeked bee-eater, knob billed duck, palm nut vulture, red necked falcon, mosque swallow, wood chat shrike, osprey dwarf bittern and spur winged goose, if we are lucky, we can see the northern carmine bee-eater. In the afternoon we will be birding at Gunjur forest, here we hope to see wide range of forest birds including sulphur breasted bush stripe, grey headed bristlebill, little greenbul, African goshawk, common wattle eye, African paradise fly catcher, yellow breasted aplis alongside rarity such as yellow bill, buff spotted woodpecker and capuchin babbler.

DAY FIVE

FARASUTU AND PIRANG FOREST

This morning we will have the chance to visit these wonderful forest habitats around the coast. Where we hope to see wide range of exciting forest birds. Such as white spotted flufftail, green hylia, green crombec, collared sunbird, African goshawk, violet turaco, snowy crowned robin chat, African pygmy kingfisher, alongside verreaux’s eagle owl, white faced scops, brown necked parrot, greater honey guide, African wood owl, western bluebill, spotted honey guide, African pied hornbill, green headed sunbird, standard winged nightjar, greyish eagle owl plus host of other species.

DAY SIX

TO TENDABA CAMP

Today we will be departing for an overnight at Tendaba camp. En-route we will make stops at key birding sites on the way such as kampanti rice fields and Killy woodland both of which famous for their diversity of raptors and other bird life. We will be birding at Killy and later pay a visit to the water hole where we hope to see wide array of birds species including brown rumped bunting, black faced firefinch, yellow bellied hyliota, Senegal batis, brown backed woodpecker, chestnut backed sparrow weaver added possibilities include bateleur eagle, long crested eagle, walhberg’s eagle, brown snake eagle, and martial eagle. At Kampanti rice field, we may encounter several raptors including African hawk eagle, white backed vulture, grasshopper buzzard, African harrier hawk and more. Overnight and dinner at Tendaba camp.

DAY ELEVEN

EARLY BOAT TRIP ON THE RIVER GAMBIA AND HEAD BACK TO THE GAMBIA

Our final day in Senegal we will have a second chance to explore the stunning river Gambia with an early boat ride we might be lucky enough to see the rare and highly sought after pel’s fishing owl, along with african pied wagtail, malachite kingfisher, adamawa turtle dove, European turtle dove, helmeted guineafowl, african finfoot, and also a good chance of encountering a family of hippos and a troop of baboon. From the boat trip we will head back to Gambia making few stops for birding and picnic lunch’. Overnight and dinner at Georgetown.

DAY TWELVE

BIRDING ON THE NORTH BANK

We will have an early start to take a short ferry ride to the north bank of the river Gambia. We will enjoy a full day birding along the north bank. Our first stop at Wassu sand quarry and its sounding habitats. There we will observe a colony of red throated bee-eater, little green bee-eater, Namaqua dove, chestnut backed sparrow lark, Sahel paradise wydah, pearl spotted owlet and black headed lapwing, northern ant eater chat, raptors we might encounter includes Beaudoin’s snake eagle, african hawk eagle, gabar goshawk walhberg’s eagle, and lannar falcon. As we continue our journey on the north bank, we will stop at several flood plains and fresh water marshes to look for black crake purple swamphen, common moorhen, red billed quelea, blue cheeked bee-eater, hamerkop Senegal thick-knee, african silverbill, Sudan golden sparrow and a host of other birds. Overnight and dinner at Morgan Kunda lodge.

DAY THIRTEEN

MORGAN KUNDA AND THE SURROUNDING HABITATS

Today we will visit the farmlands and open savanna around the Jumaisarr and Katchang areas. This open fields provides a chance to see a great variety of farmland birds as well as raptors. Species we hope to see include white fronted black chat, flapped lark, striped kingfisher, scarlet chested sunbird, purple glossy starling, temminck’s courser, common kestrel, scaly fronted weaver, pygmy sunbird and more. After morning at these areas, we will travel via the Senegambia bridge. Birding en-route to which temdaba camp where we will stay for an overnight.

DAY SEVEN

BOAT TRIP (BOABOLONG WETLAND RESERVE)

After an early breakfast we will take a couple of hours boat trip to cruise through the mangrove lined creeks of Tunku and Kisi. In search of pelicans, African finfoot, African darter, African blue flycatcher, woolly necked stork, goliath heron, African fish eagle, blue breasted kingfisher, mouse brown sunbird, Beaudoin snake eagle, white throated bee-eater, yellow billed stork and many more. After the boat ride we leave to travel to Georgetown making several important stops on the way. At Georgetown we will base ourselves for two nights.

DAY EIGHT

RIVER GAMBIA BOAT TRIP AND KUNKILING FOREST

This morning we will take another exciting boat ride to cruise the beautiful and scenic Gambia River. An impressive range of species awaits us including western banded, snake eagle, swamp flycatcher, hadada ibis, grey headed bush shrike, grey headed kingfisher, black crake, African fish eagle, red throated bee-eater, and the elusive and sought-after shining blue kingfisher and African finfoot. We will return to our base for lunch and well deserve siesta during the hottest hours of the day.

After lunch we head to Kunkiling forest, here we may have good chance of seeing a sheer variety of wood land birds and raptors including yellow fronted tinker bird, green winged pytilia, yellow bellied hyliota, black rumped waxbill, brubru, violet backed sunbird, whistling cisticola, bruce’s green pigeon, cut throat finch, African golden oriole, alongside the star bird of the area, adamawa turtle dove, possible raptors includes African hawk eagle, ruppell’s griffon vulture, grasshopper buzzard, lizard buzzard, grey kestrel and more.

Overnight and dinner at Georgetown.

DAY NINE

TRAVEL TO SOUTH EAST SENEGAL AND LATE AFTERNOON BOAT TRIP

An early departure as we will be traveling to south-east Senegal, though the journey is long but there will be stops for birding and picnic lunch along the way.

Upon arrival at Wassadou camp in the late afternoon, we will explore the upper reaches of the Gambia river, we will have plenty of opportunity during this relaxing boat trip to see a superb range of waterbirds, waders and birds of prey including breeding colonies of red throated bee-eater and a flock of gorgeous northern carmine bee-eater. Other possible sought-after species we look for include African blue flycatcher, African finfoot, white headed lapwing, Egyptian plover, shining blue kingfisher, plus grey headed kingfisher, African fish eagle and hadada ibis. Overnight and dinner at Wassadou camp.

DAY THEN

SAFARI DAY DRIVE TO NIOKOLOKOBA NATIONAL PARK

Today we will enjoy a full day visit to Niokolokoba national park, one of the region's largest protected area.we will use 4X4 vehicle to make our way to the various tracks in search of african mammals such as african warthog, difference species of antelopes, bufallos, guinea baboon, and other primates. we may be luckyto see a lion, giraffes, leopard, and elephant. birds we are likely to come across includes Abyssinian ground hornbill, localized white throated francolin, sacred ibis, saddle billed stork, glossy ibis and black crowned crane. we will also keep an eye out for soaring raptors such as african fish eagle, bateleur eagle, martial eagle, dark chanting goshawk and many more.

DAY FOURTEEN

TENDABA WURAKANG BUSH TRACK

We will spend this morning birding at Tendaba hills to look for black scimitarbill, orange cheeked waxbill, white rumped seedeater, red winged pythlia, rufous crowned roller, and shikra. We will move to Wurakang bush track, here we may find spotted thick-knee, vieillot’s barbet, klaa’s cuckoo, senegal coucal, white crested helmet shrike, and yellow billed oxpecker as well as array of raptors including grasshopper buzzard and long crested eagle, dark chanting goshawk and bateleur eagle. Overnight dinner at Bintang lodge.

DAYFIFTEEN

BINTANG LODGE, KITTY WATERHOLE/ TRANSFER TO AIRPORT

We will spend our final day birding around the varied habitats adjacent to the Bintang lodge. Species we are likely to observe includes brown necked parrot, Abyssinian ground hornbill, yellow billed shrike, green headed sunbird, grey woodpecker, bearded barbet and many more. We spend our final hours at killy waterhole before departing to the airport.

This is all inclusive package accommodations, transportation, entrance ticket to the recommended parks, boat trips, refreshment ( water, soft drinks, NO alcohol) during the tour, all lunches, dinners, breakfast, airport transfers. Is only the flight which is excluded from the package, and your personal insurances.

See also on the website : what we do/you do

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Gambia 10 days

7 days coastal birding

4 days mammals/slaves