Not a tour, but a prelude to one. Next year, we are running a tour to The Gambia, so we took advantage of a quiet week to head down there for a look around. It was great – the variety of birds, with a mix of African species and Palearctic migrants, easy-going, good logistics and with no time difference to worry about. The country is a nice introduction to Africa for anyone who hasn’t been before, as well as offering a variety of species for anyone who has been to other parts of the continent previously.
We only had a week but we packed in several days along the ‘Smiling Coast’ (which is where next year’s tour will be based), as well as two nights travelling ‘upriver’ to pick up a few specialities which are not usually seen on the coast. We managed to see 273 species in a week (with the help of several of the local guides), which was pretty impressive, including some sought after birds. The photographic opportunities were very good too – we returned with so many photos, we have had to break this blog post into four parts!
Day 1 – 26th November
By the time we got to the Senegambia resort, which is where we would be staying while we were on the coast, it was already late afternoon and we didn’t have much time to explore but we did have an hour or so in the grounds which allowed us to familiarise ourselves with some of the commoner species.
Day 2 – 27th November
The Kotu Creek bridge is a famous birdwatching location in The Gambia and not far from many of the main tourist hotels. We spent the day in the Kotu area, walking the ‘cycle track’ down to Kotu Creek and the bridge in the morning and then back to the bridge and round to the golf course in the afternoon.
It was really enjoyable first couple of days with a fantastic variety of species seen, with more to come…
