Bird watching in the Gambia
Above is a Paradise flycatcher taken in Abuko nature reserve. Possibly an immature male.
Bird watching in the Gambia
Above is a Paradise flycatcher taken in Abuko nature reserve. Possibly an immature male.
The Gambia is a great place to visit, especially if you live in the UK and want to see some spectacular birds, and get some sunshine, without having to travel for too long. The flight is about 6 hours from Gatwick, and as The Gambia is in the same timezone, there is no jet-lag problem.
Most of the hotels are along the coast, with the Kombo Beach and Senegambia
Hotels being popular with bird-watchers. The Senegambia has a resident bird guide, Mass Cham, who is an active conservationist, and also The Gambia Experience operates bird-watching tours with Clive Barlow from both these hotels. But you don't have to go in official parties to see plenty of birds, in fact you will probably see more if you go alone, or with a local guide.
Locations in easy reach of the Kotu area, where many hotels are situated, include the beach, the Fajara Golf Course, the Cycle Track, and Kotu Ponds Sewage Farm. The Crocodile Pool, with the rice fields behind, Abuko Nature Reserve, Bond/Bund Road, Tanji Bird Reserve, Bijilo Forest Park, and Lamin creeks, are a short taxi ride away (NOT all in the same direction!) If you want to go further inland, there are many other great places to visit, including the newly opened Kiang West National Park, which is about 3 hours'drive from the coast.
Red Bishop often seen on roadsides
Whether to go it alone, take a guide or go on organised trips is a matter of personal preference. We find going in groups where a guide points out a bird and everyone struggles to see it rather tedious. It is far more satisfying to spot and identify birds for yourself. However, there are some advantages to hiring a local guide, as we have sometimes done:
Most of the local guides hang out down by the bridge in the Kotu area (they will be sporting a 'scope/binos if they are a genuine guide, not just some hopeful local who knows what a Village Weaver looks like) and they are usually pretty keen and reliable, even as regards timekeeping. Many of them travel to birding events outside The Gambia. We have used Lamin Sidibeh, Malik Sousa and Babagelleh Bah.
Babagalleh takes advance bookings and can be contacted c/o PMB 513, Serrekunda, The Gambia Fax 00220 484100.
For further information on Protected Areas of the Gambia
For further information on African birding visit
A few of the birds we have seen:
Abuko Nature Reserve: Night, Squacco, Striated and Black-headed Herons, Palm-Nut Vulture, Green-crested and Violet Turacos, Levaillant's Cuckoo, Long-tailed Nightjar,Woodland, Pygmy, Malachite and Giant Kingfishers, Long-crested Helmet Shrike, Ant Chat, Brown-throated Wattle-Eye etc.
Bond Road: White-breasted Cormorant, Black Heron, Greater Flamingo,Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Gull-billed Tern,etc.
Crocodile Pool: Klaas's Cuckoo, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, White-crowned Robin-Chat etc.
Fajara Golf Course: Harrier Hawk,Lizard Buzzard,Double-spurred Francolin, Spur-winged and Black-headed Plovers, Speckled and Green Fruit Pigeons, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Grey Palntain-Eater,Senegal Coucal, Pearl-spotted Owlet, Little and Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters, Green Wood Hoopoe, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, etc.
Kiang West National Park: Yellow-billed Stork, African Spoonbill,Brown Harrier Eagle, Dark Chanting Goshawk,Grasshopper Buzzard, Martial Eagle, Caspian and Royal Terns, Senegal and Brown-necked Parrots, Standard-winged Nightjar, Ussher's Spine-tailed Swift, Hoopoe, Rufous-crowned Roller,Chestnut-backed Finch-Lark, Mosque Swallow, Black-crowned Tchagra, Broad-tailed Paradise Wydah, African Golden Oriole, etc.
Kotu Ponds: Little Grebe, White-faced Whistling Duck, Knob-billed Goose, Avocet, Green and Wood Sandpipers, Bearded Barbet, etc.
This is just a sample. Wherever you go in the Gambia, despite the problem of poaching for the cage-bird slave-trade, you should still see lots of birds: even if you never step out of your hotel grounds! Good Spotting!
