The Gambia in Style

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The Gambia in Style

Naturetrek Tour Report 6 - 13 December 2019

Four-banded Sandgrouse - John Young Black Heron - Dave Levy

Splendid Sunbird - Dave Levy Guinea Baboon - Dave Levy

Report compiled by Andy Smith Images courtesy of Dave Levy & John Young

Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk

Tour Report The Gambia in Style

Tour participants: Andy Smith (Leader) with nine Naturetrek clients Plus local guides Lamin Jarju, Lamin Sanneh, Alajie Bojang and Amadou

Day 1 Friday 6th December

We arrived at Yundum international airport pretty much on time in the late afternoon and after meeting up with our bus and driver we headed off towards Mandina Lodge. We passed through Yundum town and then Brikama and had our first taste of Gambian street scenes, rich with people and activity. Just past Brikama we turned off on to a sand track through fields and scrub towards the Makasutu Forest and Mandina itself. Birds along the way included lots of Hooded Vultures, Yellow-billed Kites and Pied Crows, a range of doves, some Long-tailed Glossy Starlings and a few Grey Plantain-eaters. A neat little Gambian Sun Squirrel in a trackside tree was a nice bonus and a group of colourful Senegal Parrots provided a nice welcome as we arrived at Mandina itself.

Our hostess Linda gave us a brief introduction to the lodge and then, as night swiftly fell, we went off to our rooms to settle in prior to dinner.

Day 2 Saturday 7th December

We met on the terrace by the swimming pool at dawn, drank coffee, soaked up the morning dove chorus, watched Senegal Parrots and Plantain-eaters in the trees around us and enjoyed the sunrise. Then at 7.30 we set off in a couple of canoes with local guides AJ, Lamin and Amadou. We paddled slowly along the creek past mangrove-lined shores and absorbed more of the morning unfolding around us. Interesting sightings came thick and fast: Pied Kingfishers and Broad-billed Rollers, some Rose-ringed Parakeets, two Grey Hornbills, several Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters, a pair of Grey Woodpeckers and a sizeable troop of Guinea Baboons, sitting around in the morning sun and oblivious to our passing.

We disembarked at a beach by the village of Bufaloto with Senegal Thick-knees and a Green-backed Heron lurking amongst the mangrove roots and took a short stroll along a track through patches of scrub and small fields. The action continued and in a short space of time we saw some Red-billed Hornbills, a gang of Piapiacs, a couple of Spur-winged Lapwings, a troop of engaging Green Wood-hoopoes and a mixed flock of small things that included Village Indigobirds, Pin-tailed Whydahs, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleus, Red-billed Firefinches and a pair of Orange-cheeked Waxbills! There frequently seemed to be too much to look at all at once and the whole scene was topped off by close-up views of Scarlet-chested, Beautiful and Variable Sunbirds feeding amongst a bank of flowers – dazzling colours indeed!

Breakfast beckoned and so we headed back to the beach and the canoes. The short paddle back to Mandina brought views of a perched Osprey and a range of waders on the newly exposed mud and then it was brunch and a break.

Siesta time strolls for some to the water tanks just outside the entrance were productive and sightings between us included Splendid and Green-headed Sunbirds, Spotted Honeyguide and Lavender Waxbill. Meanwhile, out on the areas of exposed tidal mud around the lodge the local Green Vervet Monkeys, a daily feature at Mandina, were out digging up and eating crabs, a significant part of their diet.

The Gambia in Style Tour Report

In the mid-afternoon we reconvened. Some of the group went out on the Sunset Cruise that took us out to the wide Gambia River itself and to an impressive mixed egret and cormorant roost on a small island. Other goodies seen along the way included a couple of superb Goliath Herons, several African Darters, dozens of Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, a neat Baudouin’s Snake Eagle and a sizeable Nile Crocodile. The rest of the group enjoyed a walk to the so-called Mudflat and came back reporting Bearded Barbets, Grey-headed Bristlebills and a Klaas’s Cuckoo. All in all a very satisfying first day!

Day 3 Sunday 8th December

After an early breakfast we headed off from Mandina on one of our “break-out” days. Our main destination was Kartong, an area of coastal wetlands near the Senegalese border. Our route took us through Gunjur and on the way we made a series of roadside stops. The first was for a superb Grey Kestrel, smart and robust, perched up on a roadside wire. The second, for a similarly perched Shikra, led to a wonderful twenty minutes or so during which a riotous pageant of birds appeared before us in the roadside gardens. Highlights included White-crowned Robin-Chat, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Grey Woodpecker, Northern Black Flycatcher and Yellow-billed Shrike. A third and last stop by a big fruiting fig tree just before Kartong produced excellent views of a stunning pair of Bearded Barbets, seven smart African Green Pigeons and a dazzling male African Golden Oriole!

At Kartong itself we took a lengthy stroll through scrubby fields and past various reed-fringed ponds. Once again there was a lot to look at and we were treated to a feast of birds. On the pools we found Squacco Herons, Purple Swamphens, African Jacanas, White-faced Whistling Ducks and a series of Malachite Kingfishers, whilst out in the fields and scrub we enjoyed great views of Piapiacs, Wood-hoopoes, Long-tailed, Purple and Bronze- tailed Glossy Starlings, Brown Babblers and a superb Grey-headed Kingfisher. A Pink-backed Pelican and a Yellow-billed Stork passed overhead, two Yellow-billed Oxpeckers attended a cow and a large Nile Monitor basked on a distant sandbank.

We finished the morning at Kartong beach watching a nice range of waders and terns and then headed off lunchwards noting an Abyssinian Roller by the track on the way out. Lunch was taken at a busy beachside restaurant a little up the coast then we continued on towards the fishing port of Tanji. An impromptu stop en- route for a roadside Lizard Buzzard also led to some nice views of two superb Blue-bellied Rollers. At Tanji itself we walked a little along the beach and took in the bustling and colourful human scene of people, nets and boats and enjoyed some very close views of Bar-tailed Godwits, Turnstones and Grey-headed Gulls along the strand- line and both Caspian and Royal Terns in the air overhead.

After a brief walk through the fish-smoking sheds above the beach which provided an interesting spectacle, we re-joined our bus and made our way back to Mandina. It had been another full and enjoyable day.

Day 4 Monday 9th December

After early morning coffee, and some nice views of a Giant Kingfisher and a neat little Brown Sunbird from the riverside deck, we set off in the canoes along the creek. A short, serene little journey took us to a landing beach and a track into an area of palm scrub and fields.

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The Gambia in Style Tour Report

Things seemed a little slow at first but soon livened up. The first action was a sizeable flock of Black-winged Red Bishops skulking in some scrub. A few of the males were just coming into their breeding plumage and gave a good suggestion of the bright colours to come. Next up were a series of Senegal Coucals, a gang of White-billed Buffalo Weavers, a dazzling Gonolek, a distant Yellow-throated Leaflove and a brief Cardinal Woodpecker. A little further on a pair of Blue-billed Rollers posed beautifully, a Hammerkop flew over, and a pair of Grey Hornbills squeaked their way through the trees. A smart Harrier-hawk and a couple of Lanners added further quality but top of the bill was a dazzling Violet Turaco that allowed us some pretty good views as it skulked its way through the foliage of a fruiting tree in loose company with a Bearded Barbet. Phew! What a morning!

Back at Mandina a siesta-time walk along the entrance track produced some excellent views of a pair of Common Wattle-eyes and a lovely Snowy-crowned Robin Chat, whilst flocks of Little and White-throated Bee- eaters spent some time dip-bathing in the swimming pool.

In the late afternoon some of us took a walk from the lodge to the so-called “Big Forest” where highlights included a Fine-spotted Woodpecker, some Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters, a Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher and a group of Black-capped Babblers. The remainder of the group went off on the second Sunset Cruise and reported encounters with Goliath Herons, Pink-backed Pelicans a Palm-nut Vulture and a couple of large Crocodiles.

Day 5 Tuesday 10th December

After our early morning coffee on the terrace and the regular dawn Parrot assembly in the big poolside tree we set off for a walk along the trails to an area of open ground-nut and millet fields. It was a beautiful morning again and our expectations were high. The first really notable sighting was a Pied Hornbill which perched out in the open for some time and allowed us all good views. This was followed by three fly-over Grey Kestrels and then prolonged views of a Green (Guinea) Turaco, normally a very shy and difficult species to see. A Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird added further interest and then at the peanut fields we came across a handsome Rufous-crowned Roller and a quartet of confiding Yellow-crowned Canaries quietly feeding on some millet heads. Perhaps best of all though were a troop of Patas Monkeys, the males with strikingly marked faces, sitting up in some nearby trees, also munching their way through millet heads.

Assembling for tea before our afternoon excursion some of us noted a Wahlberg’s Eagle passing high overhead with the usual Hooded Vultures and Yellow-billed Kites, a scarce enough bird hereabouts. Out in the canoes again we paddled the short distance to the village of Kabuneh and walked a few hundred metres to a stand of huge and impressive Silk-Cotton (or Kapok) trees where we had another of those great little sessions where a procession of good birds appear in rapid succession. This time the components were a male Greater Honeyguide feeding at a bee’s nest high in one of the trees, a pair of Fine-spotted Woodpeckers on the ground with a White- crowned Robin Chat, a Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher flitting around the foliage and a stunning little Pearl- Spotted Owlet glaring at us from a high bough - not bad! On the way back in the canoes we completed a very satisfying outing with some lovely views of a Giant Kingfisher, a Goliath Heron and a fly-over Sacred Ibis.

Day 6 Wednesday 11th December

After an early breakfast we headed off from Mandina in the bus on the second of our excursion days. Some way down the track we stopped to have a look at a mixed group of Wattled and Black-headed Lapwings in a weedy

The Gambia in Style Tour Report

field. Both are very handsome species and made for a good start to the day. From here we drove through Brikama and Yundum to Lamin and the Tonji wetlands, an area of rice fields, scrub and palms. A pleasant stroll around here in warm sunshine brought a number of good sightings. Notables included two Lizard Buzzards, a Palm-nut Vulture, a couple of fly-past Violet Turacos (lovely colours!), some close Little Bee-eaters, a very smart Woodland Kingfisher and thousands of Village Weavers in great skirling flocks. The rice crop was high and open water limited but wetland birds were in evidence too with Squacco and Green-backed Heron, Sacred Ibis, Spur- winged Lapwings, African Jacana and Senegal Thick-knee all seen.

In the late morning we crossed the busy dual carriage way adjacent to the rice fields and entered the famous Abuko Forest Reserve and immediately found ourselves immersed in a different world. The traffic noise faded and we were surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of old-growth Guinea forest and awarded an insight into what much of this part of West Africa must have been like before large scale human settlement. As it was late morning the forest was fairly quiet but during the course of our walk we had great views of a Pied Hornbill, a Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, a male Grey Woodpecker busy at work on a dead tree stump, another Violet Turaco and a neat little Lesser Honeyguide eating ants at the base of a palm clump. Abuko is noted for its Western Red Colobus Monkeys and we were keen to see some. Sure enough, after a bit of a search we found a small group, including a female with a tiny baby, resting up in the trees – very nice!

Leaving Abuko we drove on through sprawling Serekunda town to a beachside restaurant at Cape Point. The restaurant garden overlooked a reed-lined pool just in from the beach and so entertainment was assured and as we ate we were able to watch Caspian Terns, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers, Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, Little Swifts and Nile Crocodiles.

After lunch we finished the day at nearby Kotu Bridge where we saw a Black Heron performing its classic umbrella tactic and noted a range of other birds including an Intermediate Egret, a Blue-breasted Kingfisher, several Senegal Coucals, some Wood-hoopoes and another Grey woodpecker.

Day 7 Thursday 12th December

After our early morning coffee we set off on a walk down the track to the “Base Camp” and the rice fields beyond. The cool morning made for a slow start but in some trees by the entrance to the Base Camp we enjoyed some nice views of a pair of roosting White-faced Owls. Then, proceeding on the trail towards the rice fields, we found a smart Woodland Kingfisher and then a pair of Four-banded Sandgrouse on the ground just a few yards away. Beautifully marked and superbly well-camouflaged these were a prize sighting indeed! A Senegal Parrot by its nest hole in a tall tree made a great picture and in a woody clearing a little further we came across a pair of Violet-backed Sunbirds and a Yellow-crowned Gonolek and as we watched these dazzlers an African Goshawk flashed across in front of us – lovely!

At the rice fields we found Senegal Coucals, Brown Babblers, Red-billed Hornbills, Purple Glossy Starlings and Yellow-billed Shrikes and on the way back a Harrier-Hawk and a Fork-tailed Drongo. All in all, a successful morning!

We reconvened in the mid-afternoon as usual and set off in the canoes to Bufaloto, where we had started our excursions at Mandina a few days ago. We saw now familiar Pied Kingfishers and African Darters as we paddled

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The Gambia in Style Tour Report

sedately downstream and passed a number of women out in their canoes harvesting Mangrove Oysters from the exposed mangrove roots. It was quiet enough at Bufaloto but we enjoyed the gentle stroll nonetheless and finished on a high note with lovely telescope views of an African Pygmy Kingfisher, a lovely little bird!

Day 8 Friday 13th December

Our last morning at Mandina saw us out on a walk through the “Big Forest” to the “Mudflat”. A brief Little Green Woodpecker and a female Common Redstart were new birds for the trip but the best sighting as we made our way through the forest was of a quartet of Klaas’s Cuckoos, two males and two females, which eventually showed very well, the males resplendent in their metallic emerald green and white plumage. At the mudflat we had some lovely views of both Pied and Blue-breasted Kingfishers and a pair of striking Blue-breasted Rollers posed beautifully in the strong sunshine. On the way back we encountered a Striped Ground Squirrel running along the track ahead of us and then walked into the local Baboon troop and finished our time at Mandina surrounded by these engaging animals as they progressed past us with hardly a second look.

After brunch we all set about packing and preparing to leave and in the early afternoon we said our goodbyes to the staff and the excellent local guides, boarded our bus and made our way to the airport. Everything went smoothly and we all arrived safely back at Gatwick later that evening.

Acknowledgements.

Thanks to the staff at Mandina and our local guides who all did their best to make our stay with them as enjoyable and productive as it could be. Thank also to all the members of the group for their enthusiasm and good humour. It was great little trip!

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Tour Report The Gambia in Style

Species Lists

Birds (✓=recorded but not counted; h = heard only) December Common name Scientific name 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 Stone Partridge Ptilopachus petrosus h h 2 Double-spurred Francolin Pternistis bicalcaratus 1 3 6 5 3 Ahanta Francolin Francolinus ahantensis h 4 White-faced Whistling Duck Dendrocygna viduata 100 5 Yellow-billed Stork Mycteria ibis 1 2 6 African Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus 1 4 5 2 7 Striated Heron Butorides striata 5 1 1 2 8 Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloides 10 10 9 Western Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis 5 100's 100 100's 100's 10 15 5 10 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 4 5 6 3 5 11 Black-headed Heron Ardea melanocephala 1 2 1 1 12 Goliath Heron Ardea goliath 2 3 4 1 13 Purple Heron Ardea purpurea 2 1 14 Great Egret Ardea alba 4 3 3 5 3 2 1 15 Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia 1 16 Black Heron Egretta ardesiaca 1 1 2 17 Little Egret Egretta garzetta 1 1 18 Western Reef Heron Egretta gularis 30 100 8 35 10 3 2 19 Hamerkop Scopus umbretta 2 1 2 20 Pink-backed Pelican Pelecanus rufescens 1 6 5 7 21 Reed Cormorant Microcarbo africanus 25 10 25 25 6 2 22 African Darter Anhinga rufa 15 1 2 6 2 2 2 23 Western Osprey Pandion haliaetus 4 5 5 4 2 24 Black Kite Milvus migrans 1+ 25 Yellow-billed Kite Milvus aegyptius 50 100 100 50 15 50 25 25 26 Palm-nut Vulture Gypohierax angolensis 2 1 2 2 1 1 27 Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus 100 150 100 100 100 100's 50 100 28 Beaudouin's Snake Eagle Circaetus beaudouini 2 29 African Harrier-Hawk Polyboroides typus 1 3 1 1

The Gambia in Style Tour Report

December Common name Scientific name 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 30 Shikra Accipiter badius 1 2 4 1 1 4 1 1 31 African Goshawk Accipiter tachiro 1 32 Lizard Buzzard Kaupifalco monogrammicus 1 2 1 2 1 1 33 Wahlberg's Eagle Heiraaetus wahlbergi 1 34 Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus 1 35 Grey Kestrel Falco ardosiaceus 2 1 3 1 36 Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus 2 2 37 African Hobby Falco cuvierii 1? 38 African Purple Swamphen Porphyrio madagascariensis 3 39 Senegal Thick-Knee Burhinus senegalensis 25 2 h 12 25 10 40 Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus 3 41 Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus 2 42 Spur-winged Lapwing Vanellus spinosus 15 12 10 4 10 5 2 43 African Wattled Lapwing Vanellus senegallus 3 4 15 5 44 Black-headed Lapwing Vanellus tectus 4 45 Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola 4 2 1 1 46 Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula 3 2 3 2 2 47 White-fronted/Kentish Plover Charadrius marginatus/alexandrinus 12 48 African Jacana Actophilornis africanus 6 5 49 Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago 2 50 Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa 25 51 Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica 20 52 Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus 50 10 20 30 10 5 1 53 Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata h h h 54 Common Redshank Tringa totanus 2 5 1 1 1 55 Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia 7 2 2 2 2 1 56 Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus 1 2 1 57 Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola 3 58 Sanderling Calidris alba 25 59 Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos 20 2 6 25 3 5 60 Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres 30 61 Grey-headed Gull Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus 100+ 2

The Gambia in Style Tour Report

December Common name Scientific name 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 62 Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus 50 63 Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica 1 1 1 64 Caspian Tern Hydroprogne caspia 5 30 3 5 65 Royal Tern Thalasseus maximus 10 66 Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis 1 67 Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis 5 30 5 68 Common Tern Sterna hirundo 1 69 Four-banded Sandgrouse Pterocles quadricincta 2 70 Feral Pigeon Columba livia 1 1 71 Speckled Pigeon Columba guinea 2 10 20 60 50 10 5 20 72 Laughing Dove Streptopelia senegalensis 10 15 25 25 25 10 5 73 Mourning Collared Dove Streptopelia decipiens ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 74 Red-eyed Dove Streptopelia semitorquata ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 75 Vinaceous Dove Streptopelia vinacea ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 76 Black-billed Wood Dove Turtur abyssinicus 1 1 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 77 Blue-spotted Wood Dove Turtur afer 10 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 78 Namaqua Dove Oena capensis 8 1 79 African Green Pigeon Treron calvus 7 80 Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri 10 20 15 10 10 12 12 2 81 Senegal Parrot Poicephalus senegalus 4 20 30 15 40 30 10 2 82 Guinea Turaco Tauraco persa 2 83 Violet Turaco Musophaga violacea 2 4 1 84 Western Plantain-Eater Crinifer piscator 7 12 25 20 15 30 20 20 85 Senegal Coucal Centropus senegalensis 1 1 5 1 6 5 86 Klaas's Cuckoo Chrysococcyx klaas 1 4 87 Northern White-faced Owl Ptilopsis leucotis 2 88 Pearl-spotted Owlet Glaucidium perlatum 1 89 African Palm Swift Cypsiurus parvus 5 20 20 5 15 25 15 10 90 Little Swift Apus affinis 5 5 5 25 15 91 Common Swift Apus apus 10 10 92 Purple Roller/Rufous-crowned Roller Coracias naevius 1 1 93 Abyssinian Roller Coracias abyssinicus 1 1

The Gambia in Style Tour Report

December Common name Scientific name 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 94 Blue-bellied Roller Coracias cyanogaster 1 20 2 6 2 2 95 Broad-billed Roller Eurystomus glaucurus 2 4 2 2 4 1 96 Grey-headed Kingfisher Halcyon leucocephala 1 97 Blue-breasted Kingfisher Halcyon malimbica 8 1 1 2 1 98 Woodland Kingfisher Halcyon senegalensis 1 1 99 African Pygmy Kingfisher Ispidina picta 1 100 Malachite Kingfisher Corythornis cristatus 1 5 1 2 5 101 Shining-blue Kingfisher Alcedo quadribrachys 1 102 Giant Kingfisher Megaceryle maxima 1 2 4 3 1 103 Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis 10 15 15 12 15 12 8 104 Swallow-tailed Bee-Eater Merops hirundineus 6 4 12 1 105 Little Bee-Eater Merops pusillus 8 15 1 1 106 White-throated Bee-Eater Merops albicollis 5 50 20 6 20 107 Blue-cheeked Bee-Eater Merops persicus 30 25 30 35 30 6 108 Green Wood Hoopoe Phoeniculus purpureus 10 10 3 4 6 2 109 Black Scimitarbill Rhinopomastus aterrimus 1h 110 African Pied Hornbill Tockus fasciatus 2 1 1 111 African Grey Hornbill Tockus nasutus 3 3 3 112 Western Red-billed Hornbill Tockus kempi 1 8 15 15 10 10 10 10 113 Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird Pogoniulus chrysoconus 1 2h 2+2h 1+1h 1h 1+1h 114 Bearded Barbet Lybius dubius 3 3 1 115 Lesser Honeyguide Indicator minor 1 2 116 Spotted Honeyguide Indicator maculatus 1 1 1 117 Greater Honeyguide Indicator indicator 2 3 1 1 118 Fine-spotted Woodpecker Campethera punctuligera 1 2 119 Cardinal Woodpecker Dendropicos fuscescens 1 120 African Grey Woodpecker Dendropicos goertae 2 2 1 2 1 121 Buff-spotted Woodpecker Campethera nivosa 2 122 Little Green Woodpecker Campethera maculosa 1 123 Brown-throated Wattle-Eye Platysteira cyanea h 6 4 2 2+2h 124 Black-crowned Tchagra Tchagra senegalus 1h 125 Northern Puffback Dryoscopus gambensis 1

The Gambia in Style Tour Report

December Common name Scientific name 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 126 Yellow-crowned Gonolek Laniarius barbarus 1+2h 2+3h 1+3h 1+1h 1+1h 1h 127 Yellow-billed Shrike Corvinella corvina 3 6 3 1 6 1 128 African Golden Oriole Oriolus auratus 1 129 Fork-tailed Drongo Dicrurus adsimilis 2 1 1 1 130 Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone rufiventer 1 2 2 2 3 131 African Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone viridis 1 2 2 132 Piapiac Ptilostomus afer 25 30 2 2 133 Pied Crow Corvus albus 20 30 25 100 50 50 20 20 134 Common Bulbul Pycnonotus barbatus 20 20 20 20 50 25 15 135 Little Greenbul Eurillas virens 1 1 1 1 136 Grey-headed Bristlebill Bleda canicapillus 2 137 Fanti Saw-Wing Psalidoprocne obscura 2 4 5 4 2 2 138 Sand Martin Riparia riparia 1 139 Red-chested Swallow Hirundo lucida 15 20 10 40 25 15 140 Wire-tailed Swallow Hirundo smithii 1 2 141 Pied-winged Swallow Hirundo leucosoma 1 1 1 1 142 Northern Crombec Sylvietta brachyura 2 1 2 143 Common Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita 1 144 Great Reed Warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus 1h 145 Western Olivaceous Wabler Hippolais opaca 1 3 146 Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta 1 1 147 Subalpine Warbler Sylvia cantillans 2 1 148 Tawny-flanked Prinia Prinia subflava 1 149 Yellow-breasted Apalis Apalis flavida 2 2 2 2 1 150 Oriole Warbler Hypergerus atriceps 1h 1 151 Grey-backed Camaroptera Camaroptera brevicaudata 4 1h 3 5 1h 152 Senegal Eremomela Eremomela pusilla 5 1 1 153 Blackcap Babbler Turdoides reinwardtii 9 3 4 154 Brown Babbler Turdoides plebejus 2 10 2 15 2 155 Bronze-tailed Glossy Starling Lamprotornis chalcurus 15+ 156 Lesser Blue-eared Starling Lamprotornis chloropterus 5+ 157 Purple Starling Lamprotornis purpureus 5+ 15 5

The Gambia in Style Tour Report

December Common name Scientific name 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 158 Long-tailed Glossy Starling Lamprotornis caudatus 10 10 20 5 10 6 159 Yellow-billed Oxpecker Buphagus africanus 2 160 African Thrush Turdus pelios 4 3 3 5 2 3 4 161 Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat Cossypha niveicapilla 1 4 2 1 1 2 162 White-crowned Robin-Chat Cossypha albicapillus 1 1 1 163 Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus 1 164 Northern Black Flycatcher Melaenornis edolioides 3 165 Yellow White-eye Zosterops senegalensis 1 1 166 Mangrove Sunbird Anthreptes gabonicus 3 2 2 1 2 167 Western Violet-backed Sunbird Anthreptes longuemarei 2 168 Green-headed Sunbird Cyanomitra verticalis 5 2 2 1 169 Scarlet-chested Sunbird Chalcomitra senegalensis 2 1 170 Beautiful Sunbird Cinnyris pulchellus 10 12 15 15 10 10 10 171 Splendid Sunbird Cinnyris coccinigastrus 4 6 5 2 4 2 172 Variable Sunbird Cinnyris venustus 2 1 1 1 173 House Sparrow Passer domesticus 2 3 174 Northern Grey-headed Sparrow Passer griseus 1 1 5 175 Bush Petronia Petronia dentata 1 176 White-billed Buffalo Weaver Bubalornis albirostris 12 2 25 5 50 6 6 177 Little Weaver Ploceus luteolus 5 178 Black-necked Weaver Ploceus nigricollis 2 10 5 5 4 179 Village Weaver Ploceus cucullatus 50+ 100+ 100+ 50+ 1000+ 100+ 50+ 180 Black-winged Red Bishop Euplectes hordeaceus 50 181 Northern Red Bishop Euplectes franciscanus 1+ 10 182 Western Bluebill Spermophaga haematina 1 183 Red-billed Firefinch Lagonosticta senegala 1 10 3 15 6 10 10 6 184 Red-cheeked Cordon-Bleu Uraeginthus bengalus 12 12 2 5 2 5 1 185 Lavender Waxbill Estrilda caerulescens 10 1 10 8 3 186 Orange-cheeked Waxbill Estrilda melpoda 2 187 Bronze Mannikin Lonchura cucullata 20 15 20 15 15 10 15 188 Village Indigobird Vidua chalybeata 3 1 1 189 Pin-tailed Whydah Vidua macroura 10+ 1 1 1

The Gambia in Style Tour Report

December Common name Scientific name 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 190 Western Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava 1 1 191 Yellow-fronted Canary Crithagra mozambica 4 4 1

Mammals Western Red Colobus, Green Vervet Monkey, Patas Monkey, Guinea Baboon, Gambian Epauletted Fruit Bat, Striped Ground Squirrel, Gambian Sun Squirrel and Marsh Mongoose.

Reptiles Nile Monitor Lizard, Common Agama and Nile Crocodile.

Fish Atlantic Mudskipper

Butterflies Narrow-banded Swallowtail, Citrus Swallowtail, Small Grass Yellow, Common Grass Yellow, Tiny Orange Tip, Common Dotted Border, Caper White, Long-tailed Blue, African Grass Blue, African Tiger, Common Evening Brown, Painted Lady, Darker Commodore, Small Orange Acraea and Common Three-Ring.

Other notable invertebrates: West African Mangrove Oyster, West African Fiddler Crab, Giant Millipede, Running Crab Spider, Antlion sp., Brown Paper Wasp, Tarantula Wasp, Driver Ant, Yellow-banded Blister Beetle and African Cotton-stainer Bug.

Nile Crocodile - John Young