DOCSLIB.ORG

Pelagic Birding and Birds of the Sahel Senegal Is One of West Africa’S Most Stable Countries with a Heavy French Influence Dating Back to Colonial Days

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Pelagic Birding and Birds of the Sahel Senegal Is One of West Africa’S Most Stable Countries with a Heavy French Influence Dating Back to Colonial Days Senegal Pelagic birding and Birds of the Sahel Senegal is one of West Africa’s most stable countries with a heavy French influence dating back to colonial days. The coastline has two important wetlands of international importance which are protected in the form of national parks. The north of the country has a wide belt of Sahel holding several species which prefer sub-desert habitats while the south is primarily savannah dotted with stands of acacia trees and secondary forest. We visit Djoudj National Park which is a wetland where Palearctic migrants winter in their thousands. The range of bird species in this little-known country is impressive; Arabian and Savile’s Bustards, Little Grey Woodpecker, Sennar Penduline Tit, Fulvous Babbler and Cricket Warbler all being found regularly on recent tours. ■ Birdwatching Breaks has operated in excess of 25 tours to Senegal since the 1990s and is pleased to offer these unique birding tours at a peak time for birdlife. ■ Tour C can be combined with Casamance and Guinea-Bissau, page 36. Day 1: Fly to Dakar and transfer to Popenguine for an overnight stay. Dates TOUR A: Friday November 6th – Days 2-4: Dawn visit to the coastal scrub Saturday November 14th 2020 reserve of Popenguine where we should TOUR B: Saturday February 27th – find Blue Rock Thrush, Eurasian Crag Sunday March 7th 2021 Martin, White-rumped Swift and, on the TOUR C: Saturday October 23rd – cliffs, Gosling’s Bunting.Yellow-billed Kite is Sunday October 31st 2021 abundant in the region and on our journey Leader: Mark Finn and Ass Ndiaye northwards birds of prey can be numerous Group Size: 8 and sightings could include Lappet-faced, Birds: 200-250 Rüppell’s, Hooded and White-backed Vultures. Near St Louis itself, we should find Red-necked Falcon in roadside palm Cormorant, Squacco and Purple Herons, trees. For the next few days we are based African Swamphen, Spur-winged Lapwing, at Ranch de Bango and Richard Toll, from African Fish Eagle, Malachite and Pied where we explore sub-Saharan Senegal. Kingfishers, African Jacana, Winding The grounds of the ranch offer excellent Cisticola, Abyssinian Roller and Senegal birding with regularly seen species includ- Coucal. A thorn forest regularly has roost- ing Western Red-billed Hornbill, Grey- ing Long-tailed Nightjar. The drier ground is headed Kingfisher, Grey Woodpecker, home to Senegal Thick-knee, Black-billed Blue-naped Mousebird, Tawny-flanked Wood Dove, Little Bee-eater and Northern Prinia, Red-billed Firefinch, Beautiful and Grey-headed Sparrow. Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, African Silverbill, Sudan Golden Sparrow and Marigot One: This is, in effect, a private- Long-tailed Glossy Starling. Wintering ly run nature reserve. Our main interest Palearctic migrants are common and here is in locating the internationally scarce include Iberian Chiffchaff, Melodious, Savile’s Bustard. Other sub-Saharan birds Subalpine and Western Olivaceous present include Western Marsh, Montagu’s Warblers, Common Redstart, and Red- and, occasionally, Pallid Harriers, Barbary throated and Tree Pipits. Our base, adja- Falcon, Cream-coloured and Temminck’s cent to the Senegal River, is a haven for Coursers, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, waterbirds – we may find Long-tailed and Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark. A lake ☎ 01381 610495 www.birdwatchingbreaks.com 53 Senegal Rufous-tailed Scrub-Robin Photo: Simon Papps attracts shorebirds and many species of Kingfisher, Vieillot’s Barbet and Desert heron, including Black Heron. A stop at Wheatear, whilst a reed-fringed pool dusk may give us Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, attracts Greater Painted-snipe and waders. which is a local resident. Patches of woodland attract many interest- ing species – Speckled Pigeon, Northern Marigot Two and Three: We spend a Crombec, Village Indigobird, Yellow- day in this area and typical species include backed, Village and Little Weavers and win- Northern Anteater Chat, Black and Rufous- tering Eurasian Wryneck. We take a boat tailed Scrub Robins, Senegal Batis, Long- safari into one of nature’s wonders. Our tailed and Chestnut-bellied Starlings, boat takes us along a branch of the Green Woodhoopoe and Blue-naped Senegal River, which is alive with birds, to Mousebird. If cattle are present, we may a colony of Great White Pelicans. This area find Yellow-billed Oxpeckers. Patches of usually holds large numbers of ducks and acacia trees are home to specialised herons. Seasonal lakes in Djoudj attract Sahelian birds – Cricket Warbler, Sennar Western Marsh Harrier and Striated Heron, Penduline Tit and Little Grey Woodpecker. kingfishers, Black Crake, and Yellow-billed Other birds may include Great, Stork. Other highlights include Black- Intermediate and Little Egrets, Sacred and crowned Night Heron, White-faced and Glossy Ibis, Common Snipe, Ruff, Black- Fulvous Whistling Ducks, Western Osprey, tailed Godwit, Black Crake and Collared Caspian, Gull-billed, Black and Whiskered Pratincole. Ter ns and the range-restricted River Prinia. Lac de Kahr and Grand Lac hold Greater Djoudj National Park: Djoudj National and, sometimes, Lesser Flamingos. Grand Park is the third most important wetland for Lac also holds substantial numbers of birds in the world. En route we travel Garganey with lesser numbers of Eurasian through acacia forest looking for Striped Teal, Northern Shoveler and Northern 54 www.birdwatchingbreaks.com ☎ 01381 610495 Senegal Pintail. Isolated trees on the surrounding the presence of rarer species which on pre- desert landscape provide hunting perches vious tours have included Buff-breasted for migrant Peregrine and Lanner Falcons. Sandpiper and American Golden Plover. The park has what is possibly the only pro- On Day 8 we take a pelagic trip off Dakar tected area for Arabian Bustard, a species where the deep cool waters of the North under constant threat from hunting and, in Atlantic attract a variety of species. In the this area of Africa, greatly endangered. On right weather conditions we should the return to Ranch de Bango, roadside encounter Red-billed Tropicbird, Cape lagoons may hold Eurasian and African Verde and Scopoli’s Shearwaters, the Spoonbills, Spur-winged and Egyptian uncommon Baroli’s Shearwater, Pomarine, Geese, and shorebirds including Pied Arctic and Long-tailed Skuas, a wide range Avocet, Marsh Sandpiper, Temminck’s Stint of terns including the quite common and Black-winged Stilt. Sandwich plus Caspian, West African Crested, Common, Arctic, Roseate and Days 5-6: Richard Toll and Podor: A Little. Other possibilities include Grey new road running east towards the town of Phalarope and rarer species such as Richard Toll allows us to explore the exten- Bulwer’s Petrel, Leach’s, Wilson’s and sive Senegal River floodplain and the Madeiran Storm Petrels, South Polar Skua Sahelian environment. Among the many and Sabine’s Gull. Nights in Popenguine. birds that we may encounter here are African Pygmy Goose, Black-winged Kite, Day 9: This morning we travel south to visit Montagu’s and Pallid Harriers, Wahlberg’s birding areas near the coastal city of Mbour and Booted Eagles, Short-toed Snake (or take the boat trip if weather conditions Eagle, Kittlitz’s Plover, Common Quail, have been poor). Habitats include several African Reed Warbler, Short-eared Owl, patches of acacia scrub which are attrac- Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark, Kordofan tive to migrants from Europe and may and Singing Bush Larks, African include Bluethroat, Spotted and European Quailfinch, Desert Cisticola, Grey-backed Pied Flycatchers and Iberian Chiffchaff. Eremomela and, occasionally, Greater Several small ponds dot the landscape Hoopoe-Lark. This is also a known area for which attract a wide range of waterbirds Arabian and, in some years, Denham’s including numerous ducks and waders. Bustards. To the east of Richard Toll and Later in the day we return to Popenguine to towards the settlement of Podor several freshen up and travel to the airport for our species occur which are hard to see else- late night flight back to the UK. where in the country. The dry grasslands with scattered bushes are reliable for Cricket Warbler and the shy Fulvous Prices Babbler. The habitats around Podor offer us the chance to observe the rarely seen Ground Price: £2,295 Golden Nightjar, Little Grey Woodpecker Single room: £150 and wintering Cream-coloured Courser. Deposit: £200 Nights in Podor *Air Fare: £700 Days 7-8: Today we travel south towards This tour is fully inclusive of the capital city of Dakar. There are several accommodation, meals, transport, birding locations along the way including park entrance fees and permits, Technopole, which is a failed shopping guidance, tips and taxes. complex with lakes and reedbeds. Careful scanning of the grass islands and shallow Not included: drinks, insurance, pools may produce a variety of gulls such items of a personal nature. as Audouin’s and Mediterranean and occa- sional stragglers from North America which *Please refer to our terms and have included Franklin’s in recent years. conditions relating to flights Waders can be numerous and often reveal ☎ 01381 610495 www.birdwatchingbreaks.com 55.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Cricket Longtail Breeding in Southern Morocco Mohamed Amezian, Mohamed Radi, Mohamed Ibn Tattou, Mohamed Laghdaf Khayya, Mohamed Lamine Samlali & Abdeljebbar Qninba
    Cricket Longtail breeding in southern Morocco Mohamed Amezian, Mohamed Radi, Mohamed Ibn Tattou, Mohamed Laghdaf Khayya, Mohamed Lamine Samlali & Abdeljebbar Qninba ricket Longtail Spiloptila clamans is a small discovered in Oued Jenna along the Aousserd Cbird of the Cisticolidae family which breeds in (Awserd) road in Western Sahara, Morocco (van a narrow band from southern Mauritania and den Berg & Haas 2008, Pettersson et al 2008). northern Senegal across northern Nigeria and Since then, it was reported regularly from this area Chad to Sudan and Eritrea (Perrins 1998, del Hoyo in most months (eg, van den Berg & Haas 2009, et al 2006). Inside the boundary of the Western Bergier et al 2010a, 2011a, 2011b). Palearctic (WP) (as defined in Cramp & Simmons The species breeds almost throughout the year: 1977) it was until recently only recorded from an in June-September in Mauritania, from January to isolated area around Atâr in northern Mauritania November but mainly in September-October in (Lamarche 1988, Urban et al 1997, Perrins 1998, Senegal and in January-April and August in former Snow & Perrins 1998). In recent years, there have Sudan (Urban et al 1997, Perrins 1998, Snow & been numerous more northern records and breed- Perrins 1998, del Hoyo et al 2006, Isenmann et al ing evidence in Saharan Mauritania with, for 2010). In the Sahel zone, it may be partially instance, 15 individuals found near Choûm on migratory at the northern edge of the range, since 4 December 2006, three near Boû Lanouâr on some move south in the dry season (April-May in 9 December 2006, and six near Teïchot, Banc Mali), returning north during the rains (July- d’Arguin, in December 2007 (van den Berg 2005, September) (Perrins 1998, Snow & Perrins 1998).
    [Show full text]
  • Cameroon 2003
    Cameroon 2003 Ola Elleström Claes Engelbrecht Bengt Grandin Erling Jirle Nils Kjellén Jonas Nordin Bengt-Eric Sjölinder Sten Stemme Dan Zetterström Front cover: Mount Kupé Bushshrike, Telephorus kupeensis, by Dan Zetterström Cameroon map: Jonas Nordin INTRODUCTION AND PLANNING. By Erling Jirle FACTS ABOUT THE COUNTRY The population is about 11 millions. There are over 200 ethnic groups, in the southeast pygmies for example. In the north Moslems are in majority, and in the south Christians. Official languages are French and English. In most of the country French is the dominant language, English is spoken mainly in the southwest part of the country, in the former English colony. The flora consists of over 8000 known species. In the rainforest belt you can find 22 primate species (like Gorilla, Chimpanzee, Drill, Mandrill) and 22 antelopes. There are 7 National Parks and several large fauna reserves. In all 4,5 percent of the land area are reserves. CLIMATE The climate in Cameroon is complicated, since it comprises of several climate zones. All Cameroon is tropical. Annual mean temperature is 23-28 depending on altitude. In the North the rains are between June - September (400 mm), then Waza National Park usually becomes impassable. In the inner parts of Cameroon there are two ”rains”; May - June and Oct. - Nov. (1500 mm annually). The rainy season along the coast is around 8 months, roughly April - November (3800 mm). West of Mount Cameroon you find the third wettest spot on earth, with over 10 000 mm per year. Also the Western Highlands gets almost 10 meter rain between May - October.
    [Show full text]
  • Disaggregation of Bird Families Listed on Cms Appendix Ii
    Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 2nd Meeting of the Sessional Committee of the CMS Scientific Council (ScC-SC2) Bonn, Germany, 10 – 14 July 2017 UNEP/CMS/ScC-SC2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II (Prepared by the Appointed Councillors for Birds) Summary: The first meeting of the Sessional Committee of the Scientific Council identified the adoption of a new standard reference for avian taxonomy as an opportunity to disaggregate the higher-level taxa listed on Appendix II and to identify those that are considered to be migratory species and that have an unfavourable conservation status. The current paper presents an initial analysis of the higher-level disaggregation using the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World Volumes 1 and 2 taxonomy, and identifies the challenges in completing the analysis to identify all of the migratory species and the corresponding Range States. The document has been prepared by the COP Appointed Scientific Councilors for Birds. This is a supplementary paper to COP document UNEP/CMS/COP12/Doc.25.3 on Taxonomy and Nomenclature UNEP/CMS/ScC-Sc2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II 1. Through Resolution 11.19, the Conference of Parties adopted as the standard reference for bird taxonomy and nomenclature for Non-Passerine species the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 1: Non-Passerines, by Josep del Hoyo and Nigel J. Collar (2014); 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Ghana Mega Rockfowl & Upper Guinea Specials 3 to 25 January 2016 (23 Days) Trip Report
    Knox Ghana Mega Rockfowl & Upper Guinea Specials 3 to 25 January 2016 (23 days) Trip Report Akun Eagle-Owl by David Hoddinott Trip Report compiled by Tour Leader Markus Lilje RBT Knox Ghana Mega Trip Report January 2015 2 Trip Summary Our private Ghana Mega trip proved yet again to be a resounding success! We notched up a fantastic species total in 23 days, where we covered the length and breadth of the country and a great variety of habitats in this superb West African country! Our tour started off with a visit to Shai Hills. This small but fabulous reserve has a nice variety of habitats including mixed woodland, grassland, wetlands and granite outcrops and therefore supports an interesting array of bird species. During our morning exploring the reserve we recorded African Cuckoo-Hawk, Western Marsh Harrier, Red-necked Buzzard, stunning Violet Turaco, numerous immaculate Blue-bellied Roller, Vieillot’s and Double-toothed Barbets, Senegal and African Wattled Lapwings, White-shouldered Black Tit, Red- shouldered Cuckooshrike, Black-bellied Bustard, Senegal Parrot, Senegal Batis and restless Senegal Eremomela. A number of migrants were seen including Willow Warbler, Whinchat and Spotted Flycatcher. Even mammals showed well for us as we had a number of Kob, Bushbuck, Olive Baboon, Callithrix Monkey and unusually good views of Lesser Spot- Blue-bellied Roller by Markus Lilje nosed Monkey! Well pleased with our morning’s birding, we left Shai Hills and made our way to Ho. En route we stopped for lunch near the Volta Dam where we enjoyed most memorable close-up encounters with Mangrove Sunbird and Bronze- tailed Starling.
    [Show full text]
  • Bird Checklists of the World Country Or Region: Ghana
    Avibase Page 1of 24 Col Location Date Start time Duration Distance Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World 1 Country or region: Ghana 2 Number of species: 773 3 Number of endemics: 0 4 Number of breeding endemics: 0 5 Number of globally threatened species: 26 6 Number of extinct species: 0 7 Number of introduced species: 1 8 Date last reviewed: 2019-11-10 9 10 Recommended citation: Lepage, D. 2021. Checklist of the birds of Ghana. Avibase, the world bird database. Retrieved from .https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?lang=EN&region=gh [26/09/2021]. Make your observations count! Submit your data to ebird.
    [Show full text]
  • Birding Tour to Ghana Specializing on Upper Guinea Forest 12–26 January 2018
    Birding Tour to Ghana Specializing on Upper Guinea Forest 12–26 January 2018 Chocolate-backed Kingfisher, Ankasa Resource Reserve (Dan Casey photo) Participants: Jim Brown (Missoula, MT) Dan Casey (Billings and Somers, MT) Steve Feiner (Portland, OR) Bob & Carolyn Jones (Billings, MT) Diane Kook (Bend, OR) Judy Meredith (Bend, OR) Leaders: Paul Mensah, Jackson Owusu, & Jeff Marks Prepared by Jeff Marks Executive Director, Montana Bird Advocacy Birding Ghana, Montana Bird Advocacy, January 2018, Page 1 Tour Summary Our trip spanned latitudes from about 5° to 9.5°N and longitudes from about 3°W to the prime meridian. Weather was characterized by high cloud cover and haze, in part from Harmattan winds that blow from the northeast and carry particulates from the Sahara Desert. Temperatures were relatively pleasant as a result, and precipitation was almost nonexistent. Everyone stayed healthy, the AC on the bus functioned perfectly, the tropical fruits (i.e., bananas, mangos, papayas, and pineapples) that Paul and Jackson obtained from roadside sellers were exquisite and perfectly ripe, the meals and lodgings were passable, and the jokes from Jeff tolerable, for the most part. We detected 380 species of birds, including some that were heard but not seen. We did especially well with kingfishers, bee-eaters, greenbuls, and sunbirds. We observed 28 species of diurnal raptors, which is not a large number for this part of the world, but everyone was happy with the wonderful looks we obtained of species such as African Harrier-Hawk, African Cuckoo-Hawk, Hooded Vulture, White-headed Vulture, Bat Hawk (pair at nest!), Long-tailed Hawk, Red-chested Goshawk, Grasshopper Buzzard, African Hobby, and Lanner Falcon.
    [Show full text]
  • A Contribution to the Ornithology of Northern Gobir (Central Niger)
    A Contribution to the Ornithology of Northern Gobir (Central Niger) 1st Edition, June 2010 Adam Manvell In Memory of Salihou Aboubacar a.k.a Buda c.1943 to September 2005 Buda was a much respected hunter from Bagarinnaye and it was thanks to his interest in my field guides and his skill (and evident delight) in identifying the birds on my Chappuis discs in the early days of my stay that motivated me to explore local ethno-ornithology. Whilst for practical reasons most of my enquiries were made with one of his sons (Mai Daji), his knowledge and continual interest was a source of inspiration and he will be sorely missed. Buda is shown here with a traditional Hausa hunting decoy made from a head of a burtu, the Abyssinian ground hornbill (Bucorvus abyssinicus). With incredible fieldcraft, cloaked and crouched, with the head slowly rocking, game was stalked to within shooting distance….but the best hunters Buda told me could get so close, they plucked their prey with their hands. Acknowledgements Several people have played vital roles in this report for which I would like to extend my warmest thanks. In Niger, Mai Daji and his late father Buda for sharing their bird knowledge with me and Oumar Tiousso Sanda for translating our discussions. Jack Tocco for transcribing Mai Daji’s bird names into standard Hausa and helping with their etymology and Ludovic Pommier for getting my records into a workable database. Above all I would like to thank Joost Brouwer for his wise council and unwavering encouragement for this report which I have been promising him to finish for far too long.
    [Show full text]
  • February 2007 2
    GHANA 16 th February - 3rd March 2007 Red-throated Bee-eater by Matthew Mattiessen Trip Report compiled by Tour Leader Keith Valentine Top 10 Birds of the Tour as voted by participants: 1. Black Bee-eater 2. Standard-winged Nightjar 3. Northern Carmine Bee-eater 4. Blue-headed Bee-eater 5. African Piculet 6. Great Blue Turaco 7. Little Bee-eater 8. African Blue Flycatcher 9. Chocolate-backed Kingfisher 10. Beautiful Sunbird RBT Ghana Trip Report February 2007 2 Tour Summary This classic tour combining the best rainforest sites, national parks and seldom explored northern regions gave us an incredible overview of the excellent birding that Ghana has to offer. This trip was highly successful, we located nearly 400 species of birds including many of the Upper Guinea endemics and West Africa specialties, and together with a great group of people, we enjoyed a brilliant African birding adventure. After spending a night in Accra our first morning birding was taken at the nearby Shai Hills, a conservancy that is used mainly for scientific studies into all aspects of wildlife. These woodland and grassland habitats were productive and we easily got to grips with a number of widespread species as well as a few specials that included the noisy Stone Partridge, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Senegal Parrot, Guinea Turaco, Swallow-tailed Bee-eater, Vieillot’s and Double- toothed Barbet, Gray Woodpecker, Yellow-throated Greenbul, Melodious Warbler, Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat, Blackcap Babbler, Yellow-billed Shrike, Common Gonolek, White Helmetshrike and Piapiac. Towards midday we made our way to the Volta River where our main target, the White-throated Blue Swallow showed well.
    [Show full text]
  • Birdwatching Holidays in Spain, Morocco & More… BIRD
    Birdwatching Holidays in Spain, Morocco & more… BOLETAS Birdwatching centre 22192 Loporzano (Huesca) – Spain tel/fax 00 34 974 262027 or 01162 889318 e.mail: [email protected] WWW.BIRDINGSPAIN.COM Josele J. Saiz - NIF 38491538A BIRD HIGHLIGHTS TOUR DATES SENEGAL NOV 29th to Dec 9th 2014 Party: Chris Hall , Brian Hobby, Margaret Hobby . Paul Lock , Edna Lock , David Plant , Maurice Dengate Tour Leader : Josele J Saiz , Abdou Lo Total Number of Species : 273 Weather & Sites: Day 1 – Nice & sunny – 28ºC 29.11.14 Lake Rose- Kebemeer – Thies – Sant Louis – Djoudj Hotel Day 2 – Nice & sunny 30ºC 30.11.14 Djoudj National Park – Senegal River Day 3 – Nice sunny 29ºC 1.12.14 Djoudj National Park – Richatrd Toll Day 4 – Nice sunny 29ºC 2.12.14 Richad Toll – Marigot 1 – Rancho di Banjo Day 5 – Nice , sunny , hot 32ºC 3.12.14 Rancho Di Banjo – Daru Musti - Kaolak Day 6 – Nice sunny but hot 361C 4.12.14 Kaolak – Tambacouda - Wassadou Day 7 – Nice, sunny , hot and humid 33ºC 5.12.14 Wassadou – Gambia River Day 8 – Nice, sunny, hot and humid 34ºC 6.12.14 Wassadou – Gambia River Day 9 – Nice & sunny 31ºC 7.12.14 Wassadou to Toubacouta Day 10 – Nice cloudy 30ºC 8.12.14 Toubacouta natural area Day 11 – Nice sunny 28ºC 9.12.14 Toubacouta - Dakar Discover Senegal 28th November - 10th December 2014 By Chris Hall www.newhorizonsonline.co.uk Off come the fleeces as we swap a cold grey English sky for a cloudless blue West African one, with numerous Black Kites and Pied Crows over Dakar.
    [Show full text]
  • Cameroon Northern Extension 8Th to 17Th March 2019 (10 Days) Rainforest & Rockfowl 17Th to 29Th March 2019 (13 Days)
    Cameroon Northern Extension 8th to 17th March 2019 (10 days) Rainforest & Rockfowl 17th to 29th March 2019 (13 days) Grey-necked Rockfowl by Markus Lilje Cameroon is a vast and diverse land; lying just north of the equator, this bird-rich nation forms the inter-grade between West and Central Africa and harbours a wide range of habitats, ranging from steamy lowland rainforest to Sahelian semi-desert. By combining our Rainforest & Rockfowl tour with our Northern Extension you have an unbeatable three-week Cameroon birding tour that visits all of the area’s core ecological zones and provides a thorough coverage of this, West Africa’s richest RBL Cameroon – Northern Extension, Rainforest & Rockfowl Itinerary 2 birding destination. Due to its wealth of habitats over 900 bird species have been recorded and 26 endemic or near-endemic species occur, most of which you can expect to see on this tour! If you have a sense of adventure and an interest in the birds of the African continent, then this is a destination you simply cannot afford to miss. We greatly look forward to sharing the avian riches of West Africa with you on this incredible tour! THE ITINERARY – NORTHERN EXTENSION Day 1 Arrival in Douala Day 2 Douala flight to Garoua, then drive to Ngaoundaba Ranch Days 3 & 4 Ngaoundaba Ranch Day 5 Ngaoundaba Ranch to Benoue National Park Day 6 Benoue National Park Day 7 Benoue National Park to Maroua Day 8 Maroua to Waza National Park Day 9 Waza National Park Day 10 Waza National Park to Maroua, fly to Douala and depart THE ITINERARY – RAINFOREST
    [Show full text]
  • Senegal and Gambia
    BIRDING AFRICA THE AFRICA SPECIALISTS Senegal and Gambia 2019 Tour Report Vinaceous Black-faced Firefi nch Text by tour leader Michael Mills Photos by Gus Mills SUMMARY ESSENTIAL DETAILS Our first trip to Senegal and Gambia was highly successful and netted a Dates 16 Jan: Full day in the Kedougou area seeing Mali good selection of localised and rarely-seen specials. For this private trip we Firefinch.. ran a flexible itinerary to target a small selection of tricky species. In Senegal 11-23 January 2019 17 Jan: Early departure from Kedougou. Lunch Savile's Bustard was the last African bustard for the entire party, and was at Wassadou Camp. Evening boat trip on Gambia Birding Africa Tour Report Tour Africa Birding seen well both at the Marigots and in the Kaolack area. Other Senegalese Leaders River with Adamawa Turtle Dove and Egyptian Report Tour Africa Birding Plover.. highlights included Western Red-billed Hornbill, Sahel Paradise Whydah Michael Mills assisted by Solomon Jallow in full breeding plumage, Little Grey Woodpecker, Mali Firefinch, Egyptian 18 Jan: Morning at Wassadou Camp, before driving to Gambia. Afternoon around Bansang with Plover and African Finfoot. Large numbers of waterbirds at Djoudj and the Participants Exclamatory Paradise Whydah in full plumage. Marigots were memorable too. Julian Francis and Gus Mills 19 Jan: Early departure from Bansang, driving to Tendaba for lunch via north bank. Afternoon at Tendaba seeing Bronze-winged Courser. Itinerary 20 Jan: Early morning on the Bateling Track seeing 11 Jan: Dakar to St Louis. Afternoon at the Marigots, Yellow Penduline Tit, White-fronted Black Chat, hearing Savile's Bustard.
    [Show full text]
  • AERC Wplist July 2015
    AERC Western Palearctic list, July 2015 About the list: 1) The limits of the Western Palearctic region follow for convenience the limits defined in the “Birds of the Western Palearctic” (BWP) series (Oxford University Press). 2) The AERC WP list follows the systematics of Voous (1973; 1977a; 1977b) modified by the changes listed in the AERC TAC systematic recommendations published online on the AERC web site. For species not in Voous (a few introduced or accidental species) the default systematics is the IOC world bird list. 3) Only species either admitted into an "official" national list (for countries with a national avifaunistic commission or national rarities committee) or whose occurrence in the WP has been published in detail (description or photo and circumstances allowing review of the evidence, usually in a journal) have been admitted on the list. Category D species have not been admitted. 4) The information in the "remarks" column is by no mean exhaustive. It is aimed at providing some supporting information for the species whose status on the WP list is less well known than average. This is obviously a subjective criterion. Citation: Crochet P.-A., Joynt G. (2015). AERC list of Western Palearctic birds. July 2015 version. Available at http://www.aerc.eu/tac.html Families Voous sequence 2015 INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME remarks changes since last edition ORDER STRUTHIONIFORMES OSTRICHES Family Struthionidae Ostrich Struthio camelus ORDER ANSERIFORMES DUCKS, GEESE, SWANS Family Anatidae Fulvous Whistling Duck Dendrocygna bicolor cat. A/D in Morocco (flock of 11-12 suggesting natural vagrancy, hence accepted here) Lesser Whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica cat.
    [Show full text]