Bird watching in Gambia - July 2025

OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can it be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page.

Jiffy (also jiff)

noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.

ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.

So I put a “Next” button here and I hope that there isn't any problem to understand how to use that one. So just CLICK the “Next” button on your left hand side and you will be on the next page in a jiff!

Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaas

Faites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!

Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!

Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopra

Sprechen sie Deutsch! Kein problem! Wenn Sie die folgende Seite sehen wollen gerade klicken der Knopf “Next” oben!

คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม ไม่มีปัญหา ถ้าคุณต้องการไปหน้าถัดไป ให้กดปุ่ม “Next” ข้างบนนี้

Вы говорите по-русски? Просто нажмите синюю кнопку "Next" с левой стороны и Вы моментально переместитесь на следующую страницу!

E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.

July 2025

Wednesday 30 ^th of July 2025 and I go for my breakfast at 7 thirty and my Guide is waiting for me when I am in the reception a couple of minutes before 8 o'clock and we leave Ocean Bay Hotel & Resort just after 8 o'clock.

We drive towards the Brufut Woods and there should be a bird hide, so this might turn out to be exciting. We stop east of the forest and we walk along a dirt path, looks like a garage dump behind a brick wall. There are many Cattle Egrets and Hooded Vultures.

We hear the Brown Babblers and I get a recording and a poor picture. I also get a picture of a singing Tawny-flanked Prinia.

Brown Babbler

Tawny-flanked Prinia

Listen to the Brown Babbler

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my mobile phone using my JBL microphone with the Merlin app. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

A group of birds on a plot of land looked to be full of garbage

Listen to the Tawny-flanked Prinia

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my mobile phone using my JBL microphone with the Merlin app. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

Singing from a tree next to the walk path

We continue to the bird hide and I am surprised to discover concrete benches. My Guide told me that he had been here with the other bird enthusiasts to build the concrete benches.

The wood benches were nothing but shit and they needed to be replaced. I never seen a bird hide like this before, like a theatre and it was very comfy. No flimsy plastic chairs or broken wood chairs, sturdy concrete.

A bird hide for the “2 Ton” bird watcher.

Brufut Woods Bird Hide

Brufut Woods Bird Hide

We sit down and there is no action, for quite a while. But suddenly, one Blue-bellied Kingfisher landed to have some water. Finally, I get a picture of the Blue-breasted Kingfisher, a beautiful bird. And now I have seen all the kingfishers in West Africa. Well, we miss the Giant Kingfisher.

My Guide is leaving to get some water and I call him back, there is one gorgeous African Pygmy Kingfisher coming to drink water. The African Pygmy Kingfisher is drinking water in a very nice way. They dive down in to the water and the get back up to the branch again.

Blue-breasted Kingfisher

Blue-breasted Kingfisher

Blue-breasted Kingfisher

Blue-breasted Kingfisher

African Pygmy Kingfisher

Common Bulbul

One Common Bulbul was sitting in the bushes above us, not an ideal position for pictures. But I gave it a try. We could hear the African Grey Hornbill and I tried to get a recording of the bird.

Rainy season and there are water everywhere, so not many birds coming to the hide. My Guide told me that here is plenty action during the dry season. But I was happy, picture of two kingfishers.

The African Pygmy Kingfisher was a new “LIFER” and the Blue-breasted Kingfisher was first time on picture for me.

Listen to the African Grey Hornbill

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my mobile phone using my JBL microphone with the Merlin app. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

African Grey Hornbill could be heard but not seen.

We leave the hide to get to the other bird hide, a 100 meter walk further in to the Brufut Woods. Here is no seats so we use some empty 25 litres empty plastic drums.

There are two Western Red-billed Hornbills and one of them started to call. It was a very loud call so I got a good recording. There was two African Pygmy Kingfishers dive drinking.

And as the water was just a meter in front of the bird hide, I tried to record the splash when the bird was drinking.

It was dark in front of the hide so it was impossible to get any pictures of the Green-backed Camaroptera (Grey-backed), Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat and the Red-cheeked Cordonbleu jumping around in the vegetation.

Listen to the Western Red-billed Hornbill

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my mobile phone using my JBL microphone with the Merlin app. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

The bird went on and on

Listen to the African Pygmy Kingfisher

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my mobile phone using my JBL microphone with the Merlin app. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

We can hear the splash when the bird dive for water just in front of the bird hide.

I enjoyed the bird hide and I was very lucky with the Red-billed Firefinches just in front of the hide. The light over the water was OK so it was possible to get pictures using a good shutter speed without having to crank up the ISO speed.

Two African Pygmy Kingfishes was sitting just 2 to 3 meters away and they took turns to dive down in to the water to drink.

Not many birds, but I was very happy with the bird hides. Both pictures and recordings to bring back to my hotel.

Western Red-billed Hornbill

Female Red-billed Firefinch

Male Red-billed Firefinch

Male Red-billed Firefinch

Click picture for FULL SIZE

Male Red-billed Firefinch

Click picture for FULL SIZE

Female Red-billed Firefinch

Click picture for FULL SIZE

Male Red-billed Firefinch

Click picture for FULL SIZE

Male Red-billed Firefinch

Click picture for FULL SIZE

African Pygmy Kingfisher

African Pygmy Kingfisher

Male Red-billed Firefinch

Click picture for FULL SIZE

African Pygmy Kingfisher

African Pygmy Kingfisher

Male Red-billed Firefinch

Female Red-billed Firefinch

African Pygmy Kingfisher

African Pygmy Kingfisher

11 thirty and I wanted to get back to Ocean Bay Hotel & Resort for tea and biscuits. We have a siesta for a couple of hours mid-day to avoid the worst heat. And the birds are also resting during the hot part of the day.

I enjoy my tea and biscuits while looking at today's pictures. I was in the reception at 15 thirty and we left to look for birds. We are driving south and we stop along the highway to have a look for birds. I got a little bit angry.

There are different bird watchers, many, like me want to have pictures. And many, just have a checklist with birds they want to see. Arriving to Gambia with a checklist containing 621 species

The avifauna of The Gambia include a total of 621 species, two of which have been introduced.The country, which is very small and almost completely surrounded by Senegal, has no endemic species.

And they want to see all species before going home. They see the bird and they thick the name on their list. It can be a black dot flying by and they report it as seen. I want to have pictures of the birds.

Many of the pictures are very poor, but with the help of birdforum I have managed to ID the birds. So, never mind how poor the picture is, the bird might be IDd. Anyway, I need to come close to the birds to get pictures.

I have explained this to my Guide, as I do with all my Guides. I rather have 10 good pictures than 200 birds that I have caught a glimpse of.

When I left Senegal my Guide asked why I never reported swallows. I told him that I only report bird that I can see and ID. Swallows flying around is impossible for me, they are like shadows flying around. Can be any bird for me.

He said that he had noticed that I study the birds with photo and recordings, that’s the way to go, he said.

But here we are, plunging down the scrubs in the blazing heat. The sun is pounding us and the few birds not resting a flushed long before we come close enough for any pictures.

I told him again that I am here to take pictures, this walking around in the scrubs is pretty pointless. We went back to the car and we continued. I asked for a country road through fields so we could see some birds.

Great White Pelican

Great White Pelican

Great White Pelican

We pass Tanji Fish Market and we stop as we see about 100 Great White Pelicans flying over us in two huge groups. It was an impressive sight to see.

We continue and we leave the road to drive pass a small village. We stop as we had spotted a beautiful male Village Indigobird and a group of about 25 Bronze Mannikins in a tree next to the road. We stopped and I went out of the car.

The Bronze Mannikin were flying in and out of the tree, but the male Village Indigobird did not mind standing under him taking pictures and recording the song.

Male Village Indigobird

Male Village Indigobird

Male Village Indigobird

Male Village Indigobird

Bronze Mannikin

Bronze Mannikin

Listen to the Village Indigobird

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my mobile phone using my JBL microphone with the Merlin app. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

Sitting in a tree next to the road.

We continued along the dirt road and we stopped and my Guide pointed towards one Northern Red Bishop, 100 meters out in the field. I said it was too far away for any pictures. My Guide told me that it was very good.
- We can walk out in the field, he suggested
- Are you joking?

I did not want to argue, of course, we are 5 meters in to the field and the bird was gone. I told him to take me back to my hotel.
- This is how we do bird watching in Gambia
- Take me back to the hotel!

I was not happy! I have explained, by now, more times than I can remember that I am here to get pictures. Not a small bird 100 meter in to a field. I have pictures and recordings of this bird already, sitting a few meters away next to the road.

Back at the hotel and I run in to one Pied Crow sitting in a palm tree and I make a recording of the bird before going to my room.

Listen to the Pied Crow

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my mobile phone using my JBL microphone with the Merlin app. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

In the top of a palm tree when I come back to the hotel after bird watching

Today's species count:

29

Today's “LIFER”

3

Today's species
Northern Grey-headed Sparrow
Village Indigobird
Bronze Mannikin
Little Weaver
Long-tailed Glossy Starling
Pied Crow
Hooded Vulture
Spur-winged Lapwing
Great White Pelican
Tawny-flanked Prinia
Western Red-billed Hornbill
African Grey Hornbill
Caspian Tern
Grey-hooded Gull
Senegal Coucal
Western Plantain-eater
Red-billed Firefinch
Red-cheeked Cordonbleu
Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat
Common Bulbul
Green-backed Camaroptera
Yellow-crowned Gonolek
Blue-breasted Kingfisher
African Pygmy Kingfisher
Splendid Sunbird
Brown Babbler
Piapiac
Western Cattle-Egret
Laughing Dove

Today's “LIFER”
Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat
Splendid Sunbird
Brown Babbler

We will drive to the eastern part of Gambia tomorrow and we will leave Banjul at 8 o'clock in the morning. Spending the evening in my room drinking tea while working with my bird pictures from today's bird watching.

Will we see any birds going to the east? Click HERE to find out.

You are visitor no.

To www.aladdin.st since December 2005

Visitors from different countries since 26th of September 2011

Mobilize your Site

View Site in Mobile | Classic