Bird watching in Gambia - August 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.

August 2025

Friday 1 ^st of August 2025 and having a shower wan not any nice experience. They make a nice hotel and then, it seems like they run out of enthusiasm when they start with the bathrooms.

No hot water and the pressure left a lot to wish for. And what is the hose on the wall for?
Electric cables not covered, and on top of freeing in the shower I was scared of being electrocuted in the shower.

My bathroom

My bathroom

Having breakfast looking at Gambia River

We have breakfast at the river front and we leave with the boat around 8 o'clock. The boat came to pick us up at Island Hotel Janjanbureh. My Guide told me that it would be better to drive to the ferry terminal as the jetty at the hotel was only half ready.

But it was no problem for me to climb the flimsy wooden ladder and I was soon in the boat and we were on our way in Gambia River. We spot one Black Kite on the mud flat next to the hotel, but I did not have my camera ready so I missed the bird.

We spot on Senegal Thick-knee and I get a picture. I saw five Red-billed Hornbills flying over Gambia River and one Black-headed Heron before we reach the ferry jetty in Lamin Koto.

Senegal Thick-knee

Listen to the Senegal Thick-knee

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 stop the motor to record the Senegal Thick-knee. We float on the water and we can hear how we run aground at the end of the recording.

We are back at Lamin Koto and I discover that my eBird app have stopped. I restart my eBird app and the first bird I can report is another Senegal Thick-knee.

I do not get any picture but I get a recording of the bird. We continue along the river and we spot one huge Hamerkop nest in a tree next to the river.

We saw the Hamerkop when the bird took off. We leave the main river and we get in to a very narrow canal. The canal is lined with Village Weaver nests, hundreds of them.

Of course, impossible to count the birds and the nests. Old nests and some nest was just started.

Looking for birds on Gambia River

Hamerkop nest

Hamerkop nest

Looking for birds on Gambia River

Village Weaver nest

Village Weaver nest

Weaver Canal

Weaver Canal

Village Weaver building a nest

Village Weaver building a nest

Village Weaver building a nest

Village Weaver building a nest

Village Weaver building a nest

Village Weaver building a nest

Village Weaver building a nest

Village Weaver building a nest

My Guide spotted one Swamp Flycatcher but I missed it. One red bird was flying across the canal and my Guide pointed and I thought this was the Swamp Flycatcher. But I will realise later on that this was a Seedcracker.

We tried to see more birds but nothing, expect of course, weavers. We left the canal and we continued along Gambia River towards west. we spotted two Hadada Ibis in top of a dead tree along the river. We had seen some Pied Kingfishers on the way.

We are soon leaving the main river again and we go up in a small canal to see if there are any exciting birds.

Pied Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

Hadada Ibis

Hadada Ibis

Looking for birds along the Gambia River

We steam along a small canal

We spotted a couple of grey birds and I got some pictures. I asked my Guide what bird it was and he told me that it was the Swamp Flycatcher.
- Swamp Flycatcher? What was the red bird we saw before?
- That was the Scarlet Seedcracker.

I had to update my eBird report. And both the Scarlet Seedcracker and the Swamp Flycatcher was new “LIFERS” for me so I was happy.

Working our way in to the small canal and we had a pair of African Pygmy-Goose coming swimming towards us, the male was gorgeous. We approached and they came towards us and I got a few pictures while they were still far away.

Very disappointing when they took off, obviously flushed by our boat.

Monkeys in the trees

Monkeys in the trees

African Pygmy-Goose

African Pygmy-Goose

African Pygmy-Goose

Swamp Flycater

Swamp Flycater

Swamp Flycater

Swamp Flycater

Swamp Flycater

Swamp Flycater

Farting along looking for birds

Farting along looking for birds

Farting along looking for birds

Farting along looking for birds

Farting along looking for birds

We reach a tree that have felt over the narrow canal and we turn around to get back to the main river. We will soon return to the Island Hotel Janjanbureh, but we just make a quick tour to the south side of the Janjanbureh Island, just around the western point.

We could hear one Oriole Warbler and I made a recording while we drift of the scrubs.

Good luck we took the detour, we spotted two African Harrier-Hawk, one adult teaching the young on how to fly and hunt. I got some very good pictures, but I ducked up and erased all the good pictures by mistake.

Listen to the Oriole Warbler

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 Harrier-Hawk

African Harrier-Hawk

African Harrier-Hawk

African Harrier-Hawk

eBird Report

Gambia River - Morning Cruise, Central River, GM
Aug 1, 2025 08:40 - 11:22
Protocol: Traveling
12.246 kilometer(s)
25 species

African Pygmy-Goose 2 A pair coming swimming towards our boat. Took off when we approached.
Mourning Collared Dove 4
Western Plantain-eater 6
Senegal Coucal 1
African Finfoot 1 Male, poor picture, kept for ID purpose only as it is a Rare Bird Alert.
Senegal Thick-knee 3
Hadada Ibis 2
Black-headed Heron 1
Hamerkop 1
African Harrier-Hawk 3 Adult teach young to fly
Palm-nut Vulture 5
Hooded Vulture 6
Green Woodhoopoe 1
African Grey Hornbill 2
Red-throated Bee-eater 2
Malachite Kingfisher 2
Blue-breasted Kingfisher 2
Giant Kingfisher 1
Pied Kingfisher 2
Oriole Warbler 1 Heard only
Long-tailed Glossy Starling 1
Swamp Flycatcher 4
Village Weaver X
Black-headed Weaver 8
Crimson Seedcracker 2 I reported the bird as a Swamp Flycatcher by mistake. My Guide was talking about the Swamp Flycatcher when this red coloured bird fly across our boat.

Not until we came in to another canal and I spotted a grey bird and I asked what it was, it turned out that this was the Swamp Flycatcher. I asked about the red bird and this was the seedcracker.

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S264225171

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Today's track on Gambia River

We drive back towards the hotel with a stop at the ferry place in Lamin Koto so I could buy some juice and biscuits for my lunch and dinner that I will enjoy in my room.

It is 10 minutes from Lamin Koto across the river to Island Hotel Janjanbureh. I made a cup of tea, just to find out that they did not have any milk and I threw out the tea.

I was not in a good mood going to my room, and it got worse when the power disappeared and it was 3 hours to sitt in a hot room, with exactly nothing to do.

We are back at Island Hotel Janjanbureh

Three hours is nothing that pass very quickly sitting in a room with nothing to do. No power for the computer so I could not work with the bird pictures and I was happy when it was 4 o'clock and it was time for our “afternoon cruise”

We were ment to go look for birds on land, but I had liked the morning cruise so I booked one afternoon cruise as well.

It was really nice to leave the powerless hotel and now we followed Gambia River towards the east. We cross the river to get the sun in our backs in order to be between the birds and the sun.

Little Bee-eater

Little Bee-eater

Woodland Kingfisher

Woodland Kingfisher

Woodland Kingfisher

We continued toward east and we spotted the first African Fish-Eagle since I arrived to Africa. I have asked for the African Fish-Eagle many times as I had not seen the bird.

In east Africa there are so many of them so I grew bored. But here, nothing, so I was very excited when we spotted the African Fish-Eagle soaring over Gambia River.

We also passed the Hadada Ibis in top of a tree and one Common Sandpiper that I got on the picture. We are soon spotting two more African Fish-Eagle sitting in a tree and we steered towards the tree to get some pictures.

One of the eagles took off when we approached, but one bird stayed and I could get pictures.

African Fish-Eagler

African Fish-Eagler

Hadada Ibis

Hadada Ibis

Common Sandpiper

Common Sandpiper

African Fish-Eagler

African Fish-Eagler

We turned around to start to go back towards the hotel and the second night in my room. Going back and we spotted a couple of herons and egrets, nothing special. We spotted four Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and I was lucky to get pictures.

We spotted millions of them in Senegal so they are a bit of a bore. But I discovered that it was a Rare Bird Alert so I was happy for the pictures that I can have a s proof that I had seen the birds. No bird watching from the comfort of my arm chair.

I got pictures of the Red-throated Sunbirds sitting in the same bush and that was the last pictures for today.

We passed tracks going up the river bank, we saw them yesterday as well. The Hippos leave the river during the night to feed on grass. And rice, the Hippos can eat a full rice paddy in a jiff.

Farting along looking for birds

Farting along looking for birds

Farting along looking for birds

Monkey

Hippo track along the river

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Red-throated Sunbird

eBird Report

Gambia River - Afternoon Cruise, Central River, GM
Aug 1, 2025 16:15 - 18:18
Protocol: Traveling
12.628 kilometer(s)
24 species

Knob-billed Duck 1
Mourning Collared Dove 1
Senegal Coucal 1
Senegal Thick-knee 1
Common Sandpiper 1
Hadada Ibis 1
Black-crowned Night Heron 3
Striated Heron 2
Black-headed Heron 4
Palm-nut Vulture 1
African Fish-Eagle 3
Western Red-billed Hornbill 1
Red-throated Bee-eater 4
Little Bee-eater 7
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater 4 4 of them sitting in the same bush as on Red-throated
Woodland Kingfisher 1
Blue-breasted Kingfisher 1
Pied Kingfisher 2
Broad-billed Roller 5
Oriole Warbler 3
Long-tailed Glossy Starling 3
Swamp Flycatcher 1
Village Weaver 30
Red-billed Quelea 25

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S264253800

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Afternoon track on Gambia River

Today's species count:

37

Today's “LIFER”

5

Total species count

1672

Today's species
Red-billed Quelea
Village Weaver
Swamp Flycatcher
Long-tailed Glossy Starling
Oriole Warbler
Broad-billed Roller
Pied Kingfisher
Blue-breasted Kingfisher
Woodland Kingfisher
Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
Little Bee-eater
Red-throated Bee-eater
Western Red-billed Hornbill
African Fish-Eagle
Palm-nut Vulture
Black-headed Heron
Striated Heron
Black-crowned Night Heron
Hadada Ibis
Common Sandpiper
Senegal Thick-knee
Senegal Coucal
Mourning Collared Dove
Knob-billed Duck
Crimson Seedcracker
Black-headed Weaver
Giant Kingfisher
Malachite Kingfisher
African Grey Hornbill
Green Woodhoopoe
Hooded Vulture
African Harrier-Hawk
Hamerkop
African Finfoot
Western Plantain-eater
African Pygmy-Goose
Black Kite

Today's “LIFER”
Crimson Seedcracker
Swamp Flycatcher
Giant Kingfisher
African Harrier-Hawk
African Finfoot

I spent the rest of the evening in my room, now there was both milk and electricity so I could work with my bird pictures. We will leave tomorrow morning and we will go back towards Banjul. We will stop at Tendaba Camp to spend a night there.

Welcome to Tendaba Camp

The Heart of Gambia’s Wild Adventure!

Are you a thrill-seeker with a passion forbirdwatching, wildlife, or an unforgettable safari experience?

So, I was excited to go visit Tendaba Camp and you just need to click HERE to find out everything about the camp. Will there be any birds? Will there be any new “LIFERS”?

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