Bird watching in Senegal - July 2025

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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.

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คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม ไม่มีปัญหา ถ้าคุณต้องการไปหน้าถัดไป ให้กดปุ่ม “Next” ข้างบนนี้

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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

Day 1: Saint Louis
Boat ride on The Langue De Barbarie National Park

En route we will have many birding stops. In so doing, it’s possible to see: Vinaceous Dove, Yellow-crowned Gonolek, Chestnut–bellied Starling, Blue-naped Mousebird, Red-billed Hornbill, Long-tailed Glossy Starling….

And some vulture such as the : Lappet-faced and Hooded-Vultures and so on. We will have a boat ride on the Langues De Barbarie National, and some birding around.

Overnight at Hotel Diamarek.

Wednesday 23 ^rd of July 2025 and I wake up at 5 thirty, my alarm was set to go off at 4 o'clock, but I snoozed for a bit. I enjoy a diet drink before going out to check out if there are any birds on the beach.

I see the House Sparrow and one Village Indigobird outside the room. There were Black-kites flying around as well and several Great Cormorants was flying by.

House Sparrow

Village Indigobird

Good breakfast?

Good breakfast?

My Guide and Driver arrived and we were fighting to get my luggage down the narrow spiral stair, who the **** came up with the idea with this stair?

Breakfast, I read some reviews and GOOD BREAKFAST was mentioned so it was an instant disappointment coming for breakfast. Bread and jam, they had tea so that was good. But I cannot help but wondering what standard they are used to when saying that it is a good breakfast.

We left Hôtel Africa 6 Plage de Somone au Sénégal with smokin' and screamin' tyres. No backward glances and I will not set foot there again.

Good roads in Senegal

We are soon outside the city driving north on a beautiful highway, looks to be brand new. We are soon losing count of all the Black Kites flying around, there are really any of them.

I am in the back enjoying a diet drink enjoying the landscape flying by.

We are passing Rocade de Contournement de Thiès and I spot some Cattle Egrets. I ask them to make a U-turn so I can get a picture of the birds. There are also Black Kites and one Pied Crow. But I only took pictures of the egrets.

Western Cattle-Egret

Western Cattle-Egret

I spot one vulture sitting on top of a tree 15 minutes later and we stop to have a look. We discover 12 Hooded vultures in the trees and we get out to have a look.

We run in to a terrible stench coming out from the car.

We discover a dead donkey and now we know the reason for all the vultures, they are here for the dead donkey. The vultures are hanging around, maybe until tonight when the cars disappear from the road. Or if they want to wait until the meat becomes better.

I see a lot of scenes like this in Ethiopia, the vultures waiting for the big vulture to come open up the skin before they can start to eat.

Hooded Vulture

Hooded Vulture

Western Red-billed Hornbill

Western Red-billed Hornbill

Listen to the Village Weavers

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.

Many Village Weavers building nests next to the road

Village Weaver nests

eBird Report

Keur Moussa, Thiès, SN
Jul 23, 2025 09:15 - 09:22
Protocol: Stationary
Checklist Comments: Bird watching with Sogui Tours Senegal
10 species

Western Plantain-eater 1
Hooded Vulture 12
Black Kite (Yellow-billed) 1
Western Red-billed Hornbill 1
Red-necked Falcon 1
Pied Crow 1
Common Bulbul 1
Chestnut-bellied Starling 2
Greater Blue-eared Starling 1
Village Weaver 58

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S262065152

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

We leave the vultures behind and we stop to buy water 20 minutes later. I was in the car while my Guide went to buy water. I spotted a couple of Black Kites that I could report to eBird while waiting for them to water.

We leave, continuing towards north and Saint Louis. 20 minutes later and I ask the driver to stop and to put the car in reverse. I had spotted one big roller sitting on the fence on our right-hand side when we were driving towards north.

We drive along a small dirt track and we spot the bird, my Guide call it a Rufous-crowned Roller. It is called Rufous-crowned Roller in his book, but in eBird it is a Purple Roller. Anyway, the bird takes off when we get out of the car.

The roller land on the wire across the road and we go to try to get a picture. I got a poor picture before the bird took off and disappeared.

We crossed the road to get back to the car when my Guide spotted on beautiful Yellow-crowned Gonolek. A red and yellow bird sitting in the bushes.

I never got any good picture, but I got one I can keep for ID purpose.

Purple Roller / Rufous-crowned Roller

Chestnut-bellied Starling

Yellow-crowned Gonolek

Back in the car and I can report 3 birds to eBird before we continue towards Saint Louis in the north. But we stop after not having been driving very long. I discover a bird and we go back to have a look.

My Guide tell me that it is the Green Woodhoopoe, way too far away for any pictures. But I posted one at eBird for ID purpose. and it was a new “LIFER” for me. There was two Black-headed Lapwing as well.

Black-headed Lapwing

It will be very late when we reach Saint Louis if we continue stopping like this. But less than 20 minutes later we stop again. A huge group of vultures are soaring avove us.

We get out of the car and we discover about five White-backed Vultures and 4 Rüppell's Griffons soaring above us. I tried to get some pictures of the vultures as well.

They are really beautiful, the vultures. All of them are threatened species and I really hope they are around for long after I am dead.

There are a lot of programs to save them, but not here in Senegal. But my Guide told me that they have in Gambia and I hope I can visit at last one when I go there.

Rüppell's Griffon

Rüppell's Griffon

White-backed Vultures

White-backed Vultures

We continued towards north and Hotel Diamarek in Saint Louis. We have a couple of hours to go and we will have a boat tour in the afternoon. As we are coming north and closer to Sahara the surroundings got more and more desert like.

I enjoyed the scenery passing outside the window. Sand was blowing over the road creating small dunes and the car was full of dust and I had to close the window.

I started to get sick in the afternoon, no energy and small pain in my joints and I suspected some food poisoning. But it was not so bad and I was sure to be able to make the afternoon boat trip.

Driving towards north and Saint Louis

Driving towards north and Saint Louis

Faidherbe Bridge

Faidherbe Bridge

We reach the Faidherbe Bridge in Saint Louis and we have to cross two bridges to get out on the island where Hotel Diamarek is located. We check in to Hotel Diamarek and I get a shitty room, far away from the reception.

Some kind of resort styled hotel with bungalows and my bungalow was as far away you could come on the property. And the room, a bed, no desk and I hated the room. The bathroom, well, I was in no hurry to get a shower.

I did not fancy getting attacked by whatever living behind the trash bin, Anyway, I had a power nap and I felt a little better when I woke up and I went to meet my Guide and Driver.

African Silverbill

Laughing Dove

Leaving my shit room behind and I spot two African Silverbills and two Laughing Doves walking to the reception where I meet my Guide and Driver and we took off towards the boat in the south.

Hotel Diamarek is located on an island, or a land tongue, 2 to 300 m wide, Atlantic Ocean on one side and River Senegal on the other side. And the river side is a fishing harbour with hundreds of small open fishing boats side by side on the beach.

There are a lot of egrets and herons among the fishing boats and it is worth keeping an eye out for birds when passing.

Little Bee-eater

Little Bee-eater

African Sacred Ibis

African Sacred Ibis

We pass the bridges to the main land crossing the two bridges and we are soon out of the city. Our boat leaves from Gandiol and we pass the Lagunes de Gandiol and we stop to look for birds.

There were around 50 Greater Flamingos and gulls. We stop to see if we can get pictures and the people fishing think we stop to take pictures of them. And the road is very narrow and we leave after a while to avoid blocking the traffic.

There were pelicans as well, but I did not bother counting or reporting them as we expect to come back to look for birds in the area.

Slender-billed Gull

Great White Egret

We continued to the town/ village and we parked the car in the shadow. Captain was waiting for us and we walked the last 100 meters to the river. There was many Black Kites hunting around the river. Black Kite must be the birds we have seen the most of, they are everywhere.

And they soar in huge groups.

The boat, an open wood boat, maybe 6 or 7 meters long. They pulled the boat up on the beach and my Guide and me got in to the boat and they pushed us out in the Senegal River.

Yellow-billed Black Kite

Yellow-billed Black Kite

Yellow-billed Black Kite

Down at the beach

Down at the beach

We are leaving for the birding adventure

Leaving the beach behind

There were so many African Crested Terns, impossible to count. I think they are going to make nests and eggs. There were many cormorants and Great White Pelicans and I managed to get pictures of the pelicans.

We also spotted one Whimbrel and one Eurasian Curlew on the sand. Many different gulls and terns but it were impossible to get any picture of them as they were flying around all the time.

We spotted four Lesser Black-backed Gulls. But most of the birds were the African Crested Terns. I got some pictures of the birds and I managed to make two recordings, but they turned out to be a disappointment.

Grey-hooded Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Great White Pelican

Great Cormorant (White-breasted)

Great White Pelican

Great White Pelican

Great White Pelican

Great White Pelican

Slender-billed Gull

Slender-billed Gull

Listen to the African Crested Tern

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.

Hundreds of birds on the sand along the Senegal River. Most likely breeding time and the birds are flying in pairs chasing each other, most likely flirting.

Listen to the African Crested Tern

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.

Hundreds of birds on the sand along the Senegal River. Most likely breeding time and the birds are flying in pairs chasing each other, most likely flirting.

West African Crested Tern

West African Crested Tern

West African Crested Tern

eBird Report

Senegal River - Gandiol, Saint-Louis, SN Jul 23, 2025 16:13 - 17:46
Protocol: Traveling
8.467 kilometer(s)
Checklist Comments: Bird watching with Sogui Tours Senegal
11 species

Feral Pigeon 2
Whimbrel 1
Eurasian Curlew 1
Slender-billed Gull 2
Grey-hooded Gull 62
Lesser Black-backed Gull 4
Gull-billed Tern 1
West African Crested Tern 500 At last 500, looks to be breeding
Great Cormorant (White-breasted) 93
Great White Pelican 19
Black Kite (Yellow-billed) 3

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S262177065

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

Today's track on the Senegal River

It was very nice to return to the car, I was getting worse and I was just interested in getting back to my room. We are driving to Podor tomorrow, a ride I am not looking forward to. Unless of course, if I get better during the night.

But now I just want to get back to my room and I tell my Guide that I will skip dinner. I have not had anything to eat since the breakfast at Africa 6 Hotel back in Dakar.

Back in the car and we are soon on our way back to the hotel, we will stop to fill up gas in the car. We will also stop at the supermarket.

We pass Lagunes de Gandiol on the way back to Saint Louis and I got pictures of the Senegal Thick-knee and there was a Crested Lark.

Senegal Thick-knee

Crested Lark

Crested Lark

I bought some chocolate bars and a couple of bottles with mango juice at the supermarket. I will keep them in my room as I suspect that I will not have any energy to visit the restaurant at the hotel. Maximum time will be spent in bed.

I went straight to bed when we were back and I was getting worse by the minute. We will leave the hotel at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning and I hope I am better by then.

Sick or not, today I could add 6“LIFERS” to my list:
- West African Crested Tern
- Green Woodhoopoe
- Yellow-crowned Gonolek
- Chestnut-bellied Starling
- Red-necked Falcon
- Western Red-billed Hornbill

Click HERE to see if I make it to Podor tomorrow morning.

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