"Wham Bam thank you Gam (bia)"

 

What a difference 24 hours can make in birding.

 

 

A return trip to Africa's west coast at the end of January

with The Paranoid 1  The Wickster and Andy Collins.

This time venturing further in to the interior of Gambia for

some of those splendid upriver specialities.

 

 

  

Oh yes, we saw plenty of Raptors...

 

Osprey

African Fish Eagle

Palm-nut Vulture

Hooded Vulture

White-backed Vulture

Ruppell's Vulture

Black Kite

Yellow-billed Kite

Pallid Harrier

Montagu's Harrier

Western Marsh Harrier

Short-toed Snake Eagle

Beaudouin's Snake Eagle

Brown Snake Eagle

Bateleur

African Harrier Hawk

Grasshopper Buzzard

Lizard Buzzard

Dark Chanting Goshawk

Shikra

Honey Buzzard

Wahlberg's Eagle

Tawney Eagle

Martial Eagle

Grey Kestrel

Red-necked Falcon

Peregrine Falcon

 

Yellow-billed Kite

 

 

Egyptian Plover

 

 

Badgers observations on a week in Africa.

 

By the end of the 1st day you stop trying to photograph/film

Hooded Vultures/Black Kites/Abyssinian Rollers (they are everywhere)

and enjoy that glorious weather.

 

By the end of day two...its too hot.

 

By the third day you automatically start speaking to everyone in broken English with a hint of

an African accent (oddly this includes the friends you went with). 

 

By day four you start enjoying cold showers at the camps after berating them at the start of the week.

 

By day five that shabby hotel room you left on the first day becomes five star luxury upon

your return.

 

Me & the Wickster Tendaba Lodge

Gambian River

Whimbrel

Our Transport as we traversed the length of the country.

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater

Red-throated Bee-eater

Little Bee-eater

 

We were unfortunately too late for the Carmine Bee-eaters,

apparently at this time of year they follow the bush fires across the savanna.

 

Any reports coming out of Gambia regarding Badgers and arson are wholly fictitious.

 

 Stunners.

 

 

 

Broad-billed Roller

 

"Africa Hot"

 

Tom 'sweat'n the small stuff'

Baobolong Camp

My favourite of the two camps we stayed at with evenings

consisting of Jul Brew and Standard-winged Nightjars.

 

We also saw...

 

Northern White-faced Owl

African Wood Owl

Verreaux's Eagle Owl

African Finfoot

Kitzlitz Plover

Kelp Gull

Slender-billed Gull

Abyssinian Gound Hornbill

White-spotted Flufftail

White-backed Night Heron

Marabou Stork

White Helmet Shrike

Cinnamon-breasted Bunting

Grey-headed Bush Shrike

Olivacious Warblers

Wryneck

 

Hamercop

 

 

 

Gambia The Movie 



 

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Make what you will of this...