End of
January/early February 2018 we visited Gambia, the smallest country in
Africa (around 1/4 the size of The Netherlands). Gambia consists essentially
of two strips of land, immediately north and south of the Gambia river, and
it is totally enclosed by much larger Senegal. The coast area is oriented
towards beach tourism, with large hotels. Further inland, the economy is
based on local small-scale activities (no factories, or other large
industrial activities visible) and standards of living there are very modest
The Gambia river and the various wetland areas around it support a rich and
very diverse birdlife. The attracts birders from all over the world an as a
result, many Gambians have taken up bird-guiding as an occupation, supported
by formal training and certification schemes. We had the pleasure of being
guided by some experienced and very knowledgeable local guides on a couple
of occasions and were led to birds we otherwise would never have found, or
even seen if we would have stumbled upon them (owls and nightjars). On the
other hand, the places where we stayed usually made a point of attracting
birds to their gardens, proving easy and excellent photo opportunities for
guests.
The Senegambia hotel (coast area) organizes a daily (hooded-) vulture
feeding session, attracting much attention. We saw more (kinds of) vultures
from a hide inland - a joint initiative with a Spanish vulture
conservationist.
Some 360-panorama of the Marakissa River Lodge, where we enjoyed a couple of
day of kayaking and birding, can be seen
HERE and
HERE.
A 10-day visit is necessarily limited in the number of species we could
observe and photograph, but this page aims to provide a glimpse of Gambia's
natural riches.
P
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