The Gambia is one of the worlds smallest nation states and it’s borders are defined by the course of the mighty river Gambia one of three giant West African rivers that rise in the Fouta Djallon mountain ranges of Guinea. It covers an area of 11,000 square kms and has a length of approximately 330-km and a narrow width of between 25 to 30 kms along most of its length.
It has a small coastline due to its narrow width and is almost completely surrounded by its much larger neighbour Senegal almost 20 times larger.
Climatically the Gambia has two distinct seasons, a wet season from July to October and a dry season from November to July. Mean monthly temperatures are fairly stable averaging from 23 c in January to 27 c in October.
The Gambian economy is mainly farm based and its biggest export is groundnuts with sorghum and millet also being produced by its farmers. Fishing is also popular, with many thriving coastal fishing villages.
The close proximity of the Gambia to Northern Europe makes it an ideal winter destination, as it is only 6 hours flying time from the UK with no time difference.
Although the Gambia does not boast any big game, something that you would find in more exotic parts of Africa such as Kenya, what it does have in abundance is a staggering diversity of bird life.
Because of its geographic location and its shape the Gambia holds a vast range of specific habitats that are critical to a large variety of bird species.
Many people travel to the Gambia without any previous interest in birdwatching but after discovering the amazingly colourful array of bird life that this country has to offer, they come home completely converted.
My wife and I have been to the Gambia three times and still remember the site of a beautiful sunbird with its shimmering iridescent colours, coming down for a drink everyday from a water bowl we had placed outside of our room.
There are many local guides who tout for business outside of the hotels in the Gambia, and they offer incredibly cheap services and the added bonus of good local knowledge. It is best to check they have some form of ID issued by the Gambian birding associations and get to know them a little before you commit.
Where to find Birds
Birds are common everywhere in the Gambia, you will find palmnut vultures perched on the roof of your hotel and purple glossy starlings are common on the ground.
The Atlantic hotel offers the best birdwatching gardens and has a flowered garden area where sunbirds, firefinches and cordon bleus are commonly found. They also have a small wooded area and my wife and I discovered roosting fruit bats when we visited along with many other interesting species. All of the Hotel gardens will have an incredible variety of birds to see and if you wander around the gardens at different times of the day you will encounter many different species.
Close to the hotel areas there are within a short taxi ride some excellent reserves. Bijilo Forest Park is an unspoilt area of rare coastal forest and here we spotted white crested helmet shrikes, various weaverbirds, firefinches and sunbirds with the added bonus of seeing green vervet monkeys.
Abuko nature reserve is probably the most popular reserve due to its close proximity to the tourist hotels and has some well placed bird hides, one of which overlooks a pool where you can view basking crocodiles and view an amazing array of different birds. We spotted hammerkop, kingfishers, turacos, and many more here.
A morning trip to this reserve is well worth combining with a visit to Lamin Lodge which is minutes away by taxi. Lamin lodge is built on wooden stilts and is a strange rickety building built by Germans which overlooks a river and here you can enjoy a leisurely lunch with a splendid view of the surrounding mangroves in the cool shade
Lamin Lodge is a start point for creek based mangrove trips and offers an unmissable “Birds and Breakfast Trip” as well as sunset trips. Ospreys and fishing eagles are commonly spotted on these trips as well as a variety of waders such as Herons, Bitterns and Egrets.
For the deadly serious birdwatcher a trip upriver away from the tourist areas will bring the more rare species within your grasp, such as carmine bee eaters, hornbills and you can even find hippopotamus wallowing in the waters in upriver areas.
The Gambia truly is a birdwatchers paradise and will leave you filled with amazement and awe if you sample even a tiny fraction of the birdlife that it has to offer.
If you are seriously thinking of going bird watching in the Gambia the bird watchers bible that you need to take is the Field Guide to the birds of the Gambia and Senegal by Clive Barlow. This book has colour plates and will enable you to quickly confirm the birds that you view. You will also need a good pair of binoculars and most important of all a good camera, preferably an SLR to take some memorable pictures home with you.
