Gambia bird watching tours
| country: | Gambia |
| location: | Gunjur |
| price: | From £575 (8 days) excluding flights |
| more info: | This trip can be tailor made at a time to suit you and can be adapted to suit your interests, budget and requirements as necessary. Price includes all meals and transfers. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Gambia bird watching tours
Gambia bird watching tours
Seven days in one of the world’s best bird watching environments. On our Gambia bird watching tours, we provide guides, transport, food and accommodation. Bring your own scope and camera. There are 576 known species of bird in The Gambia, come and see how many you can identify. The day's bird watching are very active followed by a very relaxing and peaceful evening at the lodge where you can enjoy locally cooked food (breakfast, lunch and dinner included) and a refreshing drink. Packed lunches are provided for bird watching days. The best season to visit is October to May.
Seven days in one of the world’s best bird watching environments. On our Gambia bird watching tours, we provide guides, transport, food and accommodation. Bring your own scope and camera. There are 576 known species of bird in The Gambia, come and see how many you can identify. The day's bird watching are very active followed by a very relaxing and peaceful evening at the lodge where you can enjoy locally cooked food (breakfast, lunch and dinner included) and a refreshing drink. Packed lunches are provided for bird watching days. The best season to visit is October to May.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Arrival at lodge. Arrive at Banjul Airport and transfer to the lodge. Meet your guide & the lodge staff, then have dinner. |
| Day 2: | Abuko Nature Reserves. Leave the lodge after a very early breakfast and travel by four wheel drive to Lamin Lodge. Here you will expect to see Common Wattle-eye, Paradise Flycatcher, Royal Tern, African Darter, Long Tailed Cormorant and Western Bluebill. Then take a short boat trip on the river to see the Great Honeyguide, Cut Throat Finch, Singing Cisticola and Buffalo Weavers by the rice fields. Picnic style lunch around 1pm. On to Abuko Nature Reserves, where you will see Pin-tailed Widow, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher, Senegal Batis, Grey Headed Gull and many more. Back to the lodge for a traditional Gambian buffet supper and a well earned drink. |
| Day 3: | Tanji Bird Reserve. Another early breakfast. Today we visit 3 separate venues; Tanji Bird Reserve, Tujering Woods and Brufut Woods. At these locations expect to see Black Crowned Tchagra, Osprey, Yellow Crowned Gonolek, Broad Billed Roller, Abyssinian Roller, Purple Glossy Starlings and Violet Backed Starlings. Back to the lodge and an evening of good food, wine and some (optional) cultural drumming. |
| Day 4: | Marakissa River Camp. Visits to Marakissa River Camp, Darsalami Woods and Siffoe. Marakissa is our first venue and we will spend the morning here, then stop at Darsalami Woods and Siffoe on the way back. You will see Sulphur-breasted Bush Shrike, Exclamatory Paradise Whydah, Wilson Indigo, African Blue Flycatcher, Yellow Shouldered Widowbird, Northern Puffback, Woodchat Shrike and many more. |
| Day 5: | Birding at the lodge. We often expect everyone to sleep the morning away and that is perfectly acceptable! For those that want to relax and unwind this is your chance, a day for yourself to do as you please. For those who wake up in the middle of the night then the birding at the lodge is as good as the food. Two recent visitors to the lodge spotted 187 species of bird in just 2 days including Pygmy Kingfisher, Grey Woodpecker, Lizard Buzzard, Snowy Crowned Robin Chat, Red Wing Warbler, Croaking and Singing Cisticola. |
| Day 6: | Mandinaba Pirang. Up at the crack of dawn and off again with Alex to Mandinaba Pirang Shrimp Farm, Faraba Bantang Rice Fields and Bush Track. You can expect sightings of Quail Finch, Village Indigo, Pin-tailed Whydah and Cut Throat Finch. |
| Day 7: | Banjul. This is your last day birding with Alex so you guessed it...off early and head down the coast to visit Gambia's capital of Banjul then back to Kotu and Fajara Golf Club. Some of the birds found here are Grey Plover, Senegal Thick-knee, Wattle Plovers, Wire Tailed Swallow, Little Ring Plover, Stone Partridge, Sand Grouse, European Hoopoe, Red-shouldered Cuckoo Shrike and Woodland Kingfisher. As this is your last night at the lodge we would like to say thank you, so your meal this evening will be accompanied by a complimentary bottle of wine of your choice from our wine menu. |
| Day 8: | Return home. Morning at the lodge, so there is time for that last look at the birds before breakfast (and lunch depending on flight time). Depart for the airport and journey home. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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Community
The daytime bird watching is under the supervision of Alex, our self employed local guide with 20 years experience. He is also a governor of a local primary school and part of his fee goes towards the children's education. The lodge employs only local staff, mainly from the village of Gunjur, most of which are retained throughout the year even during the off peak holiday season. The staff are paid well above the national average, receive a meal during their shift and medical & dental treatment are also provided. Environment Alex will start our Gambia bird watching tours with a briefing giving details of the trip, pointing out the need not to disturb the ecology and wildlife and the need to take all of your rubbish home with you. The lodge where you will spend the evenings is probably the most ecological compound in The Gambia. It is solar powered, providing all of our electricity. The toilets are self composting so no water is used. Washing and bathing water is collected as grey water and used on the gardens. An organic garden provides the vegetables and fruit for the lodge. Bread and other items are sourced locally from Gunjur village. The offices in The Gambia and in England are paperless, and 90% of the work is done online. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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