This is a fascinating 12-day bird photography tour that gives you a great opportunity to experience and photograph an incredible diversity of Gambia’s avian life, with colourful bee-eaters, rollers, weavers, kingfishers, raptors, water birds, and waders among the top targets on our impressive list of birds to photograph. Our journey begins around the coastal areas, where we’ll explore some coastal forests and make the best use of the forest hides to photograph a good range of forest specialties. Next, we’ll be heading out to the upcountry, visiting some of the best locations for photographing birds. The tour also features special morning and afternoon photo sessions at some well-established red throated bee-eater breeding colonies, including the famous Bansang Quarry and Wassu Sandpit. Here, we’ll be aiming to capture the best possible actions and behavioural shots of this delightful and photogenic bird. Many other exotic species can also be photographed on foot and by boat.

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Itinerary

DAY 1: ARRIVAL
Arrival at the Banjul International Airport, meet the guide, and transfer to your hotel. If time permits, we will have a short introductory walk around the surrounding areas of the hotel/lodge.

DAY 2: FULL DAY AT KOTU CREEK, CYCLE TRACK AREA
Our first morning will be spent at the outstanding Kotu Creek; the tour includes an hour canoe trip on the Kotu Creek where we have a good chance to photograph various kingfishers’ species, including giant, malachite, pied, blue-breasted, and woodland kingfishers, plus herons, egrets, and other wading birds. Such as the Senegal Thick Knee, Sacred Ibis, African Spoonbill, Spur spur-winged lapwing, Wire Tailed Swallow, and many migrant waders, all at close range. After lunch, we’ll explore the cycle track and Fajara Golf Course. These areas offer plenty of photographic opportunities, including Oriole warbler, Senegal Coucal, Green Wood Hoopoe, Red-billed Hornbill, Senegal Parrot, Swallow-tailed Bee Eater, Bearded Barbet, Variable Sunbird, Double-Spurred Francolin, Lizard Buzzard, Long-Tailed Glossy Starling, Grey Woodpecker, and Little Bee Eater. Beautiful Sunbird, Splendid Sunbird, Yellow Crowned Gonolek, Shika, Fork-Tailed Drongo, Bronze Manikin, Blue Billed Roller, and many others. Overnight: Coastal Hotel/Lodge.

DAY 3: TANJI BIRD RESERVE, BRUFUT WOODS (PHOTO HIDE)
We have a brief spell at Tanji Bird Reserve where we will target Four Banded Sand Grouse, Osprey, various hornbill species, and also have the chance to capture a variety of woodland birds such as Swallow Tailed Bee Eater, Blue Cheeked Bee Eater, Yellow Fronted Tinker Bird, beautiful Sunbird, Splendid Sunbird, Bearded, and Vieillot’s Barbets. We will check the lagoons before heading to Brufut Woods to spend the rest of the day at the photo hide.

We’ll spend the rest of the day at Brufut Woods Hide; here we hope to get decent shots of a nice variety of species: both African Paradise and Red-bellied Paradise flycatchers, oriole warblers, village weavers, black-necked weavers, red-billed fire finches, Snowy Crowned Robin-Chat, Little Greenbul, Black Capped, and Brown Babblers, alongside the gorgeous Green Crested and Violet Turacos. There is also a chance to have a good shot of the Long-Tailed Nightjar and White-Faced Scops Owl. Overnight at a coastal hotel or lodge.

DAY 4: TRAVEL TO THE UPCOUNTRY
An early start will see us head to the inland, making several stops on the way; we’ll visit some birding hotspots, including Farasutu forest, Bonto forest, and Kampanti rice fields. At Bonto Forest, we will spend some time at the forest hide, hoping to get good photos of a wonderful selection of forest species such as the Western Bluebill, Snow Crowned Robin-Chat, Orange Cheeked Waxbill, Green Hylia, Little Greenbul, Simple Leaf Love, African Pygmy Kingfisher, Green Headed Sunbird, and many species.

Other potential species to capture for the day include Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, Greyish Eagle Owl, White-Faced Scops Owl, African Wood Owl, Stripe Kingfisher, African Green Pigeon, African Pied Hornbill, Black Crowned Tchgra, Cardinal Woodpecker, African Harrier Hawk and Senegal Parrot. We may also encounter raptors such as Lizard Buzzard, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Grasshopper Buzzard, Brown Snake Eagle, Bateleur Eagle, and various vultures. and many others. Overnight at Morgan Kunda Lodge.

DAY 5, FROM MORGAN KUNDA TO KAIRO GARDEN LODGE.
We will travel further inland to stay for 2-nights at Kautaur, meanwhile, we will explore the farmlands, wetlands, and open country around the Morgan Kunda areas before heading further east, we’ll have a chance to photography many different species including Sahel Paradise Whydah, Scarlet Chested Sunbird, Scaly Fronted Weaver, Long Tailed Glossy Starling, Green Winged Pythia, Northern Ant Eater Chat, Rufous Crowned Roller, Beaudouin Snake Eagle, Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Cut throat Finch, Rufous Scrub Robin, Savile’s Bustard, Bronze Tailed Starling, Lesser Blue Eared Starling, Tawny Flanked Prinia, and Chestnut Backed Sparrow Lark, at Kaur Wetland and Njau Waterhole, we will have the best opportunity to photography one of Africa’s most sought after wader, the stunningly beautiful Egyptian plover, along with White-Crowned Lapwing, Wolly Necked Stork, Yellow Crowned Bishop, African Quail Finch, Red dumped Swallow and many more.

DAY 6: PHOTOGRAPH BEE EATERS IN ACTION
Today, we will have a special day to photograph Red Throated Bee Eater and Northern Carmine Bee Eaters in action. The day will be split between the Wassu Sandpit and Stone Circle areas, and there is also a chance to capture other species in the area. Overnight at Kairo Garden Lodge.

DAY 7: GAMBIA RIVER CRUISE AND DRIVE TO BANSANG (Riverside Lodge).
After an early breakfast, we take in the Gambia River for a couple of hours. During the river cruise, we’ll have a chance to photograph the likes of the African Fish Eagle, Palm nut Vulture, African Fin foot, Grey-headed Kingfisher, Blue Breasted Kingfisher, Broad Billed Roller, the rare Shining Blue Kingfisher, Hadada Ibis, Spur-winged Goose, Black Crake, Hammerkop, Yellow Backed Weaver, Swamp Flycatcher, Yellow Throated Leaf Love, Black Headed Weaver, Red Necked Falcon, Little Bee Eater, Western Banded Snake Eagle, rare Crimson Seed Cracker, and host of others.

From the river tour, we head to Bansang, where we’ll be spending the afternoon exploring the surrounding areas of Riverside Lodge. Overnight at the Riverside Lodge.

DAY 8: FULL DAY AT THE LARGEST RED-THROATED BEE EATER COLONY.
As we continue our quest to capture great images of these fan favourites and other exciting species. We’ll spend the morning trying to get more behavioural shots of the Red Throated bee-eaters alongside the Gosling’s Bunting. There is also a chance to photograph species such as Pin-tailed Whydah, Northern Red Bishop, Exclamatory Paradise Whydah, Black Winged Bishop, Red-billed Quellea, all in their breeding feathers, plus a host of other exotic species. Overnight at the Riverside Lodge.

DAY 9: DRIVE FROM BANSANG TO TENDABA CAMP.
Along the way to Tendaba, we will have various birding stops at a few key birding sites, including Kunkilling Forest Park, Kundang area, and Dalaba Wetland. Possible species to photograph for the day include Yellow-bellied Hyliota, Little Green Bee-eater, Northern Carmine Bee Eater, Grey Backed Camaroptera, Whistling Cisticola, Yellow White Eye, Pygmy Sunbird, Brown Rumped Bunting, African Golden Oriole, Scarlet Chested Sunbird, Blue Cheeked Bee-Eater, White Crested Helmet Shrike, Western Olivaleous Warbler, White Rumped Seedeater, Village Indigo bird, White-faced whistling Duck, African Pygmy Goose, Marabou Stork, Ruppel’s Griffon and White Backed Vulture, Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, Gabar Goshawk, Purple Glossy Starling, Walhberg’s Eagle, White Throated bee-eater, Abyssinian Roller, Western Grey Plantain Eater, Green Wood Hoopoe, Grasshopper Buzzard, and many others. Overnight at Tendaba camp.

DAY 10: PHOTO HIDE AND AFTERNOON AT WUROKANG BUSH TRACK.
Today, we will have a couple of hours (4 hours) at the Tendaba bird hide, where we hope to get decent shots of various species such as Brown Rumped Bunting, Red-winged Pythlia, Yellow-fronted Canary, Red-checked Cordon Bleu, Both lesser Blue and Greater Blue Eared Starling, Shikra, Grey-headed Sparrow, Yellow White Eye, Red Shouldered Cuckoo Shrike, Namaqua Dove, Chestnut Crowned Sparrow Weaver, plus many others Weaver and finches. We will return for a lunch break, and in the afternoon we’ll visit the Wurakang bush track, hoping to get good snaps of species such as White Fronted Black Chat, Pygmy Sunbird, Black Scimitar Bill, Bru Bru, Yellow Penduline Tit, White Crested Helmet Shrike, White Shouldered Black Tit, Spotted Thick Knee, Temminck’s Courser, Striped Kingfisher, Tawny Flanked Prinia, Rufous Cisticola, Singing Cisticola, Swallow-tailed Bee Eater, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, African Cuckoo, and a and a host of others. , We will return to our base for dinner and overnight at Tendaba Camp.

DAY 11: EARLY MORNING BOAT TRIP TO THE BAOBOLON WETLAND AND DAY AFTERNOON AND HEAD BACK TO THE COAST.
An early start will see us explore the creeks of Tunku and Kissi, where we hope to enjoy a fantastic variety of both water and woodland birds. We will slowly drift through the mangrove habitats interspersed by salt marsh and dry Savannah woodland. Species to photograph include the Yellow-billed Stork, Wolly Necked Stork, African Darter, White-Backed Night Heron, Mouse Brown Sunbird, Martial Eagle, European Bee-eater, White-Throated Bee-eater, Immediate Egret, Pink-Backed Pelican, Goliath Heron, Blue-Breasted Kingfisher, the endangered Black Crowned Crane, a noisy nesting colonies of Great Cormorant, and plenty of other goodies.

From the boat trip, we will say goodbye to the upcountry to travel via the Bateling track with the hope to add more species to the list. Expected species may include Abyssinian Roller, Fine Spotted Woodpecker, Brown Backed Woodpecker, Senegal Batis, White-shouldered Black Tit, Bateleur Eagle, Long Crested Eagle, Grey Kestrel, plus a host of other exotic species.

We’ll continue birding and photographing to arrive in the late afternoon at Stala Lodge, at the border village of Kartong, where we will spend our final night.

DAY 12: MORNING BOAT TRIP ALONG THE ALLAHIN RIVER
Depending on the flight schedule, we will spend our final hours taking in the Allahin River, which forms the border with southern Senegal. We should be able to photograph plenty of shorebirds, including terns, gulls, pelicans, and other waders, at low tide. The Marsh Mongoose patrols the shore plus a chance to photograph the occasionally basking Crocodile on the river banks. The river trip also presents a great opportunity to get fabulous shots of osprey with catches. If time allows, we will do some birding in the surrounding areas of the lodge before heading to the airport for your flight back home.