BACKGROUND

I made my first visit to The Gambia in February 2003 with Steve Scott [report on Birdtours website] and really enjoyed my first experience of an African country. Since that time, I have been to South Africa and Kenya but retain a soft spot for The Gambia. Steve and I decided we would like to return and to include a trip “up river” this time, even though we realised that this would result in a demanding schedule.

GUIDE

I had kept in touch with Tijan Kanteh [www.tijanthebirdman.com] since first meeting him in 2003 and had set myself a target of collecting sufficient money to help him replace his aging van by the time we returned. I am delighted to say that, thanks to the generosity of many people, the target was reached just in time. Tijan is now the proud owner of a Mitsubishi L300 van, which will seat 9 passengers. I stick by my previous comments about Tijan. He is great company and a really nice bloke. He is an excellent guide too. He might not be regarded as the “ultimate” guide on the market but at £15 per day, he‘s half the price of those who are [and others who aren’t either!]. Danny Reynolds, one of the people who helped to raise the money for the van, is preparing a webpage about Tijan so that should give you all the background you need. Danny has known Tijan for several years and thinks very highly of him too. I will edit this report accordingly as soon as the website is up and running.

OVERVIEW

I thought the feel of the tourist area had changed a little since our last visit. There were far more young people than last time and far more tourists from Northern Europe. This resulted in a different kind of clientele in the Hotel Senegambia, which itself did not live up to expectations, even though we were only there for 4 nights. There were far fewer birds too and this was put down to the very wet season. Our last trip was in February and it may be the better bet for birds. Many birders felt that birds had yet to arrive in any great numbers as pools had not dried up elsewhere. I don’t know whether that’s right but it’s an option.

I still loved the pen and lollipop distribution and if you are going, cram your cases with these. Just look at the faces of the kids when they get one of these “priceless” possessions!

ITINERARY

27 November

Left Manchester at 7am, arriving 6 hours later to be picked up by Tijan. Soon transferred to the Hotel Senegambia Beach [HS], where we dumped our bags and toured the grounds. In comparison to our previous visit, there were far fewer birds but we hoped that this wasn’t representative of what was happening outside. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a few highlights, with a juvenile Jacobin Cuckoo the most unexpected discovery. Or was it? Although we only saw one bird, two had been identified in the previous week as Jacobin Cuckoos. When we returned home, I noted that a number of birders had thought the birds were Levaillant’s Cuckoo. So I don’t know what I saw. However, it was great to see old friends like Gonoleks, Broad Billed Rollers, Red Billed and African Grey Hornbills, good numbers of Lavender Waxbill, Red Billed Fire Finch and Village Weaver. In all we saw 30 species so we retired for a well-earned shower in a very wet bathroom with very poor plumbing. That problem remained for the duration of the holiday despite regular requests for someone to do something about it. They did take the plug away from the sink so that the water could drain away but we could have done that. Leaky cistern and blocked shower problems are not the way to charm returning customers.

28 November

We met Tijan at 7.45am and were introduced to the new van! We also met Danny for the first time and a friend of his, Pat. They had planned their holidays at the same time as us and we had agreed via e mail that we would join up whenever possible. Together, we set out for Yundum [Y], one of my favourite places in 2003. Regrettably, there has been a great amount of building at this site and it is rapidly disappearing. However, we still turned up a number of great birds including a lifer, Diederik Cuckoo [3]. Other birds in the area included Black Crowned Tchagra, Vieillot’s Barbet, Woodchat Shrike, Northern Crombec, Lanner, African Harrier Hawk and Grey Kestrel. There were also a few other migrants in the shape of Whinchat and Wheatear but we missed the potential highlight as  Tijan called “Black Wood Hoopoe” as it flew the other way!

We moved on towards Marakissa [M] and stopped at a school where Tijan confirmed the presence of a White Faced Scops Owl. That was lifer number 2 for me and we got very good views as well. Moving on towards Brikama, Tijan made a detour to visit Alla La Daaro Eco Lodge and Guest House [AD]. This was the first time he had been there. We were made very welcome by the owner and shown around the premises. They have a website for anyone interested in staying and this can be found via the usual search engines. It is fairly basic but cheap and peaceful. I am sure it would be good for birds at the right times of day. It was midday so there were not many birds present but we did see Pearl Spotted Owlet [2] and a few Fanti Saw Wing. We then moved on to Marakissa lodge and sunk vast quantities of water. It was now very hot and we stayed in the shade for some time before walking along the river to enable all present to enjoy Tijan’s reflections of my river crossing attempt in 2003, which so nearly led to a fall into the water. I refused to go anywhere near the “ bridge” this time and we retraced our steps, seeing Swallow Tailed Bee-eater, Long Crested Eagle, Pied Kingfisher and African Darter along the way.

After that, we met Tijan’s family, visited a school which is about to form links with a school in Northumberland and went back to the hotel for the last couple of hours birding. Oriole Warbler, Blue Breasted Kingfisher and Northern Black Flycatcher were the highlights.

29 November

We checked out, leaving most things in our room, and headed east for the long journey to Tendaba [T]. Tijan had brought Lamin, a driver, with him. Lamin did the honours throughout and was a very tired chap by the time we returned! The first couple of hours were not too bad but after that the going got tough. I was worried that the van that had taken 3 years to finance would be wrecked after less than 3 days of new ownership! The “road” along the south side is very poor after Pirang [P] but the good news is that they are working on it. The bad news is that it will take a few years before it’s completed. It’s a rough and fairly unpleasant experience for the most part. However, if you want to see Egyptian Plovers and Red Throated Bee-Eaters, it’s a must!

Anyway, we drove for the best part of 6 hours and arrived at Tendaba, having stopped occasionally along the way for such gems as Striped Kingfisher, European and Swallow-Tailed Bee-eater, Bateleur [4] and Booted Eagle. Once checked in, we had time to walk around the locality and added a few welcome lifers such as Black Rumped Waxbill, Bruce’s Green Pigeon and African Hobby. A few beers and a tasty meal and we were back to our “VIP apartment” with very hard beds! 

30 November

It was a joy to get up and we looked forward to a meeting with Egyptian Plovers. The trip from Tendaba to Soma [S] was even worse than the previous day’s experience and it took 2 hours to do about 15 miles. However, all was forgotten as we approached the Wetlands at Soma to find an Egyptian Plover walking in the middle of the road! This was a bird I had always wanted to see and I couldn’t get enough of it as it nipped daintily from one side of the road to the other. It was the only one there although there were a few other distant waders and pelicans.

We continued on the south side even though we knew the north side was a much better road. Tijan assured us that the worse of the road was over and he was right, even though some parts were very poor. It was during this part of the journey that Tijan produced two wonderful moments of bird spotting. The first brought the van to a sudden stop at his instructions and we backed up slowly to stop alongside three Abyssinian Ground Hornbills sat in a tree. We thought that was pretty impressive but 15 minutes later, he did the same thing, this time to look at something on the opposite side of the road to where he was sitting, and we jumped out of the van to watch two Black Wood Hoopoes flitting around in a tree! I ‘m still not sure how he does it.

Our next target was to get to Bansang [B] in time to see the specialities there, before heading back to Georgetown. We made good time and stopped along the way at the Dalaba Wetlands [D], where we were delighted to see a good number of African Pygmy Geese along with White-faced Whistling Duck. We then made a slight detour through Jahaly rice fields [J] where we added Marsh Harrier, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Red Billed Quelea and Olivaceous Warbler to our list on a brief walkabout.

Next stop was Bansang but not before stopping at a bush fire beside the road. It was remarkable to see large insects literally jumping out of the fire, only to be picked off by Buzzards and Rollers. Sometimes it seemed as if the birds were flying into the fire. There was also a falcon joining in the fun, eating a grasshopper from its talons as it flew around. I thought it was a Hobby species, Steve and Tijan thought it was too big. Do Lanners do that?

We arrived at Bansang and there they were – Red Throated Bee Eaters flying around all over the place. This was a new bird for me from my favourite family. I really enjoyed watching them and could have stayed for longer but there was a ferry to catch. We also saw Cinnamon-Breasted Bunting and a distant Exclamatory Paradise Whydah. Steve saw a couple of  Four–banded Sandgrouse fly in but I missed them [I was probably still looking at the Bee Eaters!]

We then drove to the ferry crossing, waited about 30 minutes and eventually pulled ourselves across the river on the boat with no engine! We stayed the night at Baobolong Lodge [BL], where we enjoyed a few Julbrau before taking to beds, which were not dissimilar to those at Tendaba!

1 December

Another welcome early start saw us outside at daybreak. We woke up just before a couple of Yellow Throated Leaflove announced their arrival in trees above us. Eventually, we got onto them. This was a new bird for me. After coffee, we left and made our way to Bird Safari Camp [BSC], which was closed at that time. There were a few birds there and I added two lifers in the shape of Stone Partridge and Swamp Flycatcher. We also saw a small group of Red Throated Bee-eaters. We then made our way to the ferry for the return trip. However, this time we were going to drive along the north side of the river. This road is motorway standard nearly all the way to Fanifarri ferry.

Shortly after we had left the ferry, Tijan asked Lamin to stop the van. As usual, we looked to see what he was looking at.  Somehow, he had seen a Little Green Bee-eater sitting at the edge of a bush. That was rivalling the previous day’s moving targets! Size-wise, it was probably his best shout. Steve was delighted as it was a new bird. However, even better was to follow. A mile or so further along, near Wassu [W], we saw Bee-eaters flying around and stopped to check them out. Seven Carmines was the result! Although I had come across a few in Kenya, they were still fantastic to see and we scoped them for several minutes or at least long enough to be joined by about 100 school children, all hoping for a pen. There was no way that we could meet that number so reluctantly, we had to give up. Through the glare of the sun, Tijan pointed out a Northern Anteater Chat about 10 miles away on a roof and that would have been a lifer for me but I don’t tick shapes!

We got back into the van, with Steve still reeling from two Bee-eater lifers in 10 minutes! We went at least another half mile before stopping again at Nyagna Bantang wetlands [Ny], this time for 13 Egyptian Plovers. What an area this had turned out to be. We moved on and stopped at N’jau water hole [NJ] where we got great views of small birds coming down to drink in a small pool. In particular, Cut Throat Finch [6], Exclamatory Paradise Whydah [2] and Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark [4] caught the eye, the first being another lifer for me. I scoped the larger wetland area and found a Kingfisher sat in one tree. It turned around to face me and another lifer came my way. Woodland Kingfisher had eluded me on previous trips but not this time. Further scoping brought 2 more Egyptian Plovers at the edge of the pool. This is a great place and we were again reluctant to move on but we had to keep an eye on the clock.

We arrived at Kaur Wetlands [Ka] with all the pressure off as we had seen everything we had hoped to see. Four more Egyptian Plovers were more than welcome as were several Collared Pratincole but the sun was in the wrong place for good views. Tijan saw a Goliath Heron flying over the reed beds but I could not get good enough views of this potential lifer. There were a few waders in the area but overall, I was surprised at the low numbers.

We then set off for the ferry. We had heard some frightening stories from other birders about having to wait for hours but we went straight on and we were soon back on our “favourite” road from Soma to Tendaba. We stopped again at the Wetlands at Soma and the Egyptian Plover was still there. There was little else of interest though so off we went for the rocky ride. Once we had checked in again, we had a brief walk outside the camp during the last hour of daylight but it was very quiet although we did add to our life lists when eleven Spur Winged Geese flew over.

2 December

Another early start after a restless night saw us on Badeling track [BT] by 7.45am. I had looked forward to this as an opportunity to see groups of small birds. I knew that there were a number of potential lifers in this area. Unfortunately, it was very quiet again and we saw very little. An early success was the sight of one Speckled-fronted Weaver in a tree next to a Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver. However, that proved to be the highlight as we walked for about an hour without seeing anything of great note. The only other lifer for me was a Bush Petronia – or was it a dour House Sparrow! This was an obvious contender for least interesting bird of the trip. More pleasing to see were Brubru, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird and 2 Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, this time on the ground as we drove past them.

Tijan then decided to try for Temminck’s Courser, another bird on my “wanted” list, in an area close by. We walked round for an hour or so, with Black Headed Plovers raising our hopes, but without success. We decided to head for the coast and sat back for 5 hours of fun! Eventually, we got to the Pirang area but first went to Faraba Banta Track to check out for Birds of Prey and small birds. This had been good during our 2003 trip. Although I admit that 3pm is not the best time to bird anywhere, the lack of birds was startling. We were a little down in the mouth and suggested that we head for the hotel However, Tijan suggested we call in at the Pirang ponds and it proved to be an excellent idea! As we approached, we got wonderful views of Blue Cheeked Bee-eaters flying over us and around the area in general. They put on a very good show. We then walked to the one area you are allowed to access to look over the ponds. On our previous visit, we had walked along the banks but that is no longer possible. We saw several species of wader and then our day was made as three Black Crowned Cranes flew elegantly in front of us. We had not seen them on our last visit so this was a great bonus and the sighting lifted our spirits. We added a few new birds to our trip list and then Lamin drove us back to the Senegambia Hotel. The beds seemed particularly comfortable that night even if the floor was still wet.

3 December

We met Danny, Pat and another of Danny’s mate, Chris, and we all set off to Basara woodland, which was very quiet but provided good views of Green Turaco and Black Crowned Tchagra. We then moved over to an area close to Yundum but again, building has taken away much of the habitat. Next stop was Abuko [A] and we walked across the road to the rice fields to look for Painted Snipe. We saw at least three birds very well, including a female. After that, we returned to Abuko, where a White Faced Scops Owl was roosting in a tree by the entrance. We walked into the reserve, which again proved to be very quiet compared to our 2003 visit. We managed to catch up with both Turaco species, Violet being a lifer for Steve and myself, and also got good views of Little Greenbul, Lesser Honeyguide and Common Wattle-eye. We walked to the Reception area and took on very welcome water. We then went to the photo hide nearby and this proved to be very busy. Birds were everywhere, coming down to the water’s edge in good numbers. Most were Weavers but others included Western Bluebill, Pgymy Kingfisher, Orange-Cheeked Waxbill, Red-Billed Wood Dove, Little Bee-eaters [3] and a very shy Snowy-Crowned Robin-Chat, which I missed. We then decided to call it a day and returned to the hotel, where it became clear that I should have used mosquito repellant as I’d got half a dozen bites on my leg from Abuko. It’s always the last day, isn’t it? I had become too complacent as I had not had any trouble anywhere else.

4 December

We had been lucky enough to see all the Bee-eaters except White–Throated so our main mission was to add that to our list. We knew we would have a good chance at Bilijo, which is only a couple of minutes from the hotel.

Tijan picked us up early and we went straight to the area where they had been seen earlier in the week. After 15 minutes of waiting, at least five flew in and they gave good views, although the light was not at its best. After returning for breakfast, we stayed local, walking along the cycle track and visiting Kotu Creek and Ponds [K]. I think the sight of the lily ponds summed up the difference between our two trips. In 2003, they were full of birds, in particular waders. This year, they were full of lilies and water! We did manage to see another Woodland Kingfisher and a Black Crake walked across the edge. This proved to be our final new bird of the trip.

Tijan took us back to the airport and we left early afternoon, arriving Manchester at 9pm. We then drove back to Northumberland, arriving at about 1am, totally whacked in my case!

SUMMARY

It was pretty hard work but we assembled a list of about 185 species and saw our two main target birds, plus several other lifers. I don’t think three days is long enough to really enjoy the up river trip. It can be done but it seemed as though we were always chasing time. Perhaps we should have stayed there all of the time rather than try to mix it with the coastal sites. Clearly, it will be a different story once the road has been improved to Soma and I intend to re-visit that part of the country then – but not before!

I don’t know whether the number of birds built up as the dry season progressed. It is always preferable to go up river before Christmas if you want to increase your chances of seeing Egyptian Plovers. However, now that I’ve done that, I think I would choose the February slot if given the choice, purely on basis of numbers.

I would suggest that The Gambia is still a great place to start African birding. If you are reading this and can’t decide whether to go, contact me and I’ll make your mind up for you!!

SYSTEMATIC LIST

A  = ABUKO
AD  = ALLA LA DAARO
B  =  BANSANG
BL  = BAOBOLONG LODGE
BSC  = BIRD SAFARI CAMP
BT  = BADELING TRACK
D  =  DALABA WETLAND
HS  = HOTEL SENEGAMBIA BEACH
K  = KOTU AREA
Ka  = KAUR WETLANDS
M  = MARAKISSA
NJ  = N’JAU WATER HOLE
Ny  = NYAGNA BANTANG WETLAND
P  = PIRANG
S  = SOMA
T  = TENDABA
W  = WASSU
Y  = YUNDUM

GREAT WHITE PELICAN
P ; S

PINK-BACKED PELICAN
P [9],

HAMERKOP
Seen often near K; also M and A

LONG-TAILED CORMORANT
Seen on a few occasions at different sites

AFRICAN DARTER
A

BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON
Only seen at A

CATTLE EGRET
Seen often, in all types of places including hotel lawn!

SQUACCO HERON
A few at K; also A and M

STRIATED HERON
P

BLACK EGRET
A ; P

WESTERN REEF HERON
Seen regularly near K

LITTLE EGRET
Seen regularly

GREAT WHITE EGRET
Seen regularly

BLACK-HEADED HERON
Seen at Y and a few others on up river trip

GREY HERON
A few seen in different suitable locations

PURPLE HERON
Ka

MARABOU STORK
Tijan took us to a tree where they nest on our way to T

BLACK CROWNED CRANE
3 flying at P

SPUR-WINGED GOOSE
11 flew over T

WHITE-FACED WHISTLING DUCK
About 30 at D; P

AFRICAN PYGMY GOOSE
c.20 at D

OSPREY
Seen twice

AFRICAN HARRIER HAWK
Seen fairly regularly. 

PALM NUT VULTURE
A [2]

HOODED VULTURE
Common

WHITE –BACKED VULTURE
Only seen once up-river

AFRICAN FISH EAGLE
Seen distantly in tree near T

TAWNY EAGLE
At least one at HS

BOOTED EAGLE
Seen once on way to T

LONG-CRESTED EAGLE
Seen well at M

BATELEUR
At total of 5 seen on up river journey

BROWN SNAKE EAGLE
A total of 3 seen on up-river trip.

SHORT-TOED EAGLE
One seen on way to T

BLACK-SHOULDERED KITE
Seen occasionally

BLACK KITE
Seen every day

GRASSHOPPER BUZZARD
Several seen up river. At least 5 at the bush fire site near B

MONTAGU’S HARRIER
One at Ka ; P

MARSH HARRIER
Seen on a couple of occasions

DARK CHANTING GOSHAWK
Seen on a few occasions

AFRICAN GOSHAWK
Two seen near Y

SHIKRA
Seen on a few occasions

LIZARD BUZZARD
Only seen at AD and A

LANNER FALCON
Seen at Y

AFRICAN HOBBY
2 seen near T.

KESTREL Sp
Probable Lesser Kestrel near W

GREY KESTREL
Seen occasionally

DOUBLE-SPURRED FRANCOLIN
Seen occasionally

STONE PARTRIDGE
At least 3 at BSC

FOUR-BANDED SANDGROUSE
Steve saw 2 at B. We also saw glimpses at T as light faded.

BLACK CRAKE
Just one at Badala Ponds

GREATER PAINTED SNIPE
3 at A

AFRICAN JACANA
Seen in small numbers at suitable sites

EGYPTIAN PLOVER
A total of 20 birds seen as described in report.

COLLARED PRATINCOLE
c.100 at Ka

SENEGAL THICK-KNEE
Seen fairly often at suitable sites

BLACK-HEADED PLOVER
2 near T and 2 near Y at were the only birds seen.
SPUR-WINGED PLOVER
Seen regularly

WATTLED PLOVER
Seen fairly regularly

GREY PLOVER
One at K

RINGED PLOVER
A few seen at wetland sites

WHIMBREL
Seen occasionally

GREENSHANK
Seen in small numbers at a few suitable sites

MARSH SANDPIPER
Seen at S and Ka

COMMON SANDPIPER
Seen regularly

GREEN SANDPIPER
One at P

WOOD SANDPIPER
Ka

REDSHANK
P

BLACK-WINGED STILT
S and Ny

RUFF
At least 200 at J

TURNSTONE
P

SANDERLING
P

CURLEW SANDPIPER
P

GREY-HEADED GULL
P

SLENDER-BILLED GULL
P

CASPIAN TERN
P
GULL-BILLED TERN
S and Ka

WHITE WINGED BLACK TERN
P

LAUGHING DOVE
Seen at a few sites

BLUE-SPOTTED WOOD DOVE
A

BLACK-BILLED WOOD DOVE
Seen at HS and Y

SPECKLED PIGEON
HS

BRUCE’S GREEN PIGEON
A few seen in T area

NAMAQUA DOVE
Y ; S and W

RED EYED DOVE
Common

AFRICAN MOURNING DOVE
Only seen at B and BL but probably over-looked

VINACEOUS DOVE
Seen at HS and BSC

GREAT SPOTTED CUCKOO
J

SENEGAL COUCAL
Seen occasionally

JACOBIN/LEVAILLANT’S CUCKOO
Juv at HS

DIEDERIK CUCKOO
3 at Y

WHITE-FACED SCOPS OWL
1 Near M ; 1 at A

PEARL-SPOTTED OWLET
2 at AD; 1 near T

BARN OWL
Seen in nest at M

AFRICAN PALM SWIFT
Seen most days

LITTLE SWIFT
Several at P

BLACK WOOD HOOPOE
2 in trees near S

GREEN WOOD HOOPOE
Seen on way to T and on BT

HOOPOE
On way to T

WOODLAND KINGFISHER
NJ; Badala Ponds

BLUE-BREASTED KINGFISHER
Seen at HS

STRIPED KINGFISHER
On way to T ; BT

PIED KINGFISHER
Common

PYGMY KINGFISHER
Only seen in A

BROAD BILLED ROLLER
HS; B

BLUE-BELLIED ROLLER
Seen regularly

RUFOUS-CROWNED ROLLER
Near HS; NJ; BT

ABYSSINIAN ROLLER
Seen on a number of occasions

SWALLOW-TAILED BEE-EATER
M; BT

NORTHERN CARMINE BEE-EATER
7 at W

BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER
Seen at P

EUROPEAN BEE-EATER
Seen on way to T and BT

LITTLE BEE-EATER
Seen at A and Bilijo

WHITE-THROATED BEE-EATER
5 at Bilijo

RED-THROATED BEE-EATER
Good numbers at B; also at BSC

LITTLE GREEN BEE-EATER
One seen shortly after ferry crossing

ROSE-RINGED PARAKEET
Seen at T and K

SENEGAL PARROT
Seen on way to T and BSC

VIOLET TURACO
At least 2 at A

WESTERN PLANTAIN EATER
Seen fairly regularly

GREEN TURACO
Seen at A and near Y

YELLOW-FRONTED TINKERBIRD
Seen at BT

BEARDED BARBET
Seen at BT

VIEILLOT’S BARBET
Y

RED-BILLED HORNBILL
Seen fairly often

AFRICAN GREY HORNBILL
Seen at HS; Y and T

ABYSSINIAN GROUND HORNBILL
3 near D and 2 at BT

GREY WOODPECKER
BT

CARDINAL WOODPECKER
T

FINE-SPOTTED WOODPECKER
BL

LESSER HONEYGUIDE
One at A

CRESTED LARK
A few at P

CHESTNUT-BACKED SPARROW-LARK
4 at NJ

FANTI SAW-WING
At least 2 at AD

RED-RUMPED SWALLOW
T

PIED-WINGED SWALLOW
At least 2 at Y

WIRE-TAILED SWALLOW
Several at P and seen occasionally elsewhere

MOSQUE SWALLOW
Seen over HS and at P

RED-CHESTED SWALLOW
Several at Y and B

HOUSE MARTIN
Large group over Faraba Banta

FORK TAILED DRONGO
Seen regularly at suitable sites

YELLOW WAGTAIL
Several at BT; also S and Ny

WHITE WAGTAIL
S

COMMON BULBUL
Common

YELLOW-THROATED LEAFLOVE
2 at BL

LITTLE GREENBUL
Seen well at A

ORIOLE WARBLER
HS

BLACKCAP BABBLER
Common in HS

BROWN BABBLER
As above

WHINCHAT
Y

WHEATEAR
Y

NORTHERN ANTEATER CHAT
Distant bird at W

WHITE-CROWNED ROBIN CHAT
HS. 

SNOWY-CROWNED ROBIN CHAT
Seen by Steve at A

AFRICAN THRUSH
Seen occasionally

OLIVACEOUS WARBLER
J; K
MELODIOUS WARBLER
K

SUBALPINE WARBLER
K

ZITTING CISTICOLA
Heard K and BT

TAWNY-FLANKED PRINIA
Seen occasionally

GREEN-BACKED EREMOMELA
Seen at M, Y and A

NORTHERN CROMBEC
2 at Y

GREY-BACKED CAMAROPTERA
HS

SWAMP FLYCATCHER
BSC

COMMON WATTLE-EYE
A; BSC

AFRICAN PARADISE FLYCATCHER
BL

RED-BILLED PARADISE FLYCATCHER
A and HS

NORTHERN BLACK FLYCATCHER
HS and Bilijo

VARIABLE SUNBIRD
On way to T

SCARLET-CHESTED SUNBIRD
BT ; A

SPLENDID SUNBIRD
On way to T

BEAUTIFUL SUNBIRD
D ; T

BLACK-CROWNED TCHAGRA
Y

BRUBRU
BT

NORTHERN PUFFBACK
AD

YELLOW CROWNED GONOLEK
HS

WOODCHAT SHRIKE
Y

YELLOW-BILLED SHRIKE
Seen occasionally

PIAPIAC
Y and T

PIED CROW
Common

GREATER BLUE-EARED GLOSSY STARLING
HS; Y

LESSER BLUE EARED GLOSSY STARLING
Seen on up river trip; possibly in HS too

PURPLE GLOSSY STARLING
M; BT

BRONZE-TAILED GLOSSY STARLING
Another possibility in HS but never nailed it!

LONG-TAILED GLOSSY STARLING
Seen at a few sites

YELLOW- BILLED OXPECKER
BT

YELLOW-FRONTED CANARY
Seen between S and T

HOUSE SPARROW
A few at HS

GREY-HEADED SPARROW
Seen fairly regularly

BUSH PETRONIA
BT

CHESTNUT-CROWNED SPARROW-WEAVER
BT

SPECKLE-FRONTED WEAVER
BT

WHITE-BILLED BUFFALO WEAVER
Seen on way to T and at K

NORTHERN RED BISHOP
Seen at D but in drab plumage

CINNAMON-BREASTED BUNTING
B

VILLAGE WEAVER
Common

BLACK-NECKED WEAVER
HS ; A

ORANGE-CHEEKED WAXBILL
A

BLACK-RUMPED WAXBILL
Several at T

LAVENDER WAXBILL
Good numbers at HS

RED-CHEEKED CORDON-BLEU
As above

RED-BILLED FIREFINCH
Seen regularly

BRONZE MANNIKIN
Seen near S and near P

EXCLAMATORY PARADISE WHYDAH
B and NJ, including males in full plumage

PIN-TAILED WHYDAH
Y

VILLAGE INDIGOBIRD
Several at T

CUT-THROAT FINCH
At least 6 at NJ

RED-BILLED QUELEA
A few at J and NJ

WESTERN BLUEBILL
One at A