Trip Report for February 2006
Day 6
A nice early start found us heading for Mandinaba and the fields and savannah in the area.
The reverberating calls of two Yellow-crowned Gonoleks led us to superb views and displaying African Grey Hornbills high in a Rhun palm entertained us for a few minutes. We walked past the local villagers working in the fields until suddenly Mustapha stopped, listened and then led the way excitedly to a large tree where he called for a few minutes, until suddenly there was a Pearl-spotted Owlet , perched on a branched looking down at us.
A quick scramble for our scopes gave us wonderful views and the owlet obligingly turned on the branch so we could see front and back views. Cameras were well-employed to capture the little bird for posterity.
Leaving Mandinaba we set off for Pirang Shrimp Farm, hoping for a sighting of Black-crowned Cranes. The news wasn't good, however, as the access to the farm was restricted, the conditions less attractive to the Cranes and recent sightings few and far between.
We spent time looking, hoping for a sighting of some flying over but had no luck. By the path were some Crested Larks , however, and some Rufous-chested Swallows swooping low over the water. By the creek were Cattle Egrets and Ruddy Turnstones and Pied Kingfishers diving for fish. Greenshanks and Ringed Plovers were soon spotted and Wire-tailed Swallows were perched on the wall. Overhead was a Black Kite and nearby a Western Reef Heron, then an African Spoonbill flew over, giving nice views of its red face and legs, but sadly no Black-crowned Cranes.
Leaving Pirang we headed for the Farabanta bush track where we parked in the shade of a tree before setting off on a walk to see what we could find. Almost the first bird we saw was a beautiful male Scarlet-chested Sunbird and then, in the same tree, a tiny Yellow Penduline Tit busy among the leaves. A walk through the scrub brought us (for the most part) birds we had already seen, until suddenly, overhead, was a magnificent Wahlberg's Eagle , enormous as it drifted away. A Grasshopper Buzzard was spotted flying in the distance, then a short while afterwards closer, in a tree.
By now it was incredibly hot so we made use of the shelter built for visiting birders by a local chap who helps tend the area and keep an eye on the local owls. We had a bite of lunch, a cold drink and a welcome rest out of the sun.
Walking back to the car there were lots of locusts including some with red bodies which would suddenly spring into the air as we passed.
Getting back into the 4x4 we set off further down the track in search of a Striped Kingfisher that Mustapha had come across before. Try as we might we couldn't find it, though we could hear it come closer as Mustapha called it to us. Sadly, one that got away! A Greater Honeyguide and Copper Sunbird cheered us up, followed by a White-shouldered Black Tit seen by two of the group.
Our visit to Farabanta over, we had a short drive then parked before a walk through the savannah and to the edge of the agricultural fields. A good sighting of a Grey-headed Woodpecker made the visit worthwhile, though a distant view of a small bird had us confused for a few minutes, until it moved and showed itself to be a Whinchat !
With that we returned to our accommodation for a brief rest before setting out again on a very special drive to Palma Rima .
The light was failing as we arrived, so, armed with torches, covered in mosquito repellent and pleasantly weary after another good day, we settled down to wait for Nightjars to appear.
The location to which we'd been taken is an area of scrub just near the beach. Sadly, civilisation is encroaching and the open ground is shrinking as a hotel complex is being built just nearby.
We were just hoping the Nightjars would appear for us, as we could hear them churring a little way off. Quite suddenly there they were – Long-tailed Nightjars , flying backwards and forwards above the low scrub and coming to within a few feet of us and settling on the ground. Strong torches gave us superb views and didn't seem to bother the birds one bit. We watched for half an hour as they flew, landed on fence posts, churred in the distance and gave a wonderful display.
It was time to return to Halcyon, so carefully picking our way back to the vehicle, we headed back for our last night in The Gambia.
