Western Red Colobus Monkeys
For my second day of guided birding in The Gambia, we just spent the morning at the famous Abuko Nature Reserve, a place I'd always wanted to go ever since, as a child, I received a set of stamps depicting birds of the reserve. Incidentally, I saw all four of the birds shown during my stay. I also read somewhere that it is the closest tropical forest to Europe! It was here that I expected to see my first turacos, and Violet Turaco was very conspicuous, whilst I would have walked right under the pair of Green Turacos sitting quietly in their favourite tree if my guide hadn't known where to look for them. Having seen so many new birds already, I only added another 14 during the morning, before spending a quiet afternoon around the pool ready for the next full day of birding.
This started off at Pirang Forest, where I saw my first African Pied Hornbills and there was a stakeout for the elusive White-spotted Flufftail. We were walked to a bench deep in the forest, spotting an African Goshawk on the way, and sat there for two very long hours waiting for the bird to appear. I and my fellow companions from Scotland, who had been trying every year for the past nine years to see the bird, had long given up when a beautiful male finally walked right out into the open making the long wait worthwhile.
For the afternoon, we visited Faraba Bush Track, a beautiful area of open, savannah-type woodland nearby. This provided by far the most exciting and enjoyable moment of my entire stay when a single Eurasian Blackcap heralded the start of a mixed flock containing around 20 species, with familiar European species such as Willow and Melodious Warblers feeding alongside the exotic-sounding Yellow-bellied Hyliota and a scarce White-breasted Cuckooshrike. Exhilarated, I returned to the hotel having seen another 22 new species during the day.
Swallow-tailed and Little Bee-Eaters
