Huddsbirder

A change of venue and County this week to a place I should have gone to on a planned visit for the 18th March but due to my car being written off on the 17th I didn’t manage to get, so things were put right today and Leighton Moss RSPB in Lancashire was on the radar for a visit.

News from Leighton before I set off was of a Yankie bird called a Pied Billed Grebe, I had seen one back in 2010 at Hollingworth Lake [Video Link], but this one was in summer plumage, so today would be a bonus, the bird was last seen down at the Lower Hide, which of course is the  furthest part of the reserve to get to. Anyways I set off early about 7am and arrived at 8:45am to virtually an empty car park and having got the gear ready I planned to at the Grebe location and work back to the centre so off I set towards the Lower Hide.

Down the causeway I encountered Sedge and Reed Warblers, Black headed Gulls overhead, down along the bottom path thru the wooded area a friendly pair of Pheasant joined me for part of the walk probably hoping for a little snack, unfortunately for them I’d left the sandwiches back in the car and the pie had already been eaten, nice it was too.

Robins, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap were seen before hitting the Lower Hide were I soon settled in to a crowed hide awaiting the ‘Yankie’ which by all accounts hadn’t been seen since 5:30am and then only briefly. So I decided I’d give it an hour before moving on in the mean time there was Sand Martins, Swallows and a few Swifts flying around along with a pair of Marsh Harriers to enjoy. Grey Heron lifted from the reeds to my right before settling back in to another part of the reeds further round, birds on the water included Pochard, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Canada and Greylag Geese, then something then broke the water which I thought was an eel at first but then a head appeared, great Otters (2), my first sighting at Leighton, they soon swam passed and disappeared out of sight, still no sign of the Grebe. The hour was up I was back on the track again, got talking to someone along the track who said the Grebe was now showing well the Public Hide, which I’d past earlier to get to the Lower Hide, so I made my way to the Public Hide enjoying Robin, Pheasant, Sedge Warbler, Blackcap and a Peacock butterfly along the way.

I soon arrived at the Public hide and settled in to people talking about where the Grebe was last seen it wasn’t long before the Pied billed Grebe showed itself again emerging from the reeds and gave quick and distant views but saw it we did.

After the Grebe I went on to the centre area and Lillians Hide and from here I watched Black headed Gulls a plenty, a few Ruff, Wood Sandpiper, Dunlin, Black tailed Godwit, a male Garganey

On then towards the Allen and Eric Morecambe Hides and its here that I caught up with the Avocets plenty of these to see along with more Black headed Gulls, Shovelers, Shelducks, and Redshank

So the Day List List in no Particular Order :-

Pochard, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Blue Tit, Grey Heron, Swallow, Swift, Sand martin, Black headed Gull, Marsh Harrier, Chaffinch, Wren, Dunnock, Oystercatcher, Blackbird, Robin, Reed Bunting, Lapwing, Pied billed Grebe, Jackdaw, Collard Dove, Lesser Black backed Gull, Great tit, Teal, Garganey, Black tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Wood Sandpiper, Ruff, Moorhen, Coot, Common Buzzard, Shoveler, Coal tit, Avocet, Redshank, Shelduck, Orange tip, Peacock, Green veined White

Tufted Duck

Robin

Green veined White

Avocets

Hoverfly Species

Plan of attack on arrival was to do the large circular walk along warbler way down to Bolton Ings hide along the Dearne Valley Walk  and up to the road, past gypsy marsh along the TPT back to Old Moor and on to the reserve, it was a nice morning plenty of sun, blue skies and warm.

Along Warbler way Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were calling, it wasn’t long before I picked up my first Speckled Wood Butterfly of the day, these turned out to be numerous, hoverflies mainly Syrphus species, other butterflies caught my eye has I travelled along warbler way Green veined White ,Small White and Orange tips in smaller numbers.

I finally arrived at the Bolton Ings Hide and settled in to see a Common Whitethroat moving between the nearby bushes and sporadically giving a burst of song, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock Butterflies were seen around here and on Bolton Ings itself, Mute Swan, Lapwing a few Great Crested Grebes, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Gadwall, Coot, Moorhen, Greylag and Canada Geese, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Magpie and Cormorant.

After a while I made my way along the Dearne pathway again picking up more Orange tips and Peacock butterflies, there wasn’t many birds along this pathway mainly Common Whitethroats, Willow Warblers and the odd Chiffchaff and Black headed Gulls going over, it was whilst I was photographing a Peacock and Small White Butterfly that I heard a familiar call harsh ‘rattling song’ of a Lesser Whitethroat, it took a while in waiting but I did manage good views of it has it settled on one bush before disappearing into another. Got views of a Blackcap (Male) near the reserve and that’s where I had dinner before moving onto the reserve.

By now the weather had turned and things were starting to cloud over my first stop was at the Family Hide where I was hoping to pin down the Med Gull which I didn’t find this time in the mass of Black headed Gulls, I managed to pick up Shoveler , Sand Martins’ and Lesser Black backed Gulls whilst here to the day list then moved down to the wader scarp hide were the best action from here was a Canada Goose having a stand-off with the grazing cows, I also managed to add Tree Sparrow, Greenfinch and a Wigeon (Male) to the days tally

The Day List in no Particular Order :-

Birds Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Black headed Gull, Redshank, Coot, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Mute Swan, Lapwing, Mallard, Pochard, Pheasant,  Magpie, Long tailed Tit, Cormorant, Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackbird, Goldfinch, Collard Dove, Dunnock, Shoveler, Sand Martin, Lesser Black backed Gull, Wigeon, Greenfinch, Tree Sparrow, Butterflies Peacock, Green veined White, Orange tip, Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell, Brimstone

 Blackcap

Speckled Wood

A Bridge too Far

Today’s outing was out to Old Moor again but this time it was with a difference we were going to try out the the new ground level photography hide. The hide is bookable over two sessions a 9:30 – 12:30 and a 12:30 = 3:30 session costing is £40 for a session but if you are a RSPB member you get a 25% discount.

Well we had booked in for the morning session and from that session we walked away seeing 18 species including Mallard, Stock Dove, Collard Dove, Woodpigeon, Robin, Blackbird, Reed Bunting, Dunnock, Yellowhammer, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Bullfinch, Tree Sparrow

Yellowhammer 

After the hide session we decided on a walk around the reserve stopping firstly at the family hide here we saw Redshank, Gadwall, Teal, Wigeon, Black headed Gulls and the Mediterranean Gull. Down on Green Lane the friendly Robin showed itself and posed for a number of shots

Robin

The birds of the day at Old Moor :-

Robin, Blackbird, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Collard Dove, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Bullfinch, Magpie, Tree Sparrow, Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Shelduck, Shoveler, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Lapwing, Goosander, Little Grebe, Moorhen, Coot, Linnet, Jackdaw, Crow, Redshank, Mediterranean Gull, Pochard, Pheasant, Starling, Long tailed Tit, Song Thrush.

WE then decided on a detour on the way via Langsett Reservoir and the Lower Midhope Moors here we saw lots of Mistle Thrush, Meadow Pipits, Curlew, Lapwings we even saw Mallard and Chaffinch but the bird we were looking for was finally found but at a distance the long staying Great Grey Shrike, found sat atop of a bush staking out its territory  before landing on the nearby wall, we had a short time with the shrike as time was running short

Great Grey Shrike

Sorry about the long absence it was now time for a day out, the sun was shining, temperatures have started going up to the no gloves limit, the destination was Worsbrough Mill Country Park near Barnsley. A site which holds a old water mill but has Nature reserve status (see this LINK)

After having a look around the working Mill, which wasn’t working today, we headed off  for a walk around the reservoir where it was plain to see plenty of Black headed Gulls and good numbers of Great Crested Grebe on the water, in the reeds towards the bottom end of the reservoir we found a Grey Heron doing its I’m a reed pose, plenty of Mallard littered the reservoir sides, Blue Tit, Robin, and Bullfinch were heard calling from the Willow Carr, and a single Kingfisher took us by surprise has it zipped thru.

Near the fishing jetty were the Black headed Gulls had taken advantage off trying to keep stable from the wind we found a nice flock of Redwing in the field were by scanning thru we also found a single Mistle Thrush

House Sparrows were near one of the feeders at this end of the reservoir has were plenty of Mallard taking advantage of people throwing bread, around this area also Goldfinch were heard flying over.

The way home was by Lower Midhope Moors by Langsett Reservoir in the vain hope of catching up with the Great Grey Shrike which had been around this site for a couple of months now, but alas it wasn’t to be my day, maybe due to the high winds, but back on breeding grounds were Oystercatchers, Lapwing and Curlews which were good to see along with the Red Grouse.

Getting myself a little bit behind in writing up my posts on this blog this was a visit out to Old Moor again even if it was only for a couple of hours, so this post is going to be short anyways.

The birds were good when we managed to see some as the waters were quiet mostly from most hides. We did manage to see various duck species namely, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Shoveler, the Moorhen and Coot and we finally caught up with a male Goldeneye, beautiful bird it was. Most bird activity was around the feeders i.e. bird garden and Tree Sparrow farm here you could find Blue Tit, Great Tit, Willow Tit, Pheasant, Dunnock, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Reed Bunting, Yelllowhammer, Robin, Collard Dove, Woodpigeon, and a few Redwing but the male Brambling still remains elusive once again

The List [in no particular order] ;-

Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Robin, Blackbird, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Wren, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Willow Tit, Collard Dove, Woodpigeon, Teal, Mallard, Pochard, Goldeneye, Wigeon, Shoveler, Gadwall, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Black headed Gull, Common Gull, Cormorant, Lapwing, Starling, Crow, Canada Goose, Dunnock, Tree Sparrow

Redwing

Coot

I decided on taking in a new local reserve today and Cromwell Bottom was to be the place I would be visiting situated between Brighouse and Halifax so very local for me being only a 15min drive away. I arrived at about 9am and noticed the car park feeders were in full swing with Blue and Great Tit doing the acrobatics with Dunnock and Robin feeding on the ground. After chatting with one of the locals I hit the reserve going over the bridge and taking a right turn alongside the boundary fence and the river, down here I found Bullfinch and Wren, the river was in full flow after the last couple of days rain so nothing was around here. I entered the reserve near the weir, there was no bird activity at all, I came across  lots of little pond areas which maybe good in the summer months for insects, may have to come back to find out, I walked over the common following the very good paths and came across a dell area nicely laid out with bird feeders, a seating area with screen, time for photos

Robin

Bullfinch

I left the area after about half an hour due to a dog going thru the area and the birds scattering, I managed to see here before that Blackbird, Bullfinch, Robin, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Dunnock and Chaffinch.

I then managed to find my way around the canal and the ski lake where there were a few Gulls mostly Black Headed but with a single Common a Cormorant, a few Goosander ♂ and ♀, Mute Swan and Canada Geese on the Canal.

Canal View

So not a lot of birds found over a big area, may have been the day with the winds, more dogs than birds, the dogs not being under control on a nature reserve, dog fouling in places, dogs yapping at my legs, so more of a dog park than a nature reserve, so I personally won’t be coming here often, summer months early before the dogs arrive may be an option

Cromwell Bottom Website

First day out of the new year and it would have been silly to have passed the Blyths Pipit site without calling in to say hello. It was cold and the Pipit didn’t show all that well either but see it I did for a magnificent 30 seconds and it didn’t show for another 30 minutes whilst I was there so off I went down to Old Moor RSPB and the car was a warm place.

I arrived at about 11am and planned the garden hide first to rattle a few shots off, the prime seats were taken and were taken by the same two people for at least two hours whilst I was there, but nether mind there was plenty of birds here and a few species to see plenty of Chaffinch, Bullfinch,Blackbird, Great Tit, Blue Tit a few Woodpigeon, Stock Dove and Pheasants

Blackbird

Onwards then towards the family hide and here I could it was going to be a quiet day, few wildfowl about but I could see plenty of Wigeon with Tufted Duck, Mallard, Cormorant, Lapwing, Starling and a couple of Linnets flying past.

The next call was down at the Wath Ings hide seeing nothing on my way down except the few Black headed Gulls overhead. From the hide more Wigeon with Teal, Shoveler, gadwall, Mute Swan, Shelduck a Grey Heron on the left hand banking, Common Snipe (14) down in front of the hide busy probing away at the mud, but no Goldeneye for me. Back then to the garden hide thinking I’d grab 30 minutes before a snack in the prime seat..nah!

Blue Tit

After dinner turned left at the junction and down to Bittern hide not much happening here either did get a glimpse of 2 distant Little Egrets. Last call was around at the Tree Sparrow farm to see the fore mentioned along with Reed Bunting, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Robin, Bullfinch. and no Brambling for me today worth another call soon

On the way out Redwing and Blackbirds feeding on the berries near the gate entrance

Bullfinch

The day list in no particular order 🙂

Blyth’s Pipit, Black headed Gull, Goosander, Mallard, Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Cormorant, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing, Starling, Common Snipe, Grey Heron, Linnet, Rook, Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Tree Sparrow, Reed Bunting, Robin, Blackbird, Redwing, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Pheasant, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Stock Dove, Pochard, Canada Goose, Shelduck, Little Egret

Finally a day out in England okay it’s nearly the end of the year and the temperatures are a far cry from the ones we were enjoying last month. Why Calder Wetlands/Pugneys, its close within 20 minutes and it has been holding a lifer for me for a while now so it had to be done, the location was easy to find due to the line of birders standing on the banking, the bird a Blyth’s Pipit was also easy to find, a large pipit larger than a Meadow, brownish above and paler below which made it stand out amongst the long grass, breeds in Mongolia and surrounding areas and is a long distance migrant moving down into southern Asia. We enjoyed the views as it foraged among the long grass before it was lost to view as it flew, giving off no calls as it did so. Other birds of note whilst watching were Little Grebe and a fly over Woodcock.

Pugneys is only next door so it would have been rude not to have dropped in plus a cup of tea was calling. Whilst we were at Pugneys we had a walk around the main lake seeing birds as we went a pair of Goldeneye were nice to see, Shovelers, Tufted Ducks, Mallards,, Pochards, Sparrowhawk flying over, Kestrels (2), Mute Swans, Coot, Moorhens, Black headed Gulls, Common Gulls, Cormorants, Great Crested Grebes, Canada Geese, Robin, Blackbird, Common Redshank (1), Pied Wagtail

Black headed Gulls

Our last planned day out was with Muttar Barry and we were to be heading around the Mandina Ba/Farasuto Forest and Bonto Woods area, Muttar along with his driver Abdoulie arrived on time at 7am for our pick up at Farakunku Lodge. On the journey out we saw Double spurred  Francolin and Stone Partridegs around the Farakunku Lodge area, near Tanji we saw Giant Kingfisher, Whimbrel, Grey headed Gull and Kelp Gull, also added to the day tally were White billed Buffalo Weaver and Rufous Crowned Roller.

Our first port of call Mandina Ba and we were soon into the herons and egrets, Cattle Egret, Great White Egret and Squacco Heron were abundant, Blue Cheeked Bee eaters overhead with Hooded Vultures and Black Kites. On walking around the rice fields sat on one of the fence posts was a Woodland Kingfisher, but always a little distant for a decent photo, a flock of starlings came into view settling in one of the nearby trees giving us good views of Lesser Blue eared, Greater Blue Eared Glossy Starlings, Long tailed Glossy Starling were around the area too. Looking above again a Wahlberg’s Eagle drifted into view followed shortly after by a Short toed Eagle, Shikra and Grey Kestrel were also around giving brief glimpse now and again. We wandered into the bushy area next having a productive time around one particular bush/tree seeing things like,  Red bellied Paradise and African Paradise Flycatcher’s, Green Pigeon and Bruce’s Green Pigeon, Yellow throated Leaflove, Yellow Breasted Apalis, Melodius Warbler, and hearing once again a Grey headed Bush Shrike

Our next port of call was Farsuto Forest, a place we hadn’t visited before as it came about in about 2009 and is a community Nature Reserve near Kuloro, it is best described as a ‘wet evergreen forest’, more on the story at the Farasuto Website, Here. On approach to the reserve we saw Dark Chanting Goshawk and Abyssinian Roller. It’s a great place around the entrance area, where there is a small feeding area we saw Red billed Firefinch, Black Rumped Waxbill, Lavendar Waxbill, African Thrush, White Crowned Robin-Chat, Red cheeked Cordon Bleu. We walked further  into the forest, where it eventually opened up into a pool area where we saw Common Sandpiper, Senegal Thick Knees, Blue Bellied Roller, Tawny Eagle, Black Kites, African Palm Swift, Wattled Plover and a splendid male White backed Night Heron. With further guidance we also saw at Farasuto African Wood Owl and Greyish Eagle Owl

Our final stop was at Bonto Woods, disappointed we were in this place seeing only four species Yellow Fronted Canary, Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, Common Wattle Eye and Black Billed Wooddove.

That was our day if you’d like to see the full list of the day press THIS and to round off the day a quick note about Muttar, he is a polite, knows the area’s and his birds, and to date has been the only guide who has supplied cold drinks for the day that I have used and if we do manage to get back will use him again, plus he has been the only guide who has used a book where the negotiated price has been written down and signed upon.

To round off the trip when using a guide always negotiate the day, where you would like to go, what you’d like to see (you might not always get to see what you want to see but you might get more) , negotiate the price and what’s included in the price i.e driver, drinks, lunch, petrol, fees to reserve’s etc

Other bits of wildlife we saw that gets a mention of course are the Dragonflies and Butterflies there are an abundance of both at this time of year and can easily be seen anywhere espeically around the rice fields i.e Lamin Rice Fields and Kotu creek area. Field guides are available for the butterflies one worth a mention is “The Field Guide to the Butterflies of the Gambia” by David Penney, which can be found on Amazon for about the £15 mark,  one on the Dragonflies has proven difficult but there is also another Field Guide again by David Penney about the wildlife of the Gambia and again can be found on Amazon for about the same price and this has a few Dragonfly photos as well as other interesting insects of the Gambia. A couple of other wildlife bits to include here were the Fruit Bats and Chameleon both found around the Farakunku Lodge area. More pictures of birds and the wildlife can be seen on my Flickr site HERE (if you know any pictured that are still unknown and you know please drop a note Thanks)

Okay final note about Farakunku Lodge and it’s wildlife we enjoyed 95 species of birds from this area alone, enjoying the sound of African Scops Owl and White Faced Scops Owls on an evening, there are plenty of birds also that visit in the well kept gardens,  there many Butterflies and a few Dragonflies within the area, there are many well marked walks which Heather has marked out around Farakunku Lodge , and a beautiful beach with a large pool area nearby with many Birds, Butterflies and Dragonflies to enjoy

Finally a few photos

Village Indigobird

Little Bee eater

Portia Widow Dragonfly

Citrus swallowtail Butterfly

Our third birding trip out was out at Kartong Bird Observatory and was arranged prior to us hitting the Gambia thru Farakunku Lodge, but can be arranged once there if necessary, price for the day was £125 which included lunch and a River trip on the river Hallahin, and our bird guide for the day was Colin Cross. Abbreviations L = Lifer and NFG new for Gambia

We met up with Colin at the Observatory and after a brief introduction, Colin asked me what I was hoping to see for the day at Kartong, I didn’t know what to expect due to having nothing in mind really just a day’s birding, but he wet my appetite with White Fronted Plover (which I thought were up at Tanji but Colin said they had a few there, nice surprise) , Audouins Gull which winter, and African Fish Eagle hopefully on the river trip.

Great into the birding then which can easily be done from the observatory wall, forgot to mention that it was raining slightly at this point but Colin was assured that this would blow over and within an hour he was right, meanwhile back to why we were here birding, from the obs we saw Purple Swaphen (L), Squacco Heron, Cattle Egret, African Jacana , Spur winged Plovers, Black winged Stilts and then a couple of  Common Snipe flew past and settled in the small pool in front of the obs. The rain was subsiding slightly so we ventured out along the red road with large pools mainly on our right side has we made our way to the beach, plenty of White faced whistling duck could be seen, Colin mentioned that a Northern Pintail (NFG) may be around this wintered last year and may put in appearance again, we did eventually pick this bird up in another pool further down the road, whilst looking for the Pgymy Goose (which wasn’t found), then Colin picked up a Allen’s Gallinule (L) low in the reeds which we both managed to pick up, another winter bird which Colin was very happy to see. We moved further on picking up things like Malachite Kingfisher, Grey Headed Kingfisher, Rufous Crowned Roller, African Spoonbill, Black tailed Godwits (these were a familiar sight) , we did eventually make it to the beach, we moved thru the mangroves to get to the beach scaring up Yellow Wagtails and Crested Larks as we did so, on the beach plenty of Whimbrel were easily seen along with Oystercatchers, terns a plenty and on scanning thru we could see lots of Common Terns, which Colin was surprised about but happy about , we could also see the big Caspians Terns towering over the Commons. We started scanning for smaller waders and Colin soon picked up a couple of White Fronted Plovers (L) nearby in their favourite area, it was whilst I was looking these over that Colin picked up an immature Audouins Gull (L) in the Gull/Tern pack, it was here that I found out that Colin is a patient man and didn’t give up on me as we both went over the finer details of a Audouins Gull, we hoped also that it would fly a bit which it eventually did so we could see the longer thinner wings and black bar on the tail contrasting with the white in the tail, whilst I was going over the gull Colin suddenly started shouting “Hudsonian Whimbrel” (L) turning around I got sight of the bird has it passed me, differing in flight than the Eurasian, the Hudsonian was even more distinctive. The rump was completely brown, as was the tail, with no white V marking up the back or on the tail. The other difference I saw was the bird gave off a more obviously cinnamon-brown colouring on the underwing and appeared completely uniform in flight as against the Eurasian paler underwing, the bird was lost to sight as in ventured into the mangroves, I turned to try and find Colin but I couldn’t see him for his smile. A returning bird to the Gambia from last year which Colin was hoping for on that high we headed back to the obs, we walked Colin was dancing, going back thru the mangroves we stumbled upon a pair of  White Fronted Plovers , got some record photos of the pair when they slowed down a bit, I thought Sanderling were quick on their feet but these guys can certainly move.

Back on the road I managed to photo a Blue cheeked Bee eater that had settled in a road side tree, we also managed to see Black headed Heron, Dark Phase Booted Eagle, a female Marsh Harrier, Palm Nut Vulture, Lanner Falcon, Grey Kestrel, Gull Billed Tern, Slender Billed Gull, Black Billed Wood Dove, Bronze Tailed Glossy Starling, Wire tailed and Red Chested Swallows just a few birds on the way back and more besides.

We settled into the obs with a cold drink looking out over the reserve when my wife picked up a hovering bird, first thoughts were Black Shouldered Kite or a Snake Eagle this one turned out to be a Beaudouins Snake Eagle (L), what a cracking bird to watch, chocolate head, and angel wings as it started to drop, very similar in appearance to Short Toed Eagle, not an easy bird to catch up with due to the spares population , so another good one to catch up with. Well six lifers so far this morning could it get any better, off to dinner.

Dinner was on the banks of the river Hallahin which separates Gambia and Senegal, we eventually eat up and we were off again. On to the boat, life jackets supplied, and heading towards the river mouth looking for Terns’ which Colin hoped would be resting on one of the small sandbanks. On arriving there were no terns to be seen but Whimbrels, Oystercatchers’, Ringed Plovers, Bar tailed Godwit and Grey Plovers were easier to find.

Okay we decided on turning around and heading up river towards another sand bank in the hope of terns up there passing Redshank, Greenshank, Curlew Sandpiper as we did so, Colin then caught the sound of a bird call we he described as “catish” coming from the mangroves, these were very difficult to find and see but with perseverance we finally caught up with Splendid Glossy Starling (L), bingo another great bird to catch up with, just one more to go, the big one.

We turned around and headed back towards the landing area to moor up has the day was coming to a close, I was scanning every tree top in the vain hope that one may have landed there, and then I caught sight of a large bird sat in the tree top but at a distance white top dark body, I pointed Colin towards the bird “Em looks good, but it might be a Palm Nut” he said we edged closer and closer and then we were at a distance were I could see the white of the head flowed down the back in to a V shaped, Yes that confirms it, it looked beautiful even at this distance now I was hoping at this point we could get closer before it flew and we did right under the tree it was perched in a splendid African Fish Eagle what a sight, majestic. It let us sit and admire it taking pictures in doing so and then enough was enough stretching its wings it took to flight disappearing into Senegal and lost to sight…now that’s how you end a fantastic day’s birding and how to make a Yorkshire Man smile 🙂

A full list of the days Birds can be seen on this LINK or by visting the TRIPS tab and Gambia

A great days birding with Colin Cross from Kartong Bird Observatory,  if you get the chance get yourself down there for a good days birding plenty, not just birds about plenty of Dragonflies about too, recently 28 species were found by one of Colin’s associates, try this link to get in contact Kartong Bird Observatory

African Fish Eagle

White Fronted Plover

Blue Cheeked Bee eater

The view from Kartong Bird Observatory