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A spot of birding in the Gambia


lmSA84

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@@jeremie - apologies for the slow response. Gambia is an incredible birding destination but sadly it has little big game. This is appears to be down to a combination of topography and environmental degradation.

 

Primates and rodents are plentiful - I saw Patas Monkey, Western Colobus, Guinea Baboon, Green Vervet Monkey and Gambian Sun Squirrel.

 

If you go further up river to Tendaba there are reports of hippos and very rarely spotted hyena. It's worth noting that there is also a Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Project - they claim it's the oldest in Africa with circa 80 or so Chimps. The centre is also meant to be good for bushbaby.

 

Hope that helps.

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  • 4 months later...
Dave Williams

Enjoyed your report as an entree to my trip next week. I have been a few times before but it's always nice to see what others have spotted. You saw quite I few bird species that I have yet to see.

The "coup" you referred to took place just before our last visit and security was pretty tight with extra checkpoints etc but it was all amounting to nothing. Apparently there were 7 people involved, the leader an expat Gambian living in the States. They walked in to the presidents palace whilst he was abroad and announced their intentions to the army, fully expecting them to get on board with them but Instead they were arrested and apparently later executed after having been "interrogated" at length.

The Gambia is a very safe country as far as I'm concerned. The President has declared it a Caliphate but I think that's a tactical move. I am certainly not worried about visiting.

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@@Dave Williams - thanks for the info and good luck for your trip! Which target species are you after? Also do you mind if I ask what camera equipment / settings you typically use for your bird photography? I followed the link to your blog and your photos are exceptional.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Dave Williams

@@Dave Williams - thanks for the info and good luck for your trip! Which target species are you after? Also do you mind if I ask what camera equipment / settings you typically use for your bird photography? I followed the link to your blog and your photos are exceptional.

 

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you but I was in The Gambia for the last 10 days. I will write and post a report/blog in due course.

I have a variety of camera gear but my main weapons are a Canon 1DX2 and a 600mm f4 lens. I have always favoured manual settings for aperture and shutter speed but since exposure compensation was made an option in manual settings when using auto ISO I have adapted to that recently. Thanks for the kind comments about my shots , I would point out that I delete lots and I'm still learning so I appreciate your encouraging remark!!

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