Day 1: Arrive Banjul — First Species
Arrive Banjul. Transfer to hotel near Kotu Creek — one of The Gambia’s best birding spots. Evening walk around Kotu: expect sightings of spur-winged lapwings, black-winged stilts, and pied kingfishers within minutes. Overnight Kotu.
Day 2: Kotu Creek & Coastal Wetlands
Dawn start at Kotu Creek sewage ponds — birders know this is one of West Africa’s hotspots. Targets: black heron (famous umbrella fishing technique), African pygmy goose, white-faced whistling duck. Afternoon: coastal wetlands for pink-backed pelicans, greater flamingos, and Caspian terns. Overnight Kotu.
Day 3: Abuko Nature Reserve & Brufut Woods
Morning: Abuko Reserve — the dense gallery forest yields green turacos, violet turacos, and the magnificent African harrier-hawk. Afternoon: Brufut Community Forest for woodland species, including the spectacular swallow-tailed bee-eater. Overnight Kotu.
Day 4: Tendaba — River & Mangroves
Transfer to Tendaba on the Gambia River’s south bank. Afternoon boat trip through mangrove creeks: targets include Goliath heron (world’s largest heron), western reef heron, and the rare African finfoot (one of Africa’s most elusive waterbirds). Overnight Tendaba Camp.
Day 5: Kiang West National Park
Full day in Kiang West National Park, The Gambia’s largest protected area (11,000 hectares). This is a mosaic of dry woodland and grassland, perfect for raptors: bateleur, martial eagle, brown snake eagle. Also ground birds — Abyssinian ground hornbill, black-bellied bustard. Night walk for owls. Overnight Tendaba.
Day 6: Tendaba to Georgetown — Upriver
Morning birding around Tendaba airfield (great for larks and pipits). Afternoon drive upriver to Georgetown (Janjanbureh), stopping at Wassu Stone Circles. Evening: the legendary Egyptian plover — the “crocodile bird” that supposedly cleans crocodiles’ teeth — can be spotted on river sandbanks here. Overnight Georgetown.
Day 7: River Gambia National Park
Boat into the River Gambia National Park (Baboon Islands). The islands are extraordinary for birding: palm-nut vulture, African fish eagle, red-throated bee-eater colonies on the sandbanks. The chimpanzees on the islands are a bonus. Afternoon: Kuntaur wetlands for the rare saddle-billed stork. Overnight Georgetown.
Day 8: Janjanbureh & Wassu Area
Full day birding around Janjanbureh: the rice fields attract African jacana, purple heron, and the gorgeous blue-bellied roller. Visit the Wassu stone circles — the area’s woodlands hold Abyssinian roller and northern carmine bee-eater. Overnight Georgetown.
Day 9: Return to Coast
Drive back west, with strategic stops for missed species. Afternoon: revisit Kotu Creek for any gaps. Farewell dinner. Overnight Kotu.
Day 10: Departure
Morning birding. Transfer to Banjul airport. Target species count for a 10-day trip: 250-300 species.
