This peaceful village is not far from the border of Gambia and Senegal. It is one of our favorite places with lots of different birds to be seen. The most interesting species include the Western Banded Snake Eagle, Ovambo Sparrow Hawk, Honeyguides and others. We can spend the whole day birding here, but f time permits we can go to Darusalome village across the border into the south of Senegal. This is the southernmost village to the neighbour country. It is also good for seeing Long-crested Eagle, Senegal Thick-knees, etc.

Janjangbureh was formerly known as Georgetown. It is located on a large island in the River Gambia. The island and surrounding area are perhaps the most popular places for birdwatchers to stay when they travel up country. Some of the species which may be encountered include Verreauxs Eagle Owl, White-faced Scops Owl, African Scops Owl, Shining Blue Kingfisher, Little Green Bee-eater, Square-tailed Drongo, Yellow-throated Leaflove, Swamp Flycatcher, Wilsons Indigobird, Spotted Thick-knee, African Finfoot, Common Snipe, African Fish Eagle, Knob-billed Duck and Garganey.

This is in an area known locally as Karinti. It is an officially protected area of The Gambia and is only about a 5 minute drive from the Kotu Bridge area. The reserve is just over 6 square kilometres and encompasses a wide range of different habitat types from beach, tidal lagoons, mangrove swamp, Coastal scrub and dry Savannah woodland. The Reserve also protects Bijilo Island which is The Gambia's only offshore island lying about 1.5 kilometres from the coast. Some of the species that you may encounter here include White-fronted Plover, Yellow-legged Gull, Kelp Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Four-banded Sandgrouse, African Green Pigeon, Osprey, Oriole Warbler, Pomarine Skua, Sulphur-breasted Bush Shrike and Giant Kingfisher amongst others.

Bund Road has long been known as a birding hot-spot with ornithologists world wide. The road is adjacent to a large expanse of tidal mud that is exposed at low tide and alive with birds. Species include Caspian Tern, Lesser-crested Tern, African Skimmer, Great White Pelican, Yellow-billed Stork, Pomerine Skua, Arctic Skua, Great Skua, Black-headed Gull, Yellow-crowned Bishop, Barn Swallow, Splendid Sunbird, Green-headed Sunbird, African Reed Warbler, Little-ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Pied Avocet, Zitting Cisticola and many more.

Bansang Quarry is a good stopping point on the way to Basse. You may see Red-throated Bee-eaters nesting here. There is a pool in the quarry where birds congregate to drink. These may include Exclamatory Paradise Whydah, Cut-throat Finch, Red-billed Quelea, Pin-tailed Whydah, Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Ortolan Bunting, Bush Petronia, Western Little Sparrowhawk and White-backed Vulture.

The lodge offers a beautiful setting amongst the mangroves at the edge of Bintang Bolon. Accommodation is in six pleasant huts. Four of these are situated on the river bank. Each has its own balcony overlooking the Bolon. Two additional huts are tucked away in the mangroves. Each hut has its own private facilities. Some of the birds which may be seen in this area include Great White Pelican, flamingos, Goliath Heron, Western Reef Heron, Caspian Tern, Lesser Crested Tern and Sandwich Tern.

The Scan-Gambia shrimp pools are located about half a kilometre to the north-east of the village of Pirang. It is still the best, if not the only, place to see the Black-crowned Crane which roosts in the nearby mangroves. As well as the mangroves there are also rice fields, oil palms and open areas with a variety of trees. This diverse habitat makes it a worthwhile place to visit. As well as the Black-crowned Cranes there are also good numbers of spoonbills, egrets, kingfishers, waders and other water birds including Spur-winged Goose, White-faced Whistling Duck, Plain-backed Pipit, Osprey, Crested Lark, Greater and Lesser Flamingo, Hadada Ibis, African Spoonbill, European Spoonbill, Pied Avocet, Little Stint, Sanderling, Dunlin, Curlew, Sandpiper and Quail-finch. During the wet season it is also possible to see Yellow-crowned Bishops.

Lamin Lodge is one of many places where you may stay to take have great access to the birds. You may hire a boat to explore the maze of mangrove-lined bolones that make up the Tanbi Wetlands. Some of the species which you may see at this site include Giant Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, Fine-spotted Woodpecker, Swallow, Zitting Cisticola, White-crowned Robin-chat, Bronze-tailed Glossy Starling, Bush Petronia, Gull-billed Tern, Common Tern, Osptrey, African Darter and Great White Pelican.

Kartong is a village located at the extreme end of the country on the south coast. Here there are ponds produced by sand mining. Some of the excavations contain water all year round. This leads to green vegetation in the form of reeds.

The adjacent rice fields provide plenty of food for seed eating birds. Being the only fresh water ponds in the area, a variety of rich avi-fauna lives around the ponds. Kartong Ponds has become important for the bird watching fraternity in recent years. It is a birding site which you cannot afford to miss on your itinerary. As a result, an Englishman called Colin has settled around the ponds doing bird ringing. Some of the common birds seen around the ponds have been ringed by Colin. For example, Spur-winged Lapwing, African Wattled Lapwing, Hooded Vulture, etc. Other birds you may encounter include African Crake, White-fronted Plover, White-throated Bee-eater, Purple Swamphen, Knob-billed Duck, Four-banded Sandgrouse, Marsh Harrier, Short-toed Snake Eagle, African Spoonbill, Audouin’s Gull and many more.

This is a community forest situated in the eastern part of The Gambia. It is 35 km from the Hotel area. This includes a gallery forest, new mangroves, fresh water pools and farm lands. Species expected to be seen here are as follows: breeding White Back Night Heron, Green Crombec, African Goshawk, Ahanta Francolin, White-spotted Fluff Tail, Violet Barbet, Giant Kingfisher, Pigmy Kingfisher, Violet Turaco and many more.

Brufut woods is protected by WABSA with the collaboration of the Brufut community. This place is a favorite birdwatchers. It is quite an open area of woodland where it is easy to observe birds. Expected species are Greater Honey Guide, Lesser Honey Guide, Yellow-bill Coucal, Verreaux's Eagle Owl, White-face Scops Owl, Spotted Owlet, Klaas's Cuckoo, Swallow-tail Bee-eater, Striped Kingfisher, Green Fruit Pigeon, Bruces Fruit Pigeon, Yellow Throated Leaf Love and many more.

From the Lower Bridge, great views are to be seen across the vegetation and open water of Kotu Creek. Birding here is very interesting, with Wire-tailed Swallow, Senegal Thick-knee, Snowy-crowned Robin Chat and Yellow-crowned Gonolek very possible sightings. Other species normally seen here include Striated Heron, Hamerkop, White-backed Night Heron, Black-headed Plover, Pied Kingfisher, Malachite Kingfisher, Wattled Plover, Beautiful Sunbird and Broad-billed Roller.

Although an unexpected choice of a birding destination, the Kotu Ponds, (actually Kotu Sewage Farm!), strangely combine functionality with beauty. They ares rich in bird life. Birds such as White-faced Whistling Ducks, Spur-winged Plover, Greater Blue-eared Glossy Starling, Vinaceous Dove, Black-winged Stilt, Cattle Egret, Sacred Ibis and African Jacana all visit here. Black Crake may be spied delicately walking on the Water Hyacinths. You may also see Shikra and Rose-ringed Parakeets. Vultures can be seen picking over rubbish. Despite the fact that this is a sewage area, smell is hardly discernable, so don’t be put off.

The Nikolo Koba National Park in south-eastern Senegal covers an area of 9,000 square kilometers. This is the premier site in both the Gambia and Senegal for seeing large mammals and has been designated a world Heritage Site and international Bio-Sphere Reserve, reflecting its international importance for both wildlife and bird life. If you want to see wildlife and bird life then a visit to this park is a must. In the west of the park the ground is relatively flat and heavily wooded although there are many low lying plains that become inundated with water during the raining season. To the east the ground is more open with huge expanses of grass lands and a few low hills. The wildlife of Niokolo Koba is simply astounding and very easy to see. Most of the large mammals to be found in West Africa can be seen in the park. The only species which will not be found are those associated with high rain forest habitats. Antelope to be found include Bubal, Roan Antelope, Kob, Defassa Waterbuck, Oribi, Bush Buck, Common Duiker, Red Flanked Duiker and Giant Eland. Other large herbivores include Common Warthog, African Buffalo and African Elephant. Along the rivers you're able to see crocodiles and numbers of hippos. The birds to be found in the park are as follows: Crown Eagle, Saddle-bill Stork, Pied Wagtail, Egyptian Plover, White Crown Plover, Magpie Manikin, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Hadada Ibis, Adamawa Turtle Dove and Shining-blue Kingfisher.

This is probably the best known and most visited camp in The Gambia. It is often used as a stopover point on a visit further upcountry. The camp is situated in the heart of Tendaba, which is located right on the banks of the River Gambia. The accommodation of the camp is basic but you can have rooms with a toilet, shower and ceiling fan. The area around the camp is excellent for birdwatching. It is well worth a 2 or 3 day stay to take full advantage of the area. Within walking distance you will find Tendaba Airfield, Tendaba Rice Fields, Tendaba-Kwinella Backway, Bateling Bush Track and Kiang West National Park. To visit Tanku and Kisi Bolon you will need to hire a boat from Tendaba to get in the creek. It is a very prolific area for birds. Species you may see are as follows: Pel Fishing Owl, Blue-breasted Kingfisher, Abyssinian Ground Hornbill, Goliath Heron, White-back Night Heron, Blue Flycatcher, Mouse Brown Sunbird, African Finfoot, African Scop Owl, Hammerkop, African Fish Eagle, Osprey, Tiger Bittern, European Bee-eater, White-throated Bee-eater, Black-crown Crane, Wooly-neck Stork, Yellow-bill Stork and many more.

This area is visited traveling upcountry. It is situated on the trans Gambia highway and small pools may be seen on either sides. These pools retain water all year round and are good places to stop briefly to see raptors and various small birds. The birds expected to seen are as follows: Bateleurs, Martial Eagle, Grasshopper Buzzard, Grey Kestrel, Western Banded Snake Eagle, Lizard Buzzard, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Whalberg's Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Grey Back Camaroptera, Black Crake, Northern puff Back Shrike, Yellow-throated Leaf Love and many more.

Abuko Nature Reserve was the first reserve in Gambia, created in 1968. Abuko is a well established savanna woodland. It is good for sighting Giant Kingfisher, Green and Violet Turacco, Buff Spotted Woodpecker, Orange-cheeked Waxbill, Western Bluebill, and several different types of heron. Spending a few hours in this reserve also gives you the chance to see three types of monkeys, hyenas, baboons, bushbuck, antelopes and more. Just outside the reserve is a ricefield and vegetable plots, where you can see the Lizard Buzzard, Shikra, African Spoonbill, Pearl-spotted Owlet, African Harrier Hawk, Jacana, Sunbirds and many different wading birds.