Shorebirder

We hit this area twice - on our way to and from our northernmost destinations such as Djoudj and Richard Toll. Birding around the former capital of Senegal could be a bit difficult due to traffic and development. Though not exactly a scenic area, it does hold some productive coastal habitat. The most enjoyable birding here was actually a random stop to check the ocean that turned into a prolonged seawatch which resulted in a life tubenose for me. For as much time as I've spent in the North Atlantic, getting a life seabird while standing on a random beach in Senegal was not on my bingo card. But this is the beauty of staring at the ocean...exciting possibilities abound. Other birds of interest around here included the ghostly pale Mauritanian subspecies of Gray Heron, a twitched vagrant Terek Sandpiper, and Savile's Bustard. European Storm-Petrel...a few of many IN THE SURF! Sandwich Tern Parasitic Jaeger Dave eyeing the stormies Julian chasing petrels up the beach Western Reef-...

Arguably Senegal's most sought-after bird is the QUAIL-PLOVER, a funky buttonquail that is very local and poorly known. The best-known site for this species is not near any major birding hotspot but luckily is located en route between the southern and northern portions of our itinerary. We ended up finding three of these odd birds over a 90-minute evening walk. I obtained some video of its characteristic herky-jerky walk, which I'll eventually get around to posting! Quail-plover! Bronze-winged Courser (at a different site south of here) Abyssinian Roller  - Nick

When forming our itinerary, perhaps the most difficult decision to make was whether or not to route in Wassadou. It was very much out of the way, adding a lot of driving to what was already a car-heavy trip. But in the end, the draw of some of Senegal's most-wanted birds was too much to ignore. Looking back, it feels like a no-brainer. Such sought-after birds as EGYPTIAN PLOVER and PEL'S FISHING OWL were absolutely worth the effort. And the photo ops from the boat were often fantastic. We took two boat trips on the river and spent some time walking the dry forest trails. Egyptian Plover Egyptian Plover Pel's Fishing Owl Blue-breasted Kingfisher Malachite Kingfisher Giant Kingfisher Gray-headed Kingfisher Gambian Epauletted Fruit Bat Yellow-winged Bat Guinea Baboons Green Monkey African Finfoot Red-throated Bee-eater African Pied Wagtail Mottled Swift Little Bee-eaters Hippo! Senegal Thick-knee Palm-nut Vulture Wattled Lapwing Spur-winged Lapwing African Harrier-Hawk Norther...

The town of Toubacouta offers very productive dry scrub birding, and most notably, the chance to get into the mangroves of the Saloum Delta for WHITE-CRESTED TIGER-HERON. We were able to connect with the big target on our first boat trip, negating the need for more boat time. White-crested Tiger-Heron disappearing into the mangroves Senegal Parrot Fine-spotted Woodpecker Brown Snake-Eagle Pygmy Sunbird Pygmy Sunbird Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle Western Red-billed Hornbill Long-tailed Glossy Starling  - Nick