16 Days Birding Tour Package in Senegal

After gathering at Dakar’s new Blaise Diagne Airport (DSS), drive to our overnight base in Thies where we have dinner and a chat about the tour before retiring for the night; accommodation at Residence Blue Hotel

We leave early to driver North and we have a stop, in Kebemer where we try local specialties such as Chestnut-bellied Starlings, White-rumped Seedeaters, Yellow-bellied Eremomelas and Speckle-fronted Weavers, Ruppell’s and White-backed Vultures, Eurasian Griffons, Pearl-spotted Owlets, Subalpine and Western Bonelli’s Warblers, Northern Anteater Chats, Black Scrub Robin, etc. We continue to our lunch stop at Richard Toll and while having our lunch we can see Long-tailed Nightjars and Spotted Thick-knee. After lunch we are going in search of Sennar Penduline Tit, Sudan Golden Sparrows, Senegal Eremomela and Senegal Batis and Little Grey Woodpeckers and later afternoon we drive to Podor (±210 km from Kébémer) wher we can try Golden Nightjar, accommodation is at La Cour du Fleuve Hotel

We spend most of the next morning in the open savanna south of Podor where we can see Cricket Warblers, Fulvous Babbler, Norther Wheatears, Western Orphean Warblers, Black Scimitarbills, Golden Nightjars, just to mention few. Moving on the roadside towards Gamadji Sare (border to the Senegal River) to see Horus Swifts. During our midday break we can see Booted Eagle and Lanner Falcon, Red-chested Swallows, Sudan Golden Sparrows. Afternoon we visit an area of rice cultivation where we can see Red-billed Queleas, Short-toed Snake Eagles, Woodchat and Great Grey Shrikes, Abyssinian Rollers and European Turtle Doves; accommodation in Podor at at La Cour du Fleuve Hotel

The next morning we travel west to Djoudj though an hour near Richard Toll and we can see Temminck’s Coursers. As we approach Djoudj we can stop to search in some harvested rice Orange-breasted Waxbills, Quailfinches, River Prinia and Winding Cisticola, along with a good selection of waterbirds. After lunch we go in search of Arabian Bustard, We continue on the Grand Lac (Le lac de Guiers), where we can see thousands of Lesser Flamingos sometimes mixed with Greater Flamingos, White-faced and a few Fulvous Whistling Ducks, African Fish Eagle, Barn Owls and Black-crowned Cranes, accommodation at Campement Villageois Njagabaar (300m from the park enrance)

We began the next morning near our rooms, and we can see Greater Painted Snipes, Iberian Chiffchaffs, Western Olivaceous Warblers and several others. We continue on the nearby wetlands where we can see numerous Palearctic waders plus lots of Eurasian Spoonbills. Further afield we can see African Spoonbill, White Pelicans, Pink-backed Pelicans and many other waterbirds. We head to Bango, near St. Louis, and we can see Yellow-billed Oxpeckers (on some cattle). After a bite to eat and dropping off our bags we set off inland towards the Marigots where we can see Double-spurred Francolins, African Pygmy Geese, African Swamphens, ‘Iberian’ Yellow Wagtails and Winding Cisticolas; accommodation at  Ocean et Savane Hotel in Saint Louis.

We spent the next morning in the St. Louis area, dividing our time between the bridge area and a series of lagoons to the south, access to the coast was prevented by unrest on the island. We shall see West African Crested Terns, Caspian, Sandwich and Gull-billed Terns. Slender-billed Gulls, Lesser Black-backed, Black-headed and Grey-headed Gulls , Audouin’s Gulls and Mediterranean Gull. We can also see shorebirds including Curlew Sandpipers and Little Stints plus a few Dunlin, Sanderling and Turnstones. In the afternoon we return to the Marigots to try Orange-breasted Waxbills, Greater Swamp Warblers; accommodation at  Ocean et Savane Hotel in Saint Louis.

After breakfast the next day we start our journey south towards Kaolack  towards Touba. On the eay we can see Egyptian Vulture, Mottled Spinetails, Mosque Swallows, Green-winged Pytillia. After lunch in Touba we continue our road with a couple of short stops as we continued towards Kaolack to see Speckle-fronted Weavers, Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, Pygmy Sunbirds and both Western Subalpine and Bonelli’s Warblers, Singing Bushlarks, Desert Cisticolas, Savile’s Bustard, Quail-Plovers; Accommodation is at Royal Malango Hotel.

The next we transfer to Kedougou, near the Guinea border in far southeast Senegal. We begin though with a visit to the outskirts of Kaolack in the hope that Scissor-tailed Kites might appear as they departed from their roost in the Saloum Delta. On the way towards Tambacounda (where we have lunch) we can see Piapiac and Red-necked Falcon, Scissor-tailed Kites. When having lunch, we can see Brown Babblers and Purple Starlings, Accommodation at Le Bedik Hotel.

Our first morning in the Kedougou area we are exploring the escarpment to the east and we can easily see Martial Eagles, Gosling’s Buntings, African Blue Flycatcher, Snowy-crowned Robin Chats, Sahel Bush Sparrows (as Bush Petronia is now known) but. In the afternoon we drive west of Kedougou and go in search of Sun Larks, Finespotted Woodpeckers, Heuglin’s Masked Weavers, Red-throated Bee-eaters and Grey-headed Kingfisher; accommodation at Le Bedik Hotel

After an early breakfast we take our way to Dindefelo and we have a couple of roadside stops to try Bronze-tailed Starling, Dorst’s Cisticola, Violet Turacos, Red-winged Warbler, Northern Red Bishops, Black-winged Red Bishops and Yellow-shouldered Widowbirds. Once at Dindefelo we go immediately to look for Black-bellied Firefinches at a site where they had been recently reported. At the same place we can also see Orange-cheeked Waxbills and White-crowned Robin-Chats. The rest of the morning will be spent along the wooded Cascade Trail where we can see Wilcock’s Honeyguide, Green-headed and Western Violet-backed Sunbirds and the smart Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Greater Honeyguide, Familiar Chats, Brown-throated Wattle-eyes and African Blue Flycatchers, Narina Trogon before making our way back towards the village for lunch. We have several stops on the return journey to Kedougou and we can see Black-faced Firefinches, Orange-cheeked Waxbills, Red-cheeked Cordon-bleus, Bronze-winged Courser Four-banded Sandgrouse, Stone Partridges. Accommodation  at Le Bedik Hotel

A final morning in the Kedougou area will be focussed on the escarpment near Fongolimbi once more but with a stop en route to see Fox Kestrels, Northern’ Red-headed Weavers, Lavender Waxbills and Pygmy Sunbirds, Goslings Buntings and Senegal Eremomelas. After picking up our bags in Kedougou (and picknick lunch) we travel back north through Niokolo Koba NP to our next base on the Gambia River at Wassadou. En route. We can see  Tawny Eagle Bateleurs, Brown Snake Eagle and African Hawk Eagle. Once at Wassadou, we drop off our bags and drive to the river and we can see Egyptian Plover, African Finfoot, Giant Kingfisher and Northern Carmine Bee-eater to our list while enjoying cold drinks and sunset, accommodation in Wassadou at  Hotel Campement Wassadou

The two days will be spent out on the river, with  one morning and one evening trip on the small lodge boat, or along the trails, though with plenty of time also spent simply scanning from the lodge lookout. We can Adamawa Turtle Doves, European Turtle Dove, Egyptian Plovers, White-crowned Lapwings and African Finfoots all can give exceptionally close views from the boat, as well as Northern Carmine Bee-eaters, Giant Kingfishers and many others including plenty of Senegal Thick-knees and African Wattled Lapwings, Northern White-faced Owl, Pel’s Fishing Owl, White-backed Night Heron, Oriole Warblers, Yellow-crowned Gonoleks, Black-capped, and a Red-winged Pytillia. accommodation at Campement Wassadou

After a final night at Wassadou we have a long drive towards the coast. On the way we can see Lesser Blue-eared Starling, Paradise-whydahs, Tawny Eagle, African Hawk Eagle and Brown Snake Eagle, Red-necked Falcon, Verreaux’s Eagle Owls. Accommodation in Toubacouta at Keur Saloum Lodge Hotel

Early the next morning we are aboard a boat and setting off to explore the Saloum Delta’s mangrove-lined creeks and mudbanks where overwintering shorebirds are scattered about and Caspian and Gull-billed Terns flew overhead. Our primary target here is the rare and elusive White-crested Tiger Heron. We can also see Swallow-tailed, European and Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters, Mangrove Sunbirds, Goliath Heron, Black Kites, Beaudouin’s Snake Eagle. On the Coastal Senegambia we can also see Western Ospreys. We return to our hotel for lunch and a short siesta before visiting nearby Sandicoly where woodland birding can be seen among others Blue-spotted Wood-Doves, Yellow-throated Leafloves, Black-necked Weavers , Pallid Harrier, etc; Accommodation in Toubacouta at Keur Saloum Lodge Hotel

We spend the next morning on an extended drive inland along a bush track. We can encounter some good birds on the journey to and from there including an obliging like Purple Roller, Saville’s Bustard, Lesser Blue-eared Starlings, Lanner and Red-necked Falcons, a Four-banded Sandgrouse, Black-headed Heron and several Variable Sunbirds. In the afternoon we explore the open bush country near Missrah, enjoying species like Bearded and Vieillot’s Barbets, Lizard Buzzard, Northern Puffback, Black-rumped and Lavender Waxbills, Yellow Penduline Tit. Later afternoon, we began our final day with a return to the Saloum Delta by boat and have an early lunch before we set off towards the Airport where the tour ended in the evening. END