The highlight of our visit to Gambia, we arranged an early morning boat trip through the mangroves with Charlie (Bakary) a local ornithologist who had excellent knowledge of the local wildlife and an amazing skill at spotting various birds. We spotted 63 birds on our trip, including four types of kingfisher, herons including the very rare white-backed heron, and many others. After the boat trip, we had breakfast in Lamin Lodge with a view across the mangroves and the monkeys trying to steal our food which was highly entertaining. We then went to another nature reserve to walk among the trees and other different types of birds. Charlie looked after us very well on the entire trip and clearly has excellent knowledge of not just the birds, but local wildlife, culture and history as well. We definitely plan to come back and arrange a bigger tour with him next time. So if you’re in Gambia, ask any holiday rep to organise a bird-watching tour with Charlie and you won’t be disappointed.
