Day 1: Arrival in Dakar

After arrival in Senegal’s Capital, you will be transferred to a good hotel for the night. The capital is located within Guinea Savanna, on Senegal’s central west coast, is home to one of Western Africa’s most important ports, as well as being the historical endpoint for the World-famous Dakar Rally. There is no birding on this day, which provides a good chance at downtime after the long flight in. The first group activity will be a welcome dinner in our hotel at 6:30pm, where the guide will brief participants on the activities of the opening days of the tour.

 

Day 2: Dakar to Richard Toll

We will depart the coast and head north and inland, to the banks of the Senegal River and the town of Richard Toll, named after a French botanist during colonial times. The northward journey will see us venturing into the increasingly arid country of the Sahel, dominated by Afrotropical Dry Thorn Savanna and Thornscrub, where we might find spectacular birds, like Long-tailed Glossy Starlings or Chestnut-bellied Starlings, or other specialties, such as  Sudan Golden Sparrow and Senegal Eromemala. Other possibilities include a host of Old-World vultures, Little Bee-eater, Vieillot’s Barbet, and Abyssinian Roller. A single night will be spent in Richard Toll.

 

Day 3: Richard Toll to Podor

On this day we will continue our journey eastwards along the flanks of the Senegal River, making our way to Senegal’s northernmost town, Podor, for a two-night stay. This northwards journey will have brought us close to the Mauritanian border, and in close proximity to the southern edge of the Sahara Desert, whose influence can sometimes be felt from the hot winds that blow in from the north. We will scour the acacias within the dry thorn savanna for key targets, like Cricket Longtail (Warbler), Sennar Penduline-Tit, Western Red-billed Hornbill, and the diminutive Little Gray Woodpecker. Other possible birds in this area include Senegal Batis and Black Scrub-Robin.

 

Day 4: Podor to Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary

Around Podor, we will scour the floor for a resting Golden Nightjar, one of the major key birds on this tour. If we fail to find one by day, we can also look for them at night too. Other species of interest here include White-rumped Seedeater, Pygmy Sunbird, and Black-crowned Sparrow-Lark. After finishing up in Podor, we shall drive east to an area of stark contrast, Djouj National Bird Sanctuary, a wetland sanctuary on the southeast bank of the Senegal River. We will be based inside this impressive sanctuary for two nights.

 

Day 5: Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary

Djoudj National Park or Bird Sanctuary is located on the floodplain of the Senegal River, within a basin of the Djoudj between the river itself and the Gorom bayou to the south of it. This is one of West Africa’s most important sanctuaries, designated as both a World Heritage site and an Important Bird Area it is also of global significance too. The area is particularly important for hosting migrant waterbirds. As many as 3 million different migrants pass through Djouj each year, many of which have crossed the Sahara Desert to reach there! It comprises a series of wetland habitats, including lakes, ponds, and seasonally inundated areas on the Senegal River Delta. It is home to an incredible variety of wetland birds, including Spur-winged Goose, Knob-billed Duck, Marbled Duck, Garganey, Yellow-billed Stork, Slender-billed Gull, Squacco and Black Herons, Black Crake, Allen’s Gallinule, African Jacana, Eurasian and African Spoonbills, Black-crowned Crane, Senegal Thick-knee, Spur-winged Lapwing, and Malachite Kingfisher. The sanctuary is also important for flamingos and pelicans. It is home to some 20,000 Greater Flamingos, which are often in company with Lesser Flamingos too. 10,000 Great White Pelicans also visit the reserve, which is also home to Pink-backed Pelicans too. It also lures in thousands of migrant shorebirds from the north too, including Common and Little Ringed Plovers, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, and Curlew Sandpiper. We will take a boat trip out on the water to allow closer, close ups of some of these. Away from waterbirds, we will have other species to look for too, such as Arabian Bustard, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Blue-naped Mousebird, Senegal Coucal, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, and the River Prinia. A second night will be spent inside the park, after a very bird-packed day.

 

Day 6: Djoudj NP to Saint Louis

We will head southeast, returning to the coastal zone, as we visit Saint Louis for the night. Saint Louis was the former capital of Senegal during the French colonial period and is recognized as the origin for the country national dish, Thiéboudienne, tasty mix of fish, vegetables and rice that has been marinated in garlic, lemon, and parsley. Our focus in this area will be to find a specialty bird species, Savile’s Bustard, which inhabits lightly wooded areas, sometimes near marigots, in western Senegal. Other significant birds that we may encounter on our bustard mission, within more mesic areas, could include Double-spurred Spurfowl and the jaw-droppingly beautiful Yellow-crowned Gonolek. A single night will be spent in Saint Louis.

 

Day 7: Saint Louis to Kaolack

Our southward trajectory will continue on this day as we move from coastal western Senegal to inland southern Senegal, and the market town of Kaolack on the northern banks of the Saloum River. A major target for this day will be the enigmatic Quail-Plover, which is not found on all of the tours, as its presence and abundance depends on the rains of recent wet seasons. However, the day is not a “one-bird wonder”, as we will close the day at a site on the banks of the river, where we will witness the spectacle of thousands of Scissor-tailed Kites coming to roost on a riparian island.

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Day 8: Kaolack to Toubacouta

We will take a second shot at Quail-Plover, if needed, on this morning, with a pre-dawn start in order to do so. In the afternoon, we will make our way southeast into the Fatick region, along the road that connects Senegal with The Gambia, culminating for us in the village of Toubacouta, dubbed as a paradise for nature lovers. We will test this firsthand in the afternoon, when we take a boat trip on the delta to look out for the localized White-crested Bittern among the tangled mangrove swamps. The species occupies the monotypic genus Tigriornis, hence the alternative name of White-crested Tiger Heron.

 

Day 9: Toubacouta to Tambacounda

If we did not manage to locate a White-crested Bittern the evening before, we will head back out on an early morning boat ride to do so once more.  After that, we shall journey east to the town of Tambacounda, in order to break the long journey to Kedougou.

 

Day 10: Tambacounda to Kedougou

Our purpose on this day will be to reach Kedougou, in far southeastern Senegal, close to the frontiers of both Mali and Guinea. The area is rich in specialties, and so we will spend three nights in the area.

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Days 11-12: Kedougou and Dindefelo Region

This area is located within the Senegalese foothills of the Fouta Djallon Mountains, which are largely located within Guinea to the south. This exciting corner of Senegal is well off the beaten track and offers up much for the adventurous birder. It has only relatively recently been explored by bird tours, so there is still the chance of a surprise or two. We will utilize 4WD on one day in order to access wooded areas around the impressive escarpment near the village of Dindefelo, a place famed amongst tourists for its impressive 100m/320ft-high waterfalls within Niokolo-Koba National Park. The list of potential bird species on these days is long and includes some species only possible at these sites on the tour. Among the birds on the list are the following: Stone Partridge, Guinea and Violet Turacos, Narina’s Trogon, Bearded Barbet, Beaudouin's Snake-Eagle, Fox Kestrel, Yellow Penduline-Tit, Yellow-billed Shrike, Dorst’s Cisticola, White-fronted Black Chat, Bronze-tailed and Neumann’s Starlings, Pied-winged Swallow, Oriole Warbler, Sun Lark, Beautiful Sunbird, Lavender Waxbill, Mali and Black-faced Firefinches, Brown-rumped and Gosling’s Buntings, Olive-naped Weaver, Sahel Bush Sparrow, and Exclamatory Paradise Whydah!

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Day 13: Kedougou to Wassadou Camp

In the morning we will journey back west to Wassadou Camp. We will leave early for this travel morning, in order to get there in time for an afternoon boat trip to search for some key tour species, like the “crocodile bird”, Egyptian Plover, and African Finfoot. While searching for them, we may also see Northern Carmine Bee-eaters or wallowing Hippos. At night, another boat trip will be taken to search for White-backed Night-Heron, Long-tailed Nightjar and Pel’s Fishing-Owl. We will be based at the amazing camp for two nights, which has a prime location for birds adjacent to Niokola Koba National Park, on the banks of the Gambia River, which hosts an impressive bird list exceeding 270 species.

 

Day 14: Niokola Koba NP

We will have a full day in this park close to our excellent birding lodge. Like Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary visited earlier on the tour, this park also has a massive bird list, and the list of possible species on this day is another enjoyably lengthy one, including Adamawa Turtle-Dove, Western Plantain-Eater, Black-headed and White-headed Lapwings, Palm-nut Vulture, 4 species of snake-eagle, NINE species of kingfisher, 4 species of rollers, including Blue-bellied, including Shining-blue, Senegal Parrot, Fine-spotted Woodpecker, Blackcap Babbler, White Helmetshrike, Snowy and White-crowned Robin-Chats, and Brown-rumped Waxbill. A second night will be spent in our wonderful lodging on the banks of the Gambia River.

 

Day 15: Wassadou to Kaolack & Kousmar Island

Today we will start our journey backtracking northeast towards the Senegalese capital. We will break the journey at Kaolack and stay in the same hotel we stayed at before there. By breaking the journey here we also add a further chance at the difficult Quail-Plover and Savile’s Bustard on this day or the next, should we need one. During the afternoon, take a short boat trip over to Kousmar Island for an epic late afternoon activity, watching the large roost of Lesser Kestrels and Scissor-tailed Kites, which typically number in the hundreds. We will overnight in Kaolack once more.

 

Day 16: Kaolack to Dakar

After chasing some final birds around the Saloum River Delta in the morning, we shall drive back west to Dakar for the final night of this amazing tour. We will have a final farewell dinner, where the debate over the best birds of the trip are sure to be heated with such a heady selection on offer!

 

Day 17: Departure from Dakar

There are no birding activities on this day, so you are free to depart when you wish.

PACE: Moderate. Typically days will start at around 5:30am-6am on most days. Some breakfasts and some lunches will be packed. Most of this trip involves fairly full days, although there may be a handful of days with a break in the middle of the day. However, physically this is not a tough trip (see the next section). There are some long drives on the tour, with 4 days with drives exceeding 5 hours. However, all of this drives will be broken with birding stops, some of which are for some of the key target species.

 

PHYSICAL DIFFICULTY: Easy to Moderate. Almost all the birding is done from easy roads or tracks, and almost all of these are flat.

 

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