On to Kartong, and we quickly set about trying to search for Grey-headed Kingfishers in an area of farmland, however with no luck. We were rewarded with the trip's first Great White Pelican flying high, distantly towards the sea, and a Tree Pipit low down in a bush. Again, similarly, on a long search for a single Northern Carmine Bee-eater along the sand dunes by the beach, we were almost going call it a day when Ebrima spotted it with a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater on top of a distant tree. We soon had incredible close views as it flew into a tree right next to us and began fly-catching. While the hunt for the bee-eater ensued, Ebrima also picked out some flyover Quailfinches which did the decent thing and landed giving us good views of them perched.
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| Northern Carmine Bee-eater |
We cut through over the top of the dune ridge onto the beach and quickly saw two White-fronted Plovers around a small pool with Common Ringed Plovers. One of the White-fronted Plovers was sporting some colour-rings/flags; a bird that was ringed by the people at the Kartong Bird Observatory. Looking out to sea, a large flock of Lesser Black-backed and Kelp Gulls loafed on the sea to the south, in what were probably Senegalese waters.
We then tried another spot where the Grey-headed Kingfishers had been seen earlier in the day, and sure enough they were both sat in the same tree. It all comes good in the end.
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| Grey-headed Kingfisher |
Ebrima was keen to get going to our next destination, Brufut Woods at Tanji, as soon as possible, because our next target, the Green Turaco, only comes to visit the water bowls once, or twice if you're lucky, around midday. It was already 12:15pm so we were cutting it fine. After an hour waiting at the drinking station, it became apparent that the long searches for the bee-eater and kingfishers had cost us. Ebrima had phone a contact who said that it had been seen about half an hour before we arrived. A brief glimpse of a Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat and great close views of the commoner birds on the water bowls ensured that it wasn't a wasted visit.
Driving back towards the sea, we stopped along the river mouth to view hundreds of roosting Caspian and Royal Terns. On closer inspection, two Lesser Crested and eight Sandwich Terns were among them with five buoyant Little Terns flying out to sea. Several elegant Slender-billed Gulls also loosely associated with the flock, and on the way back up the dune sides to the car, a couple of Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters perched up.
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| Caspian Terns, Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns and Grey-hooded Gulls |
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| Swallow-tailed Bee-eater |