Ebrima has been guiding for over 20 years and is one of the original five or so bird guides that were operating back in the day, just as the market was opening up. In fact, he was on Kotu Bridge the day Chris Packham first set foot in the country all those years ago looking for a guide. Back then, the only way to organise trips was by post, but thankfully now, communication is a lot easier. Ebrima is very good at replying to messages and has a more than sufficient level of written English to allow you to organise your trip without any worries. His spoken English is fantastic however, and we enjoyed many good conversations about Gambian life, history and of course, birds.
Ebrima has a real passion for birds and absolutely loves to guide. He has a relaxed, gentle and kind personality, and a good sense of humour. He takes such joy from showing people new birds and still has great enthusiasm for this even after so many years. On top of this, he really is a fantastically sharp birder. He knows all the sites and has a huge network of contacts that allow him to be completely up to date with the bird news throughout The Gambia. We would routinely arrive at our accommodation at the end of the day to speak to other other visiting birders, only to find out that they'd missed a particular target species. Ebrima would then manage to explain the exact spot to their guide so that they could connect with them the next day. In fact, it really struck me how sharing all the bird guides were with their information. On the odd occasion when we were struggling to find a particular bird at a site, Ebrima would phone a contact, and invariably, within minutes we were looking at our target species. Another thing to bare in mind when choosing a guide is their level of fitness. Some of the less fit, or older guides may not want to spend so much time and effort walking to the less accesible sites, and this may cost you a few birds, such as the bustards that we saw; a good 40-50 minutes walk through the bush in the heat of the day. Ebrima is highly respected on the local birding scene, and plays a leading role in co-ordinating the Gambian Bird Guides Association; training up younger guides, teaching lessons on birds in schools all over the country, and thinking up and seeing through conservation initiatives.
Ebrima has guided many well known birders from Europe over the years, but caters for all, adjusting his guiding style accordingly. He owns his own car, a Renault Clio, which copes perfectly with the terrain and rough tracks. At not one point did we feel like it was struggling, even driving off road over sand and vegetation! I must add that Ebrima drove safely throughout the trip and always stuck to speeds of under 70 km/h; a welcome relief having experienced the driving of other Gambians! Having his own car gives far more flexibility and freedom over other bird guides that hire drivers. This is how Ebrima used to operate, and he recounted how the drivers were often uneasy about taking their vehicles over rough ground and would sometimes not want to work past a standard day's working hours - not ideal for birding. On top of this, it also makes things a little cheaper. We payed £700 each for six nights away, with everything included, including accommodation, all food, water, soft drinks, boat trips and entrance fees. Just remember to take some extra cash if you want beers and to tip the people who run the bird water stations and community reserves - you will definitely want to. Ebrima can also pick you up from your hotel in Kotu each day if you are happy birding around the coast; still very good, but I would definitely recommend traveling inland. You need to make it clear how many 'away nights' you would like, where you'll stay with Ebrima at different lodges. If you are a group of four or more, Ebrima will rent a van to give more space, and will even rent a small bus for groups of around ten. With bigger groups, the price per person will drop quite a bit.
It's not just The Gambia that Ebrima restricts himself to though. He will do trips into Senegal and surrounding countries on longer trips, and these will yield very interesting species which are either absent from The Gambia or extremely hard to see due to the higher levels of disturbance. If you also want a mix of cultural stuff, just let Ebrima know. On top of the birding, we also had great fun exploring villages and having a traditional meal at Ebrima's home... and we still managed to see 270 species.
We had an incredible adventure that we'll remember for the rest of our lives, in no small part due to Ebrima's expert guiding, kindness and companionship. He is a great guy and we would thoroughly recommend him. His contact details are below:
Email: ebrimasidibeh@hotmail.com
WhatsApp: +220 338 4839
