And couldn't resist another Eastern visitor this morning.
281. Desert wheatear
Now to count wood pigeon migrations in Camberwell and stop twitching until next week in Africa...
Our trip to The Gambia was incredible. So many birds, lots of mammals, and even some cool herps! If anyone is considering going, I can thoroughly recommend Ebrima Sidibeh as a bird guide, he was fantastic and extremely knowledgeable, as well as being an all round lovely man. We also stayed in a wonderful hotel, when on the coast, called Bakotu, which I can also recommend (it has a bird-watching platform over Kotu Creek, which, in a small piece of personal news, is where I proposed to my now-fiancee!). A torch and a bat detector made me look a bit strange in the bar as it got dark, but ah well...
We also visited Fathala Game Reserve over the border in Senegal. I'm not sure how 'wild' the large hoofstock here are. As far as I can tell, they are mostly 're-introduced' from southern Africa and effectively live as wild populations in the fenced reserve during the wet season. During the dry season, they are fed and watered, though. As such, I'm not going to count them for the purposes of this list, but wanted to note how magical it was to see a herd of giant eland materialising out of the bush.
Mammals
21. Harnessed bushbuck
22. Green vervet
23. Western red colobus
24. Patas monkey
25. Guinea baboon
26. Pardine genet (particularly pleased by this one, in the garden of our hotel, nonetheless)
27. Gambian mongoose
28. Gambian sun squirrel
29. African striped ground squirrel
30. Gambian pouched rat
31. Gambian epauletted fruitbat
32. Peter's dwarf epauletted fruitbat
33. Gambian slit-faced bat
34. Mauritian tomb bat
35. Western greenish-yellow bat
36. Yellow-winged bat
37. Tiny serotine
38. Randall's serotine
39. Lander's horseshoe bat
Plus one further bat species to ID from photos. I will post in the gallery, if anyone would like to help.
Birds (the first two from Barcelona on the way back!)
281. Eurasian Crag Martin
282. Monk Parakeet
283. Greater Painted-Snipe
284. Kelp Gull
285. Pomarine Skua
286. Arctic Skua
287. African Green-Pigeon
288. Stone Partridge
289. White-crested Helmetshrike
290. Bronze-tailed Starling
291. Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse
292. Quailfinch
293. Yellow-billed Oxpecker
294. Winding Cisticola
295. Swamp Flycatcher
296. Western Banded Snake-Eagle
297. Northern Carmine Bee-eater
298. Red-throated Bee-eater
299. Little Swift
300. Egyptian Plover
301. Mottled Spinetail
302. Gosling's Bunting
303. Exclamatory Paradise-Whydah
304. African Silverbill
305. Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Lark
306. African Green Bee-eater
307. Grasshopper Buzzard
308. African Hawk-Eagle
309. Brown Snake-Eagle
310. Collared Pratincole
311. Orange-cheeked Waxbill
312. Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin
313. African Red-rumped Swallow
314. Four-banded Sandgrouse
315. Slender-billed Gull
316. Black-headed Lapwing
317. Northern Anteater-Chat
318. Sahel Paradise-Whydah
319. Green-winged Pytilia
320. Red-billed Quelea
321. Copper Sunbird
322. Greater Blue-eared Starling
323. Striped Kingfisher
324. Pygmy Sunbird
325. Senegal Eremomela
326. Northern Crombec
327. Mouse-brown Sunbird
328. Western Olivaceous Warbler
329. Abyssinian Roller
330. Grey-headed Kingfisher
331. Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
332. Goliath Heron
333. Yellow-billed Egret
334. African Darter
335. African Woolly-necked Stork
336. Gull-billed Tern
337. Bruce's Green-Pigeon
338. Spur-winged Goose
339. White-rumped Seedeater
340. Sahel Bush Sparrow
341. Little Weaver
342. Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver
343. African Golden Oriole
344. Vieillot's Barbet
345. European Bee-eater
346. Gabar Goshawk
347. Mosque Swallow
348. Grey-headed Bushshrike
349. Lanner Falcon
350. Lesser Honeyguide
351. Purple Roller
352. White-throated Bee-eater
353. Dark Chanting-Goshawk
354. Wahlberg's Eagle
355. Black-rumped Waxbill
356. African Paradise-Flycatcher
357. Spotted Honeyguide
358. Greyish Eagle Owl
359. Ovambo Sparrowhawk
360. Levaillant's Cuckoo
361. Vitelline Masked-Weaver
362. Whistling Cisticola
363. African Goshawk
364. Purple Heron
365. White-backed Night Heron
366. Grey Kestrel
367. Chestnut-bellied Starling
368. Black-crowned Tchagra
369. Black-winged Kite
370. Western Bluebill
371. Capuchin Babbler
372. Little Greenbul
373. Grey-headed Bristlebill
374. Guinea Turaco
375. Palm-nut Vulture
376. African Spoonbill
377. African Sacred Ibis
378. Yellow-billed Stork
379. Grey-hooded Gull
380. Namaqua Dove
381. Sudan Golden Sparrow
382. Black-headed Weaver
383. Purple Starling
384. Western Subalpine Warbler
385. Yellow-gorgeted Greenbul
386. Green-backed Camaroptera
387. Senegal Batis
388. Fine-spotted Woodpecker
389. Lizard Buzzard
390. Long-crested Eagle
391. Pink-backed Pelican
392. Black-headed Heron
393. Squacco Heron
394. West African Crested Tern
395. African Jacana
396. White-fronted Plover
397. Black-winged Stilt
398. African Swamphen
399. White-faced Whistling-Duck
400. Village Indigobird
401. Black-winged Bishop
402. Northern Red Bishop
403. Variable Sunbird
404. Blue-bellied Roller
405. White-crowned Robin-Chat
406. Lesser Blue-eared Starling
407. Blackcap Babbler
408. Red-chested Swallow
409. Oriole Warbler
410. Yellow-billed Shrike
411. Red-necked Falcon
412. African Grey Woodpecker
413. Bearded Barbet
414. Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird
415. Blue-breasted Kingfisher
416. Green Woodhoopoe
417. Pearl-spotted Owlet
418. Striated Heron
419. Black Heron
420. Hadada Ibis
421. Wood Sandpiper
422. Mourning Collared Dove
423. Yellow-fronted Canary
424. Northern Grey-headed Sparrow
425. Red-billed Firefinch
426. Red-cheeked Cordonbleu
427. Lavender Waxbill
428. Bronze Mannikin
429. Village Weaver
430. Olive-naped Weaver
431. White-billed Buffalo-Weaver
432. Scarlet-chested Sunbird
433. Snowy-crowned Robin-Chat
434. Fanti Sawwing
435. Singing Cisticola
436. Tawny-flanked Prinia
437. Yellow-breasted Apalis
438. Black-headed Paradise-Flycatcher
439. Fork-tailed Drongo
440. Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike
441. Northern Puffback
442. Brown-throated Wattle-eye
443. Senegal Parrot
444. Greater Honeyguide
445. Broad-billed Roller
446. Woodland Kingfisher
447. African Pygmy Kingfisher
448. Swallow-tailed Bee-eater
449. West African Pied Hornbill
450. African Harrier-Hawk
451. Great White Pelican
452. Western Cattle-Egret
453. Senegal Coucal
454. Violet Turaco
455. Blue-spotted Wood-Dove
456. Black-billed Wood-Dove
457. Vinaceous Dove
458. Double-spurred Spurfowl
459. African Thrush
460. Piapiac
461. Yellow-crowned Gonolek
462. Ring-necked Parakeet
463. Little Bee-eater
464. Western Red-billed Hornbill
465. Lesser Crested Tern
466. Common Greenshank
467. Beautiful Sunbird
468. Long-tailed Glossy Starling
469. Brown Babbler
470. Common Bulbul
471. Wire-tailed Swallow
472. Pied Crow
473. Pied Kingfisher
474. Giant Kingfisher
475. Malachite Kingfisher
476. African Grey Hornbill
478. Black Kite
479. Shikra
480. Hooded Vulture
481. Hamerkop
482. Western Reef-Heron
483. Reed Cormorant
484. Wattled Lapwing
485. Spur-winged Lapwing
486. Senegal Thick-knee
487. African Palm Swift
488. Western Plantain-eater
489. Red-eyed Dove
490. Speckled Pigeon
I am going to post herps this weekend - they need a bit of ID from photos.
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