| Leading Tours since 1987
Itinerary: Day 1: Morning flight to Paris and transfer to Paris Orly for our flight to St Louis in northern Senegal. Transfer to Ranch de Bango for an overnight stay. Day 2: An early morning start as we head north into Mauritania and to the Diawling National Park where we look for Lesser Flamingo, African Spoonbill, Arabian Bustard, Black-shouldered Kite, Short-toed Eagle, Montagu’s Harrier, Black Scrub Robin, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater and Chestnut-bellied Starling. We continue northwards and make our first camp near Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. Days 3-5: From Nouakchott a new tarmac road going north passes close to Iwik the 'heart' of the Banc d’Arguin National Park. We have a good chance of finding Dunn’s Lark and Desert Sparrow en route. The park itself covers some 40% of the Mauritanian coastline and the coastal waters at Iwik are dotted with small islands permanently closed to all visitors. Although there is not a great number of species to be found here, only 108 have ever been recorded, it is the sheer numbers of birds, plus the chance of finding African species in the Western Palearctic, that makes this place very special indeed. Species here include Palearctic shorebirds as well as Grey Heron of the monicae race, Greater Flamingo, White Pelican, White-breasted and Long-tailed Cormorants, Western Reef Egret, Eurasian Spoonbill including those of the balsaci race, Audouin’s, Grey-headed and Slender-billed Gulls and Gull-billed, Caspian and Royal Terns. The desert holds Brown-necked Raven, Hoopoe Lark and Black-crowned Sparrow-lark. Depending on the tide times and the wind (no motors are allowed on boats within the park), we take a boat to the two main islands. We spend time around Zira Island and then sail to Nair Island, one of the major roost islands of water-associated species. We spend several hours here watching the high tide roosts before drifting slowly back to our base. Both islands are situated in the Western Palearctic. We spend three nights camping at Iwik. Day 6: In the morning we birdwatch the islands and sea-grass beds from the coast before eating an early lunch. In early afternoon we leave the park to start the journey back south towards Senegal. We camp near to Nouakchott as on day 2.
Day
8: We spend today exploring the local area on foot
and by 4x4. The grounds of the ranch offer excellent birding
and some of the regular species include Red-necked Falcon, African
Red-billed Hornbill, Grey Woodpecker, Red-billed Firefinch,
Beautiful and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds, Sudan Golden Sparrow
and Long-tailed Glossy Starling. Wintering Palearctic migrants
include Melodious, Subalpine and Western Olivaceous Warblers,
Common Redstart and Tree Pipits. The ranch is located on the
Senegal River and is a haven for waterbirds. We can expect Spur-winged
Lapwing, African Fish Eagle, * * * * *
|
Mauritania,
an extremely hot and arid country, lies on the West Coast
of Africa at the western edge of the Sahara desert. Little
known to birdwatchers, its ornithological attractions
include one of the most important wintering sites for
Palearctic shorebirds in the world, the Banc d’Arguin
National Park. We also visit the Diawling National Park
situated on the Senegal River in the south of the country
and the north of Senegal where our tour begins. 
Day
7: We head south at first light and pass through the
Diawling National Park again, spending time looking for Arabian
Bustard and studying the thousands of water birds in the area.
At Rosso we cross back into Senegal where we spend our last
night at Ranch de Bango.
African
Jacana, Winding Cisticola, Abyssinian Roller and Senegal Coucal.
Reedbed fringes and open water lure Malachite Kingfisher. The
drier areas hold Senegal Thick-knee, Black-billed Wood Dove,
Little Bee-eater and Grey-headed Sparrow. The area surrounding
Marigot Lakes attracts Savile’s and Arabian Bustards,
Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse and Temminck's and Cream-coloured
Coursers. We have dinner at the ranch before making the short
transfer to the airport at St Louis. Arrival in London is on
the next morning. |
