SENEGAL
Exploratory trip

Birdfinders have been in Senegal preparing a new tour to this rarely-visited destination. Although many birders have visited The Gambia and there is some overlap in species, there are a number of Sahel species found in Senegal that are either scare or absent in The Gambia. The new tour will fly into Dakar and visit Djoudj National Park with spectacular numbers of wintering Palearctic birds, the globally-endangered Arabian Bustard and the little-known River Prinia. Further north on the Mauritanian border, we will search acacia woodland for two limited-range species: Little Grey Woodpecker and Sennar Penduline-tit as well as Black Scrub-robin which is easier to see here than in the rest of its range. Although Savile’s Bustards are now regularly seen on our Gambia tour they are almost common further north where spectacular numbers of Scissor-tailed Kites can be seen coming into roost. The rarely-seen Quail-plover also occurs in the area although Small Buttonquail and Common Quail are more likely. Further east towards the headwaters of The Gambia River, we will visit Niokolo-Koba National Park National Park where African Finfoot is much easier to see than in other parts of their range together with Adamawa Turtle-dove. There will also be an element of exploration here as very few birders have visited the area so there is much to be discovered including possibly even Mali Firefinch.

Scissor-tailed Kite	Arabian Bustard
Savile's Bustard	Blue-naped Mousebird
Little Grey Woodpecker	Sennar Penduline-tit
Cricket Longtail	Desert Cisticola
River Prinia	Yellow-bellied Eremomela
Black Scrub-robin	Chestnut-bellied Starling
White-rumped Seedeater	Sudan Golden Sparrow