Lamin at Lamin Lodge

   

   On the back row of a minivan, there are 2/3 of a seat and 1. I find myself on the 2/3 next to a rather corpulent person and so I can only half sit for the 35 minutes of driving to Lamin Lodge. With my glutes tetanised, I’m thankful that it had not been for the 6-hour journey in the Thomas Cook charter plane because I would have ended up suffocated. Taking other people’s space…what nerve !

       Today, it’s therefore from Lamin Lodge that I will be discovering the birds and the nature of the mangroves. Upon arrival, we see the internet tree where the guides have painted their classifieds with the necessary contact information. Funny, but we already had to hire a guide just to get to this outback area ! Lamin Jobaate (gambiabirdingexplorers.com) is our guide and bird expert, and is based at the Atlantic Hotel.

   The water around the mangroves does not stagnate but flows peacefully with the tides. In Gambia, there are 6 types of mangrove, though in this area there is only the one. The boats belong to the local community and the people work for this “association”.

   The long mangrove woods are very much enjoyed as their high salt content-levels make them resistant to termites. The mangrove-tree’s leaves are used for dyeing and give different shades based on their maturity. Young shoots will give yellow tinges whereas fallen leaves will turn red after a week, eventually changing to brown after more time. Salt, sulphur and a colorant are added to the leaves to strengthen the dye. The leaf to fixes down the colour, and if the three “stages” of leaves are used together, you get some indigo… according to one of the pirogue’s two drivers.

   A very important activity in the sector is that of oysters, and women go alone or in groups, each with her own boat, deep into the mangrove (top-left) to claim their precious “treasure”. Oysters are sharp so those without shoes wrap their feet in fabric. They will not forget to also bring back some wood which will be used to cook the oysters (top-right and bottom). The grinded shells are added to salt water to make white paint. Add in some sand and you have the lime you need to make walls. To feed the birds, clay is added into the shells.

   The men go fishing, a nocturnal activity, or show tourists around in their pirogues or on their boats complete with “solarium” level.

   Once again, I saw the African Darter (Anhinga rufa), also known as the snake bird, from quite close. This last name comes from its long neck that it keeps out of the water when it swims. It has webbed feet and dives to catch fish and amphibians under the water. Once at the surface, it will throw the fish into the air in order to swallow it head first. Then, it rests for hours on end on its chosen perch, drying itself and observing its surroundings. The adult male is dark (top and bottom-left) and contrasts with the youth who is more sandy in colour (bottom-middle). It measures between 80 and 97 centimetres.

   A rare sight, due to its nocturnal habits, is the White-backed Night Heron (Gorsachius leuconotus). It likes the mangrove and soft water, and I managed to catch a glance of its large, circled eye hidden amongst the branches.

   Many are the Little Bee-eaters (1 – Merops pusillus) and the Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters (2 – Merops persicus). I love to see the Pied Kingfisher (3&4, Ceryle Rudis). This one is a male as it has two stripes on its torso.

   Then, back on solid ground, we saw a beautiful butterfly (5). No name for this one, sorry !