A couple in Abuko

   On this beautiful… haha it’s always beautiful… April day, Lamin "bird" brought us to Abuko, a nature reserve with many birds, 3 species of monkeys, and hyenas. It also has a bird rehabilitation centre that cannot be visited. In the middle of the area, there’s a little bar (top-right) and a local crafts stand. The same things are on offer everywhere; masks, fabric bags, jewellery, all at “affordable” prices as we say nowadays.

   There are large ponds that must not be approached due to the abundance of crocs, though which allowed me to add to my heron photo list. Out of the 14 varieties on page three of the Gambia bird book, I’ve now ticked off 11. It just goes to show how easy it is to meet a large variety.

   We saw some strange plants which turned out to be mushrooms (top and bottom-left). I had often seen “concavities” in the sandy ground but did not know who or what was making them. Lamin explained that it was ant lion larvae that used this to attract insects who would “slip into the funnel”, allowing the ants to catch them.

   The only monkeys that we saw remained close to the bar as they knew that passers-by would buy peanuts there. Two Patak specimens were in a cage as well as a whole group of baboons. The green vervets were patiently waiting, all the while slowly coming closer every time I feigned reaching for my bag. You only have to show your two empty hands for them to stay put and wait quietly (top-right). On the other hand, there was a young and free baboon that tried to climb on top of me twice. This wasn’t very reassuring as I know that they can be more aggressive and can steal what is yours. In actual fact, this one was very well behaved and whilst I was observing the Pataks, he came towards me and had a peek into my sock (bottom-right).

1 - Anhinga rufa - African darter is a wader measuring in at just under a metre (wingspan of 115-128cm). It’s a common sight who mainly lives in freshwater areas, close to mangroves. It’s very dark with a brown neck. Its feet are webbed and it swims under the water with only its neck protruding from the surface – leading to its name of snake-bird. It dives, then brings its food back up to the surface before throwing it into the air and catching it in its beak so as to swallow it head first. In its youth, it’s much browner.

2 -  Aigretta alba measures just over a meter with a wingspan of 140-170cm. It uses a foot to disturb the water so that its prey – fish, crustaceans, and even small mammals – moves around or comes out. Then, it pierces them with its beak and can stay without moving for hours on end.

3 - Nyctorax nyctorax - Black crowned heron is a common one. It’s rather nocturnal though you can, on occasion, meet it during the day. It nests in colonies on branch-platforms in trees.

4 - Egretta intermedia - Intermediate egret is totally white with a yellow beak (except during the mating season when the beak becomes read with an orange tip). It hunts in shallow waters and prefers fish, insects, and crustaceans.

   The magic bird is the Squacco heron. When at rest on a branch, it is beige and sandy, but when it takes off and flies, you can practically only see white – its stomach and the bottom of its wings. It’s a rather small heron, measuring 44-47cm from the head the tip of the wings of the tail (body length of only 20/23cm). A migrant bird, it spends winter in Africa and comes back to nest in southern Europe or in the middle-east during the summer.

   Amongst the migratory birds, the youths who are yet to nest stay in Gambia until they reach sexual maturity. That is why we see many species all year round.