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An entry to our 2019 Writing Competition, Catherine Whitmarsh travelled on our 'The Gambia' tour.
It had been a long, hot, tiring day. Already far up river from the comforts of The Gambia's coast, our group had travelled that morning almost to the far end of the sliver-like West African country, to Basse. We had seen a couple of new birds and learnt the finer points of distinction between some of the very handsome iridescent glossy starlings, but despite the guide's best efforts, some of the hoped-for species eluded us.
Back at our riverside lodgings for a short siesta, we checked in on the Striated Heron feeding two almost fledged chicks, which we had been delighted to discover at very close quarters in a mango tree. They tottered through the branches, competing for their parents' attention and food and stretching their still just slightly downy wings, that surely would be supporting their first flight very soon. Buoyed by this and the still warm but by now more comfortable conditions, we boarded the minibus again in the late afternoon for a short trip to a nearby quarry.
A partnership between the local community and UK birders has helped to protect a precious habitat. The quarry walls were apricot in the low, golden sunlight, fringed by long grass of a particular shade of bright but soft green and densely perforated. Some holes were home to Sand Martins, but most housed brightly-coloured Red-throated Bee-eaters. The whole quarry was alive with a large breeding colony.
They hung serenely and photogenically from branches, jostled for the best perches, circled the quarry and surrounding fields and trees and thronged those cliffs full of holes. Some peering out, looking very comfortably ensconced, others perched on thresholds, as if they might be exchanging pleasantries with their neighbours.
Not that these were the only avian inhabitants. At this mid-way point of the trip, the variety of species seen then were mostly greeted with a high degree of familiarity and confident identification, but none the less welcome for that. The exceptions were the high-flying Brown-necked Parrots, which caused brief excitement despite the fleeting glimpse. A psittacine contrast came in the shape of a flock of Senegal Parrots. As we watched, they launched repeated raids on the peanut field that was just being harvested and were a wonderful sight of gleaming yellow and green busyness.
The icing on the cake of this inspiring visit was an enthralling experience of hundreds of bee-eaters massing and wheeling over our heads. Filling the sky with a thrilling rush of wings and high-pitched calls for a couple of magical minutes, before retiring to their troglodyte roosts. It lifted all of our spirits and created for us a really special time, when the sheer volume of birds more than made up for the small number added to the species tally that day.
Wordsworth coined the term “spots of time” for moments in nature which touch us through enhanced sensations and sense of meaning. A sense of time suspended, but grounded in reality and with an almost mystical restorative power. Bansang Quarry delivered one of these for me that golden Gambian evening.
Read more about our 'The Gambia' holiday.