The Gambia
In The Gambia
The Gambia is a small West African country, bounded by Senegal, with a narrow Atlantic coastline. It’s known for its diverse ecosystems around the central Gambia River. Abundant wildlife in its Kiang West National Park and Bao Bolong Wetland Reserve includes monkeys, leopards, hippos, hyenas and rare birds. The capital, Banjul, and nearby Serrekunda offer access to beaches.
In December 2022 our member Bob Singleton visited The Gambia. Bob since his retirement has developed an interest in photographing wildlife, but is very much a learner when it comes to identifying his subjects.
Following his trip he gave a presentation to the club about his experiences and showed some of the photos he took.
He went with a birdwatching group, not a group of photographers and this had both good and bad points
In his talk Bob outlined how having professional guides really helps in finding birds and animals when you are in new territory with species you don’t know.
However being part of a bird watching group has disadvantages as well because the other members want to move on and find more birds before you have a clear shot and they are often satisfied with distant views through scopes well beyond the working distance of even a long lens.
Bob has changed gear in the last year, moving to a micro 4/3 system. This has benefits and disadvantages and we held a Q&A to discuss how those affected him.
Invertebrates
Tourism
Birds
