Large bird swimming by mangroves
Bird place of the month,  Birds,  Senegal,  Travel galleries

Gallery: the birds of the Saloum Delta

January 20, 2024 / 61 Comments

Senegal’s Saloum Delta is a watery world of mangrove swamps, small islets, creeks and shallow lagoons. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect place for a bird to live. And live here they do, in their hundreds. Of the 650 bird species in Senegal, 200 species can be seen around this delta.

Part of the delta is protected as a national park, and designated a UNESCO Heritage Site, largely due to the numerous shell mounds, which ‘are direct testimony of sustainable and very ancient socio-economic practices’. The mounds were created over the centuries by people who subsisted on cockle fishing in the shallows of the mangrove lagoons. They simply discarded the shells or used them as building materials.

In addition to the village homes, sparse and scattered across the many small islands both natural and manmade, there is a sprinkling of lodges aimed at tourists, many of whom come here specifically for bird-watching. But most of the region is still unpopulated, apart from the wildlife of course.

While it wasn’t the birds alone that drew us here, they were undeniably part of the attraction of the beautiful Souimanga Lodge where we stayed. The lodge has decks overlooking the mangroves where I spent considerable time relaxing and reading, but always with a camera beside me to capture any interesting bird activity. Around the lodge too there were plenty of other non-water species. These were harder to photograph but with patience and luck I got quite a few.

Georgina of Navasola Nature has introduced a new challenge, Bird place of the month. I’m not a serious bird-watcher but I do love to photograph them and I can think of quite a few places I’ve visited that would be perfect for this challenge. So for my first contribution here is my first ‘bird place’, the Saloum Delta.

Disclaimer: as I said, I’m no expert so I apologise if I’ve identified any birds incorrectly (corrections very welcome!)

Two beige, black and white birds on sticks in the water

Spur-Winged Lapwings

Large white bird wading
Large white bird on sticks in the water

Little Egrets

Large grey bird wading

Grey heron

Senegal thick-knee

Brown bird wading
Black and white bird on a fence

Pied Kingfisher

Beige dove paddling in a pool

Palm Dove

Two brown birds in a tree

Common Bulbuls

Large grey bird with a big bill in a tree

Red-billed Hornbill

Small yellow bird in a bush

Village weaver

Red, blanck and yellow bird on a fence

Yellow Crowned Gonolek

SMall iridescent bird with a long tail

Beautiful Sunbird

[this shot was against the sun so the photo is quite heavily edited to bring out the colours]

Small bird with iridescent wings in a tree

Variable Sunbird female

Two green and yellow birds on a twig

Little Bee Eaters

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