Bakuto, Kuto
· The Gambia
This was our first stop. We stayed here for 2.5 weeks. Here the key marketing word is “Chris” and it is incredibly well used, dropped into nearly every sentence. The hotel was relatively small, with its own bird watching platform that looks out over the creek, quiet gardens, except at night when the frogs start to sing. In the morning the dawn chorus that wakes you is the black kites. The overnight sounds are fruit bats. It’s all rather pleasant. We alternated our days, a day on the beach, a day bird watching. When on the beach we made use of the local restaurant sunbeds, free so long as you had at least one drink. We brought fruit from the fruit sellers for lunch, always finishing the day with a few lengths of the hotel pool. Other days we walked around the golf course, creek and “bike path” watching the local birds. And the “Chris”, this is Packham. He’s a regular here.
Bakuto, Kuto Pool at the hotel Bakuto, Kuto Pigs African jacana Domestic pig, Yellow billed ox pecker. The pig just wander free Black winged stilt Red-billed hornbill A canoe down the Kuto creek with a guide is a tpical pass time in Kuto Laughing dove Monkey Long tailed glossy starling Monkey Sacred ibis Mourning collared dove Greenshank Malachite kingfisher Pied kingfisher Giant kingfisher White throated cormorant Wire tailed swallow Wattled lapwing Wattled lapwing Western grey plantain eater Pied kingfisher Western Reef Heron Western Reef Heron Blue breasted kingfisher Senegal Thick Knee Grey Heron Spur winged lapwing Black winged stilt Senegal Thick Knee Grey Heron Hamerkop Pearl spotted owlet Abyssinian roller Senegal Coucal Bearded barbet Red-billed hornbill Green wood hoopoe Red billed firefinch Bronze mannikin Beautiful sunbird Oriole warbler Broad billed roller Lizard buzzard 11th tee on the golf course Sunset on Kotu beach Lunch on the beach Full breakfast at the hotel Cats at the hotel Cats at the hotel Pool at the hotel Little bee eater Fine spotted woodpecker Yellow billed shrike Senegal parrot Ring-necked parakeet Long tailed glossy starling Fourth hole on the golf course Pied crows Giant tortoise Giant tortoise Pied crow Black winged stilt Whimbrel Broad billed roller Spur winged lapwing, Wattled lapwing Remains of bridge across the mudflats Little egret Black kites Whimbrel Great White Egret, Little egret, Western Reef Heron Great White Egret Western Reef Heron Black kite Monkey Monkey Tracey Squirrel