Success with Megan McCubbin's birdwatching tours

FEATURED Updated on Dec 12, 2024 by Ella Brundle

Blog > Success with Megan McCubbin's birdwatching tours

The 2024 birdwatching itineraries with celebrity wildlife presenter, Megan McCubbin were a hit and we are delighted to be able to offer them again in 2025! Here are this year's highlights, from Megan.

After two hugely successful birdwatching trips with celebrity wildlife TV presenter Megan McCubbin in January 2024, we have an exciting rundown of some of the highlights. These three and four-night itineraries were the perfect opportunity to experience The Gambia’s fascinating birdlife.

Accompanied by award-winning local guide, Malick Suso, as well as wildlife filmmaker, James Stevens, Megan took two small groups of birding enthusiasts to some fantastic hotspots. With 600+ species of bird that call The Gambia home, there are numerous opportunities to spot them with expert guides.

Each guest taking part in the tours with Megan, stays at Bakotu Hotel, a small and friendly hotel with a unique charm. A birdwatching deck overlooking the Kotu stream is the perfect place to add more birds to your list during downtime.

Kingfisher tour - Day two highlights -NOW FULL

Megan thinks back to day two of her trip, a very successful day on all accounts.

Beginning the day with tea and coffee at the hotel, an air-conditioned minibus transfer took the group to Tujereng. Megan’s guests were rewarded with a wonderful walk through the scrubland, the perfect place to add more birds to the spotted list. Megan recalls the myriad of species she and the group saw, “I’ll never forget the swift flybys of the common wattle eye, which teased us by flying back and forth over our heads.” The group also spotted a cardinal woodpecker, a golden oriole and a beautiful swallow-tailed bee-eater.

After an exciting time in Tujereng, the group headed to the second stop of the day, Tanji fishing village. This fantastic spot in The Gambia is a hustle and bustle of bright colours and a hub of activity. Locals go about their day, hauling in their catch and selling the fish fresh from the nets. Whilst much of the group were surprised at just how busy the village is, they all agreed at how lovely it was to see the gulls and seabirds, as well as the local culture.

Once everyone was refreshed from an afternoon break, either taking a dip in the hotel pool, reading a book, or a well-deserved nap, the group headed back out into the local area, this time to Brufut Forest. The group had a few specific species in mind, as there are very few places around the world where you can see a long-tailed nightjar! This was then followed by sitings of Verreaux’s eagle-owl, white-faced owl and even a glimpse of a klaas cuckoo.

Osprey tour - Day one highlights

Megan carried out two tours in January, here are her highlights from group two’s first day.

On day one, the group began the itinerary with a riverboat cruise from Denton Bridge, and what a fabulous way to start the week! This trip is a wonderful way to get out on the water and discover the birdlife that make their homes in the mangroves. Megan says “I had high hopes for this cruise, and it did not disappoint. From blue-cheeked bee-eaters putting on a display to the enormous goliath heron perched beautifully at the water's edge...”

During the day cruise, guests got fabulous views of parakeets, ospreys and yellow-billed kites. Whilst on the deck below, the group were nearly at eye level with birds like the African darter and sacred ibis.

The morning was then topped off by a visit to Calypso Bar in Cape Point, a very popular spot that happened to boast wonderful sightings of an unusual visitor, a black casqued hornbill! A fantastic way for the group to round off the first day of the itinerary and an exciting insight into all that was to come.

Feedback from guests has been excellent, here’s what one happy customer commented on her return: "I thoroughly enjoyed the birdwatching trips with Megan McCubbin and James Stevens. They were both delightful, excellent leaders and very knowledgeable, not only about Gambian birds, but about bugs and butterflies, the environment and The Gambia in general. They made the week really interesting and fun." Janet Hoptroff.