Sitting at home now in splendid self-isolation on a sunny March afternoon, it seems hardly possible that exactly two months ago I was in West Africa with about a dozen ‘Osprey’ companions from Rutland, Dorset and Cumbria as part of the eighth expedition to Gambia and Senegal. Actually, to be precise, on this afternoon two months ago , we spent several wonderful hours exploring the Osprey-rich lake and beach at an area which became almost our second home during the week – Gunjur Quarry. 

How to pick out a few highlights from a trip that was, from beginning to end, eventful, inspiring and intellectually challenging? Gambia, a small and still developing African country, faces its future with renewed optimism and a youthful vitality so evident in the conversations of the young people we met – students, aspiring conservationists, future parents and educators all. OLF is absolutely on track to support and encourage young men and women like Dembo and Naffie. Their enthusiasm, developing confidence and experience shone through as they interacted with us, whether watching Ospreys together, assisting with ringing and recording of a hundred and one different species at Kartong Bird Observatory, or simply chatting over a meal or a drink. Their heartfelt goodbyes at the end of the trip are an abiding memory. This is conservation in action – not doing it for them, but training them how to do it themselves.

Ten Ospreys at Gunjur

And then there were the Ospreys, of course, almost wherever we went, and in sufficient number and variety to satisfy even the most ardent and fanatical Osprey watcher! And we had a few of those with us – tirelessly pursuing individual Ospreys in temperatures approaching 40°C over rough terrain and through murky waters in order to get a glimpse through powerful optics of that all-important leg-ring number. And the rewards for all of us were fantastic, as our friends’ photographs revealed the crucial evidence of these fantastic birds’ long journeys here from their northern breeding grounds. A translocated juvenile from the Poole Harbour Osprey Project, a bird from Cumbria, several from Germany, France and Spain, one from Finland – wow, what a journey that one has made! All of them, the ringed ones, that is, adult or juvenile, are carefully logged, the relevant authorities in each country informed, the details meticulously recorded in notebooks for future use. One, a German Osprey, has been encountered in the same locality on every expedition since 2011! We are amazed when we work out how many miles that one has travelled to and fro! Frustratingly, a very special Osprey from Rutland was in the Gunjur area too, but we didn’t know about him until we were home! He is a 2019 juvenile male, 056, hatched in Manton Bay and celebrated as the 150th Rutland chick since the first one in 2001. We missed him by a few days – but he has since been seen several times by our young African friend and one of our (not so young!) returning Osprey experts.

For me and many others in the group, the supporting cast of well over 200 species is almost as important as the Ospreys. Many a time, as some went off in pursuit of a possible new Osprey, I lingered to study a species close by and new to me – maybe the Northern Black Flycatcher flitting around on the summit of a baobab tree, or the group of ten Black Herons resting in a nearby pool and occasionally adopting the ‘umbrella posture’ as they searched for food below the surface.  Then in the Casamance region of Senegal one day, we alighted in rapture from our bus to watch flocks of elegant Blacked Crowned Cranes, when Tim suddenly called ‘Bateleur’ ! There it was, soaring above us at no great height, like some mysterious, gigantic inter-galactic spacecraft – the legendary Bateleur Eagle. It has to be seen to be believed. Back on the bus we are about to leave when I spot a white-rumped, tern-like pale brown bird dashing around – a Collared Pratincole! It lands. The photographers are happy.

Black-crowned Cranes by Sarah Box

We visited Gambian schools and distributed letters from young people in two Rutland schools. By the end of the week, we had neatly written replies, with drawings, to take back to Brooke Priory and Whissendine. The letters from both ends talk of many things – Ospreys, of course, but also families and home-life, schools, sports, pets, and – in the case of a Gambian school – the joy of having a recently installed fresh water supply at school! Another Gambian school sends us a delegation of older students who run an Osprey Club for the younger ones, with the help of teachers and our friend and resident OLF representative JJ.

An unforgettable week, made even more special by the enlightened OLF leadership and genial company. Mealtimes at our splendid eco-lodge were most entertaining, not just owing to the excellent food and the flowing Gambian beers, but also to the frequent laughter, the impassioned discussions, and the overwhelming sense of togetherness and friendship. We will return.  

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