Congratulations to our Senior Researcher, Micheal Colley, who is on his way to Ottenby fågelstation. Michael will be conducting ringing research in Sweden for the next 3 months. We are all very proud of Micheal's achievements and wish him a safe and successful trip. – at Gambia

There appear to be no recent records for The Gambia of Common Cuckoo. We would be interested to hear of any.

An interesting bird caught on 7th March. Tentatively identified as Common Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus. If identified as such from DNA, it would be the first modern record for The Gambia. – at Gambia

Savi's Warbler (Locustella luscinioides) the 6th record for The Gambia. The previous 5 records were all caught and ringed at Kartong Bird Observatory. Another great record thanks to the hard work of @rogwalsh working in the challenging environment of the Kartong reedbeeds. – at Gambia

The last two weeks at Kartong have produced some outstanding rarities. Amur Falcon, a first for The Gambia, African Finfoot, the first record at Kartong and Abdim's Stork, the first record at Kartong and the first record for The Gambia since 1990. Photos G.van lit, M. Delmeer – at Gambia

We were happy to host George Smith from @ospreylf during his visit to TG. George joined Emmanuel on the Hallahin to count Ospreys having 51 sightings. George kindly delivered a gift from Tim Mackrill, a copy of his excellent monograph, 'The Osprey ' for the KBO research library. – at Gambia

Abdim's Stork, Ciconia abdimii. Found at 1130hrs 13th February 2025 at Kartong Bird Observatory. The first Gambian record since 1990. Only 6 previous records in The Gambia. – at Gambia

An excellent morning ringing at Berekolong Preserve, which produced 93 birds. This included 2 Yellow White-eye, Zosterops senegalensis, only the 5th and 6th individuals of this species caught at Kartong. Many thanks to Sunkaru Touray @stouraymd for supporting our research. – at Gambia

Black Scimitarbill, Rhinopomastus aterrimus, found by Emmanuel Jatta and Giankomo Costalunga this morning. This is only the second record for Kartong Bird Observatory. The previous record was in 2011. – at Gambia

Our first ringing session at a new site in Kartong produced some excellent birds. Star bird was a Yellow-breasted Apalis. This species is very localised in The Gambia, and we ring only a few each year. Many thanks to Sunkaru Touray @stouraymd for permission to operate here.

We were very pleased to host the renowned bird illustrator and artist Hans Larsson at our ringing session today. Hans kindly donated a signed and personally illustrated copy of his renowned work; 'Seabirds, The New Identification Guide', to the KBO Research library. – at Gambia

A record-breaking Hooded Vulture sighting thanks to Marcus Nash @OrioleBirding. Green FK ringed Saruja CRD 13/11/24 resighted: 22/11/24 Senegambia Hotel WCD 129 miles in 9 days. The first recorded movement between the population groups we are studying. Photo: Steve and Judy Down – at Gambia

Levaillant's Cuckoo, Clamator levaillantii, is a summer breeding inter-African migrant to West Africa. This bird was ringed as a breeding adult in November 2023 and retrapped at the same site exactly a year later. The first ever record of breeding site fidelity in this species. – at Gambia

Congratulations to Naffie Sarr, who is the first Gambian woman to attain a @_BTO bird ringing licence. Naffie has worked for KBO for six years and has completed the Evolving Conservation Leadership course with the @ospreylf . Well done, Naffie, we are all extremely proud of you. – at Gambia

Wood Warbler, Phylloscopus sibilatrix. Caught ringed and sampled this morning at Stalla Lodge on the Hallahin River. A very rare species in West Africa, this constitutes only the 3rd record for The Gambia. – at Gambia

White-backed Night Heron, Gorsachius leuconotus, is a new species for KBO. Local and very secretive, this bird was caught before first light in a large mesh net. – at Gambia

Our new website: kartongbirdobservatory.com is now live. Many thanks to Wendy James @wendy_TRG for all her hard work producing this. It outlines our research projects, team bios and provides an overview of the habitats we operate in at Kartong. More pages will be added soon. – at Gambia