Winter fieldwork in Senegal
This winter, our team spent three weeks in Senegal, traveling from France (Pierrick, Fanny, Julie, and Jimmy) and from Finland (a real thermal shock for Tuomas). We were welcomed by local rangers first in the Saloum Delta and then at the famous Djoudj National Bird Park, on the border with Mauritania.
Special thanks in particular to Idrissa Ndiaye and Abdou Ndiaye, who accompanied us throughout this adventure and discovered bird ringing alongside us.
The goal of the mission was to equip a large number of waders and Garganey with GPS transmitters, since these species are scarce in our European countries during winter.
Conditions in the field were tough: heat, mud, large areas of habitat… We also faced the Harmattan, a continental trade wind that brought days of sandstorms. Not ideal for observations or mist-netting.
However, working every day among thousands of Greater Flamingos, Pelicans, and Whistling ducks was unforgettable. We explored vast rice fields, small remote ponds, and lakes stretching as far as the eye could see. We even discovered a peculiar pond with an unexpectedly high salinity, which we nicknamed “La Petite Camargue,” with its pinkish waters and salt crusts. Luckily, crocodiles do not frequent this type of water body (at least, it seems!), unlike waders.
By contrast, Garganeys, although very numerous, ignored the kilograms of rice we brought for them, and none were willing to enter our various traps. We hope our colleagues will have better luck this winter in Chad and Mauritania.
Although the results were below our expectations in terms of captures, the overall outcome remains very positive:
- 3 female Ruff
- 7 Spotted Redshanks
- 14 Common Redshanks equipped with GPS tags
Some individuals returned to Europe as early as spring, providing valuable data on the end of the wintering period, pre-nuptial migration, and, in some cases, even breeding in Northern Europe. These individuals add to the now substantial dataset of the Habitrack project, which is essential for the conservation of habitats of vulnerable bird species at the European scale. They also help improve local knowledge for example in Djoudj National Park.
Once again, congratulations to the field team, and many thanks to the ornithologists who welcomed us on site and made these captures possible.
Julie Deschamps, Field engineer at LIENSS-CNRS, La Rochelle, France
Pre-nuptial migration of waders captured in Senegal between their wintering grounds and their breeding areas in Russia or Scandinavia.
