Back from the Bijagós archipelago

We have just arrived from a new expedition to Guinea-Bissau. This time logistics were far easier to arrange, both because we start to know some tips about “how to move and where to go in the Bijagós”, but also because we didn’t aim to catch waders. This was somehow a relief, but worms and clams proved to be sometimes also hard to collect!

The expedition team

Our first work area was located in the northeast of the main island of Bubaque, a place called Praia das Escadinhas. We previously knew that place, since we have worked a few days there last year, what we didn’t know was that the mud was incredible soft in some areas!!! We spend the first days filming foraging waders, collecting droppings and carrying out a systematic invertebrate sampling in this area. Bird densities are rather low, which obliges finding and pursuing the birds across extensive muddy areas under temperatures over 30º C. At this time we were regretting not working during the night…

Escadinhas Beach

Invertebrate sampling at Escadinhas

We did a similar job at Bruce, the longest beach of Bubaque at the south end of the island, and at Bijante, on the opposite side of Escadinhas. Here, at least some of the intertidal areas are mostly composed of sandy sediments and, accordingly, both the invertebrate fauna and part of the wader community is different from Escadinhas. At the mudflats of Bijante we found the first area where small bivalves were apparently abundant. Of course, Red knots had discovered it first!

 

 

Flock of foraging Red knots at Bijante

Apart from us and the waders, there were others digging in the mud. Bijagós’ women and children collect blood cockles (Anadara senilis) and razor shells (Tagelus adansoni) to eat.

Shellfishers

The Bijagós hold huge numbers of different tern species, including wintering birds from Europe and resident birds that breed in small sandy islets around the archipelago. We spend a couple of days at Orango, the most offshore island of the archipelago, and had the opportunity to visit a Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia) colony, in the scope of a collaboration with other Portuguese researchers.  Terns are quite asynchronous: there were couples still incubating their eggs and others with flying juveniles.

Pelicans and terns

Mixed flock of Royal and Caspian Terns

 

As always, when exploring new sites, we bumped into exciting new landscapes, plants and animals. We leave here some photos documenting such an adventure.

 

Black heron (Egretta ardesiaca) using their wings like an umbrella to shade the water and attract fishes.

Crocodiles at Orango

Weird (but beautiful) flower