Petite Côte

The Petite Côte (Small Coast) area lies a two hour drive south of Dakar.

The village of La Somone, where we stayed, is just north of the major package-tourist area (domaine touristique) at Saly-Portugal.

white butterfly Brown-veined white butterfly (Pioneer white, African caper white), Belenois aurota

locust Krauss's locust, Kraussaria angulifera

baobab trees Baobab trees, Adansonia digitata

Jan-François (6W7RV) and Corrine Lorne own a rent-a-QTH in La Somone called Le Calao (Hornbill) with four efficiency apartments, a ham radio station, a pool, and two cats.

Paul at the gate pool antennas and power lines Paul and JF in the shack Charlotte operating as 6V7H Paul operating the CQ WW CW as 6V7D

tower vertical antenna antennas over the shack antenna farm main tower antenna

JF is an avid bird-watcher.

whydah?? whydah?? whydah?? whydahs?? African silverbill, Euodice cantans

yellow-fronted canary yellow-fronted canary Yellow-fronted canary, Crithagra mozambica

African mourning dove Laughing dove, Spilopelia senegalensis

male red-cheeked cordon bleu Red-cheeked cordon-bleu, Uraeginthus bengalus

olive-bellied sunbird female Northern double-collared sunbird, Cinnyris reichenowi

Corrine is a gardener.

bougainvilliea flowers along the wall

spider in garden Lobed argiope, Argiope lobata

green chameleon Senegal chameleon, Chamaeleo senegalensis

gecko lizard Female (or juvenile) common agama, Agama agama

The Réserve de la Somone, a community-owned bird sanctuary, includes the lagoon between La Somone and Popenguine, the next village to the north. It is home to 150 species of birds, especially ospreys and grey pelicans. JF came along on our visit there.

woman clamming

fiddlr crabs West African fiddler crabs, Afruca tangeri

white egret Great egret, Ardea alba

terns West African crested terns, Thalasseus albididorsalis

terns mixed flock of terns

osprey flying juvenile black kite, Milvus migrans

osprey taking off osprey standing in water osprey osprey osprey Osprey, Pandion haliaetus

grey heron flying grey heron grey heron taking off Grey heron, Ardea cinerea

great cormorants White-breasted (great) cormorants, Phalacrocorax carbo lucidus

whimbrel? Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus

?? Eurasian oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus

whimbrel?? Bar-tailed godwit, Limosa lapponica

grey (pink-backed) pelican grey (pink-backed) pelican flying grey (pink-backed) pelican flying grep (pink-backed) pelican flying Pink-backed pelican, Pelecanus rufescens

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Last modified 12 April 2026