I was fortunate enough to spend two weeks in The Gambia in early April of this year. Quite a bit of my time was spent in Bijilo Forest Park (carrying out a small study) where I believed I saw an Ahanta Francolin. The species had not been officially recorded for 8 years according to Sulyman Jobe, the forest manager but a local bird guide believed he too had seen one earlier in the year.
However, I have just received confirmation that the bird has been seen recently and therefore my sighting appears validated. A very special record in a unique place. I logged more than 65 bird species actually seen and our group of 11 collectively managed more than 150 species during the two weeks we were in the area. Not bad for non-list makers!