Weather
Information 
If
you want to do or see something in particular on Bird
Island then check here
General
Points to Note:
Regardless
of the time of year you visit Bird Island, there is always something to
see and do. It just depends on what you want to see and experience.
Please
remember that you can do NOTHING on Bird Island without a lot of
effort!! 
Fairy Terns, Common
Noddy terns and White-tailed Tropic Birds can be seen nesting throughout
the year.
Bird Island has no
light pollution so from November to April the night
skies are particularly magnificent with clear views of all the major
southern hemisphere constellations as well as some of the northern ones. We have no lights in our grounds at
night for three reasons:
1 To allow our guests to see the clear night skies
2 To provide minimum distraction to our feathered residents
3. Nesting Green Turtles and hatchlings can become badly disorientated
by the presence of too much artificial light and can lose their way back
to the sea as a result.
Throughout the year at
least 20 different bird species can be seen. Included in these are
resident seabirds and land birds as well as non-breeding migrants. Bird Island can claim the highest number of first time
records for any single island of the Seychelles. With 97 birds recorded,
Bird Island is very close to being the first island to record 100 non-breeding migratory birds.
For the really keen bird watcher the best months to visit the island is
October, November and April, May. These are the months most affected by the
changing winds from SE to NW and rare visitors can be blown off course
in a westerly squall and they make landfall on Bird Island to rest
before continuing their long journey north or south - depending on the
time of year.
For a complete list of birds recorded on Bird Island as well as
interesting information about the various sightings see our
list of birds.
The best time for snorkelling is between October and April, when the sea
is calm and clear. During the South East winds the sea is not usually
suitable for snorkelling as the snorkelling spots are exposed to the
wind making the sea rough and visibility poor. Fortunately swimming on
the west coast in front of the Lodge is unaffected as this part of the
island is sheltered from the South Easterly winds during this time of
year and the sea is usually fairly calm.
Bird Island
- Month by Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
July
Aug
Sept
Oct Nov
Dec
Click
on the month you are interested in.
 January/February
1. Weather:
Very
hot and still - NW wind, sea normally calm and clear, excellent
snorkelling. Occasional rain showers. Good sunsets.
2. Migrant Birds:
A good variety of migrant and vagrant birds can be seen. Visit the
news page for
recently recorded migrants.
3. Hawksbill Turtles:
Still laying in large numbers.
Please note on the news page of the website we post expected hatching
dates. If you particularly
want to see hatchlings then you should stay
for 3 or so days during the
peak hatching period between January
and March. There is an excellent chance of seeing
the baby turtles
emerging from the nest and making their way to the sea at this time. For further
information about Turtles and our monitoring programme please visit our
turtle
information pages. For expected turtle hatching dates please
check our news
page.
4. Common Noddy Terns:
These nest throughout the year.
However there are two peak breeding seasons. January to March and June
to September. During this time they can be seen going through courtship rituals,
nest building and incubating the eggs. Hatching starts
about 2nd week of February and nests
can be seen
on the ground around
the chalets and virtually every chalet has a nesting Noddy
close by. They also nest in the crowns of the coconut
trees.
 March/April
1.
Weather:
Very
hot and still - doldrums period .
Sea normally very calm and clear, excellent
snorkelling. Good sunsets
2.
Migrant Birds:
As the winds begin to change, migrants which
have been on the island for the European winter begin to change into
their summer
plumage in preparation for returning to their northern breeding grounds.
3.
Sooty
Terns: beginning to gather in
small numbers over the island in preparation for breeding,
gradually increasing in numbers until hundreds of thousands of birds are
swirling over the northern end of the island. Towards the end of April
they begin to land in the colony area establishing their individual
territories.
4. Lesser Noddy
Terns: start arriving, in
preparation for their breeding season.
These terns are smaller and blacker than the
Common Noddy
They nest in trees around the
island. We have approx. 8900
nesting pairs. We do have
Lesser Noddies roosting throughout the year on the island, but during
the SE they have an intensive period of breeding. These birds first bred
on Bird Island 1980/81, now there is in excess of 8000 breeding pairs.
5. Hawksbill
Turtles: The last few nests of the Hawksbill Turtle eggs have
hatched and made their way down to the sea.
 May
1. Weather:
SE wind begins to blow. It
starts to get slightly cooler as the wind kicks in.
2.
Migrant Birds: Odd squalls which tend to bring in
migrants which are passing on their way north. Once the SE sets in,
some migrants leave. We do always have migrants
throughout the year on the island, it is believed these are juvenile,
non breeding birds.
3. Sooty Terns: From about the middle of
the month they start to land in the evenings each day a little earlier,
until at the end of the month they are present all day on the ground.
It is possible that some lay in the central areas of the colony late in
the month.
4. Lesser Noddy
Terns: The eggs start to hatch and parents can be seen
feeding the chicks.
 June
1. Weather: by now (in a normal year –
what is normal these days?) the SE should be blowing steadily.
Comparatively cooler, on the
west coast the sea is fairly calm. June to
September the water is not so clear but snorkelling is not too bad.
2. Sooty Terns:
The majority of eggs are laid. Egg
laying is usually synchronous, with eggs being
laid over about a 10 day period - Incubation about 28 days.
3. Common Noddies:
These nest throughout the year
but this is the beginning of the second peak period
and so they can be seen going through courtship rituals,
nest building and incubating the eggs. The
nests are all around the chalets on the ground and virtually every
chalet has a nesting Common Noddy close by.
Birds which didn't breed earlier in the year now begin their courtship rituals and by the end of
the month they are incubating their eggs.
4.Green
Turtles: which lay throughout the
year are more common June to September. They lay however at night, so
the chances of seeing one are slim. We do however monitor the nests and
obviously tell guests that a nest is ready to hatch and take the guests
there to see the hatchlings emerge.
 July
1. Weather:
SE winds are now well established. This means that it is pleasantly cool
(27º -28º)
It is usually very dry and rain is unlikely.
2. Sooty Terns:
First eggs are beginning to hatch. Late afternoon, parents come in with
food and chicks can be seen being fed.
If the first egg is lost then after about
14 days another will be laid. So this will obviously hatch later, so
into late July adults can still be seen incubating eggs.
3. Common Noddy Terns:
Towards the end of the month the first chicks
begin to hatch.
 August/September
1. Weather: SE still blowing
steadily, cooler by comparison to NW, humidity less.
Rainy days are not unusual in September. Snorkelling is not good as the
sea can be quite rough in the reef areas and not very clear.
2. Sooty Terns: Towards the end of August beginning of
September the earlier chicks start to fledge.
3. Common Noddy Terns:
The majority of chicks start hatching
during the 1st week of
August. By the middle to end of September the
majority have fledged
 October/November/December
1. Weather:
SE begins to lessen, becomes hotter and the sea is
calmer and is clearer. The
NW winds should set in by November
and it is much warmer and squally showers are
possible.From now into December the wind will from time to time
blow quite strong from the west, the NW should have
set in by November. Good sunsets.
2. Sooty Terns:
The Sooties have virtually all gone by
the end of October, leaving only the weak behind.
3. Hawksbill
Turtles: start emerging
from the sea to lay their eggs
in October. they increase daily in numbers laying so that by mid
November to mid December it is possible to record 3 or 4 new nests
daily. The eggs which were laid in early October will begin to hatch at
the beginning of December.
4. Migrants: This is a very interesting time bird wise. Migrants and vagrants start to come in.
For further information on this topic please visit
list of birds for a lot of
very interesting facts about our feathered visitors. For the true
birdwatcher this is really the time of year to visit. (if
you’ve seen one sooty tern you’ve seen 3 million!)
if you read this bit on our website you will see why, this is the
time of year we get all sorts of strange birds.
Hawksbills start laying in earnest.
The
peak of laying is November to mid February. Hatchlings start emerging
±58 days after the eggs are laid and will continue hatching until April.
The reef dries out on full moon and new
moon in November,December/January and this allows guests (wearing suitable shoes) to
walk out and see what is living out on the reef and in the little pools
left behind by the receding tide. The weather is hot and the sea conditions are excellent for
snorkelling and swimming, the sea is usually calm and very clear.
Weather
Information |
