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31 January 2006
Welcome to the news page of our
website.
This page is all about what's
happening on the island and how the various conservation
projects are progressing.
If
you would like us to advise you when we have an update of the
news page or a new web page please email us
at:
thelodge@birdislandseychelles.com
Special Discounts available for return guests and also
for first time visitors for reservations made via the
website.
Visit our
prices page or contact us
directly.
Please note that we have NOT Increased our rates for
this year. This means that for the 5th consecutive year we
have not increased our rates (Unlike the majority of
properties in Seychelles)
Bird Island website in French now
nearing completion!
We have been working on
translating the whole website into French, the finishing
touches are just being added and by the end of February it
will be up and running. Our many thanks go to Pascal and Anne
Guillaume who took on this mammoth task. They are regular
guests and actually volunteered to do it. Anne says she learnt
so much about Bird Island as a result. We hope that our many
French visitors to the site will now be able to enjoy the site
even more in their own language.
Seychelles Sailing Cup:
Early in 2005 we were asked if we
would participate The Seychelles Sailing
Cup which would take place in January 2006, the
idea being that yachts would race between several islands each
of which would be a staging post and a special evening would
be held there for the competitors.
The race started
 at
Paradise Hotel on Praslin on Sunday 22 and
finished Baie St Anne Praslin on Saturday 28th January.
The yachts arrived on Bird Island from Denis Island on
Wednesday 25th. There wasn't a race between the two islands
but a fishing competition. On arrival at the island all the
fish were brought ashore for weighing. The biggest fish from
each boat was weighed. When the weigh-in was complete our
staff prepared the fish for Barbequing on the grills that had
been set up next to four huge bonfires on the sand spit at the
north end of the island well away from the hotel.. The race
participants had a real 'desert island castaway' experience.
In all there were 15 boats and approximately 120 people.
Wedding
 It was touch and go whether or
not the rain would hold off for our guests who planned to get
married at the North Point on January. It
had been showery and windy all day and the
ceremony was planned for 6pm. Looking out to sea we decided to
bring it forward an hour as we didn't think the rain would
hold off until 6. The wedding party (armed with umbrellas) all
made it to the North Point and fingers crossed that it
wouldn't rain for at least half an hour. The first spots came
in as the register was being signed - a blessing on the happy
couple we all said. Photos were taken and toasts drunk then
with the rain bearing down on us we all hurried back to the
Lodge some 800 metres away. Most of us were drenched by the
time we got back!
Turtles
It
would have been very unusual this month if a guest staying at
least two nights has missed seeing a turtle. Some where even
lucky enough to see bay turtle hatchlings as well as nests
which were laid in late October have no started to
hatch.
Our first turtle nests
have begun to hatch and turtles are laying every day and the
first nests laid in October have already
hatching.
This season we are making every effort not to interfere
with hatchlings, and as much as possible allow them to emerge
naturally - usually after dark. It is now believed, that
whilst we were helping the young turtles to get to the sea
around sunset time and ensuring that there was no predation by
crabs on the beach, many would be eaten by fish, still active
at that time.
After dark, most of the
fish are sleeping, and although a few baby turtles may be
taken by crabs on the beach many more would escape predation
as they enter the water, where they are most vulnerable.
Turtle Statistics for the season 16
July 2005 to 15 July 2006
The first Green Turtle of the
season laid on 20th July 2005.
The first Hawksbill laid on 27th
September 2005
New turtles tagged : 17
Green Turtles:
Total number of emergences: 20
Total number of nests: 10
Hawksbill Turtles: Total number of emergences:
239
Total number of
nests: 158
31 December 2005: Nests in
total: 168
Total Number of
emergences (including those which did not result in a
nest):
259
Estimated hatching
dates: (Based on
an average 58 days incubation)
February: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09,10,
11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24,
25, 26, 27, 28
March: 01,
02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,
17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22
Nests
Relocated: 26 (in danger of being eroded
away by the sea.)
Nests lost as a result of
erosion:
0
 Back to Turtle Project
Birds
Tropic
Birds:
The current
number of established nesting sites is 79. These
nesting sites are scattered all over the island, with the main
concentration around the chalets. To date we have ringed
119 adults and 65 chicks.
This project
was begun in July 2002 and we are able to see which pairs use
which nesting sites and when, they do not tend to move sites
as a rule. As yet none of the chicks ringed since 2002 have
nested yet.
Currently
there are 4 Tropic Birds incubating eggs and 11
chicks of varying ages
Back to Tropic Bird
project
Common Noddy Terns
The Common Noddies are all now at different stages,
a few are still nest building, the majority are incubating
eggs but already chicks have started to hatch in the last
couple of weeks.
Migrants/Vagrants:
Unfortunately the unidentified
gull which was featured last month died. It was very thin and
obviously hadn't been feeding well. It has been frozen and is
awaiting identification by gull experts.
Migrant Count - Since last News Update:
This is Robbie's weekly count with the maximum
number of birds seen on any day since the last update on
31st December is below:
January
192
Frigatebirds, 51 Grey Plovers, 17 Lesser Sandplovers, 38
Greater Sandplovers, 8 Crab Plovers, 67 Whimbrels, 230
Turnstones, 15 Sanderlings, 31 Curlew Sandpipers, 1 Golden
Plover, 6 Ringed Plover, 0 Bar-tailed Godwit, 8
Greenshanks, 15 Crested Terns, 120 Bridled Terns, 215 Saunders
Little Terns, 1 Common Sandpiper, 0 Oriental
Pratincole, 2 Common Pratincoles, 0 Red-footed
Booby, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Eurasian Curlews, 4 Moorhens, 1
Brown Booby, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 White Wagtail, 1
European Cuckoo, 1 Jacobin Cuckoo.
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