Updated 26 May
2004
Updates on the breeding status of: Sooty Terns, Common and Lesser Noddy
Terns, Tropic Bird and Turtles.
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We hope that you enjoy browsing
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detailed information about the island.
This page is all about what's happening
on the island and how the various conservation projects are progressing.
Weather
The year so far has been
very dry. The guests and Sooty Terns love the hot dry weather, but
unfortunately the flowers and plants don't! So far this year we have had
only 461 mm rain from January to the end of April. In 2003 we had 845mm
for the same period and in 2002 we had 579mm.
Sooty Terns
 The Sooty Terns are now
pouring into the colony area and we have seen the first eggs on 15th
May. However the peak of egg laying won't begin until around the first
week of June. As usual the more bare patches in the central areas are
being occupied first, with the birds occupying the outer areas last.
Professor Chris Feare will be arriving on the island on June 19th and
together with a team from the island and a couple of other helpers from
Mahe, the annual search for ringed birds will take place. This involves
walking through the colony very slowly and carefully and looking at the
birds legs to see if they are wearing a metal ring. If one is found they
are carefully caught in a net designed especially for this purpose. The
more people looking means a higher number of rings found. We hope to
have about 8 altogether searching, with about 6 full time searching. It
is very noisy so ear protectors have to be worn as the decibel level can
reach 110 decibels! Birds which were ringed in 1972/73 as nestlings are
still being found and recorded as breeding. In 1993/94/95 chicks were
ringed to try and found out when they first returned to the colony to
breed and at what age.
Turtles
The Hawksbill Turtle
season is now virtually at an end. The Green Turtle laying season
has now begun. We have had 10 nests since 29 February A Green Turtle can lay up to 7
times in a season. Although the Green Turtle nests throughout the
year, the peak season is between May and September.
Unfortunately for the guest, these creatures which are much bigger than the Hawksbill
lay usually at night so it's a lucky guest who will encounter one on a
midnight stroll around the island!
Turtle Statistics since October 2003
Green Turtles:
Since October we have had 14 nests.
Hawksbill Turtles:
The Hawksbill Turtle nesting season which began with our first nest on
30 September has now resulted in 150 nests.
25 May 2004:
164 nests
Total Number of beachings (including
beachings which did not result in a nest):
237
Expected Turtle hatching dates: (Based on an
average 58 days
incubation) - hatching can vary
depending on the temperature and rainfall.
All
Hawksbill Turtles have now hatched. The hatching dates below are for
Green Turtles, of which we have far less.
June: 07, 18, 20, 25,
July: 11
Hatching
Success:
25 May 2004
Nests Hatched:
159
Hatchlings Live:
12394
representing 106 nests
Nests invaded by crabs - all
eggs eaten:
9 nests
Nests - no hatched
eggs all infertile: 7 nests
Nests eroded by wave action:
5 nests
Nests which hatched
earlier than expected
(hatchlings not seen):
32
nests
Due to the normal
pattern of beach sand movement at this time of year we have had to
move 14 turtle nests to a safer location higher up the beach
 Back
to Turtle Project
Birds
Fairy Terns
Recently on the nature tour a very small fairy tern chick was found on
the ground. It was not obvious were it had come from, so Robbie picked
it up and put it next to an adult incubating an egg. The egg he removed
and gave to another Fairy Tern who had just had her egg destroyed by a
pair of Mynah Birds. This was two weeks ago. The adult is feeding the
chick and the egg is being incubated! Watch this space.....
Common Noddies
The Common Noddy nesting season is virtually over for the moment. We
normally have a second nesting period in July and August. Robbie has
started a study on the Common Noddies which nest on the ground to
estimate the nesting success of these birds on the ground. The main
problem with the ground nesting Noddies is that the chick wanders away
from the nesting area. It then either gets lost, or is attacked by other
Noddies whose territory it wanders into. Whereas tree nesting Noddy
chicks tend to stay in their nest in the tree. The Common Noddy with the
Albinism mentioned in the last news page is well accepted by the other
Noddies as they sit sunning themselves on the beach.
Lesser Noddies
A lot of nest building
activity as well as egg incubation at present. The first chicks have
already hatched. We are at present taking part in a survey to check the
breeding success of the Lesser Noddy. This is co-ordinated by the
Seychelles Seabirds Group which is formed by the islands which have
populations of nesting seabirds. To do this we have selected 15
different areas of nesting Lesser Noddies and taken 10 sample nests in
each of the areas. Each week the nest is checked and the contents
recorded. In this way after the last nest has been vacated it is easy to
work out the nesting success. Natalie our new chambermaid, who spent 6
months on Aldabra as a ranger, has joined our Conservation team and is helping with
the Lesser Noddy survey.
Tropic Birds:
Recent ringing has now brought the total of ringed birds to 17 Chicks
and 37 adults. We now have several new nesting sites established which brings
the total of nest sites to 37. There is a lot of competition for nesting
sites. We are planning to open up the area which borders the eastern
side of the airstrip. There are many mature Casuarina trees which could
offer potential nesting sites in their buttress roots, but unfortunately
they are total choked by Scaevola. We have started to cut a small path
parallel to the runway and are clearing around the trees to allow access to the
Tropic Birds. This path will also make a shady walk similar to that
which runs parallel to the west coast and goes to the Sooty Tern viewing
platform.
Back
to Tropic Bird project
Migrants/Vagrants:
We have had very
little in the way of unusual vagrants or migrants. The weather has been
very calm and the anticipated westerly winds common in April which blow
north bound migrants off course didn't happen and the most we could
record were 3 Barn Swallows and a Sand Martin which were hawking for
insects over the airstrip. None were around for longer than 2 days.
Migrant Count.
This count gives the maximum number of Birds seen on any one day since
15 May. All the migrants which were obviously moulting their winter
plumage have now left the island including the Black-winged Stilt and
Oriental Pratincole.
Most Common migrants:
2 Curlew, 23 Whimbrels, 21 Grey Plovers, 2 Little Terns, 30
Turnstones, 5 Greater Sandplovers, 7 Lesser Sandplovers, 9 Crested
Terns, 147 Frigate Birds, 9 Curlew Sandpipers, 42 Bridled terns, 4 Crab Plovers,
4 Greenshanks,
1 Sanderling, 2 Roseate Terns
Rare vagrants:
3 Barn Swallows, 1 Sand Martin
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