Birds of the Island

Although more widely known for it’s Sooty Tern Colony, many other birds call this coralline island home. Bird Island is really a huge bird colony. With vast numbers of seabirds present and calling throughout the year, bird watching on this Seychelles island is truly an amazing experience.

Certain resident birds which can be seen throughout the year include Barred Ground Doves, Greater Crested Terns who always seem to be in deep conversation, the ever observant Noddies, the Frigatebirds perched in the highest trees, Fairy Terns, White-tailed Tropicbirds, Seychelles Blue Pigeons and waders such as Grey Plovers, Curlew Sandpipers, and Ruddy Turnstones.

Other birds also grace us with their presence as they migrate from their cooler homes to our warm sandy beaches. Some just accidentally find their way to our shores. These migrant and vagrant birds include certain species of boobies which can sometimes be seen, along with the Bar-tailed Godwits patrolling our beaches, Crab Plovers, Black-winged Stilts, Red-billed Tropicbirds, the Little Tern and Saunders’ Tern. Land birds include Blue-cheeked Bee-eaters and Red Backed Shrikes. These are just a few of the birds we find calling.

Sightings of certain birds in the Seychelles have only ever been made on Bird Island, so you can imagine how exciting bird watching can get! Many of our visitors report their sightings to the Seychelles Bird Records Committee (SBRC). The SBRC keeps detailed records of bird sightings in the Seychelles. Our now resident Great Cormorant is one bird that has captured the attention birders more recently. See a close up of this beauty here.