When Bird Island was first discovered by Europeans in the 1770s, it was described as being covered by “innumerable” birds and later visitors reaffirmed this, also mentioning scant vegetation. The discoverers did not name the birds they found but Sooty Terns were likely to have been the most numerous species. Other species, mainly ground nesting … More Bird Island is not just for Sooty Terns!
The Australian territory of Christmas Island lies in the eastern Indian Ocean, about 320 km south of the western end of Java, Indonesia. The 135 square km limestone island is home to many endemic and indigenous plants and animals, including the Red Crabs Gecarcoidea natalis that undertake a spectacular November migration from the forests to … More Christmas wishes for Christmas Island: under threat (again)
After a very long gestation period, my book “Orange omelettes and dusky wanderers” has now been published by Calusa Bay Publications, Seychelles. It describes my experiences in Seychelles from late 1971 to the present. Based around the biology of my beloved Sooty Terns, it also embraces other areas of conservation in Seychelles, illustrating the leading … More Orange omelettes and dusky wanderers
Hosting a huge number of seabirds, it is inevitable that the air of Bird Island sometimes carries the whiff of bird guano, of which tonnes are deposited annually by the breeding hordes. This guano is, however, the source of the island’s fertility, without which little would grow. Two of the plant species that thrive on … More Perfumes in profusion
On North Island’s west coast is a narrow plateau on which Sunset Beach and Honeymoon Beach stand (the latter also called Anse Bonnen Kari, the Creole name for the Barringtonia trees that dominate the beach crest’s woodland). Inland of these beaches is it possible to find broken pieces of sandstone rock, very different from the … More Can North Island regain some of its lost seabirds?
Wild Bird Conservation 