Even the remotest islands in the world are suffering pollution emanating from the sea and Bird Island is sadly no exception. Over the last weekend a group of French volunteers paid a short visit to clean the beaches of rubbish that had floated ashore. Today, the day after their departure, Christine and I walked around … More Our plastic oceans
In my book “The Starling” (Oxford University Press), published in 1984 (doesn’t seem like 33 years ago!) I noted the then relatively recent colonisation of Iceland by breeding Starlings. They were first recorded breeding in the south-east of the island, at Hornafjörŏur in 1940 and then in Reykjavic in 1960. This was at a time … More Icelandic colonists from Europe (no, not the Vikings!)
Crocuses and snowdrops in full bloom indicated the arrival of spring, but this was over a month later than our experience of similar events in southern England. I had taken Christine north so that she could experience life in snow and ice, something far removed from her home in tropical Seychelles! I had pre-booked Icelandic … More Arctic springtime
Earlier posts have described progress in the myna eradication project on North Island, Seychelles. The eradication has been proceeding well and is approaching its final stages. Green Islands Foundation, who are administering the project, are now advertising for a new volunteer (https://greenislandsfoundation.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page_29.html) to assist with the completion of the eradication. The full advertisement is printed … More The North Island myna eradication – update January 2017
On 5 August Christine and I returned to North Island to welcome and train two new volunteers, who will carry the myna eradication forward for the next six months. The island is much drier than when we left in May. Badamyann trees (Terminalia catappa, commonly known as Indian Almond), are losing their leaves as is … More North Island – second changeover of the myna team
My love for Seychelles began when I lived here from December 1971 to November 1973. At the end of this time I had to return to a cold and snowy UK in order to analyse all my data on Bird Island’s Sooty Terns and write up the results for publication. But leaving the beautiful islands … More Enjoyed your holiday in Seychelles? Want to come back? The secret is …………..
The south-east trade wind season, roughly from May to October, is not the best time to see glorious sunsets on Bird Island. Nevertheless, sitting on the western beach as the sun goes down, feeling the south-east breeze after a hot day in the sun, is a great way to pass the last hour of daylight … More Bird Island sunsets and starscapes
In recent blog posts I have often referred to our work in the Sooty Tern colony, without explaining what we are doing. Our main objective this year is to discover where Bird Island’s Sooty Terns feed during incubation and early chick rearing. As mentioned in the more technical post of 14 December 2015, we have … More Tracking Sooty Terns at sea
Eggs are now hatching over most parts of the Bird Island colony and the parents are highly attentive and protective. Chicks younger than three days are largely confined to their nests, only a few seeking shelter beneath some of the herbaceous vegetation close to their nests. Older chicks, but still covered in down and without … More Bird Island’s Sooty Terns – the story continues
For many of Bird Island’s Sooty Terns incubation is now over, and in parts of the colony nests contain small downy chicks, with black eyes wide open and apparently aware of their surroundings, but not yet running away from their nests. Their parents are extremely busy, searching for food far out to sea and also … More Health and safety – Sooty Tern style
