Bird Bulletin 9

During my most recent visit to Denis (4 – 6 November) I noted some interesting activity and changes in the island’s bird population:

• I checked on the shearwater colony and was this time able to get a much better photo of the adult shearwater incubating its egg (see sidebar and also my post of 26th October) and all seems well.
• There has been a significant decline over the last week in the number of wading birds on the island. I don’t know why this should be but the number of Whimbrels has dropped dramatically to just a handful and there has been a significant decline in the number of Turnstones. Likewise I noted only one Crab plover, a few Sand plovers, one Ringed plover, one Pratincole and I didn’t see a single Grey plover. This represents a very dramatic change and I can only suggest that it may be linked to the very calm and hot weather we have been experiencing lately.
• Furthermore Crested tern numbers have dropped from a record high of 14 over the last few weeks to just 2.
• The bridled tern roost also appears to have dispersed though individual birds are still to be seen perched on the mooring buoys during the day.
• I noted interesting behaviour amongst the fairy terns that I have not noticed before. It is usual to see fairy terns in pairs or threes in their swooping flight display particularly along the coastline and I have on several occasions in the past observed them in large numbers mobbing a migrant bird of prey. On Tuesday 2nd however I noted between 40 or 50 of them flying together very high up (several hundred feet), circling and tumbling, for about 10 minutes. There was no other bird amongst them – so this was not a mobbing event – something new for this observer.
• As an aside I also noted a sub-adult Brown noddy in the hotel garden. It is perched on a low ornamental palm and has clearly fallen out of its nest in a nearby coconut palm. The bird is well-developed with only slight traces of its juvenile plumage still visible, and it is being tended to by its parents so it should be fine. It does however offer an interesting start to the guest nature walks as they do not usually get such a good view of this species.