Close Encounters of the Feathered Kind (2)

Back on August 13th I posted on the subject of close (in-hand) encounters with two birds, a Crested tern and a Seychelles warbler, that had their respective problems but thankfully appeared to be ok following a little assistance. During my last visit two more birds were encountered up close

Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis) – as detailed in my post of November 29th the island experienced a large influx of Amur Falcons recently. What I didn’t mention was that one bird was found dead and another in a highly weakened state. Fortunately Dr Alan Greenwood a wildlife veterinary specialist was on the island (as part of another project which I will post on in the coming weeks) and was able to help with the stricken bird. The falcon was weak, a little skinny and doubtless exhausted from its long journey. On closer inspection its wings and tail feathers were also found to be “gummed up” with the silk from a palm spider web which appeared to be preventing it from flying. Alan took the bird into his care and gave it a special re-hydration fluid and then proceeded to feed it with some choice cuts of fresh raw chicken we were able to obtain from the poultry slaughter house. Initially reluctant and uncooperative the falcon soon seemed to realise that it was on to a good deal with Alan and became relaxed in hand and readily took the proffered food until Alan was satisfied that its crop was suitably full. Then, with plumage cleaned of spider’s web, the Falcon was kept in a box and fed several times over the next 48 hours before its release, apparently much better off for the experience!

Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca) – Mr Francois Hoareau the Village Coordinator of the island’s estate called me on 26th November and told me he had found a duck the previous day, picked it up and put it in the poultry farm. I went with Francois to see the duck and immediately saw that it was a Ferruginous duck (also known as a white-eyed Pochard) with the typical white wing bar and white eyes. The ferruginous duck originates predominantly from Eastern Europe through Russia and Mongolia and is an occasional vagrant to Seychelles. Francois had found the bird bathing in a puddle at the pig farm. Clearly the bird was exhausted from its journey as it had offered no resistance when he went to pick it up. I inspected the bird and it seemed in reasonable condition it was not too skinny, plumage was intact and it was now quite lively in the hand doubtless aided by a night’s rest and the readily available feed and water in its pen. We decided to keep the bird in the pen for another night before releasing it the next day.

Fairy Tern and Tropicbird Progress 6

When I wasn’t looking at Falcons and Bee-eaters I managed on the afternoon of the 24th November to get round and check on the terns and tropicbirds I have been following on the blog over the previous weeks.

Fairy Terns:

• The second chick has now left its perch, I checked every day during my stay and didn’t see it. There had been very strong winds the week before (an event doubtless also related to the influx of bee-eaters and Falcons reported in the post below) and it is likely that these drove the bird from its perch which was quite exposed and near the beach. The bird was well-developed however and I am optimistic that it was sufficiently independent to survive.
• Fred was still on his perch and has further grown with good plumage development now evident and tail feathers developing. I have added “his” latest photo to the development timeline in the sidebar at the bottom of this page.
• Interestingly on an adjacent branch on the same tree another adult Fairy tern has commenced incubation.

Tropicbirds:

• Tina is now getting big and her plumage is developing rapidly. She looks very healthy and I have added the latest photo to “her” development timeline at the foot of this page.
• The second ground nest is currently not occupied, but the first is and I am delighted to say that it now also has a newly-hatched chick. This is the second confirmed chick in a ground nest following the rat eradication and reaffirms the good progress being made in the island’s ecosystem rehabilitation.