The last weekend that I was on Denis - I took the opportunity on the Saturday morning to go round and check on various aspects of ongoing works. I nearly always take the same route when I do this starting in the Old Settlement in the northwest of the island and then basically going clockwise round the island through the various areas and habitats.
That Morning, having just checked the tree nursery, I encountered one of the male magpie robins in the garden of the estate manager it was busy hunting out insects in the grass and then was kind enough to take a nice photogenic perch which I took advantage of.
About 10 minutes later in the northern estate woodland I encountered a male Seychelles Fody in breeding colour (see post of February 19th below) and it also obliged me with a photo-opportunity.
Having gone through the workshops and generator house area, I progressed on to the “farm” where the pig sties, cattle shed and solid waste incinerator are situated. I then headed south towards the runway with the intention of going down the east coast through Belle Etoile. Before reaching the runway however I heard the distinctive call of a Seychelles Paradise flycatcher high up in the Indian almond canopy. It’s a beautiful clear call which catches the attention it being a still recent addition to the island’s birdsong. The bird was 50 or 60ft up and that coupled with the dappled light made getting a decent photo difficult. The bird was however very responsive to being “whistled in” and tantalised me with the hope of a better shot for some 20 minutes before I gave up. During this time I also briefly saw the female. It was fantastic to see a territorial pair of this critically endangered bird seemingly content in their new home on Denis and offering hope of a brighter future for the species.
About an hour later I was well down in the south of the island heading towards the southern promontory when I heard the familiar “chit” alarm call of a Seychelles warbler. I whistled back and the male soon came down into a nearby young papaya tree to call in response and another photo was taken.
I went on that morning to see a grey heron, a beautiful flock of crested terns and a group display of Madagascar fodies – all in a morning’s walk around Denis!
It was not until I went through the photos the next week however that I realised the significance of that morning. Denis is the only island in the world where one can see the “endangered*” Seychelles magpie robin, the “near threatened*” Seychelles fody, the “critically endangered*” Seychelles paradise flycatcher and the “vulnerable*” Seychelles warbler! Nowhere else harbours this combination of rare endemic species and what makes it all the more remarkable is that all four species have been introduced by man to the island since 2004!
This has all been made possible by the investment of the island owners beginning with cat and rat eradication in 2000 and 2002 respectively. What more evidence is needed to show the importance of private sector investment or the benefit that such investment can bring?
*: Classifications as per the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
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