Nature Notes 4

Notes from my last visit to the island and quite a few items of interest to report:

• Magpie-robin news – firstly and sadly I have to report that we appear to have lost the poorly female that I reported on in my post of May 19th. There being no flight on Wednesday of last week the antibiotics, syringes etc… could only be taken to the island that Thursday and Catherina has not sighted the bird since Wednesday and we must now fear the worst. We do now however have a fresh stock of antibiotics with a long shelf-life on the island being kept in the fridge in case it should be needed in the future.
• Flycatcher news – on a positive note our first flycatcher fledgling (see post of 21st April) appears to be prospering and there are currently 3 other breeding attempts ongoing in other territories.
• White terns (Gygis alba) – we have been having a prolonged period of very hot weather in the central archipelago. There is typically a period of 3 or 4 weeks in April/May when the wind drops and the weather is very hot and dry before the next season establishes – but this year it has been going on for a couple of months. A change in the wind can effect water temperature and prevailing currents which in turn impacts upon the availability of the small fish that sea birds depend on to feed their young. The impression on the Denis at the moment however is that food is in abundance as we are experiencing a marked surge in the number of young white terns on the island. Let’s hope that food availability remains sufficient to see them through to independence.
• White-tailed tropicbirds – I am delighted to be able to report that the site that produced our first confirmed tropicbird fledgling from a ground nest since the eradication of rats in 2002 is once again occupied by the female. Those regular readers of the blog will recall how I followed the development of “Tina” last year in detail on this blog and was delighted to report her successful fledging in the week of Christmas. Well her mother is now back on the nest site and possibly already incubating another egg. Another great benchmark in the recovery of the island’s ecosystem!
• Greater Crested terns – birds are still to be seen each morning at Pte Mme Guichard and then in the afternoon on the sandstone outcrops just off the southern coast. There are currently nine birds in residence.