Nature Notes 5.

Just back from the island, it was a brief 24 hour stay primarily to give a presentation and walk for some guests, so a quick summary of salient points noted below:

• Sooty tern (Onychoprion fuscata) update. I stopped by the sooty tern project for an hour or so mid-afternoon on Saturday but only observed a couple of circling flyovers by birds. On Sunday morning however I met Vicki and Georgia at the observation platform and they had quite a lot to recount – most notably that they had observed a pair of terns landing that had courted and mated in the project area… this is most encouraging!!! In addition they had observed a bird attempt to court and mate with one of the plastic models – which goes to show that models clearly do provide the correct kind of stimuli!!! Whilst I was there on Sunday morning I observed a bird circle and land in the location … unfortunately I couldn’t stay and take photographs… but that will be a focus of mine during my next visit.
• Observations on a Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis). Much along the lines of my post of June 8th , whilst pursuing one matter – in this case whilst sitting under the observation platform in the shade waiting hopefully for a Sooty tern to land – various other points of interest presented themselves. First my attention was drawn by the familiar clicking of a warbler’s bill as it took insects. The bird was very close by in a clump of low herbaceous vegetation consisting primarily of the spinach plant “Payater” (Amaranthus dubius). This was clearly a very fruitful area for it as it remained in this small clump for a good 20 minutes feeding busily on insects taken from the underside of the leaves. On a few occasions it took a prominent perch and looking above would launch itself straight up to aerially intercept a flying insect. It also paused in a more secluded site to preen. Judging from its behaviour, the somewhat mottled plumage on its breast and the less than rich brown colouring if its eye I got the impression that it was a subadult – probably recently departed from its natal territory and currently “floating” or in the process of establishing a territory for itself.
• Ant-lions (Myrmeleon obscurus). Then looking down at the ground beneath the platform I became aware of several characteristic funnel traps of ant-lion larvae in the sand. These funnels with there very loose surface of sand are easily disturbed by passing insects such as ants. At the nexus of the funnel hidden just below the surface the ant-lion larvae lies in wait. When it senses the disturbance of sand in its “funnel” it shoots sand out from the centre knocking the unfortunate prey down into the centre where it is caught and consumed by the waiting predator. I watched fascinated by the occasional shots of sand that were sent out from the centre of each pit.
• Carpenter bees (Xylocopa caffra). Finally whilst waiting under the platform I tried to get a photo of a female carpenter bee that was drawn by small flowers in the undergrowth. This has become something of a task for me… I have wanted to do a post on the carpenter bee for quite some time but I can’t seem to get a good photo of the female. I have several good photos of the male but the female with her black body and characteristic single large yellow band is another matter all together!!! The males move slowly from one flower to the next often pausing and hence allowing photos to be taken. The females however whilst much more readily noticed with their distinctive colouration and low rumbling buzz are very flighty seemingly never pausing long enough for me to get a decent photo… I shall endeavour to persevere…
• Blue-cheeked bee-eaters (Merops persicus). Moving away from the Sooty tern project… regular readers will be aware of the presence of the beautiful blue-cheeked bee-eater on Denis for the last 6 months (See my post of May 23rd for the full account) and our interest in recording when exactly the last individuals leave the island. It had been thought that all the birds had left after the first week of this month – but during the tour I was giving on Sunday morning I observed two hawking from prominent perches on the island’s southern beach and then later repeatedly heard one near the hotel complex… so a few stragglers yet remain. We will continue to monitor.
• Flycatcher news (Terpsiphone corvina). Great news from Mervyn working on the Flycatcher project! A second bird has now fledged successfully giving us much hope for the future.