Spanning over 170 acres of coralline paradise, Bird Island is the northernmost part of the Seychelles archipelago. Although scenic beaches and the mesmerising seashore set the stage for an amazing beach holiday, ‘Bird Island’, as its name suggests is renowned for being a haven for birdwatchers.
Bird Island was initially known as “Ile aux Vaches” as it was once home to a large number of sea cows (dugongs). Later, by the 1960s the name was changed to Bird Island thanks to its fascinating colony of 700,000 pairs of seabird called sooty tern. Most species of birds here do not show fear of humans, making it possible for bird lovers to observe or photograph them from very close.
Of a variety of excursions around AVANI Seychelles, bird-watching is one of the more popular ones along with diving and snorkelling. Many travellers, who opt for these excursions, consider staying at AVANI Seychelles Barbarons Resort & Spa due to its close proximity to the main attractions of the country.
At any given time during the year, Bird Island is home to more than 20 species of birds, some of which migrate from Alaska and Siberia from August to May. The most popular birds here are fairy terns, wedge-tailed shearwaters, barred ground doves, mynahs, Madagascar foodies, turtle doves, grey plovers and much more. Bird Island is also a popular turtle nesting site and has also been home to some of the oldest living land turtles (some over 150 years).
The island is privately owned, and the owners enforced a number of conservation and sustainability initiatives to protect the birdlife and turtles. The success rate of the conservations work is evident from the fact that the sooty tern population increased from 18,000 pairs to 750,000 pairs within just 40 years.
Nigel Walters is a travel writer, who writes under the pen name, Fritzjames Stephen. His content is based on the myriad of experiences and indulgences that the world has to offer travellers across all walks of life. Google+
