The other major
place of interest for birders in Rodrigues is Iles aux Cocos, not because it
hosts any endemics, but because several thousand terns breed here. The current
estimate lies around 45.000. Sooty Terns, Common White Terns, Common Noddies
and Lesser Noddies use this island and the neighbouring Iles aux Sables year
round to breed and rest. Although they have a peak from September to November.
We however visited in June and still saw plenty of individuals of both species
with ease. When visiting in the arctic winter however, much more waders will be
around than the single Whimbrel we observed.
 |
| Sooty Tern (Onychoprion fuscatus) |
 |
| Adult Lesser Noddy (Anous tenuirostris) |
 |
| Juvenile Lesser Noddy (Anous tenuirostris) |
 |
| Adult Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus) |
 |
| Juvenile Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus) |
 |
| Lesser Noddies (Anous tenuirostris) and one Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus) allowing good comparison |
 |
| Adult Common White (or Fairy) Tern (Gygis alba) |
 |
| Juvenile Common White Tern (Gygis alba) (note the dark spot behind the eye) |
Video of a inquisitive juvenile Common White Tern (Gygis alba) (made by Anna van der Kaaden)
Iles aux Cocos is
open for public and can be reached by a one hour boat ride from Baie du Nord. Be prepared to wade the last few km to the islet, for the waters are very shallow around it. Several boat men and tour packages are available and a list of all boat men can
be obtained in the tourist office in Port Mathurin. We used James
(002308750557) from Rodrigues Vacances and paid 1.000 MRU including landing
fee, lunch, drinks, pick-up and drop-off. We found this to be a fair price and
were happy to pay this for the tern spectacle, which I didn´t want to miss.
No comments:
Post a Comment