The Seychelles Kestrel (Falco araea).

On the 3rd of May I was once again in the flat when I heard the distinctive “kikiki” call of a Seychelles Kestrel (Falco araea). I looked out of the window just in time to see two birds flash past. They didn’t go far as I could still hear the repetitive shrill call nearby, so I grabbed my camera and went out onto the balcony. The calling was close and from above and leaning out I could see a bird very close by on the roof above... unfortunately my position was too precarious to allow me to free my hands to take what would otherwise have been a great photo.

The bird soon took wing however and went across the complex to a rooftop on the other side where it faced off against another bird! One most often sees a kestrel because of its call and this is often when one bird appears to be pursuing another as part of territorial defence. After that I most often see them when walking when my eye is caught by the rapid movement of a bird as they swoop down to grab a lizard from a roof top or the ground. I had never actually seen one kestrel hold its ground against another though.

The birds faced each other across a few metres of corrugated roof calling harshly, backs hunched aggressively and feathers raised. Clearly this display did not determine supremacy as the birds then closed on each other and fought! I had never seen this behaviour before and did my best to capture it on film. The distance, rapid movement of the birds and the fact that they were just over the peak of the roof detracts from the quality of the image but nevertheless the display and fighting can be seen in the photos in the sidebar.

The fight lasted only 15-20 seconds with the birds rolling away separating and flying off one in pursuit of the other. The combat itself was rather one-sided with I presume the interloper being vanquished... but fascinating to observe.

The Seychelles kestrel is the only resident bird of prey in the central archipelago. This very small kestrel is classified as Vulnerable with a decreasing population on the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species. Its decline has been most evident in the Praslin/ La Digue group of islands where it is reportedly no longer found on la Digue or satellites such as Felicite and Marianne and has a low population of only 10 -15 pairs on Praslin.

My impression of the population on Mahe however is that it is quite healthy birds being seen pretty much everywhere and the species has moved in to and successfully colonised the reclaimed land along the east coast of Mahe. Small populations persist on Silhouette and North islands and it is also regularly seen on the islands of Conception and Therese though it is not clear if this is resident birds or merely visitors from Mahe.

The Seychelles bul bul (Hypsipetes crassirostris).

May 1st was of course a public holiday and I was stuck in the flat trying to finish a document when I heard the very familiar harsh call and cackle of a Seychelles bul bul (Hypsipetes crassirostris). The crown of a palm tree, actually growing within the confines of the National botanical gardens, is only 7-8 metres from the window of the North face of my flat. The window was open so I retreated to the interior of the flat before looking out, so as not to frighten the bird, to see two Bul buls involved in their typically raucous discourse. This opportunity was too good to let slip so I went and got my camera and from the relatively dark interior of the flat zoomed the lens to focus on the birds sitting in bright sunshine (see photos in sidebar).

The Seychelles bul bul is one of the few endemic bird species in the central archipelago that appears to have adapted well to the arrival and impacts of man. Crook (1960) cited them as relatively abundant and not a species of conservation concern. Penny (1974) states that whilst not common in Victoria or “indeed anywhere in the lowlands of Mahe” that they are abundant elsewhere.

I have certainly received the impression in recent years, without any actual study, that there numbers are increasing as I now frequently see/hear them around Mont Fleuri and in town. Despite this there range has in fact decreased elsewhere. The Bul bul did historically occur on the islands of Felicite and Marianne but is no longer found there today. Hill (2001) in his thorough survey of smaller islands did not record Bul buls on Felicite or Marianne.

Various authors state that the bird is now restricted to the four main granitic and a few (unnamed) satellite islands – one assumes islands such as Curieuse, Ste Anne and Cerf.

The Bul bul is typically described in references as a brown bird though to my eye the main colour I perceive is green. I have not of course held a bird in my hand and closer inspection may give a different impression but from a distance the adult appears to me to be predominately of an olive green hue on the head and breast, darkening to more of a brown on the back. Adults have a dark black crest, orange beak and legs. It has a broad feeding niche eating fruit, insects, small vertebrates but also food scraps around habitations.

The bird is full of character, gregarious with a very distinct harsh cackling call and is always a pleasure to encounter.

Playing catch-up...

No posting in 5 months is, I admit, a pathetic return! In my defence I have been very busy with work in general but specifically project write-ups and of course my Denis island blog (http://denisisland.blogspot.com ) averages 8 posts a month which is a pretty good output. My work situation has been exasperated by the pretty awful economic times we are passing through accentuated in Seychelles by our own internal economic meltdown which has seen the devaluation of our currency, by at one point nearly 80%, and inflation running at 67%!!!! Whilst the rupee has stabilised and strengthened recently my income is still only 30-35% of its value a year ago and so I have had to return to doing consultancy work in my spare time in order to make ends meet and this is the key reason why this blog has been deserted. Consultancy eats up all your leisure time and I had hoped when taking on my current job to be able to leave it largely behind me... so much for planning!

Anyway, I met a major work related deadline last week and have given myself some time off as reward and hence my mind turned back to this neglected blog and the thought of trying to make amends. Despite not writing I have still opportunistically being taking photos of interesting occurrences and so I have a backlog I can try and work through.

I should start however with the awaited orange turtle dove chicks mentioned in my last post. Alas I never did get to see them. I photo’d the bird on the nest up until the end of February but then the spathe of an opening inflorescence bent down and completely blocked my view of the nest. It also blocked the bird’s flight path meaning they had to take a much more circuitous route landing on the other side of the tree and then hopping and struggling round to their platform which was now obscured from balcony view point. So no luck there, sorry...

Over the subsequent weeks I was able to photo a few other species from my flat including some interesting endemic species but I’ll cover them in later posts. For now I’ll focus on a visit of a family group of Barred ground doves (Geopelia striata) that spent a good 30 minutes on my balcony early morning on March 3rd.

The barred ground dove is not native to Seychelles but rather originates from Southeast Asia. It was probably initially introduced to Seychelles as a caged bird and has been present since before 1865. This small, long-tailed ground-feeding dove has been a highly successful invader and is now one of the three most common land birds in Seychelles and can be found throughout the central archipelago. It favours open grassland and urban areas and is often considered commensal with humans but is also present to high altitudes. It feeds on seeds, small invertebrates and food scraps. Whilst not currently recognised as a direct threat to native avifauna its sheer abundance must represent a level of competition to local species.

The Barred ground dove breeds all year round but has a peak of activity October to April. The birds can often be seen sitting in pairs “billing and cooing”. This is a family group that perched close together on my balcony for some considerable time preening themselves and each other. The juvenile is shown in the middle and can be distinguished from the adult as its tail is shorter, plumage more fluffy and in particular it does not have the blue skin around the eye or the base of the bill and likewise its iris is brown rather than pale blue (See photos in sidebar).

Mundane meets somewhat interesting...

Many people I meet, from overseas, imagine that I live an idyllic existence in Seychelles with my time split between a mix of fascinating, feel-good conservation work, beach parties and barbeques. If only... Admittedly my first few years in Seychelles in the early 90s whilst working on small islands and when in the possession of my own boat were different with much more of my leisure time actually devoted to leisure. It was pretty good, I really enjoyed my time off but that also has something to do with being 20-something – I think.

Alas! These days just like everywhere else, for everyone else, normal life gets in the way. My work entails lots of tedious meetings and paperwork just like most managers. My main employers insist I work half-Saturdays in some misguided belief that more time in the office automatically translates into greater productivity. Saturday afternoons are therefore generally spent shopping and/or recovering from the preceding 51/2 days which means Sunday usually gets dedicated to delightful chores like laundry, ironing and cleaning. Yes I live in a truly beautiful country and I am lucky to spend a significant amount of my working time doing things outdoors that I enjoy – but it isn’t all BBQs and parties (I could of course make more of an effort in that regard but that’s another matter!).

Still the wonderful thing about the tropics relative to temperate climes is the intensity and abundance of nature all around you it’s like it’s constantly spring! This morning I was hanging laundry out to dry on my balcony when a Seychelles turtle dove (Streptopelia picturata) landed on the roof opposite with a twig in its mouth. I caught its movement in the corner of my eye as I was turning away and so turned back quite abruptly. My rapid movement made it suddenly aware of my presence also and an amusing moment passed between us as the bird appeared to try to look casual as if “it often flew around on a Sunday with a twig in its beak - just to pass the time you know”; whilst I waited to see if its nest was nearby. Well the bird was not doing anything whilst I was on the balcony so after a minute or two I went inside but continued to observe it through the curtains. As soon as I was out of sight the dove took flight off the roof across the clearing and into the canopy of a nearby palm tree.

Over the next few minutes I observed the dove repeat the same flight path several times and was able to ascertain the location of the nest. The nest is well concealed but the occasional breeze will move the palm leaves sufficiently to give a view of it and the second dove seated upon it. Incubating already or just putting her house in order with the additional materials brought by her mate? I couldn’t tell - but I did manage to get some reasonable photos despite the distance and screening greenery.

Skerrett et al (2001)[1] states that Seychelles/Madagascar turtle doves[2] have a breeding peak from October to February and that the chicks are initially covered in bright orange down! I’ve never seen this before but the angle from the balcony is quite good – so I will keep a watch on the nest and report back.

Success of course is not guaranteed and this attempt faces a few dangers. Firstly the resident in the flat across the way has a cat and I often see it on the roof which the birds use as their perch before approaching the nest. Second there are a lot of rats around and when the chicks start calling they may well attract the attention of the arboreal Rattus rattus . Finally there are a lot of common Mynahs as well and they are a known nest predator.

One might be tempted to say that is all just part of nature until one realises that rats, cats and Mynahs are all invasive species in Seychelles introduced by man! So not natural at all!!! Anyway I will follow the nest’s progress and keep you posted in the hope of seeing some bright orange chicks!!!

[1] Skerrett et al (2001). Birds of Seychelles. Helm Books, London, UK.
[2] The birds in question are clearly grey headed and as such show the phenotype of the Madagascan nominate race.

What’s in a name? The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea).

Visitors to Seychelles are often a little disappointed by the rather muted colouration of the island’s native birds. People’s perception of tropical birds relates more to brightly coloured Amazonian parrots than it does to the rather undistinguished Seychelles Fody! Of course it is in fact normal for bird species native to isolated small islands to be relatively drab when compared to their continental counterparts - there is a good evolutionary argument for it which I won’t bore you with.
I have recently moved office to a location adjacent to the St Louis river and today whilst parking I saw a grey heron perched on a roof just across the road. It seemed like a good photo-op so I grabbed my little digital camera and took a few shots. As you can see the bird is quite beautifully coloured and the “grey” name doesn’t do it justice. The black eye stripe to the crown, streaks on the neck and black shoulder contrast wonderfully against the white head, pale grey neck and darker grey wings. What is particularly notable in these photos, however, is the reddish hue to the bill and legs which shows that the bird is in breeding colours. Normally the breeding season commences in May-June so this bird appears to be very early into breeding plumage and I will check on this with a colleague to see if this is particularly unusual.
The Grey heron has an interesting story in Seychelles. It apparently was hunted, as a source of food, to extinction in the central archipelago in the 1960s! Rising standards of living since then and the greater availability of poultry etc... (well until this year anyway!) have seen the end of such activities and from the 1980s onwards the central archipelago has been gradually re-colonised. I personally have noted a marked increase in their numbers on the east coast of Mahe over the last 10 years or so –such that now an adult can be seen every 50-80 metres or so along streams and in the mangrove areas, whilst on the mudflats near la promenade I have seen 10 -12 evenly spaced over the flats. I likewise saw four perched together on the tree outside my flat a few months ago.
The future of the birds around Mahe is not assured however with the breeding colony/roost on Hodoul Island threatened by planned developments and who knows (?) if times get much worse, the Grey heron might find itself back in the pot in the coming months!

Room with a view…

For the last 3 years I have been living in an old, rather dilapidated flat in the district of Mont Fleuri – amidst its many shortcomings however it has the advantages of being strategically placed in terms of work and it does have a couple of interesting views.

From my balcony facing east north east (well as best as I can ascertain) I have a near 180 degree view of the Port Victoria through to the town and the hills such as Mont Signal to the North. At night it can be very attractive with the bright lights from cruise ships and tuna vessels at the docks and the warmer hue of the glittering windows of the capital.

Windows on the opposite side (back) of the flat look out over the Botanical Gardens in the foreground with the peaks of Trois Frere and Morne Seychellois majestic to the north and the hills and residences of la Misere to the south. So in many respects it’s pretty spectacular and I do occasionally take time to appreciate the aesthetic.

In addition however it’s very interesting in terms of wildlife. There is a large roost of fruit bats at the back of the botanic gardens and my flat is therefore surrounded by a bat flight path and their “bickering” in adjacent tree canopies can be really rather distracting.

Of particular interest however is a tree, adjacent to the main DoE building. I don’t know what species it is – I will try and find out – but it has an interesting crown where the branches bend laterally at the top providing apparently ideal perching for various bird species. Over the last couple of years I have regularly observed large groups of Blue pigeon gathering there, on occasion 3 or 4 grey herons, a green backed heron, a Seychelles kestrel, Bul buls etc… the challenge for me now is to try and photograph some of these species and post the photos here. I’ll see how I can do over the next couple of weeks…