Seasonal· Bird· Seychelles
Bird Island Sooty Tern Colony
3° 42.7′ S · 55° 12.4′ E · approximate
About 700,000 pairs (the lodge now says some 1.5 million birds) nest on cleared ground at the north end of Bird Island, wheeling overhead in a noise you hear from the anchorage.
Practical
Birds hover over the island in March, land in the colony in April-May and lay from June, with about 90% of eggs laid within ten days; chicks fledge by the end of October. The colony grew from about 15,000 pairs after overgrown coconut palms were cleared. Stay on paths and follow lodge staff; never walk into the nesting area. Coordinate is approximate: north end of the island from the OpenStreetMap outline. Note an IDC-cited 2021 census found sooty tern numbers across Seychelles down 60-70% since 1999.
Best for
One of the great seabird sights of the Indian Ocean
Season
May-October (birds gather from March; fledging ends late October)
Nearby
- Bird Island Migrant Bird Season0.2 NM away
- Hirondelle Bay (Bird Island)0.2 NM away
- Bird Island Turtle Nesting and Hatching0.3 NM away
- Bird Island0.5 NM away
- Esmeralda the Giant Tortoise (Bird Island)0.5 NM away
- Bird Island Airstrip and Lodge0.7 NM away
- Bird Island Anchorage (West Coast)0.7 NM away
- Bird Island West Coast Snorkelling0.7 NM away