Paul McKenzie and I just finished up with our group at Bird Island in the Seychelles. The Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, off East Africa. Bird Island is home to numerous beaches, coral reefs and nature reserves, as well as rare animals such as giant Aldabra tortoise. This was our first workshop there but definitely not our last. Paul’s been going there for years and after seeing his photos of the white terns I wanted to go. We posted another workshop for 2025 for anyone interested in joining us.
I heard this loud moaning and followed the noise to see this-mating tortoises.
The journey to Bird island went off without a hitch. I was expecting issues with my overweight carry-on bag, so I brought along my ultra featherweight duffle and my vest to distribute my camera gear if need be. But that never happened <big smile>, I was never hassled about any of my bags.
Our first night’s hotel stay was in Mahe. The hotel was good- not a luxury resort or anything but my room was clean, air conditioned and also had a fan (which I like) and the shower was spacious with a rain head. The food at the hotel was very good. Some of our clients ordered the Grouper and it looked tremendous. I ordered a Margarita pizza and it was delish. I figured I would get enough fish on Bird Island but the chance of a pizza pie was slim.
I spent most of my time photographing the White terns.
When we landed on Bird Island everyone in our group was in awe—there were literally birds everywhere. It’s quite an amazing island with the most beautiful sandy beaches surrounding a tropical rainforest. Paul said it is the closest thing to Midway Atol (I never made it there before they closed to tourists in 2012).
These terns really do remind me of a fairy like creature!
I adore these birds and could photograph them everyday! I am already looking forward to next year’s visit.
One of my faves. This tern is on an egg.
White tern in flight. I think this is a younger one.
White tern in flight.
About 250,000 Sooty terns take over the north side of the island. They are constantly flying to and from the sea grabbing a quick drink or fishing for squid or fish to feed their young.
There are Brown and Lesser Noddys but my favorite bird on the island is the White tern aka the Fairy tern. It is pure white with a blue bill and the most adorable eyes. During our workshop most of the birds had very young chicks or were on eggs.
In addition to the main birds, there are tons of Frigatebirds and Red-footed boobies. Plus the previously mentioned large tortoises, one of which is over 180 years old and green sea turtles.
Brown Noddy
Lesser Noddy
White-tailed Tropicbird flying through the forest. I did some work to the edges of the background.
White-tailed Tropicbird chick, it was nesting right out in the open. I still used a long lens to capture the photo so that I didn’t disturb it.
Sooty tern on a patch of green vegetation. I captured tons of Sooty terns flying around on the last day— I just haven’t gotten around to downloading them yet.
Seychelles Blue-Pigeon
But If you are looking for a 5 star luxury accommodations on Bird Island you won’t find it. There is one accommodation and it is a cluster of open air villas (they are rustic but adequate) the kitchenettes have refrigerators, stoves and just about everything else you’d need. Plus a 5 gallon water cooler.
The biggest drawback is the humidity. It’s hot tropical weather. But there are a few forest walks that are shaded to break it up a bit. Those rain forest paths are a great way to get out of the sun and still be photographing.
Not my best shot but the it was my only shot of one on the beach in the early morning. Some members of the group got a much better shot with some of the beautiful ocean in the background. I’ll be sharing those images in another post.
Horned ghost crab.
There are no predators like gulls to intercept the fish or to prey on the chicks however there are tons of crabs. We saw a crab devouring a live chick so there are predators and I think that the Frigatebird will eat the chicks if they get them but it’s not an everyday occurrence.
The Common Neddys, which are larger than the Lesser Neddys nest on the ground. I guess they are big and not afraid of the crabs. The Lesser Noddys and the White terns nest in the trees, probably to stay clear of all the crabs!
Bird Island is a treasure trove filled with zillions of photo opportunities and soooo many birds! BUT It is not for prissy people. You have to love to photograph birds and be willing to get down and dirty with the best of them to truly get the best shots and experience.
We had a fantastic group of dedicated, hardworking photographers that are all going home with some wonderful images. Maybe even some award winners… I would travel with any one of them again, over and over again.
Bird species list provided by Michele McCormick
Malagasy Turtle-Dove
Zebra Dove
Seychelles Blue-Pigeon
Eurasian Moorhen
Ruddy Turnstone
White Tern
Brown Noddy
Lesser Noddy
Sooty Tern
Great Crested Tern
White-tailed Tropicbird
Lesser Frigatebird
Red-footed Booby
Seychelles Sunbird
Red Fody
House Sparrow
Common Mynah
Whimbrel
To see some of Michele’s images from the trip:
Webpage: www.michelemccormickphotography.com
Insta: @michelepix
I will be publishing another Bird Island blog post, but the next one will be with our client’s images so keep an eye out for that post, you won’t want to miss it. All of the photos in this blog post are mine and I shot them with the Sony a1 and the Sony 200-600mm lens. I also used my Olympus gear for some of the palm tree shots and wider-angle images such as the Aldabra tortoise. I spent a lot of my time walking around, scouting the island and locating birds. Again, it was an amazing adventure, and all of the clients loved it. We belly ached a bit about the heat and no air conditioning, but it was truly a one-of-a-kind experience. I had birds nesting 2 feet from my windows, and a tree I fondly referred to as the tree of life just outside my door that housed a dozen or so nests with chicks.