In the lounge in O. R. Tambo Airport.
We flew out early morning of the 20th February. An uneventful flight & arrived in Mauritius slightly early. Picked up the car & started driving to our holiday let. Everything fine for the first few kilometers then we hit the Hindu pilgrims! It was a nightmare! We got within 20 kilometers of our destination before being turned around by the police as they had closed the road! It turned out to be a three hour drive as we had to make a massive detour. We arrived in darkness but our host as there to greet us & we settled in.
Our home from home for the next ten nights!
Red backed Toad
Delana kayaking in the bay.
This Whimbrel at first glance looked interesting.
Greater Sand Plover
A regular migrant here.
Mauritian Grey White-eye
Mascarene Swiftlet
The view from our apartment, early morning.
The bay.
After a good nights rest, we were off to the nearby town for breakfast. While sitting outside saw my first Mauritius endemic: Mauritius Grey White -Eye! Then a Mascarene Martin flew over. After shopping for a few groceries we went out on a kayak for a spin around the bay just opposite our apartment. We saw this Whimbrel with very pale under-wings. Looked interesting! Mascarene Swiftlet flew over, the first of four individuals seen that day.
Point Jerome
It really is a hop, skip & a jump
to get to the island!
Delana enjoying the boat trip.
Looking from the island, back to the mainland.
A stunning morning.
Arose to a beautiful early morning on 22nd January, the light was lovely. We then drove towards the airport to Point Jerome where we hopped on a boat to Isle au Aigrettes. It really is a hop, as it takes just a few minutes to land on the island. It was hot & humid under the trees but we we on a tour, with ordinary tourists including screaming kids & babies! Everything was informative but a bit rushed, & it was difficult to get close to the birds & take photos. A pair of Mauritian Olive White-eyes were seen through binoculars, but couldn't get any shots because of the people! Very frustrating!
Pink Pigeon!
Pink Pigeon proved to be more obliging although we only saw one bird it performed admirably!
Mauritian Fody
Very scarce species, getting hard to find these days.
Mauritian Fodies although common, were hard to photograph amid the throng!
It was a nice morning an interesting tour, but we both wanted to spend more time on the island.
We then drove the short distance to Blue Bay, which is an excellent spot for snorkeling. It was packed full of people but we managed to find a secluded spot & Delana went for a snorkel. I dipped myself in the sea & layed sunbathing on the beach.
Had a quick look at La Roche qui Pleure, which is a beauty spot & a possible sea watching place. It is a nice stretch of coastline with great views. We walked out onto the rocks & within 20 minutes saw 95+ Wedge tailed Shearwaters passing east, some quite close in. I think we have to visit again as this might just turn up the Round Island Petrel!
We had a bit of a lay in on the morning of 23rd February. It was nice having breakfast looking over a flat calm sea. Unfortunately, by the time we got ourselves moving the weather had changed to overcast with the threat of rain.
Pink Pigeon
Mauritian Grey White-eye
We spent he morning at the lower information centre of the Black River Gorges National Park. A nice area where we walked around for a while without seeing very much apart from three Pink Pigeons & a host of Mauritian Grey White-eyes.
We drove up onto the plateau more in the hope of a recee than anything else. We stopped at the Black River gorges viewpoint which was spectacular but the light was terrible (really dark) with rain threatening. Around 20+ White tailed Tropicbirds were circling the forest & several Long tailed Macaques were looking for food.
At the Le Petrin Information Center we scored with both Pink Pigeon & Mauritius Bulbul both in the car park!
Doesn't look much like Hull!
We then drove the short distance to Grand Bassin hoping to see the numerous Mascarene Martins which are normally there, but we drew a blank.
Mauritian Fruit Bat
We then drove back to the main road & ventured down a well trodden track where we managed to find Mauritius Olive White -eye. (-20.43586 57.47482). A real bonus! Rain threatened & it got really dark so we headed off home & enjoyed a nice evening in the garden looking out over the sea.
The start of the famous
Loop Trail.
24th February turned out to be that perfect day! It is fantastic when a plan comes together & this is what happened this morning. We were up at dawn & got moving soon after driving up onto the plateau to the Information Centre. We then hiked along the Macchabee Ridge Trail in glorious sunshine & quickly got into our target birds!
Mauritian Bulbul
We saw the odd Pink Pigeon fly by, then three Mauritius Bulbuls put on a show, but the best was yet to come. We heard an odd call coming from the tree tops & it turned out to be a pair of Echo Parakeets courting! We watched them for several minutes at point blank range. Brilliant!
Then I picked up a Mauritius Cuckooshrike flying by & we soon had a pair in a tree just very close by. brilliant performance. (-20.40178 57.46136).
We then visited Bassin Blanc Crater Lake briefly, but couldn't find a trail into the forest. Three Mascarene Swiflets & a Mascarene Martin hawked high above us.
We came back to where we had seen the Mauritian Olive White-eye yesterday & today walked the whole length of the trail to Alexander Falls. We saw no Olive white-eye today & tried hard for the Mascarene Paradise Flycatcher but without success.
A quick look see at a panoramic pub with a cocktail completed an excellent day. Tomorrow we go Flycatcher hunting!
Up yet again early on 25th February. Today we decided to drive the 70+ kilometres to Bras d' Eau National Park on the north east side of the island. Unlike yesterday when everything was perfect today was decidedly challenging! It started with heavy traffic going north & then the mother of traffic jams around Phoenix. So we arrived at the national park quite late. We parked & then walked into the forest. But the forest was mostly alien vegetation. What should have been a pleasant walk was difficult because of the humidity, but most of all the numerous mosquitoes! It was birdless! Just 3 Mascarene Swiftlets overhead & a couple of roving flocks of Mauritian Grey White-eye. All the other species were introduced ones. We walked a long way playing the call of the flycatcher but to no avail. Then on our way back we both heard the call! Delana then spotted a pair very close to us just above our heads! We enjoyed prolonged & excellent views although the forest was dark.
We then drove to Rivulet Terre Rouge Bird Sanctuary close to Port Louis. Our hope here was for Meller's Duck, but no joy. We had a nice stroll around the edge of the estuary but it was high tide, best species being: Striated Heron; 24 Common Tern; 12 Whimbrel; 6 Ruddy Turnstone; 2 Sanderling & 3 Grey Plover. We then had another nightmare of a journey heading south because of heavy traffic. We broke our journey at Flic en Flac for a beer & a pizza before arriving home. It had been a very long day & Delana did all the driving but Mascarene Paradise Flycatcher was in the bag!
The 27th February dawned grey & overcast with a little rain overnight. We stayed around the apartment for a while & then kayaked across to Bentier Island. A Common Noddy was flying around & was the only species of note.
On 28th February we once again kayaked across to Bentier's Island. It was a nice morning, but low tide, so we had a bit of man handling the boats across the shallows. 77 Whimbrel; 9 Ruddy Turnstone & a Greater Sand Plover were feeding on the mud flats.
We made a small camp on he beach then Delana wanted to go snorkeling so we kayaked across to a tiny island of coral. I stayed in the kayak keep station, while she went under. It was quite a productive little dive.
Mascarene Martins
Photo taken by Delana from the
kayak using her small camera!
We then returned for a picnic on the beach complete with champers! The return journey was a little more difficult as the wind got up & made the crossing choppy. We shipped quite a lot of water!
In the afternoon we drove to La Roche qui Pleure. The last visit was a very short one but it showed a lot of promise, so this time we started sea-watching at 16.10 & finished at 18.30 hours. We met a fellow birder called Erik ? from Denmark. He was excellent company & a very keen birder. It turned out to be a superb site! This bit of coastline sticks out into deep water, so one can see pelagic species. First lots of Wedge tailed Shearwaters, then a Masked Booby, then 2 Round Island Petrels! They were reasonably close in but too far for a photo. Then a Barau's Petrel went by!
4 Round Island Petrels; 5 Barau's Petrels; 1 Bulwer's Petrel; 105 Wedge tailed Shearwater; 2 Masked Booby; 2 White tailed Tropicbird; 100+ Common Noddy; 6 Lesser Noddy. Two new sea bird ticks in one day! Amazing! I went to the headland to try for Round Island Petrel after the boat trip roved to be too expensive for us. They wanted to charge us 800 pounds for a three hour trip! I never thought one could get Barau's Petrel as well & we got quite good views of both species. What an afternoon! One note of interest the Bulwer's Petrel here looked bigger & with a larger head & bill than normal. It was quite noticeable. It was almost Journain's like. Would like to see more of them to see if they are all the same.
We also recorded a superb giant Leatherback Turtle, at least 4 Spinner Dolphins & a small pod of things which looked like Pilot Whales or False Pilot Whales.
The 29th February, one doesn't say that too often! We enjoyed some leisurely time at home then went to La Morne public beach, which turned out to be a very nice place indeed. We enjoyed some time in the water, Delana went snorkeling again & I did a little bit of sea-watching from the beach. I got the telescope set up & was amazed at the number of birds passing just beyond the reef. Everything was quite distant but the following were logged:
1 Flesh footed Shearwater; 200+ Wedge tailed Shearwater; 3 Barau's Petrel; 50+ Common Noddy. Not bad for a non birding morning! In hindsight, we should have hired a boat to take us out beyond the reef, it looks like almost anywhere is good for sea birds once you get beyond the shallows.
Mid afternoon we again trundled up to La Roche qui Pleure. It was raining quite heavily but once we got there it was beautiful sunshine. So with a lot of optimism we hit the rocks & started sea watching! The sea was dead! After a while Erik once again joined us & things began to pick up. The last hour being superb!
2 Round Island Petrel; 7 Barau's Petrel; 1 Kermadec Petrel; 2 Bulwer's Petrel; 230+ Wedge tailed Shearwater; 3 Masked Booby; 1 White tailed Tropicbird; 85+ Common Noddy.
'
Aldabran Giant Tortoise
Introduced her to help re-balance the ecology
of the island.
Telfair's Skink
Ornate Day Gecko
It was a nice morning an interesting tour, but we both wanted to spend more time on the island.
Blue Bay
The sea was crystal clear & the place
lived up to its name!
Jewel Damsel
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Moorish Idol
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Quite a nice spot on the map!
lived up to its name!
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
We then drove the short distance to Blue Bay, which is an excellent spot for snorkeling. It was packed full of people but we managed to find a secluded spot & Delana went for a snorkel. I dipped myself in the sea & layed sunbathing on the beach.
A stunning stretch of coastline.
Sea watching from the headland.
Had a quick look at La Roche qui Pleure, which is a beauty spot & a possible sea watching place. It is a nice stretch of coastline with great views. We walked out onto the rocks & within 20 minutes saw 95+ Wedge tailed Shearwaters passing east, some quite close in. I think we have to visit again as this might just turn up the Round Island Petrel!
We had a bit of a lay in on the morning of 23rd February. It was nice having breakfast looking over a flat calm sea. Unfortunately, by the time we got ourselves moving the weather had changed to overcast with the threat of rain.
This is the lower section of the national park.
Lots of alien trees inside the national park!
We spent he morning at the lower information centre of the Black River Gorges National Park. A nice area where we walked around for a while without seeing very much apart from three Pink Pigeons & a host of Mauritian Grey White-eyes.
The view was spectacular but the light was so poor!
This was in the middle of the day!
White tailed Tropicbird
Long tailed Macque
We drove up onto the plateau more in the hope of a recee than anything else. We stopped at the Black River gorges viewpoint which was spectacular but the light was terrible (really dark) with rain threatening. Around 20+ White tailed Tropicbirds were circling the forest & several Long tailed Macaques were looking for food.
From this viewpoint, one can see spectacular views
of the coast.
Mauritian Bulbul
Uncommon in the highlands.
At the Le Petrin Information Center we scored with both Pink Pigeon & Mauritius Bulbul both in the car park!
We then drove the short distance to Grand Bassin hoping to see the numerous Mascarene Martins which are normally there, but we drew a blank.
We then drove back to the main road & ventured down a well trodden track where we managed to find Mauritius Olive White -eye. (-20.43586 57.47482). A real bonus! Rain threatened & it got really dark so we headed off home & enjoyed a nice evening in the garden looking out over the sea.
The start of this fantastic walk.
On this morning the views were fantastic!
Gradually, as one walks the trail,
you leave alien vegetation behind.
Spectacular!
This higher section of the park, is totally different
from lower elevations.
Loop Trail.
24th February turned out to be that perfect day! It is fantastic when a plan comes together & this is what happened this morning. We were up at dawn & got moving soon after driving up onto the plateau to the Information Centre. We then hiked along the Macchabee Ridge Trail in glorious sunshine & quickly got into our target birds!
Echo Parakeet
This pair were courting & gave amazing,
prolonged views.
We saw the odd Pink Pigeon fly by, then three Mauritius Bulbuls put on a show, but the best was yet to come. We heard an odd call coming from the tree tops & it turned out to be a pair of Echo Parakeets courting! We watched them for several minutes at point blank range. Brilliant!
Male Mauritian Cuckooshrike
Getting increasingly scarce & hard to find.
Female
Then I picked up a Mauritius Cuckooshrike flying by & we soon had a pair in a tree just very close by. brilliant performance. (-20.40178 57.46136).
Mauritan Kestrel
What a close encounter!
(-20.40083 57.45883)
Just before this Delana had seen a Mauritian Kestrel flying through the forest, but I missed it! I went looking & started pishing. It worked & flew straight towards us giving point blank views. This was the experience of the trip so far, totally amazing! We never got as far as birding the Loop Trail as we had had a fantastic experience with all our target species. So we walked back & enjoyed a nice late breakfast under the trees close to the parking lot. Several Pink Pigeons were around as they feed them here & we got some fantastic views.
The very scenic crater lake.
Mascarene Swiftlet
We then visited Bassin Blanc Crater Lake briefly, but couldn't find a trail into the forest. Three Mascarene Swiflets & a Mascarene Martin hawked high above us.
Our little hire car.
Alexander Falls
We came back to where we had seen the Mauritian Olive White-eye yesterday & today walked the whole length of the trail to Alexander Falls. We saw no Olive white-eye today & tried hard for the Mascarene Paradise Flycatcher but without success.
The view from the bar!
Picking her cocktail!
A quick look see at a panoramic pub with a cocktail completed an excellent day. Tomorrow we go Flycatcher hunting!
Male, Mascarene Paradise Flycatcher
It took some finding!
Female
Up yet again early on 25th February. Today we decided to drive the 70+ kilometres to Bras d' Eau National Park on the north east side of the island. Unlike yesterday when everything was perfect today was decidedly challenging! It started with heavy traffic going north & then the mother of traffic jams around Phoenix. So we arrived at the national park quite late. We parked & then walked into the forest. But the forest was mostly alien vegetation. What should have been a pleasant walk was difficult because of the humidity, but most of all the numerous mosquitoes! It was birdless! Just 3 Mascarene Swiftlets overhead & a couple of roving flocks of Mauritian Grey White-eye. All the other species were introduced ones. We walked a long way playing the call of the flycatcher but to no avail. Then on our way back we both heard the call! Delana then spotted a pair very close to us just above our heads! We enjoyed prolonged & excellent views although the forest was dark.
This sanctuary is in an industrial section
of Port Louis so the surroundings are not great.
We were there at high tide, which was not ideal.
Striated Heron
Whimbrel
Ruddy Turnstone & Sanderling
Sanderling
We then drove to Rivulet Terre Rouge Bird Sanctuary close to Port Louis. Our hope here was for Meller's Duck, but no joy. We had a nice stroll around the edge of the estuary but it was high tide, best species being: Striated Heron; 24 Common Tern; 12 Whimbrel; 6 Ruddy Turnstone; 2 Sanderling & 3 Grey Plover. We then had another nightmare of a journey heading south because of heavy traffic. We broke our journey at Flic en Flac for a beer & a pizza before arriving home. It had been a very long day & Delana did all the driving but Mascarene Paradise Flycatcher was in the bag!
A beautiful sunset from our accommodation.
Tamarin, a little bit tacky!
We both enjoyed a long lay in this morning (26th) followed by a proper cooked breakfast on the porch overlooking the sea. It had been raining all night & the day was drab & dreary. Eventually we drove to Tamarin where Delana had located a beach from Google Earth. It was a bit disappointing as the sea had poor visibility for snorkeling. So we sat on the beach for a while, & then the heavens opened up once more! We spent the rest of the evening at home on the porch enjoying cocktails & a roast chicken dinner!
A nice relaxing evening outside.
The view this evening.
The 27th February dawned grey & overcast with a little rain overnight. We stayed around the apartment for a while & then kayaked across to Bentier Island. A Common Noddy was flying around & was the only species of note.
It was so shallow that it was easier to walk
with the kayak!
Birding in the shallows.
On 28th February we once again kayaked across to Bentier's Island. It was a nice morning, but low tide, so we had a bit of man handling the boats across the shallows. 77 Whimbrel; 9 Ruddy Turnstone & a Greater Sand Plover were feeding on the mud flats.
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Picasso Triggerfish
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Nundibranch sp.
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Hermit Crab sp.
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Masked Bannerfish
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Network Pipefish
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Picasso Triggerfish
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
White barred Goby
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Getting back in was not so easy!
We made a small camp on he beach then Delana wanted to go snorkeling so we kayaked across to a tiny island of coral. I stayed in the kayak keep station, while she went under. It was quite a productive little dive.
Photo taken by Delana from the
kayak using her small camera!
We then returned for a picnic on the beach complete with champers! The return journey was a little more difficult as the wind got up & made the crossing choppy. We shipped quite a lot of water!
Between the showers!
In the afternoon we drove to La Roche qui Pleure. The last visit was a very short one but it showed a lot of promise, so this time we started sea-watching at 16.10 & finished at 18.30 hours. We met a fellow birder called Erik ? from Denmark. He was excellent company & a very keen birder. It turned out to be a superb site! This bit of coastline sticks out into deep water, so one can see pelagic species. First lots of Wedge tailed Shearwaters, then a Masked Booby, then 2 Round Island Petrels! They were reasonably close in but too far for a photo. Then a Barau's Petrel went by!
4 Round Island Petrels; 5 Barau's Petrels; 1 Bulwer's Petrel; 105 Wedge tailed Shearwater; 2 Masked Booby; 2 White tailed Tropicbird; 100+ Common Noddy; 6 Lesser Noddy. Two new sea bird ticks in one day! Amazing! I went to the headland to try for Round Island Petrel after the boat trip roved to be too expensive for us. They wanted to charge us 800 pounds for a three hour trip! I never thought one could get Barau's Petrel as well & we got quite good views of both species. What an afternoon! One note of interest the Bulwer's Petrel here looked bigger & with a larger head & bill than normal. It was quite noticeable. It was almost Journain's like. Would like to see more of them to see if they are all the same.
We also recorded a superb giant Leatherback Turtle, at least 4 Spinner Dolphins & a small pod of things which looked like Pilot Whales or False Pilot Whales.
Cigar Wrasse
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Honeycomb Grouper
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Rock-mover Wrasse
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Seagrass Parrotfish
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Three-lined Wrasse
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
Zigzag Sand Wrasse
Photo courtesy of Delana Louw
The 29th February, one doesn't say that too often! We enjoyed some leisurely time at home then went to La Morne public beach, which turned out to be a very nice place indeed. We enjoyed some time in the water, Delana went snorkeling again & I did a little bit of sea-watching from the beach. I got the telescope set up & was amazed at the number of birds passing just beyond the reef. Everything was quite distant but the following were logged:
1 Flesh footed Shearwater; 200+ Wedge tailed Shearwater; 3 Barau's Petrel; 50+ Common Noddy. Not bad for a non birding morning! In hindsight, we should have hired a boat to take us out beyond the reef, it looks like almost anywhere is good for sea birds once you get beyond the shallows.
Mid afternoon we again trundled up to La Roche qui Pleure. It was raining quite heavily but once we got there it was beautiful sunshine. So with a lot of optimism we hit the rocks & started sea watching! The sea was dead! After a while Erik once again joined us & things began to pick up. The last hour being superb!
2 Round Island Petrel; 7 Barau's Petrel; 1 Kermadec Petrel; 2 Bulwer's Petrel; 230+ Wedge tailed Shearwater; 3 Masked Booby; 1 White tailed Tropicbird; 85+ Common Noddy.
'
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