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Amur Falcon was unrecorded in Seychelles before 1995 but since 2000 it has been an annual visitor to Seychelles. Juan Michel reported the first birds of the current migration season with two present at Denis Island on 22 November.
Andre Dufrenne reported one at Seychelles International Airport on Monday 20 November increasing to five the following day until 25 November, from the main parking area to the Anonyme Island jetty. The birds were till present on this date and further dates are likely to follow,
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From left to right: male, female and immature Amur Falcon (Pep Nogués) Island Conservation Society staff at Alphonse - Christopher Narty, Pep Nogués and Ariadna Fernández have reported five Amur Falcons present at the airstrip from 24 November. These included one adult male, two immatures and two females. Three were still present at the present date (29 November) but one female and one immature died on 27 November.
Alphonse is the southern limit of the range of this annual visitor to Seychelles. First recorded here in January 2001 it has been recorded 19 times and in most years since this date but the previous maximum number of birds present on any one occasion was three in December 2008. Christopher Narty located and photographed a Ruff at Alphonse on 7 November. Identified by Ariadna Fernández, the bird was also observed by Pep Nogués. Thirty-six records of this species have been accepted by SBRC, all of them from the inner islands except for two previous Alphonse records.
Clare Keating Daly has reported a European Roller present at the airstrip, D'Arros on 30 October.
European Roller is a rare visitor to Seychelles but has been recorded in every year since 2007. Photos: Clare Keating Daly On 29 October, hotel staff at Alphonse island resort contacted Island Conservation Society's staff member Ariadna Fernández to say two ducks were making use of the hotel pool facilities! The ducks in question turned out to be two Garganey, a rare but annual visitor to Seychelles.
Clare Keating Daly has reported a Eurasian Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus found dead at D'Arros on 22 October. This is the second report of this species from D'Arros, the first beng an adult female or subadult male also found dead on 26 September 2008. Eurasian Golden Oriole sightings have become more frequent over the last ten years
The following day, Clare found a Caspian Plover Charadrius asiaticus present on the island. near the main house pond. SBRC has accepted 15 previous records of this species. This is the first report from D'Arros and only the second report for the whole of the outer islands. Janske van de Crommenacker has reported a Eurasian Bittern Botaurus stellaris at the hydroponics farm, Fregate on 16 October. According to the agricultural staff at the farm, the bird had already been present for 3-4 days.
SBRC has accepted eight previous records of this species including one also seen by Janske, present at Denis island from December 2015 to June 2016. Pep Nogués has reported a Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva at the airstrip, Alphonse on 13 October. SBRC classifies this species as an annual visitor to the granitic islands and Amirantes and a vagrant west of 52˚E (Aldabra and Farquhar groups). This is the 11th report from Alphonse, more than any other island in the Amirantes. It is unusual in that the bird shows partial breeding plumage which is extremely rare to see in Seychelles. Indeed, this is the first time it has been photographed at any island to the knowledge of SBRC.
Pep also reports a Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus present the previous day at St Francois. Terek Sandpiper is an annual visitor to the granitics and a vagrant elsewhere in Seychelles. This species has been rported six times previously at St Francois and a further 4 times at Alphonse. Ari Fernández, Pep Nogués and Chris Narty have reported an amazing five Collared Pratincoles at the Alphonse airstrip 5-6 October. 21 of the 23 previous records of Collared Pratincole accepted by SBRC have been single birds and no more than 3 birds have ever been recorded at the same time.
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AuthorAdrian Skerrett Categories |