Success: Seychelles’ Denis Island sees surge in bird population

Victoria, Seychelles | February 28, 2016, Sunday @ 10:40 in Environment » CONSERVATION | By: Sharon Meriton Jean and Betymie Bonnelame | 

(Seychelles News Agency) - When your island hosts four of the most endangered and unique birds of Seychelles, and they are threatened by invaders, a conservationist says that removing those invaders is the only solution.

This strategy proved to be successful on the island of Denis where four endemic birds of Seychelles were introduced in the early 2000s in order to protect and increase their population.

Late last year, the island announced that after an intense eradication programme, the intrusive and often aggressive myna birds have been completely wiped out on the island.

A recent survey has shown a gradual increase in populations of Seychelles magpie robin, Seychelles paradise flycatcher, Seychelles fody and Seychelles warbler since the eradication of the mynas.

“The population of fody and warbler have grown a lot since their introduction,” says the environment manager of Denis Island, Dr. Janske van de Crommenacker.

Van de Crommenacker said there are now about 400 warblers, up from the 58 introduced in 2004, and 600 to 1,000 fodies, up from the 47 introduced.

The paradise flycatcher which has a small population on La Digue, the third-most populated island of Seychelles, has also been doing very well on Denis with about 70 birds.

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