Seychelles Magpie-robin success

Seychelles Magpie-robin (photo: David Haigh).

A team from Nature Seychelles (BirdLife in the Seychelles) and the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust visited Freìgate Island from the 28 June to 6 July 2006 to conduct a full population survey of the globally threatened Seychelles Magpie-robin Copsychus sechellarum, and to ring un-ringed robins in order to maintain identification of all individual on the island.

A minimum population of 82 individuals was recorded-ten more than the previous census in April 2005 and the highest number of robins ever recorded on Freìgate.

The Seychelles Magpie-robin population is now at an all-time high of 178 birds with 82 on Freìgate, 46 on Cousin, 32 on Cousine and 18 on Aride. There are also future plans to translocate birds to Denis Island. The species was downlisted by BirdLife to Endangered in the 2005 IUCN Red List.