Northern Islets Seabird Tour

The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation's Northern Islets Seabird Tour is a dedicated half-day seabird excursion aboard a deep-sea fishing vessel, guided by an MWF wildlife biologist. The tour heads north from the Mauritius coast to visit a chain of protected offshore island reserves that are inaccessible to the general public: Gunners Quoin (Coin de Mire), Flat Island, and — when sea conditions allow — Serpent Island and Round Island, located approximately 22 km northeast of the mainland. Landing is not permitted on these nature reserves, and all seabirds are viewed at sea from the vessel as they wheel over the ocean or gather on the water around the islands.

The star target is the Round Island Petrel (Trindade Petrel, Pterodroma arminjoniana), a globally restricted tubenose that breeds at only two locations in the world — Trindade Island in the South Atlantic and here on Round Island, where the largest colony exists. Wedge-tailed Shearwaters nest in very large numbers on Round Island and are regularly encountered in feeding flocks at sea during the crossing. Red-tailed Tropicbirds, with their vivid crimson tail streamers — one of the Indian Ocean's most striking seabirds — circle the basalt rock stacks alongside the equally graceful White-tailed Tropicbird. Sooty Terns gather in dense wheeling flocks over the productive waters; Common and Lesser Noddies settle on the ocean surface; and Masked Boobies plunge-dive alongside the vessel. The MWF biologist provides expert species identification and commentary on the ongoing conservation work protecting these globally threatened species throughout the trip.