Hotspots

The following extracts are taken from "Southern African Birdfinder: where to find 1,500 birds in the southern third of Africa and Madagascar" by Callan Cohen, Claire Spottiswoode and Jonathan Rossouw, to be released by Struik Publishers in 2006. Please visit www.sabirdfinder.com or contact callan@birdingafrica.com for more information.

All of Réunion’s land bird endemics can be conveniently found at just one site, La Roche Ecrite, a thirty-minute drive from St Denis. A hiking trail leading into the mountainous interior begins here, and the first three kilometres are best for birding. Réunion Stonechat Saxicola tectes, Olivaceous Bulbul Hypsipetes borbonicus, Réunion White-eye Zosterops olivaceus are relatively easy to find here and Mascarene Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone bourbonnensis is easier here than on Mauritius. Réunion Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina newtoni can be more tricky and is best found in the vicinity of the three kilometre mark. Mascarene Grey White-eye Zosterops borbonicus can also be seen.

Barau’s Pterodroma baraui and Mascarene Black Petrel Pterodroma aterrima are best seen by chartering a deep-sea fishing vessel from either St Giles or St Pierre; the birds are best seen between 10 and 20 km from shore in the last few hours before sunset.