Pacific Golden Plover at St Joseph

Pacific Golden Plover (Adrian Skerrett)

Clare Keating Daly of Save Our Seas Foundation has reported a Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva at St Joseph Island, St Joseph Atoll, present on 14 April 2016. The bird was also observed by Ryan Daly and Kerryn Bullock.

Pacific Golden Plover is an annual visitor to the inner islands but east of Mahe it is known only from 10 records from Alphonse and 5 from Aldabra. St Joseph is now the third outer island where it has been recorded. The record comes later in the season than any other previous outer island record though in the inner islands there have been a few records as late as May. Sightings for Seychelles as a whole peak in October, declining thereafter with no evidence of any northbound movement through Seychelles.