Ile Aux Cocos - Rodrigues Island Mauritius

If you thought the little fairy terns a few posts back on #IleAuxCocos looked slightly surreal how about this fierce chap! I'm no ornithologist, but I believe he's a #brownnoddy or #CommonNoddy. On Ile aux Coco 4km to the west of #Rodrigues, all the birds are carefully protected by human 'guardians' (there are three staying on the island at any one time) and the population has grown to around 4,500 birds in a space of the 1.5km x 250m island. That means they are remarkably unphased by cameras and humans - they just sit watching carefully, deigning to allow us to invade their space and occasionally proving their superiority. We were all quite fascinated to be able to get up close and personal (this shot is taken without a zoom lens) to watch these birds at rest. #SecretRodrigues #RodriguesIsland #Birdwatching #your_best_birds #bird_brilliance #nuts_about_birds #feather_perfection #eye_spy_birds #bb_of_ig #thebirdingsquad #sassy_birds #birds_illife #bbcearth #birds_captures #birdphotography #birdsofinstagram #birdextreme #nature_worldwide_birds #travelblogger #instatbn #writetotravel #ttot #tbin #travelblog #secretplaces

For more about Rodrigues, check my main blog post about top things to do on Rodrigues, Mauritius