Mahé highlands and surrounding areas Important Bird Area
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Mahé highlands and surrounding areas Important Bird Area
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 Rosewood trees along a path in Morne Seychellois National Park |
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| location | Mahé , Seychelles | |
| Geographical location | 4 ° 38 ′ S , 55 ° 25 ′ E | |
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The Mahé Highlands and surrounding Areas Important Bird Area is a protected area in the central and north-western part of the island of Mahé in the Seychelles in the western Indian Ocean .
geography
The Important Bird Area (IBA) covers an area of 4600 ha , and thus around 20% of the island. This includes the 3045 hectare Morne Seychellois National Park with the summit Morne Seychellois , the highest mountain in the Seychelles at 905 m (914 m). In the 19th and 20th centuries, the original forests were heavily cut down and large cinnamon plantations were established. Today human use, including forestry and tourism, and some tea plantations are limited to less than 10% of the IBA area. The area consists of parts of the districts of Cascade , Grand Anse , Plaisance , Bel Air , Port Glaud , Saint Louis and Bel Ombre . The landscape is characterized by the mountain ranges that stretch from the southeast to the northwest. The main settlement is on the northeast side of the island. The only significant settlement on the southwest coast is NYS Village with Port Launay . In the northwest, the Baie Ternay Marine National Park joins the coast.
Flora and fauna
The steep slopes are covered by dense secondary forests and bushland, which are loosened up in places by cliffs and large granite blocks. Above a height of 600 m there are still remains of primary forest with only a few introduced neobionts . Rosewood trees occur and the endemics include Medusagyne oppositifolia , Vateriopsis seychellarum , Dillenia ferruginea , Northea hornei , as well as Phoenicophorium borsigianum , Nephrosperma vanhoutteanum , Erythroxylum Sechellarum , Nepenthes pervillei and Secamone schimperianus .
Outside the national park, the IBA covers the mountainous parts of the southeast, as well as the adjacent areas at La Misère and in the Cascade district. In this area there is a stronger human influence and many anthropogenic habitats such as orchards, farms, tea - plantations , residential buildings, roads and infrastructure. The forests in the low and medium altitudes are said to be made up of imported plants such as Cinnamomum verum , Falcataria moluccana (= Paraserianthes falcataria), Alstonia macrophylla and Chrysobalanus icaco .
The area was of BirdLife International established because there are still populations of Seychellenfalken (Falco araea), Seychelles scops owl (Otus insularis), Paradise Fruit Dove (Alectroenas pulcherrima), Seychelles sailors (Aerodramus Elaphrus) Dickschnabelbülbüls (Hypsipetes crassirostris), Mahé - Eyeglasses (Zosterops modestus) and Seychelles nectar birds ( Cinnyris dussumieri) can be detected.
Attractions
Morne Blanc
Morne Blanc is a large peak above the west coast of Mahe. With a height of 667 m it is the third highest mountain in the Seychelles.
View from Morne Blanc to the south. Grand Anse and Ile aux Vaches in the foreground.
View from Morne Blanc to the west with Port Glaud in the foreground. The islands of Therese and Conception in the background. The bay on the right is Port Launay Marine National Park.
Hiking trail map of the Morne Blanc Trails
Anse Major
Anse Major is a small beach in the northwest of the island. The beach can be reached by a short hike from Bel Ombre to the west of Beau Vallon .
View over Anse Major
View from Anse Major to Silhouette Island in the distance
View from Anse Major to the north
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Mahé highlands and surrounding areas . In: Important Bird Areas factsheet . BirdLife International. 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
- ↑ Daniel Laurence: Seychelles' Highest Heights: 4 Island Mountains (English) . In: Seychelles News Agency , April 13, 2017.
- ↑ Lyn Mair: Seychelles ( english ) (= Bradt Travel Guides), 4th edition, The Globe Pequot Press Inc., 2012, ISBN 9781841624068 , p. 114.