BAILLIE LODGES AND TIERRA HOTELS UNITE UNDER BECKONS
It’s March and the Providence Petrel is back on Lord Howe Island. The incredibly rare Petrel once bred in only two places on earth, Lord Howe and Norfolk Island. The bird was named in 1790 after the Norfolk Island supply ship HMS Sirius sank. Norfolk Island’s population survived by eating more than 170,000 of these birds and ultimately wiped them of the face of the island.
Now Lord Howe Island is the only place that they nest. They arrive every March to mate and breed on the slopes of Mounts Gower and Lidgbird. In the late afternoon you see hundreds if not thousands of birds forming a halo around the mountains. If you walk to Little Island (20 mins from Capella) you will see the birds on a mirror flight pattern just above your head.
Then (if no-one is around as you do feel a bit silly) you can ‘call the birds down’. Down from the blue come these wild and extremely rare petrels, literally dropping out of the sky to climb into your hands (or bite your shoelaces) with no hint of fear.
There’s no explanation for this behavior other than the birds’ natural curiosity. It’s an extremely rare and special interaction that doesn’t occur anywhere else in the world. I have noticed that once the birds have mated they are not as keen to come down – I wonder if it is a strange mating ritual!
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