The other side of Aride Island

With the arrival of a night time predator to the island recently, we have been experiencing the other side of Aride – the hill at night. It is unfortunate that the reason is due to the predation of roseate terns by barn owl, but venturing up the hill under the cover of darkness is an experience that is mind blowing. The whole island becomes alive with a completely different set of wildlife to that we experience during the day on the plateau.
Anyone who has chance to visit Aride will leave with the impression that it is literally alive with wildlife. The day time is full of tok toks bouncing from branch to branch, sunbirds nosily chattering in the trees, magpie robins foraging under leaves, lesser and brown noddys ducking and diving in the breeze, tropic and frigate birds soaring on the thermals, whilst fairy terns flutter above your head and crabs and skinks scurry under your feet, often so plentiful it is hard to take a step without fear of squashing them. But at the night it is a different Aride, a walk up the hill is a full sensory overload of a special kind, the sights, sounds and smells are like nothing I have ever experienced. The sounds alone are beyond belief, as the wedgetail shearwaters wale like babies from their burrows and the Audubon shearwaters hurtle past with their wheezing, puffin-like cries, so close you can feel the air movement from their wings on your face. Then there is the bark of the sooty terns as they defend their nests or small chicks which huddle beneath for warmth in the cool night. The quiet pip of the small fluffy youngsters can be heard out of the darkness, a torch trained on the ground essential for the worry of stepping too close.

But it is the large millipede that means every step has to be measured, as the ground is littered with them. Over 6 inches in length, they resemble a prop from a science fiction movie, everywhere you look they glisten in the torch light, as their many legs scale the trees and rocks and carry them slowly along the path.
The shearwaters too leave their burrows and take to the clear ground of the path; many pairs of wedgetails can be seen sitting together like elderly couples, but soon to scurry off at the first sign of light, their short legs doing well to negotiate the uneven terrain, as they skulk once more into the darkness. The Audubons by contrast will remain, sometimes head tucked under wing asleep, or just starting to wake, then to get entangled in your feet as you try to creep quietly by.

Wearing a head torch can sometimes be a little disconcerting, the light may often attract unwanted attention, shearwaters will come careering into your face, lesser noddys and sooty terns startled by the light will flutter in front like bats, drawn helplessly to the brightness. The fairy terns remain undisturbed as they watch us as intruders into their night time world, their all white plumage lighting up as the beam of the torch flashes in front.

The scent of the night flowering cucumber drifts across the path as it opens its dusky yellow flowers into the darkness and the wonderful sweet smell fills the air. This rare flower unique to Aride carpets the ground in some areas and uses the trees to clamber and climb in others.

As we complete our mission and finish our decent we are greeted by the roar of the sea which echoes out of the darkness. The waves crash against the rocks, throwing the smell and taste of the