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Last updated on October 8, 2022
Bird Island (l’Île aux Oiseaux) is a small islet lost in the middle of the huge Fakarava lagoon. It is a popular stop for tours on the atoll’s north side. The reef bordering the island is also a nice snorkel spot, boasting fine coral beds, a great variety of fish and a large population of blacktip reef sharks ceaselessly coming and going in the area.
Bird Island is located in Fakarava lagoon, at the northwest side of the atoll. Boat tours to the Blue Lagoon stop very often on Bird Island, but not always. Make sure when you book that Bird Island is included.
Allow 6000 to 7000 CFP/person for a half-day excursion to the Blue Lagoon and 9000 CFP/person for a full day. The boat trip from Rotoava to Bird Island takes about 40 minutes (15 minutes from Bird Island to the Blue Lagoon).
Landing on the islet is impossible. You will enter the water from the boat, moored in front of the reef.
The recommended snorkeling area encompasses the reef extending at the islet’s west side. This part of the island is sheltered from waves and main currents, and the water is generally calm, offering perfect snorkeling conditions.
Bird Island’s coral reef is only about 30 meters large. Water is very shallow on the small reef flat, making it impossible to get too close to the shoreline. However, the reef’s external side shapes nice pools (↕6ft/2m) ending in a drop-off (↕6-10ft/2-6m) falling to the deep blue (↕>30ft/10m).
The reef is well preserved. It is made of great clumps of Porites boasting different colors (purple, yellow). A few colonies of branching and digited corals have developed amongst them. Just underneath the water surface, the areas most exposed to light are covered with small giant clams and Christmas tree worms.
In the pools, you will easily find huge schools of juvenile yellowfin goatfish, sometimes disturbed by dozens of Pacific longnose parrotfish. Green chromis gather in large numbers around branching corals bordering the drop-off, just like sixbar wrasses and several surgeonfish species.
But the blacktip reef sharks living on the reef are the main attraction in this spot. You will probably see them swimming peacefully over the drop-off, or deeper down in the blue, where they sometimes come across barracudas.
Bird Island is a wild island, you will find no permanent human presence there. Tours to the Blue Lagoon generally include a snack or a barbecue on a motu.
These spots are accessible to anyone with basic snorkeling skills, and feeling comfortable in the water and with his snorkeling gear. You will enter the water from the shore (beach, pontoon, ladder, rocks) or from a boat. The water height in the sea entrance area is reasonable, but you will not necessarily be within your depth. Moderate currents can occur in the area, even when the sea conditions are good. The distance to swim to reach the most interesting snorkeling areas of the spot does not exceed 200 meters. This level only apply when the spot experiences optimal sea and/or weather conditions. It is not applicable if the sea and/or weather conditions deteriorate, in particular in the presence of rough sea, rain, strong wind, unusual current, large tides, waves and/or swell. You can find more details about the definition of our snorkeling levels on our snorkeling safety page.
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Snorkeling spots are part of a wild environment and their aspect can be significantly altered by weather, seasons, sea conditions, human impact and climate events (storms, hurricanes, seawater-warming episodes…). The consequences can be an alteration of the seabed (coral bleaching, coral destruction, and invasive seagrass), a poor underwater visibility, or a decrease of the sea life present in the area. Snorkeling Report makes every effort to ensure that all the information displayed on this website is accurate and up-to-date, but no guarantee is given that the underwater visibility and seabed aspect will be exactly as described on this page the day you will snorkel the spot. If you recently snorkeled this area and noticed some changes compared to the information contained on this page, please contact us.
The data contained in this website is for general information purposes only, and is not legal advice. It is intended to provide snorkelers with the information that will enable them to engage in safe and enjoyable snorkeling, and it is not meant as a substitute for swim level, physical condition, experience, or local knowledge. Remember that all marine activities, including snorkeling, are potentially dangerous, and that you enter the water at your own risk. You must take an individual weather, sea conditions and hazards assessment before entering the water. If snorkeling conditions are degraded, postpone your snorkeling or select an alternate site. Know and obey local laws and regulations, including regulated areas, protected species, wildlife interaction and dive flag laws.
