A wonderful Whale Shark by Coke & Som Smith.
- A great diversity of whales and dolphins, including large numbers of some dolphin species and a chance of Blue Whale
- And over a thousand fish species in the rich seas and coral reefs, including flying fish, and Whales Sharks and Manta Rays which can be seen while snorkeling
- As well as Green and Hawksbill Turtles
- And a few seabirds, notably terns
- All in a beautiful setting of coral atolls
with palm-fringed white-sand beaches
- Most organized tours to the Maldives involve week-long cruises on small boats. The numbers of species and individuals of whales and dolphins varies considerably from tour to tour but on the whole, dolphins are by far the most numerous, especially Spinners, followed by whales, with birds way behind in third place. For examples; an estimated 2100 individual dolphins and whales of nine species were seen on a cruise in April 2015, and an estimated 3500 individual dolphins and whales of ten species were seen on a cruise in November 2014. About 20 species of bird is a reasonable total for such cruises.
Best Birds and other wildlife in the Maldives
Mammals
Indo-Pacific Bottlenose, Risso's, (Long-snouted) Spinner, (Pantropical)
Spotted and Striped Dolphins, Cuvier's Beaked, Short-finned Pilot and Dwarf Sperm Whales, and Indian Flying Fox
(ariel subspecies). Also a chance of Blue, Sperm, Pygmy Killer, Blainville's Beaked, Longman's Beaked,
Bryde's and Melon-headed Whales, and Common Bottlenose, Fraser's and Rough-toothed Dolphins.
Reptiles and Fish
Over a thousand fish species including Whale Shark, Spotted Eagle,
Manta and Mobula Rays, stingrays, numerous flying fish and many coral reef fish, Nurse, Blacktip Reef and Whitetip
Reef Sharks, and Green and Hawksbill Turtles. Also a chance of Hammerhead Shark and Sailfish.
Birds
Grey and Striated Herons, White-breasted Waterhen, Black-naped,
Bridled, Greater Crested, Lesser Crested, Saunders's and Sooty Terns, Brown (Common) and Lesser Noddies, and
Western (Asian) Koel. Also a chance of Lesser Frigatebird (nests on southern atolls), White-tailed Tropicbird
(nests on southern atolls), Tropical, Flesh-footed (April) and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters, Bulwer's Petrel,
Crab Plover and Common White Tern (nests on Gan in the southernmost group of atolls known as Addu, a one-hour
flight from Mahe. Gan is connected to neighbouring atolls by causeways, one of which is Hithadhoo, at the end
of which it is possible to see White-tailed Tropicbird).
Invertebrates
Sea Skater or Ocean Strider (Halobates micans), one of the
very few open-ocean insects.
Best Sites for Birds and other wildlife in the Maldives
- Throughout, although one particularly good place for Manta Rays and Whale Sharks, from May to November, and especially in August and September, is Hanifaru Bay in Baa Atoll where the Mantas are monitored by the Manta Trust. Another good place for Whale Sharks is South Ari Atoll MPA where they occur all year round and where the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme is based.
Best Times for Birds and other wildlife in the Maldives
Whale Sharks and Manta Rays are most likely to be in the less clear waters where visibility is reduced by plankton blooms on which they feed, so if they are the animals you wish to see the most then it is probably best to choose a tour with an itinerary that includes the west side of the archipelago from December to April and the east side from May to November, particularly late January and mid-October since the drier northeast monsoon season usually lasts from mid-October to February. However, the numbers of Manta Rays in Hanifaru Bay, Baa Atoll, usually peak in August and September during the southwest monsoon which is usually windier and wetter, especially from June to August.
Recommended Bird Books etc. for the Maldives
Dive Guide: Maldives by S Harwood and R Bryning. New Holland Publishers, 2009 (Fifth Edition).
World of Water Wildlife Guide: Maldives by N Coleman. N Coleman's Underwater Geographic, 2006.
Field Guide to Indian Mammals by V Menon. Helm, 2009.
Field Guide to the Mammals of the Indian Subcontinent by K K Gurung and R Singh. Helm, 1998.
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by R Grimmett, and C and T Inskipp. Helm, 2012.
A Field Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by K Kazmierczak. Helm, 2008.
Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by R Grimmett, and C and T Inskipp. Helm, 1999.
Apps etc.
eGuide to Birds of the Indian Subcontinent.
Birding and Wildlife Trip Reports for the Maldives
Many trip reports, some for the Maldives, are posted on the websites listed here. On some of these websites some reports are independent and some are posted by tour companies who organize tours to the Maldives. These tour companies and others also post their own reports on their websites, which are listed under 'Some Organized Tours to the Maldives' below.
- The best website for trip reports is CloudBirders
- but these are also worth a look
- Birdtours
- Fatbirder
- Jon Hornbuckle
- Mammal Watching
Local bird and wildlife guides in the Maldives
The costs of organized tours partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ. If you are travelling independently, employing such local guides will greatly increase your chances of seeing the wildlife you wish to see.
Accommodation for birders in the Maldives
Some Organized Tours for birds and other wildlife to the Maldives
There are many tour companies who organize tours to see mammals, birds, other wildlife and other natural wonders. The cost of these tours vary considerably according to such variables as the airlines used, the number of days the tours last, the number of sites visited, the number of people in the group (an important consideration if you wish to see such wildlife as rainforest mammals and birds), the number of tour leaders, the standard of accommodation and transport, and the percentage profit the company hopes to make. Generally, where the number of days tours last and the number of sites visited are similar, the cheapest tours are those that use the cheapest airlines, accommodation and local transport, that have the largest groups with the least number of leaders, and that make the least amount of profit. The most expensive tours tend to be those which are exceptionally long, use the most expensive accommodation (ridiculously lavish in some cases, even for single nights) and which make the most profit. Some tour costs partly reflect the quality of the tour leaders. Some leaders are certainly better than others and many companies claim their leaders are the best but even the best rely at least to some extent on the exceptional skills of the local guides they employ.
While tour companies organize tours with set itineraries many also organize custom tours for individuals and private groups who instead of taking a tour with a set itinerary want to follow their own itinerary to suit their own personal tastes, whether it be mammals, birds, other wildlife, other natural wonders or even man-made attractions, or a mixture of them all. Many organized tours with set itineraries are also fast-paced and target as many species as possible, whether they are mammals, birds or other wildlife or everything, which usually leaves little time to enjoy the best sites and individual species, but on a custom tour those taking part can specify the pace and the sites and species they wish to concentrate on. Custom tours also suit people who like to travel with people they already know, rather than with a group of strangers, and people with partners with different interests. Individuals and small groups will almost certainly have to pay more than the price of an organized tour with a set itinerary but a large group of friends may be able to travel for less than the price quoted for a set tour.
Tour companies who run organized tours or can arrange custom tours to the Maldives include the following.
