Grand Connétable Island

Grand Connétable is a steep rock standing off the coast east of Cayenne, and it carries the only large seabird colony on the whole coast between the Orinoco and the Amazon: thousands of frigatebirds, brown noddies, royal and cayenne terns and boobies wheeling over the summit. It was mined for phosphate in the nineteenth century, then protected in 1992 as the territory's first nature reserve. Boats circle it; nobody lands.

The landscape

• The frigatebirds - the big black silhouettes hanging over the rock.
• The tern colonies - royal and cayenne terns packed on the ledges.
• The rock itself - a steep island alone on an empty coast.
• The phosphate scars - traces of the nineteenth-century mining.

When to go

April to August is the breeding season and the rock is at its fullest. Sea conditions decide every trip. The dry season gives calmer late-year seas but fewer birds.

Things to know

Landing is prohibited and everything is seen from a moving boat. The crossing can be rough and trips cancel. It is a specialist outing that needs arranging - there is no scheduled service.

Nearby

The Approuague mouth is west, and Cayenne is northwest.

Key facts