Îlet à Toiroux, also known as îlet Poirier, is an islet in the town of Sainte-Anne. It is located on the eastern side of the peninsula de Sainte-Anne, on the Atlantic coast, south of Îlet Percé. The islet is of volcanic origin.
It's an oval, rather flat coral limestone islet, whose highest point is only 8 meters above sea level.
It features steep, jagged cliffs with basins and kamenitzas (small closed basins often filled with water due to dissolution), rocky terraces or slabs, large boulders, sandy banks and plateaus.
Îlet Poirier is highly vegetated and woody. It shows strong potential, with active and progressive dynamics. It's an islet that lives up to its name. Indeed, the West Indian tree of the same name (poirier is the French name for roble blanco/pink manjack (Tabebuia heterophylla)), which has colonized the island, has left its mark on the landscape. It is also home to the 3-meter-high shortleaf fig (ficus citrifolia). The island's roble blancos/pink manjack also reach this height.
It is part of the Réserve nationale des Îlets de la Ville de Sainte-Anne (Sainte-Anne islets nature reserve), along with îlet Percé, îlet Burgaux and îlet Hardy. It is the most important nesting site in the Lesser Antilles.
Only plants capable of withstanding wind, drought and sea spray colonize the site, and the plants found on the islet are seaside purslane (Sesuvium portulacastrum), roble blanco/pink manjack (Tabebuia heterophylla), bayhops (Ipomea pes-caprae) and Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon).
Îlet à Toiroux is uninhabited and it is forbidden to approach within 100 meters. Mooring and birdwatching are prohibited within 300 meters and for a limited time.
It is a protected islet due to the presence of limicolous (mud-living) birds such as egrets, which come here to nest.
The islets of the National Reserve are home to Martinique's largest seabird colonies (Biotope 2001). They are prime breeding grounds for avifauna, and five species of seabird breed there regularly: Audubon's Shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri), Sooty Tern (Serna fuscata), Brown Noddy (Anous stolidus), Bridled Tern (Sterna anaethetus), Red-billed Strawtail (Phaeton aethereus), Roseate Tern (Sterna dougalli) and Common Tern (Sterna hirundo).
Although the islets are a privileged area for birds, other species encountered are of significant ecological and/or heritage interest. These include the zombie crab (Gecarcinus ruricola), which is found only on these islets in Martinique. Similarly, the Martinique spectacled tegu (Gymnophthalmus pleii) or locally called Chofé soleil is a reptile whose distribution is limited to Martinique and Saint Lucia, and whose status is not yet very well known.