Ilet Percé

Îlet Percé is an uninhabited islet in the commune of Sainte-Anne. Together with the Hardy, Burgaux and Poirier islets, it forms the Réserve Naturelle des îlets de Sainte-Anne (Sainte-Anne islets nature reserve).

L'îlet Percé is a rounded islet of just 0.46 hectares. It rises only 5 meters above sea level. It is covered by sandy banks with fine sand, but also steep, sharp cliffs chiseled with basins and kamenitzas (closed basins caused by dissolution and often filled with water), large boulders and plateaus.

The kamenitzas serve as water reserves for the development of vegetation in and around them. There are numerous kamenitzas on the islet.

The reserve is a protected area, as it is one of the most important seabird breeding sites in the Lesser Antilles.

Every year from December to September, five species of migratory seabirds come here to take refuge and breed. These include the Brown Noddy, the Sooty Tern, the Bridled Tern, the White-tailed tropicbird and the Audubon Shearwater.

Sedentary species such as the Carib grackle can also be found here.

In addition to birds, other fauna includes rats, which wreak havoc on the islets, insects (mainly locusts), crustaceans (soldier crabs, hermit crabs, crabs), chitons and littorines, as well as a few fish.

In terms of vegetation, Percé islet has developed a large formation of Mabouge or Capparis Flexuiosa, a species absent from the other islets. Percé is the only islet to also host groves of Clerodendron aculeatum.

The dry period is long, over 10 months. The cliff vegetation lacks Cactaceae (cierge, raquette), Agavaceae (Karata), epiphytes, frangipani (Plumeria alba) and red gum (Bursera simaruba).

In dry periods, the vegetation on the islets appears burnt and yellowed. They turn green in rainy season. The pear trees present lose part of their families and reduce their metabolism. The other species are sclerophylls, xerophytes that are adapted to drought and keep their foliage.

The birds that come to nest in the first half of the year therefore find favorable nesting conditions in this quiet area surrounded by bare cliffs.

Access to Îlet Percé is forbidden due to its fundamental role for the avifauna of the Lesser Antilles. Tour operators offering excursions to Îlet Chevalier offer getting close to it, but not visiting it.