Bird Island, Lambert's Bay

Down Monday’s Verlorenvlei-spring-flowers, past Wednesday’s train, we are going to see the birds at Lambert’s Bay. Our Wild Card got us free entry. There used to be penguins here, but now any arriving birds are passed on to SANCCOB for relocation to an existing colony. In 2002 there were still 50 breeding pairs on this island.   

Lambert’s Bay is one of the West Coast’s traditional fishing villages morphing into tourists and holiday homes. These are the fishing for fish boats. Bird Island is connected to the shore by a causeway. Easy for the tourists, not so great for the birds.

Penguins were made to keep warm while fishing in cold water. Nesting on hot land is hard to do. They used to dig burrows in guano, when there was a layer of guano to dig into. Now they seek shelter from the sun, and their enemies, for their eggs and chicks.

Guano, a Peruvian word, was called White Gold in the 1800s. In 1843 three ships came from Liverpool to collect guano. The first was wrecked, the second turned back, and the third didn’t get a full load. Yet at ten British pounds a ton, it still made a profit! Britain gave Namibia to Germany, keeping the guano islands. Then in the 1950s – artificial fertiliser.  If you use guano in your garden – do consider how ‘green’ it is, for the sake of those penguins.

Kelp gulls will steal eggs or chicks from the other birds if you are unkind/careless enough to disturb the parents. They feed on the discards from the potato and fish factories in town. See the red spot on the beak? The chicks peck here, and dinner is delivered. Coming up right now …

Seals were a big problem, terrorising the birds to such an extent that they abandoned the island to them. In June 2006 gannet scouts came. By the end of July most of the birds had returned.  Now nature conservation staff chase off the seals, when the birds are breeding. But it is shocking to suddenly recognise those dark shapes on the far rocks, as … seals!

Bird Island is mostly about Cape Gannets. The North Atlantic and Australasia have each their own species of gannet. This is ours. Stretching around the coast of southern Africa, from the Spanish Sahara on the West, to Mozambique on the East. They have been seen in Kenya, Australia and Scotland too.

Since Cape Gannets nest in guano (not collecting material as other birds do) they are tightly packed together. As they fly home, bird’s eye view, they know exactly where their nest is – 15A Main Road. Frightfully polite when coming home, they circle low, and warn the neighbours and spouse – 

15A coming H O M E! 

A few more circuits, and polite warnings, and only then, they land. Then again to warn the neighbours – 

I’m pulling out of the garage now 

– they skypoint, before leaving for the next shift.

To ease the stress of living on top of the neighbours, pairs practice bill scissoring, a ritual dance, along with mutual preening as with any couple.

This colony was formed in 1912. Predators coming over the causeway are an ongoing threat to the birds. Young male Cape Fur Seals develop skills at attacking and killing cormorants, penguins and gannets. The threat of an oil spill is ever-present, but unpredictable. Both the Cape Gannet and the African Penguin are in competition with the fishing industry for Sardine and Anchovy. Guano scraping has been discontinued, but human disturbance remains a threat. Please stay on the paths on the island. From UCT

And in closing, if you really want to demoralise yourself about the iffy quality of your photos … look at this  wildlifephotography.nl 2009

Pictures by Jurg and Diana, words by Diana of Elephant's Eye