FACES OF NEED PROJECT, DYER ISLAND, NEAR GANSBAAI, WESTERN CAPE

In March 2006, a development of 2000 penguin houses was launched on the Dyer Island Nature Reserve, one of the most sensitive of the Important Bird Areas in South Africa. By the night of the launch 200 (10%) of the houses had already been sold. This development has the approval of Cape Nature.

Because of guano scraping in the past, down to bedrock, most of Dyer Island's penguins are forced to nest on the surface, instead of in burrows. The most highly prized sites on the island are below bushes, and under planks of drift wood. Anything that provides shelter is preferred to an open nest.

At surface nests, adults have to be continuously on guard against marauding Kelp Gulls, which sneak in and steal the offspring if the penguin's alertness is disturbed. Surface-nesting penguins are also vulnerable to overheating; if the penguin gets dangerously hot it simply deserts the eggs and goes into the sea to cool off. The gulls immediately take the eggs.

Experiments have found the optimal design for the penguin nest boxes and newly installed nest boxes are rapidly occupied by penguins.

Les Underhill

© 2007 Dyer Island Conservation Trust