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At Lambert's Bay

Bird Island lies about 100 metres off-shore of Lambert's Bay on the Cape west coast. The island, almost three hectares in size, is connected to the mainland via a breakwater. It is an important breeding and roosting site for seabirds, particularly Cape gannets and cormorants. African penguins used to be common on the island, and Cape fur seals still frequent the rocks on the sea side of the island. Bird Island is managed by CapeNature as a nature reserve for the protection of the wildlife which occurs there.

The island has been developed as a tourist attraction, in association with the local community. In the modern gannet lookout, visitors can get close to the birds and witness the unique mating dances and vocalising of the thousands of gannets on their nests. The signposted interpretation route provides noteworthy pieces of information about the island. The new visitor's centre houses a guano museum, coffee shop, curio ship, aquarium, auditorium and penguin pool.

Guano collection and the seabird population
Bird Island is one of only six sites world-wide where Cape gannets breed, and it is also the only breeding site easily accessible to the public. Guano was collected on the island from 1888 until 1990 for use in fertilisers. A section of the island was even paved to make guano collecting easier.

Penguins occur on the island, but their numbers declined severely during the period when guano was collected. During that time penguin eggs were also collected as a delicacy, but this practice is now illegal. In the past penguins would burrow into the guano and lay their eggs in these holes. This protected the eggs and chicks against extreme temperatures and predators. Today, artificial structures are provided for the penguins to encourage them to breed. There are now about 60 penguins on the island.

The breakwater which connects the island to the mainland was built in 1959. This has allowed domestic cats access to the island, where they prey on the birds, their eggs and chicks.

Visitor facilities
The modern gannet lookout provides an excellent vantage point from where visitors study the thousands of gannets. Interpretation material in the hide provide noteworthy information about these seabirds, their way of life and their habits. Further interpretation signage along the island also provide background information on the bird life of the West Coast.

Visitors can further enjoy and explore the new visitor's centre with a coffee shop, curio ship, aquarium, auditorium and penguin pool.

A video on the history of the island is shown in either Xhosa, English, German or Afrikaans.

The guano museum houses information on the search for "white gold" and even has a replica of a guano scraper's bunks.

Visiting hours are from 7am to 7pm in the summer, and until 5pm in the winter. Entrance may be prohibited if rough seas make it too dangerous to cross the breakwater. Visitors are however warned to be very careful at all times.

Reservations

To make a booking please contact our reservations office

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