African penguin burrows at Dassen Island

Nothing can quite prepare you for arriving on Dassen Island. Penguins huddle almost like statues on the beach, the sky is filled with Common Terns, Swift Terns and their cries, black masses of Cape Cormorants cover the outcrops of rock and the majestic shapes of the White Pelican are silhouetted on the skyline. Stepping onto the long wooden jetty, one cannot fail to be also stunned by the large white sandy beach, the crystal clear, turquoise water and the wonderful undisturbed atmosphere.

I was lucky enough to spend ten days on the island working as a volunteer. The African Black Oystercatcher with its beautifully sleek black body and electric orange eyes and beak is a main focus of research. The newly hatched chicks are well camouflaged in the dry kelp on the beaches and only the intensity of the adult's alarm call gave us some indication of their whereabouts. Otherwise, most chicks are incredibly well hidden in the intertidal rocks and we followed the traces of recently eaten mussel shells to find them. Oystercatchers are wonderful birds to work with, often remaining very passive as we measured and ringed them (this came as a pleasant surprise after having spent a lot of time working with birds that pecked and struggled!).

Something I particularly enjoyed was the penguin retraps. Observing the colony from a distance, a telescope is used to read the ID number of birds that have metal flipper bands. From these results, the survival, movements and moult cycles of these individuals can be followed. It was quite amazing to watch certain penguins with flipper bands showing that they had survived both the Apollo Sea and Treasure oil spills. Other work with penguins included burrow occupancy and breeding success surveys. These involved checking certain burrows for adults (and whether they were loafing, incubating or in a pair) chicks and eggs. In some areas of the island, the intensity of penguin burrows in the bare, open ground is so great that it becomes almost precarious to walk amongst them. The roofs of some burrows can be just a few centimetres thick so one has to tread very carefully!

It was a valuable experience to work with the endangered African Black Oystercatchers and sometimes see more that 50 birds congregated at one spot. Also, to see such a thriving penguin population and individuals that had survived the terrible circumstances of oil spills, back on the island. Finally, it was amazing to stay in a room surrounded by penguin burrows and work in an environment where footprints of threatened bird species vastly outnumber human footprints.

Susie and the sea...