Arnoud Quanjer Wildlife Photography

This fishing village is one in a chain of West Coast villages whose natural harbour has been developed slowly over the years. The most valuable catch is Rock Lobster or Crayfish as it is called in South Africa. Sometimes known as ‘red gold’ because the shell turns bright red when cooked. Anchovies, pilchards and long thin silvery snoek (of the barracuda family), are also caught and either canned or processed into meal and oil. Linked to the shore by a breakwater is ‘Bird Island’, a massive slab of rock colonised by thousands of penguins, cormorants and cape gannets. The Gannet colony on Bird Island is the only freely accesible Gannet colony in South Africa.

A hide has been strategically placed near the Gannet colony for good viewing of this colony which produces over 300 tons of guano each year. The hide on the island is perfect for taking pictures of gennets in flight. In fact it's not really a hide, it's a two story building. On ground level you can see the birds, but it's not a good spot for photography because you're viewing the birds through a very filthy window. On the first floor however there is no glass, and that is the perfect spot for taking action pictures.

Bird Island look-out

• View from look-out building View from look-out building
• View from look-out building View from look-out building
• Look-out building Look-out building
• Look-out building Look-out building
• Look-out building Look-out building
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