30 April 2017

Guide Summary and Photographs

After yesterday’s blistering berg wind, today’s overcast weather was very welcome. It really contributed to that “lazy Sunday feeling” out on the ocean today, with the swell and wind still being non-existent. We hugged the coastline all the way to the edge of Jouberts Dam before travelling along The Clyde towards Dyer Island.

Just before the island, we found 2 juvenile African Penguins in the water. Strangely enough, we refer to these little birds as “Baby Blues” not due to the colour of their feathers but rather the skin tone that one can see underneath the plumage. They were very relaxed, allowing us to spend some time observing them.

After this, we had a look at Dyer Island, most of the residents appeared to be out at sea, taking advantage of the fish moving through the area although we were able to spot another African Penguin, this time an adult, between the kelp in Sponge Bay.

Shark Alley was a sight to behold with thousands of our Cape Cormorants making their way through the alley out towards Pearly Beach. These little black birds breed on Dyer Island which proudly boasts a whopping 60% of their entire population. Although plain from a distance, these birds are actually quite pretty with a blue eye and an orange patch just below their sharp bills.

Most of our resident Cape Fur Seals were lounging around on Geyser Rock today. It is always fascinating to watch the behaviour of the individual seals with many napping whilst others fought amongst each other. We also got to see two pups playing with a piece of kelp just off the beach which was a charming sight.

Behind the island, there seemed to be some fish moving through with many groups of Cape Cormorants and Swift Terns congregating. We stopped to observe them for a while taking note of the noisy Swift Terns impressive diving abilities. These guys are, however no match for our impressive Cape Gannets, who can hit the water at around 80km/h. We had a couple of these stunning seabirds around too, most of which were juveniles.

After a long wait, we managed to spot a Brydes Whale as we were about to head towards the harbour. Unfortunately, this one decided to remain true to the Brydes shy reputation so we only got to see him once before he took a deep dive.

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