An Exciting Day Of Sightings, 18 November 2019
Written by November 18 2019
Our day today was full of surprises, with the mouth of the estuary being recently opened, we are seeing the marine animals being more active around the bay. We were able to see 4 of our marine big 5 today on both our trips. We were able to catch exceptional glances of out Brydes whale, our Cape Fur Seal, the African Penguin and our beautiful Bronze Whaler Shark. The first trip was also really lucky to have encountered two species of whale; our Southern Right as well as our Brydes Whale. The birds were giving us great displays and we even came across a mega flock of Cape Cormorants, we encountered some Giant Petrels, Little Egrets, Sub-Antarctic Skua, White Chinned Petrel and a few species of Tern. We enjoyed every bit of our day and had a fantastic day out at sea.
The Brydes Whale
Our seldom seen Brydes whale
Our cute little Cape Fur Seals in the water
One of the new additions to the colony
On a hot day, you will find lots of seals in the water cooling down
Nap time on Geyser Rock
A young African Penguin in the water
Our endangered African Penguin colony
A few African Penguins scattered around Dyer Island
A huge flock of cormorants
The cormorants were out and about today
The beautiful Bronze Whaler shark under the surface
The Bronze Whaler dorsal fin
What species did we see today?
Brydes Whale Brydes Whale
The mysterious Bryde's whales visit the Dyer Island area throughout the year, with most sightings occurring during summer into winter.
Bronze Whaler Shark Bronze Whaler Shark
The Bronze whaler (also known as Copper sharks) here in Kleinbaai are very curious and interactive. These sharks eat mostly fish, with sardines being one of their favourites.
African Penguin African Penguin
As one of only 17 penguin species left in the world (and the only one on the african continent), the african penguin often breed in offshore colonies, such as Dyer Island.
Cape Cormorant Cape Cormorant
One of the most famous species of Cormorant in the Western Cape, the Cape Cormorant is well known for it's beautiful turquoise eye and impressive size.
Cape fur seal Cape fur seal
With a local population of 60,000, it's no wonder our guests capture so many photographs of these wonderfully playful marine mammals.
White-breasted Cormorant White-breasted Cormorant
White-breasted Cormorant is the largest African cormorant and they have an iconic white chest, it is a favourite for many of our repeat visitors, and professional wildlife photographers.
Bank Cormorant Bank Cormorant
Often enjoying a broad diet including klipfish, rock lobster and more, the increasing rarety of the Bank Cormorant makes every moment we see them even more special.
