On 23/12/2019 at 08:30 am, Anthony skippered the Algoa Bay Marine Vessel and excited Guests on a Whale and Dolphin spotting trip to St Croix, leaving from GQDSAC at 08:30 am.
The number of cetaceans in Algoa Bay is certainly down these last couple of weeks . Bird activity is less and whales and dolphins seem not to be in their ‘normal’ places.
Today was HISTORICAL for two reasons, though:
- With the help of an eagle eyed guest we spotted an Africa Sacred Ibis Colony on Jaheel Island and
- For the first time in what feels like forever we failed to spot any dolphins – this may have something to do with the recent Seismic Survey ship activity in Algoa Bay!
For years we have sailed past Jaheel island and told guests that birds no longer nest on the island because of the close proximity of the Port of Nqura and the ‘IronRats’ that discovered that they could swim across to Jaheel from the harbour wall and eat eggs and tasty chicks. Rats can be resourceful creatures.
Today was to be different, though….
As we were telling guests that birds no longer nest on the island, an eagle eyed youngster pointed out that we were incorrect and indicated a nest (an untidy one) populated by a flock of birds that we were unable to immediately identify.
It turns out that the birds are African Sacred Ibis and it appears that a colony of around 50 has settled on the island – these MAY be all single sex birds.
Why they have done so is pure conjecture at present but one hopes that this is a positive sign from the recent expansion of the Marine Protected Area on 1 August 2019 to include the islands of Jaheel, St. Croix and Brenton.
Read More here: http://mype.co.za/new/african-sacred-ibis-colony-spotted-nesting-on-jaheel-island/127567/2019/12/
The following cetaceans were spotted:
| Time | Latitude | Longitude | Species Code | Adults | Calves | Behaviour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09h25 | 33°49’51.3″S | 25°41’55.1″E | BRY | 2 | 1 | Swimming |
| 11h15 | 33°50’06.0″S | 25°40’08.8″E | BRY | 1 | Swimming |
Legend: SRW – Southern Right Whale | HBW – Humpback Whale | BRY – Brydes Whale | COM – Common Dolphin | BOT – Bottlenose Dolphin | HUMP – Humpback Dolphin | ORCA – Killer Whale/Orca.
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