Page 596 - Atlas Sea Birds Ver1

as higher predation of eggs and nestlings at nests on the and were regarded as principal colonies for this species:
border of colonies (Crawford et al. 2022). Possession Island, Velddrif saltworks, Jutten and Robben
There is only one extant colony of Leach’s Storm Petrel islands, and the Strandfontein coast at the north of
in the region: Dassen Island, which has just 3–4 pairs False Bay in South Africa’s Western Cape. However,
breeding annually. Attempts should be made to secure Strandfontein is encroached upon by urban sprawl and so
breeding at this site, and to attract birds to Dyer Island, not an ideal Super Site. Between them, Keurbooms Lookout
where up to 20 pairs nested in the late 1990s (Whittington Beach and Keurbooms Peninsula held about 900 pairs of
et al. 2024). Kelp Gull in 2021 and were the most important breeding
Four coastal colonies of Great White Pelican are extant site of this species on South Africa’s south coast. They also
around the region’s coast but only three of these held ≥ 10 housed other colonially-nesting waterbirds (Randall et al.
pairs when most recently surveyed, and so met that IBA 2024) and are proposed as an alternative Super Site to
criterion for a VU population: Ilha dos Tigres (141 pairs), Strandfontein.
Dassen Island (331 pairs), and Lake St Lucia (1,000 pairs). Robben Island, with 3,299 pairs, contributed 55% of the
Their preservation is essential to the species’ continued present population of Hartlaub’s Gull. Schaapen Island
existence around coasts of parties to the BCC. (572 pairs) was the only other site with ≥ 500 pairs. Both
All six extant colonies of Cape Gannet met the IBA sites are important for this endemic species although,
criterion for a VU species: Mercury, Ichaboe, Possession, as Hartlaub’s Gulls frequently change breeding sites
Bird (Lambert’s Bay), Malgas, and Bird (Algoa Bay) islands. (Crawford et al. 1994), may not by themselves be sufficient
The earliest record of gannets breeding at Lambert’s Bay for conservation of the species.
was of one or two pairs in 1912 (Jarvis 1971). No new In the present century, only two sites around the coasts
colony has formed since then so it is of utmost importance of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa supported more than
to keep all six colonies extant, given long-term variability 50 pairs of Grey-headed Gull: Algoa Bay, where birds move
in the abundance and distributions of their forage species between the Swartkops, Sundays, and Coega estuaries,
(Roy et al. 2007, Coetzee et al. 2008). had a maximum of 836 pairs in 2022, and Lake St Lucia,
Assuming a VU status for Cape Cormorant, 47 sites met where 728 pairs bred in 2000 (but as many as 1,500 pairs in
the IBA criterion of having ≥ 10 pairs. Angola’s only colony, 1992). Recently, Swartkops River valley hosted the Algoa
Ilha dos Tigres, was recently formed but, in 2020, held c. Bay birds. The Algoa Bay estuaries and Lake St Lucia are a
95,000 pairs or 51% of the overall population, making it vital sine qua non for the coastal population of the region.
for the species’ conservation. Other colonies that then had As with Hartlaub’s Gulls, Greater Crested Terns often
≥ 5% of the population were Mile 4 saltworks and Ichaboe, alter their breeding location, a behaviour that enables
Possession, Jutten, Dassen, and Dyer islands. them to adapt to changed locations of their prey (Crawford
The most recent counts of Bank Cormorants (VU) 2009). More than 1,000 pairs of T. b. bergii have bred
indicated that 26 sites supported ≥ 10 pairs, with only four at 13 sites, three of which (Saldanha Harbour, roofs of
colonies holding ≥ 50 pairs: Mercury Island (882 pairs), buildings in Cape Town, and an abalone farm) are human
Groot Paternoster Rocks (87 pairs), Ichaboe Island (55 modified environments where conservation is not a primary
pairs), and Dagger Rocks (50 pairs). However, Dagger focus. The other ten are Ichaboe, Halifax and Possession
Rocks is a small site that was last counted in 1996, making islands in Namibia, and Malgas, Jutten, Meeuw, Schaapen,
it unsuitable for consideration as a Super Site. The other Dassen, Robben, and Dyer islands in South Africa.
three sites accounted for 63% of the present population of Since 2000, Ilha dos Tigres, Walvis Bay saltworks,
Bank Cormorants. Extinctions of colonies at Bird (Lambert’s Velddrif saltworks, Lower Berg River saltworks, West Coast
Bay), Marcus, and Jutten islands took place within 6–11 National Park (including Caspian Island), Dyer Island, and
years of their having had 27–35 pairs (Tom et al. 2024). Lake St Lucia have all provided key breeding habitat for
Therefore, as with African Penguins, it is vital to maintain Caspian Tern, especially Lake St Lucia which most recently
the larger colonies and to attempt to increase some smaller had 157 pairs, or 40% of the region’s coastal population.
ones. Although saltworks are managed for commercial purposes,
Although White-breasted Cormorant is neither endemic it will be necessary to ensure that birds breeding at them
to the BUS and adjacent coasts nor threatened, its coastal are cared for.
population in the region is not large (c. 1,850 pairs). The The region’s population of Roseate Tern has only bred
three sites for which recent estimates were ≥ 100 pairs, Ilha at seven sites in southern South Africa and, since 2008,
Sao João da Cazanga (100 pairs) near Luanda in central only at Dyer and Bird (Algoa Bay) islands, apart from 1 pair
Angola, Mile 4 saltworks (104 pairs) in central Namibia, and at St Croix Island in 2019 (Crawford et al. 2024). Therefore,
Lake St Lucia (233 pairs) in east South Africa, contributed Dyer and Bird islands are indispensable for this population.
24% of the population and were thought important for its Damara Terns, which are recommended to be classified
perpetuation. as EN, have bred at 72 sites between southern Angola and
Nine sites at their most recent count, or between 2018 Algoa Bay, of which 36 met the IBA criterion of holding ≥
and 2022, held ≥ 100 pairs of Crowned Cormorant, and five pairs. Most recently, 20 of these had ≥ 10 pairs, the
between them contributed 58% of the most up-to-date most important Namibian colonies being Caution Reef with
estimate of this species’ population: Bird Rock Platform, 147 pairs (the adjoining Horses Graves had 20 pairs) and
Ichaboe, Seal, Halifax, and Possession islands in Namibia Durissa Bay Pans (50 pairs). Angra Fria to Cape Fria and
and Meeuw, Dassen, Robben, and Dyer islands in South Hottentot Bay Pan, which in 2015 respectively held 15–70
Africa. Accordingly, they are key sites for this species. pairs and 187–300 pairs (Simmons et al. 2015) were also
Kelp Gulls recently decreased in the region but remain considered key sites for the species. In 1991, a flock of
an abundant species. Lately, five sites had ≥ 1,000 pairs > 5,000 Damara Terns was photographed between Angra

590