Page 91 - Atlas Sea Birds Ver1

2.2.3.6 Breeding sites of seabirds between Hottentots Bay and Grosse
Bucht

Authors: DB Tom, PA Bartlett, RJM Crawford, J-A Delport, BM Dyer, AB Makhado, and R Jones

Abstract:
Twelve seabird species have bred at 12 localities along the Namibian coastline between Hottentots Bay and Grosse Bucht to the south
of Lüderitz: African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), Cape Gannet (Morus capensis), Cape Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis), Bank
Cormorant (P. neglectus), White-breasted Cormorant (P. lucidus), Crowned Cormorant (Microcarbo coronatus), Kelp Gull (Larus domini-
canus), Hartlaub’s Gull (Chroicocephalus hartlaubii), Grey-headed Gull (C. cirrocephalus), Greater Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii), Cas-
pian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) and Damara Tern (Sternula balaenarum). Substantial quantities of seabird guano were collected from Ich-
aboe Island, which formerly supported more than 350,000 breeding Cape Gannets as well as considerable numbers of African Penguins,
Cape and Bank cormorants. However, populations of gannets, penguins and Bank Cormorants have dwindled. There were also large
decreases in numbers of African Penguins at Halifax Island. Food scarcity was a major driver of the decreases in penguins and gannets.
Introduction:
No breeding by seabirds is known for the coastal area between Saddle Hill at Dolphin Head, just south of Mercury Island, in the southern
portion of the Namib Naukluft National Park (NNNP), and southern Hottentots Bay. However, breeding has been recorded at 12 localities
along the Namibian coastline between southern Hottentots Bay and Grosse Bucht to the south of Lüderitz, of which five are on the main-
land, four are islands and three are islets or offshore rocks. Twelve seabird species have nested in this region, including ten of the 11 that
bred along the coast of NNNP: African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus), Cape Gannet (Morus capensis), Cape Cormorant (Phalacrocorax
capensis), Bank Cormorant (P. neglectus), White-breasted Cormorant (P. lucidus), Crowned Cormorant (Microcarbo coronatus), Kelp Gull
(Larus dominicanus), Hartlaub’s Gull (Chroicocephalus hartlaubii), Caspian Tern (Hydroprogne caspia) and Damara Tern (Sternula balae-
narum). Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), which formerly bred at Sandwich Harbour in NNNP, has not been known to breed
along Namibia’s coastline south of that locality, although it has bred farther south in Namibia’s inland at Hardap Dam (Simmons 2015b).
Both Grey-headed Gull (C. cirrocephalus) and Greater Crested (Swift) Tern (Thalasseus bergii), which bred between Swakopmund and
Walvis Bay but not in NNNP, have nested between Hottentots Bay and Grosse Bucht.
The positions of the 12 breeding localities are shown on Figure 1. Records of breeding are collated below with brief descriptions of
localities, first for the islands, including islets, rocks and Shark Island/Lüderitz Harbour, which is joined to/part of the mainland, and then for
the other mainland sites. In both instances the localities are ordered from north to south. ‘√’ signifies breeding occurred but the numbers
were not ascertained; ‘#’ that substantial numbers were breeding; ‘?’ that breeding may have taken place. A short summary of methods
used to obtain estimates of numbers breeding is given in the chapter ‘Introduction to Seabird Breeding Localities’.
Two regions to the south of Hottentots Bay were recognised by Simmons et al. (1998) as Globally Important Bird Areas: Ichaboe Island
and the Lüderitz Bay Islands (including Halifax Island). Ichaboe Island formerly supported more than 350,000 breeding Cape Gannets as
well as substantial numbers of African Penguins, Cape, Bank and Crowned cormorants (Crawford et al. 1982b, 1999, 2007a, b, Kemper
2015a). Thousands of terns may roost at the island (Simmons et al. 1998). The islands in the vicinity of Lüderitz also have supported large
numbers of these species, although not recently of Cape Gannets, and of African Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus moquini, Simmons
et al. 1998).

1. Islands and Shark Island/Lüderitz Harbour al. 2007a, Roux and Kemper 2015); White-breasted Cor-
morant (Brooke et al. 1982, Kemper et al. 2007a); Crowned
Sources of information for species and numbers breed- Cormorant (Crawford et al. 1982b, Kemper et al. 2007a,
ing: Eleven seabird species have bred at one or more of Kemper 2015c); Kelp Gull (Crawford et al. 1982a, Kemper
Neglectus, Ichaboe, Little Ichaboe, Dagger, Seal, Penguin, et al. 2007a); Hartlaub’s Gull (Williams et al. 1990, Kemper
Shark (including Lüderitz Harbour) and Halifax islands or et al. 2007a, Simmons 2015c); Grey-headed Gull (Brooke
rocks: African Penguin, Cape Gannet, Cape, Bank, White- et al. 1999), Greater Crested Tern (Cooper et al. 1990,
breasted and Crowned cormorants, Kelp, Hartlaub’s and Kemper et al. 2007a) and Caspian Tern (Cooper et al.
Grey-headed gulls and Greater Crested and Caspian terns. 1992, Simmons 2015a).
Estimates of numbers breeding in different years from
1828–2022 are shown below on the tables applicable to Neglectus Islet
each locality. The estimates were from the following sourc- Coordinates: 26.137 S; 14.946 E
es, which were updated by unpublished records of Namib- Description: A small islet at the south of Hottentots Bay.
ia’s Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) Conservation status: It falls within the Namibian Islands
and South Africa’s Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Marine Protected Area (NIMPA) and has restricted access
the Environment (DFFE): African Penguin (Crawford et al. (Currie et al. 2009, Ludynia et al. 2012).
1995b, 2013, Kemper 2015a); Cape Gannet (Crawford Note: African Penguins bred at Neglectus Islet in the 1800s
et al. 2007a, Kemper 2015b, Sherley et al. 2019); Cape (Shelton et al. 1984). No breeding was recorded there in
Cormorant (Crawford et al. 2007b, Kemper and Simmons the late 1980s (Crawford et al. 1995a) but penguins recolo-
2015); Bank Cormorant (Crawford et al. 1999, Kemper et nised the locality in the 1990s (Roux et al. 2003).

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