Bird Island, Lamberts Bay, South Africa: An attempt at conservation

Abstract

Visitors formerly constituted a threat to the breeding success of bird populations on Bird Island, Lamberts Bay. Their activity also reduced the numbers of transient birds roosting on the island. Thus, guano production was depressed. Conservation measures were therefore implemented to protect breeding birds and to avoid disturbance to the nightly arrival of transients, while allowing human visitors to view nests at close quarters. The measures resulted in a vast increase in the non-breeding transient bird population and in the breeding population, as well as an increase in guano production. Adjacent islands showed no increase in guano production; consequently that of Lamberts Bay is attributable to the success of conservation measures.