Boatswain Bird Island
| Boatswain Bird Island | |
 Boatswain Bird Island | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Location: | 7°56’9"S, 14°18’27"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | Uninhabited |
Boatswain Bird Island, also spelt Boatswainbird Island, is a small island some 300 yards off the east coast of Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean (and part of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha).
The island has an area of approximately 13.1 acre (5.3 ha). Nearby lies Boatswain Bird Rock, only about 30 feet by 16 feet in size, 620 yards south-east of Boatswain Bird Island (and 400 yards north-east of the coast of Ascension itself). The southern coast of the island has an impressive natural arch.
Landing by the public on Boatswain Bird Island is forbidden. Boat trips and divers anchor off its shores and dolphins often play around the boats as they speed through the turquoise waters. The island can be seen from many vantage points around the Island; the top of Weatherpost or White Horse or simply by walking along from Hannay’s Beach, next to where the blow hole spews water into a fountain.[1]
Birds
There are thousands of inhabitants on this tiny island, all of which are birds, which give the island its white colour. Among the many seabirds nesting there are boobies, petrels, noddies, as well as the tropicbirds (boatswain birds) for which the island is named.
The island is the main breeding site of the Ascension frigatebird.
Boatswain Bird Island is the home of the majority of Ascension's birds due to rats on the main island (accidentally introduced by passing ships) and then cats (introduced to catch the rats, as well as pets) eating the birds and their eggs on Ascension. Since the mid-1990s there has been a feral cat eradication programme, alongside a rat eradication programme, to encourage the birds back to the main island.
History
In 1923 the English Bay Company began mining guano deposits. The remains of this mining and the old log railway tracks can be seen on the surface of Boatswain Bird Island and around English Bay itself. Even after the English Bay Company stopped commercial operations, the guano off Boatswain Island was collected to fertilise the farm at Green Mountain.[1]
Important Bird Area
The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International as a breeding site for seabirds. Birds for which the island is significant include Madeiran storm petrels (1,500 breeding pairs), red-billed tropicbirds (500 pairs), white-tailed tropicbirds (1000 pairs), Ascension frigatebirds (6,000 pairs), masked boobies]] (1,300 pairs) and black noddies]] (5,000 pairs).[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 British forces overseas: Falkland Islands and Ascension Island
- ↑ "Boatswainbird Island". Important Bird Areas factsheet. BirdLife International. 2012. http://www.birdlife.org. Retrieved 2012-10-25.
