Boatswain Bird Island
Encyclopedia
Boatswain Bird Island is an island some 270 metres off the east coast of Ascension Island
in the South Atlantic Ocean
with an area of approximately 5.3 hectare
s (13 acre
s). It is administered from Georgetown
on Ascension, which is part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom
.
There are thousands of inhabitants on this tiny island, all of which are birds, which give the island its white colour. Amongst the many species of birds living there are Sooty tern
(or Wideawake birds due to a distinctive cry that sounds like they are saying 'wideawake'), boobies
, petrel
s, noddies
, Ascension Frigatebird
s and Boatswain birds.
The island is the home of the majority of Ascension's birds due to rats (accidentally introduced by passing ships) and then cats (introduced to catch the rats, as well as pets) eating the birds and their eggs on the main island. Since the mid 1990s there has been a feral cat eradication program, alongside a rat eradication program, to encourage the birds back onto the Ascension mainland. The importance of this program is to maintain the numbers of some of the birds unique to Ascension, such as the Ascension Frigatebirds and the Boatswain birds.
Boatswain Bird Island should not be confused with nearby, still much smaller Boatswain Bird Rock, only about 10 by 5 meters in size, located 570 meters southeast of the island and 360 meters northeast of the closest coast of Ascension Island.
The south shore of the island has an impressive natural arch
.
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...
in the South Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
with an area of approximately 5.3 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s (13 acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s). It is administered from Georgetown
Georgetown, Ascension Island
Georgetown is the capital and chief settlement of Ascension Island, situated on the west coast of the island.The town is centred around St Mary's Church, part of the Anglican Diocese of St Helena and the former Exiles Club, which is on the site of the original Royal Marines barracks from the times...
on Ascension, which is part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of the islands of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the Tristan da Cunha group...
, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
There are thousands of inhabitants on this tiny island, all of which are birds, which give the island its white colour. Amongst the many species of birds living there are Sooty tern
Sooty Tern
The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...
(or Wideawake birds due to a distinctive cry that sounds like they are saying 'wideawake'), boobies
Booby
A booby is a seabird in the genus Sula, part of the Sulidae family. Boobies are closely related to the gannets , which were formerly included in Sula.-Description:...
, petrel
Petrel
Petrels are tube-nosed seabirds in the bird order Procellariiformes. The common name does not indicate relationship beyond that point, as "petrels" occur in three of the four families within that group...
s, noddies
Noddy (tern)
Noddies are members of the tern family Sternidae in the genera Anous, Procelsterna, and Gygis. They are a tropical group, characterised by the notch-wedge shaped tail; coastal and pelagic oceanic...
, Ascension Frigatebird
Ascension Frigatebird
The Ascension Frigatebird breeds only on the tiny Boatswain Bird Island just off Ascension Island in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It formerly bred on the larger island, but was exterminated by introduced cats, Brown Rats, and human persecution.It breeds on the rocky slopes of Boatswainbird...
s and Boatswain birds.
The island is the home of the majority of Ascension's birds due to rats (accidentally introduced by passing ships) and then cats (introduced to catch the rats, as well as pets) eating the birds and their eggs on the main island. Since the mid 1990s there has been a feral cat eradication program, alongside a rat eradication program, to encourage the birds back onto the Ascension mainland. The importance of this program is to maintain the numbers of some of the birds unique to Ascension, such as the Ascension Frigatebirds and the Boatswain birds.
Boatswain Bird Island should not be confused with nearby, still much smaller Boatswain Bird Rock, only about 10 by 5 meters in size, located 570 meters southeast of the island and 360 meters northeast of the closest coast of Ascension Island.
The south shore of the island has an impressive natural arch
Natural arch
A natural arch or natural bridge is a natural geological formation where a rock arch forms, with an opening underneath. Most natural arches form as a narrow ridge, walled by cliffs, become narrower from erosion, with a softer rock stratum under the cliff-forming stratum gradually eroding out until...
.