Dyer Island is a protected bird sanctuary and used to house a large colony of African Penguins – about 25 000 pairs. Today, there are only about 900 penguin pairs left due to human interference (read more at the Dyer Island Conservation Trust). This small, 20 ha island is the easternmost of the chain of seabird islands of the Western Cape. Rare, endangered bird species such as the Roseate Tern and the Leach’s Storm Petrel still breed on the island, as well as seabirds such as the Whitebreasted, Cape, Bank and Crowned Cormorants, Kelp Gulls and Hartlaub’s Gulls, and Swift Terns. Huge roosts of terns, mainly the migratory Common and Sandwich Terns, occur in summer. Antarctic Terns, which breed on the sub-antarctic islands, roost here in winter. Dyer Island is a nature reserve belonging to CapeNature, but has no visitor access facilities. This is understandable both in terms of the sensitivity of the island’s birds to disturbance, and because it is very tricky to reach. The best landing place on the island can only be used in fairly calm conditions. Many people (including scientists) have been stranded there, waiting for the weather to clear!