Penguins at Boulders

On Monday Mum, Sandra and I went to the small seaside town of Boulders, where a pair of African Penguins first came ashore in 1984, onto one of two public beaches. Since then they have bred and multiplied, and probably others have joined the colony on the beach. Boulders is situated in False Bay, which is sheltered from the harsh Atlantic weather. A few years ago the BBC made a film called 'City Slickers' following a pair of penguins called Henry and Margo over the course of a year. Then the penguins were allowed to roam at will anywhere in the town, hence the name 'City Slickers'. Now, a penguin sanctuary has been built on the beach, and the locals have exclusive use of their other beach.

The African Penguin is the smallest of all the penguins, being only 50cm tall, with a very distinctive black line across its chest. They waddle across the beach, over the boulders, in and out of the sea, picking up seaweed to take back to their nests.

Many dig a burrow on the beach and eggs hatch after 30 days incubation at the end of summer. Now, well into the spring the baby penguins have a brown downy coat and are not much smaller than their parents. Each pair have one or two chicks. There is a pair of chicks in the centre of the photograph and several other chicks, if you look carefully.

This brown coat keeps them warm throughout the winter. It then changes to a blue-grey colour which is waterproof, ready for them to take their first swim in the autumn. The youngsters then leave their parents to swim for many months in the oceans. They only come ashore again after a couple of years to breed.

Penguins are monogamous, staying with each other for life. Increasingly, a mating pair use one of the man-made burrows to incubate their eggs. Before the sanctuary was constructed, with its boadwalks for viewing, the penguins would find all manner of places to build a nest and breed.