Stony Point is one of three mainland African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) colonies-the others being Boulders Beach in Cape Town and a small colony in the De Hoop Nature Reserve.
Earlier this year-November 10-I travelled with some friends to Stony Point, not to see the penguins however, but to catch a sighting of a wayward Elephant Seal (Mirounga leonina). Alerted by a post on the CapeBirdNet we spent the day relaxing in the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens before stopping off to view the seal on the way home. I was a little disappointed to find it was a juvenile seal rather than an adult male which I had hoped for, but the seal was still an impressive sight:
We did not check out the penguin colony on that trip but here are pictures from a previous trip on New Years day earlier this year:
The colony is home not only to the penguins, but a variety of other sea birds including cormorants:
and gulls. This is a Cape Gull (Larus vetula) nest with a single chick:
There were also a number of other animal species present. We spotted a Cape Grey Mongoose (Galerella pulverulenta) as well as a number of lizards:
Southern Rock Agama (Agama atra atra)
Cape Girdled Lizard (Cordylus cordylus)
and Red-sided Skink (Mabuya homalocephala).
White-beaded Vygie (Monilaria moniliformis) [Vygie is an Afrikaans word meaning succulent plant. See 
Sorrel (Oxalis sp.)
Unknown succulent.
Unkown Drosanthemum sp.
Namaqualand Arctotis, (Arctotis fastuosa).
