Bird Island (Namibia)

Bird Island is a man-made platform off the coast of Namibia between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.

It serves as a breeding ground for birds (primarily Cape cormorants) and yields guano, which is collected and sold, as a highly effective fertilizer.

[1][2] Bird Island was conceived and constructed by Adolf Winter, a German who emigrated to South West Africa (now known as Namibia) in 1912.

On the return trip, he noticed the guano had been washed away by the sea and saw a business opportunity.

It is cleaned in Swakopmund to remove feathers and other debris, ground to a powder, and exported to Belgium for US$285 per ton.