Ascension

[Ascension]

1.History of Ascension

Ascension Island lies just to the south of the equator about 700 miles north of St.Helena. The island was discovered in 1501 by Juan da Nova Castella, on his way to India. He called it Conception. He also discovered St. Helena on his return. It was rediscovered in 1503 by Alfonso d'Alberquerque on Ascension Day hence, reputedly, its name.

Ascension is in fact a mountain peak which rises 10,000ft from the ocean floor just to the west of the mid-Atlantic Ridge < forming an island at the surface. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a weakness in the earth's crust which still sees Volcanic activity as per Tristan da Cunha in 1961 so an eruption on Ascension cannot be ruled out.

The island is 88 sq km in area and consists of three different ages of development. The oldest part of the island is considered to be the highest area to the South east rising to 2800 feet at Green Mountain, 2000ft at Weather Post and 1700ft at White Hill. These were thought to have formed from a volcanic explosion through which a dome was formed on the base of basalt. All around the area are smaller similar structures, containing fissures where further flows of basalt have occurred. The Devil's Cauldron is a large volcanic crater several hundred yards across. Red Hill Mountain was formed in the second stage of development and is a purely basalt cone and were somewhat eroded before the third phase began. The most recently formed peaks are Sisters Peak and Perfect crater close to it and they are still almost perfect cones. It is thought the last eruptions occurred some 600 years ago, the upper slopes being soft ash, lava flows spread north to the coast 2 miles away and there is a considerable area of cinders on the lower slopes.

One of the biggest problems facing the island was and is the lack of water, as the low annual rainfall scarcely maintained the needs of Georgetown the capital. Ascension has a tropical climate, but is drier than expected. The general impression is that the island is a barren dusty and waterless wilderness where the temperature is generally in the eighties fahrenheit and rain is virtually unknown. This is true for all but a quarter of the island. Because of its geographical position and the 8 degrees difference between the coast and higher ground the greatest rainfall occurs on Green Mountain and to the north west. This is where most of the vegetation can be found. One or two natural sources of water were found, one by Dampier in 1701 and named Dampier's Drip after him. When Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena in 1815, a British Garrison took possession of the island to avoid any rescue attempt. From then until 1922 the Royal Navy administered the island. A water supply was essential and two springs were found, one of which was Dampier's Drip. The water was fed into barrels and transported 5 miles over the lava fields. This continued for fifteen years when pipes were laid into Georgetown. Following Napoleon's death in 1821 the island changed its role to a supply base for naval ships and various improvements made to its road and water systems.

In 1899 a submarine cable was landed at Comfortless Cove and Ascension suddenly was able to contact the outside world immediately without a delay of weeks and eventually became a crossroads for international communications, a role it continues today with satellite receivers. In 1922 the Telegraph company took control and Ascension became a Dependency of St Helena and quite a number of St Helenians work on the island. During the Second World War the Americans came and constructed an airfield by 1942 on Wideawake and anti submarine bombers were stationed there. At the end of the war they left leaving a population of about 170 but by 1956 the Americans were using the island to track missiles from Cape Canaveral and later a NASA tracking station was set up at Devil's Ashpit. The island was important during the Falklands war in 1982 as a staging post for supplies.

2.Birdlife of Ascension

[Boatswain]

Boatswain Bird Island

Once there millions of sea birds on Ascension, however the introduction of feral cats in 1815 they have cleared the majority of them. Only some 3/4 of a million terns breed on traditional sites (or fairs). All the other species breed on inaccessible cliffs and offshore islands away from the cats. The Sooty (Wideawake) Terns (Sterna fuscata) have a ten month cycle and breed on the coastal flats near Mars Bay. Boatswain Bird island lies just of the east coast and is a flat topped sheer rock some 400 yards long and 300 feet high. it is accessible via a rope ladder attached to a wooden gantry. At one time in the twenties the guano deposits were worked by an English company and some of the remains of the venture still exist. It is here the endemic Ascension Frigate Bird (Fregata aquila) lives, which survives by pirating other birds' food especially the Boobies. The Boobies present are the White (Sula Dactylatra) and the Brown (Sula Leucogasta). The Boobies are attractive birds and belong to the Gannet family. A few Fairy Terns (Gygis alba) also nest on the cliffs. Ascension is famous for its Boatswain Birds, the Red-Billed (Phaethon aethereus) and the Yellow-Billed (Phaethon lepturus) . They have magnificent tail feathers, which are over half the length of their body. A few Madeiran Petrel (Oceanodroma castra) nest on Boatswain Bird Island as well as Black Noddy (Arious tenuirestris) which is very similar to a Tern. It is black with a white cap and is more common on St.Helena. There exists only four non-seabirds all of which have been introduced, The Waxbill (Estrilda astrild) usually seen in Georgetown as is the Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis). Canaries (Serinus flaviventris) were introduced in the 1860s. A few Red-Legged Partridge (Pternistis afer) occur. Occasionally vagrants do occur usually something like Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis)

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