Bird Island, Falkland Islands

Island of the Falkland Islands

Island in Falkland Islands, Falkland Islands

Bird Island

Isla Pájaro

Island

Bird Island

Bird Island shown within the Falkland Islands

Coordinates: 52°10′S 60°56′W﻿ / ﻿52.17°S 60.93°W﻿ / -52.17; -60.93
Country| Falkland Islands
Island group| Falkland Islands
Area

• Total

| 1.2 km2 (0.5 sq mi)
Highest elevation

| 107 m (351 ft)
Time zone| UTC−3 (FKST)
If shown, area and population ranks are for all islands and all inhabited islands in the Falklands respectively.

Bird Island (Spanish: Isla Pájaro) is one of the Falkland Islands. It lies due south of West Falkland, near Port Stephens[1] and Calm Head. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International.

According to Ian Strange "Such offshore islands [as Bird Island] are the remaining strongholds of a large percentage of bird life".[1]

## Geography

[edit]

Bird Island is located 4.5 km off the south-western coast of West Falkland and is roughly triangular in shape. The western half of the southern coast has sheer cliffs reaching at least 70 m and the plateau above slopes gently to the north and west. In the centre of the island there is a large seasonal pool to the west of a small inlet. The eastern promontory has two domed peaks reaching to at least 110 m with sheer southern cliffs of 30 m and very steep slopes in the north. Access by boat is difficult, except at the small north-east-facing inlet between the northern and eastern promontories, and the terrain is difficult to cross, with dense growth of Tussac above thick, soft peat and Tussac overhanging deep gulches.[2]

## Wildlife

[edit]

Amongst the birds which breed here are rockhopper penguins, king shags, petrels and black-browed albatrosses.[1]

The total number of species recorded on Bird Island in November 1998 was 27, of which 25 bred or were probably breeding. Macaroni penguin, ruddy-headed goose, canary-winged finch, black-throated finch and Falkland steamer duck are present but their status is uncertain or populations are too small to qualify. The congregation of seabirds on this island exceeds 10,000 breeding pairs, making the site classifiable under the A4iii criterion. Bird Island is one of the most important breeding sites for the striated caracara and it is considered that the population here is at least as dense as on any offshore island around the Falklands, possibly due to the very large population of thin-billed prions, an important prey species.

Deep Tussac cover over most of Bird Island makes it comparable to Beauchene Island for the density of burrowing petrels. Other species that should be investigated include sooty shearwater, grey-backed storm petrel, which is thought to be numerous, rock shag, imperial shag and dolphin gull. Endemic races present include the dark-faced ground-tyrant, Falkland thrush, long-tailed meadowlark and common diving petrel.[2]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Strange, Ian (1983) The Falkland Islands
2. ^ a b "Important Bird Areas factsheet: Bird Island". BirdLife International. 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.

* v
* t
* e

Falkland Islands

Capital: Port Stanley

History|

* 1770 Falklands crisis
* 1833 British Reassertion
* Hope Place
* Port Egmont
* Puerto Soledad
* 1982 invasion
* Falklands War

Geography|

| Islands|

* Arch
* Bald
* Barclay
* Barren
* Beaver
* Beauchene
* Bird
* Bleaker
* Bobs
* Broken
* Burdwood Bank
* Carcass
* Dunbar
* Dyke
* East Falkland
* Lafonia
* East
* Eddystone Rock
* Elephant Cays
* Eddystone Rock
* Fox
* George
* Golding
* Great
* Hog
* Hummock
* Jason
* Keppel
* Kidney
* Lively
* Long
* New
* Passage
* Pebble
* Penn
* Quaker
* Rabbit
* Ruggles
* Sandy Bay
* Saunders
* Sea Dog
* Sea Lion
* Speedwell
* Split
* Staats
* Swan
* Tea
* Tyssen
* Weddell
* West Falkland
* West Point

|

Locations|

* Ajax Bay
* Bay of Harbours
* Bertha's Beach
* Bluff Cove
* Brenton Loch
* Bull Point
* Byron Heights
* Camp
* Cape Bougainville
* Cape Pembroke
* Chartres
* Chatham
* Circum Peak
* Darwin
* Douglas
* Dunnose Head
* Eagle Passage
* Falkland Sound
* Fitzroy
* Fox Bay
* French
* Goose Green
* Grantham Sound
* Green Patch
* Gull
* Hill Cove
* Hope Harbour
* Hornby Mountains
* Horse
* Hoste Inlet
* Johnson's Harbour
* Lafonia
* Loop
* Mount Adam
* Mount Alice
* Mount Maria
* Mount Usborne
* Mount Weddell
* New Haven
* New Year Cove
* North Arm
* Orqueta
* Pebble Island Settlement
* Pillar
* Pleasant Peak
* Port Albemarle
* Port Howard
* Port Louis
* Port Patterson
* Port San Carlos
* Port Stephens
* Quaker Harbour
* Race
* Rincon Grande
* Roy Cove
* Salvador
* San Carlos
* Seal Bay
* Smylie Channel
* Stanley
* Stanley Harbour
* Swan
* Teal Inlet
* Volunteer Point
* Walker Creek
* Weddell Point
* Weddell Settlement

Politics|

* Chief Executive
* Constitution
* Falkland Islands pound (currency)
* Government House
* Governor
* list
* Legislative Assembly
* Representative Office, London
* Sovereignty dispute

Military|

* Falkland Islands Defence Force
* Mare Harbour
* RAF Mount Pleasant
* 1312 Flight
* 1435 Flight
* RRH Mount Kent
* RRH Byron Heights
* RRH Mount Alice

Economy|

* Falkland Islands Company
* Falkland Islands Development Corporation
* Falkland Islands General Employees Union
* Falkland Landholdings Corporation
* Falklands Oil and Gas

Society|

* Education
* Falkland Islands Community School
* Falkland Islanders
* Origins
* Falklands Conservation
* Human rights
* LGBT
* Languages
* Falkland Islands English
* Law Enforcement
* Telecommunications
* Internet domain
* Transport
* Falkland Islands Government Air Service
* Mount Pleasant Airport
* Port Stanley Airport

Culture|

* Coat of arms
* Flag
* Motto
* Religion
* Anglican parish
* Christ Church Cathedral
* Roman Catholicism
* Scouting and Guiding

Sport|

* Commonwealth Games
* Cricket team
* Football team
* Rifle Association
* Rugby union

(*) Sixth-formers attend Peter Symonds College in England, and national diploma / NVQ students attend Chichester College in England
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template