Cormorant Island is a 10 ha
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
lying in
Bismarck Strait
The Bismarck Strait is a channel in Antarctica.
It is located between the southern end of Anvers and Wiencke Islands and the Wilhelm Archipelago. It was surveyed in 1874 by First Antarctic German expedition under Captain Eduard Dallmann.
This c ...
1 km south of
Anvers Island
Anvers Island or Antwerp Island or Antwerpen Island or Isla Amberes is a high, mountainous island long, the largest in the Palmer Archipelago of Antarctica. It was discovered by John Biscoe in 1832 and named in 1898 by the Belgian Antarctic ...
, east-south-east of
Bonaparte Point
Bonaparte is an Italian surname. It derives from Italian ''bona'' (''buona'') 'good' and ''parte'' 'solution' or 'match' (a name bestowed as an expression of satisfaction at a newborn's arrival).
Bonaparte may refer to:
People
*The House of Bon ...
, in the
Palmer Archipelago
Palmer Archipelago, also known as Antarctic Archipelago, Archipiélago Palmer, Antarktiske Arkipel or Palmer Inseln, is a group of islands off the northwestern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.
It extends from Tower Island in the north to Anver ...
of
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
. It lies some 5 km to the south-east of the United States'
Palmer Station
Palmer Station is a United States research station in Antarctica located on Anvers Island, the only US station located north of the Antarctic Circle. Initial construction of the station finished in 1968. The station, like the other U.S. Antarcti ...
in
Arthur Harbour on Anvers Island. It was shown on an
Argentine government chart of 1954, but not named. It was named by the
United Kingdom Antarctic Place-names Committee
The UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (or UK-APC) is a United Kingdom government committee, part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responsible for recommending names of geographical locations within the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) an ...
(UK-APC) in 1958 because of the large number of
cormorants (shags) seen there.
[
]
Important Bird Area
The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports a breeding colony of over 700 pairs of Antarctic shag
The Antarctic shag (''Leucocarbo bransfieldensis''), sometimes referred to as the imperial cormorant, king cormorant, imperial shag, blue-eyed shag or Antarctic cormorant, is the only species of the cormorant family found in the Antarctic. It is s ...
s, one of the largest such colonies in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Other birds nesting at the site include Adélie penguins and southern giant petrels. The IBA is defined by the border of a Restricted Zone, under the Management Plan for ASMA 7 - Southwest Anvers Island and Palmer Basin
Southwest Anvers Island and Palmer Basin is a 3275 km2 Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA 7). It lies towards the northern end of the Antarctic Peninsula, encompassing the south-western coastline of Anvers Island, in the Palmer Archipe ...
, which includes, as well as the island, the surrounding marine area up to 50 m from the shoreline.
See also
* List of Antarctic islands south of 60° S
References
External links
Islands of the Palmer Archipelago
Important Bird Areas of Antarctica
Seabird colonies
Penguin colonies
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