The Passage Islands ( es, Islas del Pasaje) are a group of four islands in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

of the South

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. They lie off

Dunnose Head, West Falkland Dunnose Head is a small settlement in West Falkland in Philomel Pass, Queen Charlotte Bay. It is about 50 miles (80 km) west south west of Port Howard, and does not have a proper road connection. Dunnose Head used to be part of Packe Brot ...

, at the mouth of

King George Bay King George Bay () is a large bay on the coast of West Falkland in the Falkland Islands, facing westwards. There are three settlements on the bay Chartres, Dunnose Head and Roy Cove. Storm Mountain is on the north coast. It contains numerous ...

Description

The largest of the group is Second Passage Island which is long from east to west and up to wide. Much of the coastline is characterised by cliffs up to high. The highest point is Sixtus Hill. Past overgrazing has caused erosion and reduced the cover of tussac. There are several ponds, one of which provides feeding habitat for

wader 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

s and

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

. Third and Fourth Passage Islands are 800 m apart and low lying, rising to about . They were only briefly stocked with cattle in the 1960s and have good tussac coverage.

Important Bird Area

The Passage Islands group has been identified by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA). Birds for which the site is of conservation significance include Falkland steamer ducks,

gentoo penguin The gentoo penguin ( ) (''Pygoscelis papua'') is a penguin species (or possibly a species complex) in the genus ''Pygoscelis'', most closely related to the Adélie penguin (''P. adeliae'') and the chinstrap penguin (''P. antarcticus''). The ear ...

s (300 breeding pairs), southern rockhopper penguins (145 pairs),

southern giant petrel The southern giant petrel (''Macronectes giganteus''), also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot, is a large seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar northern giant pet ...

s, striated caracaras,

white-bridled finch The white-bridled finch (''Melanodera melanodera''), also known as the canary-winged finch or black-throated finch, is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus '' Melanodera'' together with the yellow-bridled finch (''M. xanthogramma''). Fo ...

es,

blackish cinclodes The blackish cinclodes (''Cinclodes antarcticus'') is a passerine bird of the genus ''Cinclodes'' belonging to the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is native to the southern tip of South America including the Falkland Islands where it is known as ...

and Cobb's wrens.

References

Islands of the Falkland Islands Important Bird Areas of the Falkland Islands Seabird colonies Penguin colonies {{Falklands-geo-stub