The Prince Leopold Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary is a migratory

bird sanctuary An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. Pattrice Jones, co-founder of VINE Sanctuary defines an animal sanctuary as "a safe-enough place or relationship within the cont ...

Qikiqtaaluk Qikiqtaaluk (ᕿᑭᖅᑖᓗᒃ formerly Sillem Island is an uninhabited island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is the second largest (after Bylot Island) of the several hundred islands and islets that are located in Baffin Bay, ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is located on

Prince Leopold Island Prince Leopold Island ( iu, ᐅᑉᐸᐃᑦ, ) is an island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Lancaster Sound at the junction of Prince Regent Inlet and Barrow Strait. Somerset Island is situated to the southwest; P ...

within

Lancaster Sound Lancaster Sound () is a body of water in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located between Devon Island and Baffin Island, forming the eastern entrance to the Parry Channel and the Northwest Passage. East of the sound lies Baffin Bay ...

at the junction of

Prince Regent Inlet Prince Regent Inlet () is a body of water in Nunavut, Canada between the west end of Baffin Island (Brodeur Peninsula) and Somerset Island on the west. It opens north into Lancaster Sound and to the south merges into the Gulf of Boothia. The Arct ...

and

Barrow Strait Barrow Strait is a shipping waterway in Northern Canada's territory of Nunavut. Forming part of the Parry Channel, the strait separates several large islands including Cornwallis Island and Devon Island to the north, from Prince of Wales Isla ...

. It was established in 1992 and is classified Category IV by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

. It is 31,100 hectares in size, and has a flat, rocky surface with vertical exposed sedimentary rock cliffs nearly all the way around the island.

Other designations

The island is a Key Migratory Bird Terrestrial Habitat site (NU Site 15) and is classified as a Canadian

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 ...

(#NU006). The MBS is situated within the IBA.

References

Bird sanctuaries of Qikiqtaaluk Region Important Bird Areas of Qikiqtaaluk Region Migratory Bird Sanctuaries of Canada Important Bird Areas of Arctic islands Seabird colonies {{Canada-protected-area-stub