Hummock Island is the largest of a group of islands in King George Bay 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 Dubouze ...

. It has a land area of and is about long in a north-west to south-east direction. Hummock Island is off the western coast of

West Falkland West Falkland ( es, Isla Gran Malvina) is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falkland Sound. Its area is , 37% of the total area of the islands. Its coastli ...

, in a bay that leads to the estuary of the

Chartres River Chartres River is one of the two largest watercourses on West Falkland West Falkland ( es, Isla Gran Malvina) is the second largest of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It is a hilly island, separated from East Falkland by the Falklan ...

.Strange, Ian (1983) ''The Falkland Islands'' The highest point on the island is in the north-east and is . There are cliffs which often reach over high. Hummock Island is situated between Rabbit Island and Middle Island. Other islands in the Hummock Island group include Green Island and Gid's Island. In the middle of the Twentieth Century the island was used as an extension of the New Island sheep farm, and heavy grazing caused much of the Tussac grass to be eaten out. This has left areas of bare 'black ground'. However, the present owner has indicated that he will not restock the island but will allow the vegetation to recover. Gid's and Middle Islands are

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

Important Bird Area

The Hummock Island group has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA). Birds for which the site is of conservation significance include

southern rockhopper penguin The southern rockhopper penguin group (''Eudyptes chrysocome''), is a species of rockhopper penguin, that is sometimes considered distinct from the northern rockhopper penguin. It occurs in subantarctic waters of the western Pacific and Indian ...

s (1700 breeding pairs),

imperial shag The imperial shag or imperial cormorant (''Leucocarbo atriceps'') is a black and white cormorant native to southern South America, primarily in rocky coastal regions, but locally also at large inland lakes. Some taxonomic authorities, including ...

striated caracara The striated caracara (''Phalcoboenus australis'') is a bird of prey of the family Falconidae. In the Falkland Islands, it is known as the Johnny rook, probably named after the Johnny penguin ( gentoo penguin). Description The adults' plumage is ...

s (8–10 pairs), and

Cobb's wren Cobb's wren (''Troglodytes cobbi'') is a fairly small (12-13.5 cm) wren which is endemic to the Falkland Islands. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the house wren (''Troglodytes aedon'') but is now commonly considered to be a sep ...

References

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