McDonald Beach, Cape Bird (45229)
Antarctica, Antarctica
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: D1a
Year of last assessment: 2015
National site name: McDonald Beach, Cape Bird
Central coordinates: Latitude: -77.2504, Longitude: 166.3911
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 350
Area of KBA (km2): 2.69388
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Cape Bird is situated at the northwestern extremity of Ross Island at the foot of Mount Bird, where a nearby ice free point extends ~10 km along the coast, and includes McDonald Beach and Caughley Beach. Three Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colonies occupy this coast, known informally as ‘Northern', ‘Middle' and ‘Southern' rookeries. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki) colony present and the concentration of seabirds (in particular Adélie Penguin) and comprises the ice-free area at McDonald Beach. The nearest permanent scientific stations are McMurdo (USA) and Scott Base (NZL), situated ~67 km to the south on Hut Point Peninsula, Ross Island.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: The McDonald Beach colony (‘Southern Rookery') comprises ~13 000 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguin (count approximate, Coats 2010). The mean total count for all three colonies over 30 seasons between 1981 and 2012 was 43 321 breeding pairs, while the most recent count for all three colonies was 75 696 breeding pairs (Lyver et al . 2014). Approximately 137 breeding pairs of South Polar Skua were estimated at McDonald Beach in 2013-14 (P. Lyver pers. comm. 2015; Wilson et al . in prep.). Spurr, Wilson & Agar (1990) reported ~300 breeding pairs and 300 non-breeders, although these counts covered the entire ice free area at Cape Bird. The following birds have been recorded as visitors to Cape Bird: Emperor Penguin ( Aptenodytes forsteri ), Chinstrap Penguin ( Pygoscelis antarctica ), Southern Giant Petrel ( Macronectes giganteus ), Southern Fulmar ( Fulmarus glacialoides ), Antarctic Petrel ( Thalassoica antarctica ), Snow Petrel ( Pagodroma nivea ), Wilson's Storm-petrel ( Oceanites oceanicus ), Brown Skua ( Catharacta antarctica ) and Kelp Gull ( Larus dominicanus ) (Spurr, Wilson & Agar 1990). Non-bird biodiversity: Weddell (Leptonychotes weddellii), Crabeater (Lobodon carcinophagus) and Leopard (Hydrurga leptonyx) seals, as well as Killer Whales (Orcinus orca), have been observed in the area.
Delineation rationale: 1.26 km radius around point, truncated at coastline and permanent ice.
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: A small number of tourists visit Cape Bird by ship. Over 5 seasons from 2008–13 an average of 122 tourists and guides visited Cape Bird each year. Almost all visitors landed ashore, except in 2008/09 when only 41 of the total of 131 visitors landed (IAATO Tourism Statistics, accessed: 24/04/2014). See IBA Caughley Beach, Cape Bird for comments on conservation issues related to aircraft access at Cape Bird.
Additional information
References: ASPA No. 116 New College Valley, Caughley Beach, Cape Bird: Management Plan (2011) Coats, L. 2010. Antarctic field season 2010: update #4: Cape Bird. http://www.coplateau.com/Update4_Cape_Bird.html - accessed 30 Jan 2015. Harper, P.C., Knox, G.A., Spurr, E.B., Taylor, R.H. Wilson, G.J & Young, E.C. 1984. The status and conservation of birds in the Ross Sea sector of Antarctica. In: Croxall, J.P., Evans, P.G.H. & Schreiber, R.W. (eds) Status and Conservation of the World's Seabirds. ICBP Technical Publication 2: 593-608. Lyver, P.O'B., Barron, M., Barton, K.J., Ainley, D.G., Pollard, A., Gordon, S., McNeill, S., Ballard, G. & Wilson, P.R. 2014. Trends in the breeding population of Adélie Penguins in the Ross Sea, 1981–2012: a coincidence of climate and resource extraction effects. PLoS ONE 9(3): e91188. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091188 Spurr, E.B., Wilson, K.-J. & Agar, P.M. 1990. Bird species recorded at Cape Bird, Ross Island, Antarctica. Notornis 37(1): 37-44. Wilson, D.J., Lyver, P.O'B., Whitehead, A.L., Greene, T.C., Dugger, K., Karl, B.J., Barringer, J.R.F., McGarry, R., Pollard, A.M. & Ainley, D.G. in prep. Adélie Penguin colony size predicts South Polar Skua abundance on Ross Island, Antarctica. The Condor.