Data Zone
Country/territory: Antarctica
IBA criteria met: A4iii (2015)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 69 hectares (0.69 km2)
Site description (2015 baseline)
Ambush Bay is situated on the northern coast of Joinville Island, southeast of King Point. It is ~ 6 km long and 4 km wide.
The IBA qualifies on the basis of the concentration of seabirds present (in particular Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)) and comprises all of the ice free ground on the eastern side of the bay.
The summer-only station Petrel (ARG) is located 54 km to the southwest on Dundee Island and the year-round station Esperanza (ARG) and summer only station Elichiribehety (URY) is situated 86 km to the southwest in Hope Bay
Key biodiversity
Approximately 17 621 breeding pairs (95% CI: 10 630, 28 934) of Adélie Penguin were present at the eastern coast of Ambush Bay as estimated from December 2011 satellite imagery (Lynch & LaRue 2014). The penguins breed along the beach on the ice free ground. A breeding colony was reported here in 1978, although no census was made (Elliott et al. 1978). No other birds are known to breed in the area.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ambush Bay, Joinville Island (Antarctica). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ambush-bay-joinville-island-iba-antarctica on 23/12/2024.