Data Zone
Country/territory: Antarctica
IBA criteria met: A4iii (2015)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 15 hectares (0.15 km2)
Site description (2015 baseline)
Cape Bienvenue is a rocky peninsula approximately 0.5 km in length and across and forms the eastern coast of Piner Bay in Terre Adélie. The cape is ~18 km east of Cape Jules and a similar distance west of the Astrolabe Glacier Tongue.
The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colony present and comprises all of the ice free area at Cape Bienvenue.
The nearest permanent station is Dumont d'Urville (FRA), ~25 km to the west at Pointe Géologie.
Key biodiversity
Barbraud et al . (1999) made a ground count of 15 023 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguin in 1997/98. This compares with approximately 35 466 breeding pairs (95% CI: 21 500, 57 951) of Adélie Penguin at Cape Bienvenue as estimated from February 2011 satellite imagery (Lynch & LaRue 2014). It is not clear whether this more recent count demonstrates change as a result of inter-seasonal fluctuations, methodological differences, or represents a real increase in the local Adélie Penguin population.
The Barbraud et al . (1999) survey also reported 20 pairs of Snow Petrels ( Pagodroma nivea ), four pairs of South Polar Skuas ( Catharacta maccormicki ) and confirmed Wilson's Storm-petrels ( Oceanites oceanicus ) as breeding at Cape Bienvenue.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Cape Bienvenue (Antarctica). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/cape-bienvenue-iba-antarctica on 22/12/2024.