AQ171
Cotter Cliffs


Country/territory: Antarctica

IBA criteria met: A4ii, A4iii (2015)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here

Area: 296 hectares (2.96 km2)


Site description (2015 baseline)

Cotter Cliffs form the eastern coast of Hallett Peninsula, located on the Borchgrevink Coast, northern Victoria Land.

The IBA qualifies on the basis of the large Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colony that breeds on ice-free slopes immediately south of Cotter Cliffs and below Quarterdeck Ridge on Hallett Peninsula.

The nearest permanent stations are Mario Zucchelli (ITA) and Jang Bogo (KOR), ~320 km to the southwest in Terra Nova Bay.

Key biodiversity

A mean of 38 252 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguin was reported over 8 seasons sampled between 1981 and 2012 (Lyver et al. 2014). Information on other bird species at the site is not available.

Non-bird biodiversity: None known.


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Cotter Cliffs (Antarctica). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/cotter-cliffs-iba-antarctica on 27/12/2024.