Data Zone
Country/territory: Antarctica
IBA criteria met: A4ii (2015)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 1,654 ha
Site description (2015 baseline)
The Dailey Islands are a group of five ice free islands located at the northern margin of the McMurdo Ice Shelf, ~10 km northeast of Cape Chocolate, southern Victoria Land, and ~15 km north of Brown Peninsula. West Dailey Island is the largest of the group at ~2 km long by up to 0.9 km wide.
The IBA qualifies on the basis of the South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki) colony present at the site. The IBA comprises all the islands that are part of the Dailey Islands group and the intervening marine area.
The nearest permanent scientific stations are Scott Base (NZL) and McMurdo (USA), situated ~35 km to the east on Hut Point Peninsula, Ross Island.
Key biodiversity
South Polar Skuas breed on the Dailey Islands, with ~77 breeding pairs estimated in 1981 (Ainley et al. 1986). No recent information on the colony is available, and no other birds are known to breed in the area.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Dailey Islands (Antarctica). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/dailey-islands-iba-antarctica on 22/11/2024.