Data Zone
Country/territory: Antarctica
IBA criteria met: A4ii (2015)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 168 ha
Site description (2015 baseline)
Dunlop Island, McMurdo Sound, lies ~400 m off the coast of Cape Dunlop and the Wilson Piedmont Glacier, southern Victoria Land. The island is mainly ice free, is roughly triangular in shape, and rises to an elevation of ~10 m. The island is ~1.8 km long by up to 1.2 km wide.
The IBA qualifies on the basis of the South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki) colony present at the site and comprises all of Dunlop Island.
The nearest permanent scientific stations are Scott Base (NZL) and McMurdo (USA) situated ~100 km to the southeast on Hut Point Peninsula, Ross Island.
Key biodiversity
South Polar Skuas breed on Dunlop Island, with ~88 breeding pairs estimated in 1982 (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: Dunlop Island (Antarctica). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/dunlop-island-iba-antarctica on 23/11/2024.