Data Zone
Country/territory: Antarctica
IBA criteria met: A4iii (2015)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 102 hectares (1.02 km2)
Site description (2015 baseline)
The Rauer Islands are situated between Ranvik Bay and Sørsdal Glacier Tongue, Ingrid Christensen Coast, Princess Elizabeth Land. Filla Island, the largest of the Rauer group, is up to 5.5 km long by 2.8 km wide and is ice free in summer.
The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colony present and comprises the western extremity of Filla Island.
The nearest permanent station is Davis (AUS), ~26 km to the north on Broad Peninsula, Vestfold Hills.
Key biodiversity
Whitehead & Johnstone (1990) estimated 15 097 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguin on Filla Island in 1981/82. This compares with 27 900 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguin present in 2010/11 as estimated from February 2011 satellite imagery (unpublished data H. Lynch & M. LaRue pers. comm. 2014: CI not available).
Substantial numbers of fulmarine petrels also breed on Filla Island, with approximately 4007 breeding pairs of Southern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialoides) counted in 1985 (Creuwels et al. 2007), 1100 pairs of Antarctic Petrel (Thalassoica antarctica) counted in 1981 (van Franeker et al. 1999), and 100 pairs of Cape Petrel (Daption capense) counted in 1995 (Hodum unpublished; cited in Hodum et al. 2004).
Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Filla Island, Rauer Islands (Antarctica). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/filla-island-rauer-islands-iba-antarctica on 26/12/2024.