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Site description (2015 baseline)

Magnetic Island, Turner Island and Lugg Island are situated amongst a group of small islands lying close offshore from the southern Vestfold Hills, in Prydz Bay on the Ingrid Christensen Coast, Princess Elizabeth Land. Adélie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) breed on Magnetic, Turner and Lugg islands, which are up to ~0.5 km across. All of the islands are mostly ice free in summer. Turner Island rises up to ~40 m and Magnetic Island up to ~58 m.

The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Adélie Penguin colonies present. The IBA comprises Turner, Magnetic, Waterhouse, Lugg, Boyd and Bluff islands and the intervening islands and marine area.

The nearest permanent station is Davis (AUS), ~4 km to the southeast on Broad Peninsula, Vestfold Hills.

Key biodiversity

Whitehead & Johnstone (1990) estimated 17 184, 16 964, and 5553 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguin on Magnetic, Lugg and Turner islands, respectively, in 1981/82.

As estimated from February 2012 satellite imagery, approximately 14 840, 9392, and 4791 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguin were present on Magnetic, Lugg and Turner islands, respectively (unpublished data H. Lynch & M. LaRue pers. comm. 2014: CI not available). While the numbers estimated on Magnetic and Turner islands seem comparable to those counted in 1981/82 (Whitehead & Johnstone 1990), the presence of almost half the number of breeding pairs on Lugg Island seems anomalous, although the cause of the difference is unknown. Breeding on Magnetic Island occurs on a flat peninsula protruding on the western side of the island and along the central ridge and northwestern slopes. Breeding extends across most of Lugg Island, while breeding occurs mainly in the central part of Turner Island. Lynch & LaRue (2014) grouped records of Adélie Penguins present on Lugg, Magnetic and Turner Islands IBA with Gardner Island IBA, Warriner Island IBA and the unnamed island in Donskiye Islands IBA, and referred to these as ‘Vestfold South'.

Approximately 150 breeding pairs of Cape Petrel (Daption capense) were recorded on Bluff Island, 40 pairs on Turner Island and 35 pairs on Magnetic Island in 1990 (Hodum unpublished; cited in Hodum et al. 2004). Snow Petrels (Pagodroma nivea) breed on Turner, Lugg and several of the unnamed smaller islands in the group (Australian Antarctic Data Centre 2012).

Non-bird biodiversity: None known.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Magnetic Island and nearby islands (Antarctica). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/magnetic-island-and-nearby-islands-iba-antarctica on 26/12/2024.