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Site description (2015 baseline)

Mount Biscoe is the eastern and the larger of two ice free rock massifs located ~6 km southwest of Cape Ann on the coast of Enderby Land. It rises to ~700 m in elevation ~7 km northwest of Wordie Nunatak, and is a similar distance northeast of Mount Hurley.

The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colony present and comprises the two rock massifs and the intervening ice area.

There are no research stations nearby. The closest permanent station is Mawson (AUS) ~540 km to the east on the Mawson Coast.

Key biodiversity

An Adélie Penguin colony occupies the beaches and lower slopes extending up to ~200 m below Mount Biscoe and at the foot of the western massif (Bassett et al. 1989). The colony was considered to comprise at least 5000 breeding pairs in October 1985, although observations were made prior to the arrival of most breeding birds and the authors recommended a later survey to estimate breeding numbers accurately (Bassett et al. 1989). More recently, Lynch & LaRue (2014) estimated 28 536 breeding pairs (95% CI 17415, 47225) in the colony in 2011 from satellite imagery.

Antarctic Petrels (Thalassoica antarctica) breed on the slopes above the Adélie Penguin colony with the number of breeding pairs estimated in the 1000s (van Franeker et al. 1999). Other bird species observed at the site and close offshore include Snow Petrel (Pagodroma nivea), Wilson's Storm-petrel (Oceanites oceanicus) and South Polar Skua (Catharacta maccormicki), although breeding is unconfirmed (Bassett et al. 1989).

Non-bird biodiversity: None known.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mount Biscoe (Antarctica). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mount-biscoe-iba-antarctica on 26/12/2024.