Current view: Text account
Site description (2015 baseline):
Site location and context
Amanda Bay is situated between Hovde Glacier and Flatnes Ice Tongue, southeastern Prydz Bay, Ingrid Christensen Coast, Princess Elizabeth Land. The bay is ~4 km wide and extends around the same distance inland.
The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Emperor Penguin (
Aptenodytes forsteri) colony present, and includes all of Amanda Bay and the islands within. The IBA coincides with the boundary of ASPA No. 169.
The nearest permanent stations are Zhongshan Station (CHN), Law-Racoviţă Station (ROU), and Progress II Station (RUS), and Bharati (IND), ~20 km to the southeast in the Larsemann Hills.
A large Emperor Penguin colony breeds within Amanda Bay, usually located on fast ice that persists near a rocky island in the southwestern part of the bay.
Various population estimates were made at this colony in the past (Wienecke & Pedersen 2009). Fretwell
et al. (2012) estimated 6831 adults based on satellite image analysis. However, B. Wienecke (pers. comm. Dec 2014) reported ~9700 chicks present in the same year, based on a more detailed photographic survey carried out in December 2009, suggesting the Fretwell
et al. (2012) result is an underestimate.
South Polar Skuas (
Catharacta maccormicki) and Wilson's Storm-petrels (
Oceanites oceanicus) are known to breed on the islands in Amanda Bay, although numbers are not known (ASPA No.169 Management Plan 2014). Adélie Penguins have been observed within the area (Todd
et al. 1999) and a few dozen moult on the islands.
Non-bird biodiversity: Weddell Seals (
Leptonychotes weddellii) regularly haul out in the area, particularly in southern Amanda Bay where sea ice is more stable (ASPA No.169 Management Plan 2014).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
From 2003-14 one tourist visit was made to Amanda Bay in 2007/08 when 66 visitors landed (IAATO Tourism Statistics, accessed: 18/12/2014). Access to Amanda Bay was restricted by permit under the management plan for ASPA No.169 in 2008 and visits are infrequent.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Amanda Bay (Antarctica). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/amanda-bay-iba-antarctica on 18/12/2024.
