Current view: Text account
Site description (2015 baseline):
Site location and context
Coulman Island lies along the Borchgrevink Coast of northern Victoria Land, ~18 km east of the Borchgrevink Glacier Tongue. The island is an elongated basaltic dome covered by a permanent ice cap. Cape Main is an ice free outcrop and moraine that lies on the eastern coast of Coulman Island.
The IBA qualifies on the basis of the concentration of seabirds present (in particular Adélie Penguin (
Pygoscelis adeliae)) and comprises ice free ground and a strip of moraine that lies on the eastern coast of the island, ~3 km north of Cape Main.
The nearest permanent stations are Mario Zucchelli (ITA) and Jang Bogo (KOR), ~220 km to the southwest in Terra Nova Bay.
A large colony of Adélie Penguins is recorded breeding on ice-free ground adjacent to the ice shelf north of Cape Main, with on average 17 991 breeding pairs present from 1981 – 2012 (Lyver
et al. 2014). The main nesting area lies over low ridges on a large triangular moraine (not shown on map) that extends eastward from rocky cliffs on the eastern coast of Coulman Island. A small group of nests is located on the steeper slopes just below these cliffs. Information on other bird species at the site is not available.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Coulman Island is visited by tourist ships relatively infrequently. From 2008–13 visits were made in two seasons with a total of three tourist ships, and it is reported that ice walks, helicopter flights and small boat cruising took place, although the specific sites where these activities occurred are not reported (IAATO Tourism Statistics, accessed: 24/11/2014). The number of tourists visiting the site is therefore uncertain, although is expected to be minimal. Few visits to Coulman Island are made by national programmes, and data for the penguin census are gathered by aerial survey under controlled conditions, so disturbance from these sources is anticipated to be minimal.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Cape Main, Coulman Island (Antarctica). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/cape-main-coulman-island-iba-antarctica on 19/12/2024.
