Data Zone
Country/territory: Antarctica
IBA criteria met: A1, A4ii, A4iii (2015)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 153 hectares (1.53 km2)
Site description (2015 baseline)
Clarence Island is the easternmost of the South Shetland Islands, lying 30 km east of Elephant Island. The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Macaroni Penguin (Eudyptes chrysolophus) colony present and the high concentration of seabirds (in particular Chinstrap Penguin (Pygoscelis antarctica) and Southern Fulmar (Fulmarus glacialoides)). The IBA comprises the ice-free coastline extending northward from Craggy Point in the south 3.5 km along the southwestern shoreline of Clarence Island.
The geology of Clarence Island is predominantly metamorphic of Mesozoic age (Marsh & Thomson 1985). No other information is available on the environment at Craggy Point.
There are no research stations in the near vicinity, the closest being ~250 km to the southwest, on King George Island.
Key biodiversity
Approximately 11 570 pairs of Chinstrap Penguin were recorded breeding at this site in 1977 (Croxall & Kirkwood 1979). In the same year around 3350 breeding pairs of Macaroni Penguin were recorded, making this the largest colony of this species in the Antarctic Peninsula region.
Southern Fulmars are also confirmed breeders at Craggy Point. A count of Southern Fulmars over the whole of Clarence Island was estimated at 25 475 pairs in 1977, with breeding recorded at this site and at Fur Seal Point on the eastern coastline (Furse 1978).
Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Craggy Point, Clarence Island (Antarctica). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/craggy-point-clarence-island-iba-antarctica on 25/12/2024.