Data Zone
Country/territory: Antarctica
IBA criteria met: A4ii, A4iii (2015)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 178 hectares (1.78 km2)
Site description (2015 baseline)
Edwards Islands are situated west of the southwestern extremity of Canisteo Peninsula, which projects into the eastern Amundsen Sea between Ferrero and Cranton Bays on the Walgreen Coast, Marie Byrd Land. The island group consists of ~20 small islands, many of which are mainly ice free in summer. Available mapping incorrectly shows many of the islands within the group as merged together.
The IBA qualifies on the basis of the Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) colony present and comprises the larger ice free islands that are part of the Edwards Islands group and the intervening marine area.
There are no research stations nearby. The closest permanent stations are Rothera (GBR) and San Martín (ARG), ~1420 km to the northeast in Marguerite Bay, Antarctic Peninsula.
Key biodiversity
Approximately 58 058 breeding pairs (95% CI: 35 879, 95 740) of Adélie Penguin were present on Edwards Islands as estimated from January 2010 satellite imagery (Lynch & LaRue 2014). The birds breed on the larger ice free islands of the island group. No other birds are known to breed in the area.
Non-bird biodiversity: Southern Elephant Seals (Mirounga leonina) haul out in the area (http://geotracerkitchen.org/ocean2ice/ accessed on 04 Nov 2014).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Edwards Islands (Antarctica). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/edwards-islands-iba-antarctica on 18/12/2024.