Current view: Text account
Site description (2015 baseline):
Site location and context
Gregory Island, McMurdo Sound, is situated a few hundred metres off the coast of the Evans Piedmont Glacier, southern Victoria Land. It is situated ~5 km north of Cape Archer and ~8 km south of Cape Ross. The ice free island is ~1.2 km long and up to 0.8 km wide.
The IBA qualifies on the basis of the South Polar Skua (
Catharacta maccormicki) colony present at the site and comprises all of Gregory Island.
The nearest permanent scientific stations are Scott Base (NZL) and McMurdo (USA) situated ~150 km to the south-east on Hut Point Peninsula, Ross Island.
South Polar Skuas breed on Gregory Island, with ~119 breeding pairs estimated in 1983 (Ainley
et al. 1986). No recent information on the colony is available, and no other birds are known to breed in the area.
Non-bird biodiversity: None known.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
None known.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Gregory Island (Antarctica). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/gregory-island-iba-antarctica on 27/11/2024.
