Country/territory: Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
IBA criteria met: A1, A2, A4iii (2006)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 3,100 hectares (31.00 km2)
Site description (2006 baseline)
The coastline is exposed with rugged north-facing cliffs and
has very little shelter other than a few indented bays.
Inland, a deep sheltered valley, which once contained an
estuary, now holds the land-locked Swan Pond, which is
long and shallow with wet grassland where geese
congregate. A sandbar, only a few feet high, separates the
pond from the beach. Vegetation is maritime heath and
typical boggy Whitegrass plains on peat. There is a Tussac
plantation at Rabbit Rincon, which until recently was
protected from grazing and provided a habitat for breeding
Rockhopper Penguins and a haul-out site for Southern Sea
Lions. Offshore, tall rocky stacks dot the coastline. These
are often crowned with Tussac and, due to currents and the
exposure of these north cliffs, are free of predators and
constitute relicts of previous habitats of the mainland.
Key biodiversity
The area is notable for the small population of Sooty
Shearwaters located close to Wineglass Hill and at Rabbit
Rincon. It is almost certain that a further substantial colony
exists on the offshore Tussac-covered stack nearby, where
other burrowing petrels might also breed. Imperial and Rock
Shags are present but counts are required. Three to four pairs
of Macaroni Penguins, including hybrids with Rockhopper
Penguins do not qualify the site. The first pair of Barn Owls
proved to breed in the Falklands was found nesting in the
old gorse-covered corral close to Seal Bay shepherd’s house
in 1987. Endemic sub-species present include the Whitetufted/
Rolland’s Grebe on Swan Pond, the Upland Goose,
Falkland Grass Wren, Falkland Pipit and the Falkland
Thrush
Non-bird biodiversity: Southern Sea Lions haul out all along the coast and breed at MacBride Head, a favourite site, where 64 pups were counted in 2003. In 1996, 46 species of flowering plants were found on the coast and inland, including 33 native (three endemics) and 13 introduced species. There was a notable population of tall Pale Maiden Olsynium filifolium on the hilltop of Rabbit Rincon in a paddock that had been fenced and not grazed for several years.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Seal Bay, East Falkland (Falkland Islands (Malvinas)). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/seal-bay-east-falkland-iba-falkland-islands-(malvinas) on 23/12/2024.