Ornithological observations at Eckener Point, Antarctic Peninsula

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Authors: Woehler, Eric J, Blight, Louise, Bullock, Ian
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2009
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Graham Land; Eckener; Charlotte Bay; Eckener Point; Murray Island; Antarc*; Antarctica; Phalacrocorax atriceps; Polar Record; Pygoscelis antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s003224740999012x; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S003224740999012X

Eckener Point (64° 26′S; 61° 36′W) lies on the northeast side of the entrance to Charlotte Bay and southeast of Murray Island, on the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctic Peninsula (Fig. 1). Data from a 1987 census (Woehler 1993) show 40 breeding pairs of chinstrap penguins Pygoscelis antarctica at the site. An unpublished report of 180 nests of blue-eyed cormorant Phalacrocorax atriceps/bransfieldensis (S Poncet, personal communication, 2004) in 1983 is the only other ornithological record for the site. Here we report on the results of a brief survey conducted to document the breeding seabirds for this locality. Suitable ice-free sites on the Antarctic Peninsula are limited, and Eckener Point, though small, provides nesting habitat for a high number of avian species. Plant and lichen diversity also appears unusually high.