The South-west Saint Helena Important Bird Area is a 45 km2 tract of land covering about 37% of the island of Saint Helena, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. It has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports several colonies of breeding seabirds, including the red-billed tropicbird, as well as habitat of the endemic, and critically endangered, Saint Helena plover. [1]
The site covers south-western Saint Helena, from Diana's Peak National Park to the mainly basaltic islets of Egg, Speery and Peaked Islands and other offshore stacks and rocks which support the seabird colonies. The four vegetation zones comprise an arid, eroded lowland below 350 m, an intermediate zone at 350–500 m of pasture and non-indigenous woodland, a moist highland zone characterised by woodland and flax plantations and, at the highest point of the island, a small remnant area of native Dicksonia fern thicket and Melanodendron cabbage trees. . The coast is dominated by sea cliffs rising mainly to between 300–570 m. The islets are largely bare with some lichens and heavy guano deposits. There is an important fossil site at Sandy Bay. [1]
Localities within the site include three Saint Helena plover breeding sites – Broad Bottom, Southern Pastures, and Man and Horse. Apart from red-billed tropicbirds, breeding seabirds include band-rumped storm petrels, Atlantic masked boobies, Atlantic sooty terns, brown and black noddies, white terns and, possibly, brown boobies. [1]
Cosmoledo Atoll is an atoll of the Aldabra Group and belongs to the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, and is located 1,029 km (639 mi) southwest of the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island.
Little Tobago is a small island off the northeastern coast of Tobago, and part of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
The great frigatebird is a large seabird in the frigatebird family. There are major nesting populations in the tropical Pacific Ocean, such as Hawaii and the Galápagos Islands; in the Indian Ocean, colonies can be found in the Seychelles and Mauritius, and there is a tiny population in the South Atlantic, mostly on and around St. Helena and Boatswain Bird Island.
Pedras Tinhosas is a small archipelago of two islets, Tinhosa Grande and Tinhosa Pequena, south-west of the island of Príncipe in the Atlantic Ocean. Since 2012, it has formed part of UNESCO's Island of Príncipe Biosphere Reserve, which includes the island of Príncipe and the surrounding islets.
The lesser frigatebird is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. At around 75 cm (30 in) in length, it is the smallest species of frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtropical waters across the Indian and Pacific Oceans as well as off the Atlantic coast of Brazil.
Boatswain Bird Island, also spelt Boatswainbird Island, is a small island some 270 metres (300 yd) off the east coast of Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean with an area of approximately 5.3 ha. It is administered from Georgetown on Ascension, which is part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom. Boatswain Bird Island should not be confused with the nearby, much smaller, Boatswain Bird Rock, only about 10 by 5 metres in size, located 570 metres (620 yd) south-east of the island and 360 metres (390 yd) north-east of the coast of Ascension. The southern coast of the island has an impressive natural arch.
The terrestrial fauna of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands is unsurprisingly depauperate, because of the small land area of the islands, their lack of diverse habitats, and their isolation from large land-masses. However, the fauna dependent on marine resources is much richer.
The Ilhéus do Rombo, also known as the Ilhéus Secos, are a group of small, uninhabited islands in the Cape Verde archipelago, lying 600 km (370 mi) off the coast of north-west Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. The islets form an integral nature reserve. They are sited on a volcanic seamount 7 km (4.3 mi) north of Brava and 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Fogo. The two major islets of the chain are Ilhéu Grande and Ilhéu de Cima. Administratively they are part of the municipality of Brava. They can be seen from Brava and, sometimes, from Fogo.
Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha, as well the other uninhabited islands nearby, are a haven for wildlife in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The islands are or were home to much endemic flora and fauna, especially invertebrates, and many endemic fish species are found in the reef ecosystems off the islands. The islands have been identified by BirdLife International as Important Bird Areas for both their endemic landbirds and breeding seabirds.
The Tanji Bird Reserve is a bird reserve in The Gambia. Established in 1993, it covers an area of 612 hectares. It is also known as Karinti, the Tanji River Reserve or the Tanji National Park.
The Ascension scrub and grasslands ecoregion covers the dormant volcano, Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean. As well as shrubs and grasses wildlife on the island includes a range of unique flora and fauna. In particular the surrounding islets are important havens for many seabirds. However the seabird populations on Ascension Island itself have been severely affected by introduced species, especially cats, which were the subject of an eradication campaign between 2002 and 2006.
The Coral Sea Reserves Ramsar Site comprises the 17,289 km2 of oceanic island and reef habitats within the former Coringa-Herald National Nature Reserve and the former Lihou Reef National Nature Reserve in the Australian Coral Sea Islands Territory.
Dog Island is an uninhabitated small island of 207 ha located approximately 13 km (8.1 mi) to the north-west of Anguilla. It is low and rocky, with three small cays off the west and north coasts. The coastline is characterised by low cliffs alternating with sandy beaches. Large ponds lie inside two of the beaches. Dog Island lies west of the Prickley Pear Cays.
St Helens Important Bird Area comprises four separate sites, with a collective total area of 24 km2, in the vicinity of the town of St Helens on the northern part of the east coast of Tasmania, south-eastern Australia.
The North-east Saint Helena Important Bird Area is a 48 km2 tract of land covering about 39% of the island of Saint Helena, a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. It has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports several colonies of breeding seabirds, including the red-billed tropicbird, as well as much of the remaining habitat of the endemic, and critically endangered, Saint Helena plover.
Nelson Philip Ashmole, commonly known as Philip Ashmole, is an English zoologist and conservationist. His main research field focused on the avifauna of islands, including Saint Helena, Ascension Island, Tenerife, the Azores, and Kiritimati. Other interests include insects and spiders, of which Ashmole discovered and described some new taxa.
La Tortue ou l'Ecalle, Île Tortue or Turtle Island is a small rocky islet off the north-eastern coast of Saint Barthélemy in the Caribbean. Its highest point is 35 metres (115 ft) above sea level. Referencing tortoises, it forms part of the Réserve naturelle nationale de Saint-Barthélemy with several of the other northern islets of St Barts.
The Ashmore Reef Marine Park is an Australian marine park that covers the Ashmore Reef, which is located about 630 km (390 mi) north of Broome and 110 km (68 mi) south of the Indonesian island of Rote. The marine park covers an area of 583 km2 (225 sq mi) and is assigned IUCN category Ia. It is one of 13 parks managed under the North-west Marine Parks Network.