Bird Island (South Georgia)
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Bird Island (54°00′ S 038°03′ W (http://kvaleberg.com/extensions/mapsources/index.php?params=54_00_S_038_03_W_)) is 4.8 km (3 mi) long and 800 metres (0.5 mi) wide, separated from the western end of South Georgia by Bird Sound. It is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by Argentina as part of Tierra del Fuego province. Discovered in 1775 by a British expedition under James Cook, who so named it because he saw numerous birds on the island. The island has been a station for Antarctic research since 1963, and is currently a Biological research station of the British Antarctic Survey at Jordan Cove. The main focus of the research is the ecology and population of the island's seabirds and seals. The island is home to 4 resident biologists, 65,000 Antarctic Fur Seals (around 1 for every 1.5 mē of the island), 14,000 pairs of albatross and several hundred thousand other seabirds.
Categories: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | Antarctica geography stubs | British Overseas Territories geography stubs
