Cape Davidson is a cape which marks the southernmost part of

Mackenzie Peninsula Mackenzie Peninsula () is a steep, rocky peninsula forming the western end of Laurie Island, in the South Orkney Islands, Antarctica. It was first seen and roughly charted by Captain George Powell and Captain Nathaniel Palmer in 1821. It was s ...

and the west side of the entrance to

Wilton Bay Wilton Bay () is a bay lying between Cape Davidson and Cape Hartree on the southwest side of Laurie Island in the South Orkney Islands. Charted in 1903 by the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition The Scottish National Antarctic Expediti ...

, in the west part of Laurie Island in the

South Orkney Islands The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

. It was charted in 1903 by the

Scottish National Antarctic Expedition The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE), 1902–1904, was organised and led by William Speirs Bruce, a natural scientist and former medical student from the University of Edinburgh. Although overshadowed in terms of prestige by Robe ...

under

William Speirs Bruce William Speirs Bruce (1 August 1867 – 28 October 1921) was a British Natural history, naturalist, polar region, polar scientist and Oceanography, oceanographer who organized and led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE, 1902–04) ...

, who named it for J. Davidson, first mate of the expedition ship ''Scotia''.

Important Bird Area

A small (2.8 ha) rocky islet lying about 1 km offshore from the cape has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it supports a breeding colony of

Antarctic shag The Antarctic shag (''Leucocarbo bransfieldensis''), sometimes referred to as the imperial cormorant, king cormorant, imperial shag, blue-eyed shag or Antarctic cormorant, is the only species of the cormorant family found in the Antarctic. It is s ...

s, with about 225 pairs recorded there in 1983.

References

* Laurie Island

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

Important Bird Areas of Antarctica Seabird colonies {{SouthOrkneys-geo-stub