Gosling Islands
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The Gosling Islands are a scattered group of islands and rocks lying close south and west of Meier Point, off the south coast of
Coronation Island Coronation Island is the largest of the South Orkney Islands, long and from wide. The island extends in a general east–west direction, is mainly ice-covered and comprises numerous bays, glaciers and peaks, the highest rising to . History T ...
in the
South Orkney Islands The South Orkney Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands, islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic PeninsulaAntarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
. They were first charted and named "Gestlingen" by Petter Sorlle in 1912–13. This was corrected to "Gjeslingene" (the goslings) on a later chart by Sorlle. The approved name is an anglicized form recommended by the
UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee The UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (or UK-APC) is a United Kingdom government committee, part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responsible for recommending names of geographical locations within the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) an ...
.


Important Bird Area

The islands, with a nearby ice-free headland on the south-western coast of Coronation Island, 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 i ...
because it supports a large breeding colony of about 10,000 pairs of
chinstrap penguin The chinstrap penguin (''Pygoscelis antarcticus'') is a species of penguin that inhabits a variety of islands and shores in the Southern Pacific and the Antarctic Oceans. Its name stems from the narrow black band under its head, which makes it a ...
s, as well as over 8000 pairs of
Adélie penguin The Adélie penguin (''Pygoscelis adeliae'') is a species of penguin common along the entire coast of the Antarctic continent, which is the only place where it is found. It is the most widespread penguin species, and, along with the emperor peng ...
s.


See also

*
List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands This is a list of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands. * Antarctic islands are, in the strict sense, the islands around mainland Antarctica, situated on the Antarctic Plate, and south of the Antarctic Convergence. According to the terms of the A ...


References

Islands of the South Orkney Islands Important Bird Areas of Antarctica Penguin colonies {{SouthOrkneys-geo-stub