Falklands Conservation

Bleaker Island Survey

Falklands Conservation organized a survey visit from 11 – 16 November 2003 to Bleaker Island as part of the British Schools Exploring Society expedition ‘Footsteps of Shackleton’. A party of 30 took part, including 21 Young Explorers aged 17 to 24 years, under the overall leadership of Brigadier David Nicholls, RM. Three volunteers from Falklands Conservation, Robin Woods, Philippa Thompson and Montana Short, joined the Expedition to provide local knowledge and expertise in the identification of local flora and fauna.

Expedition members on board the HMS Leeds Castle. The Royal Navy kindly provided transport to the Island.

Bleaker Island (5,115 acres) lies close to the southeastern coast of East Falkland. It is low lying and at least 18km long with a maximum width of 2km. It has been a sheep farm for many years. Between 1908 and the mid 1920s the locally well-known agriculturalist and amateur naturalist Arthur Cobb (Cobb’s wren is named after him) managed the Island. The present owners, Mike and Phyll Rendell, are now shifting the emphasis from sheep to tourism. The predominant vegetation is dwarf shrub heath and greens.

This is the first survey to be done of the whole Island. The Expedition was divided into three teams making detailed records of both plants and birds, and looking for evidence of the presence of rats.

Forty nine bird species were seen over the four days, with 37 confirmed or probably breeding, and eleven recorded here for the first time. Of particular note was the visiting rare Cocoi Heron seen on the coast south west of the settlement. At this time of year many seabirds are on shore in their breeding colonies. Three species of penguins were recorded – Gentoos, with one King Penguin in their midst, and 718 pairs of Rockhoppers nesting at the Long Gulch. A significant population (170 pairs) of Southern Giant Petrels were counted on west facing coastal strips along the northern coast. The main colony of King Shags contained 3,800 pairs. About 1,000 nests of Rock Shags were also found. Upland and Kelp Geese seemed numerous, but only about 25 pairs of Ruddy-headed geese were reported. A single newly-dead Grey back Storm Petrel was found at the Settlement, apparently having collided with a fence. Its presence suggests that is breeds on one or more of the small tussac islands offshore.

Waterfowl on the Big Pond included White-tufted Grebe, Black-necked Swans, Silver Teal, Chiloe Wigeon, Yellow-billed Pintail and a single pair of Flying Steamer Ducks (about 100 pairs of Flightless Steamer Ducks were seen all around the coastline). Wading birds were well represented by both Blackish and Pied Oystercatcher, Two-banded Plover and Rufous-chested Dotterel, though the latter two species were not numerous. Magellanic Snipe were heard drumming persistently over the tussac paddock east of the central camp site with up to four birds performing simultaneously. It was too early in the season for the skuas and gulls to be nesting, but at least 20 pairs of skuas were present and a flock of about 100 Dolphin Gulls frequented a rocky bay by the Settlement. 15 pairs of Brown-hooded Gulls were found. Two sightings of a Short-eared Owl were made in dense Cinnamon Grass (a favourite habitat) and on Diddle-dee heathland.

Eight of the nine resident Falkland songbirds were recorded, but Falkland Pipits, Dark-faced Ground-tyrants, Black-throated Finches and Black-chinned Siskins were present in very small numbers. Tussacbirds were rare – found in only two places and, sadly, Cobb’s wren was not seen anywhere at all. This general lack of songbirds can be explained by the confirmed presence of rats.

Local knowledge suggests that rats have been on Bleaker for about 20 years and, in that time, the Expedition confirmed, they have spread to all extremities of the Island and at least three small islands offshore. The eradication of the rats would have a long term beneficial effect for the breeding land birds on Bleaker Island.

A total of seventy nine flowering plants were identified, with most records coming from the central and southern parts of the Island. Three plants endemic to the Falklands were found: Clubmoss Cudweed, Vanilla Daisy and Coastal Nassauvia. The Clubmoss Cudweed was plentiful in places on dry hillsides, Coastal Nassauvia was uncommon and less than ten plants of Vanilla Daisy were found. It was good to find pleasing quantities of ladies slipper (Calceolaria fothergillii) and the yellow violet (Viola maculata). Fifty of the plant species were native to the Falklands and 26 were introduced. This proportion of introduced species is typical of an island that has been used for sheep grazing over many years.

The Expedition also undertook vegetation mapping – around Cassard Point and around North Point, at opposite ends of the Island. This was done with the help of the Falkland Islands Agricultural Department who suggested that some ground-truthing for satellite vegetation pictures of Bleaker Island would be very valuable in both assessing grazing quality and stocking levels here and elsewhere in the Falklands, and, in the long term, may also provide a tool to identify the effects of climate change.

The last full day was spent collecting tussac ‘tillers’ and planting these in an area where tussac grass had disappeared. It is hoped that this will add to an already mature stand, and so increase the area of valuable habitat near the settlement.

Expedition members planting tussac grass.

This account is based on a report by Robin Woods and Phillippa Thompson.

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