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Falklands Conservation |
North Island (75 Ha, 185 acres)
This nature reserve is one of a group of six islands off the coast of New Island which were gifted to Falklands Conservation by the Royal Society for Nature Conservation.
It is probable that this Island has remained inviolate throughout the period of man's settlement of the Falklands. North Island therefore presents one of the very few ecologically perfect sites remaining in the archipelago and the only one in the SW corner of the Islands with this distinction.
It lies some 2.5km NE of North Bluff and New Island North. It is 1.75km long with an average width of 0.5km and has sheer west facing cliffs rising to a height of some 200 feet. From this west coast the land tilts slightly to the east, forming a relatively flat plateau on which reaching the east coast drops away in a series of narrow shelves to sea level.
Tussac grass covers a large portion of the Island's surface. In parts of the centre of the plateau the vegetation is a combination of Balsam Bog, Mountain Blue Grass, Native Woodrush, Celery and Diddle-Dee. In these areas the Balsam forms the dominant vegetation with huge cushions over two metres in diameter and one metre high, many of the individual cushions growing so close together that areas are covered with a dense mat of this plant.
Fur seal have been recorded as breeding on the south end of the Island. There are extensive colonies of Black-browed Albatross and Rockhopper Penguins. Other breeding birds include Tussac Bird, Black-throated Finch, Falkland Thrush, and Striated Caracara (Johnny Rook).
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Patron: HRH The Duke of York CVO ADC Member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature | BirdLife International Representative |