Rufous-chested Dotterel on Sealion Island in the Falklands
Sea Lion Island is the southernmost inhabited island of the Falkland Islands. Only formerly inhabited Beauchene Island is located further south. Sea Lion Island Settlement is the southernmost settlement of the Falkland Islands. The island has two airstrips. Historically, Sea Lion Island was a sheep farm and a base for slaughtering penguins to render for oil. When the British ship Viscount was wrecked in 1892, the wreckage was used to build the farmhouse. The island was managed as a sheep farm for almost all of the 20th century, but in 1997 all but a small flock of sheep was removed. In 1990, the Clifton family who owned the island, sold it to the Falkland Islands Development Corporation (FIDC). They had planted 60,000 stands of tussac grass. Since then, ecotourism has been the only economic activity. In 1986 FIDC constructed the Sea Lion Lodge, with accommodation for 20 guests. It was prefabricated and flown in kit form to the island by Royal Air Force helicopters and has proved to be a success. It is used by tourists and, since 1996, scientific researchers. There is a memorial to HMS Sheffield on Bull Hill in the south of the island. The rufous-chested plover or rufous-chested dotterel (Charadrius modestus) is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It breeds in southern parts of Argentina and Chile and on the Falkland Islands. Some birds migrate north in winter, reaching as far as Uruguay, southern Brazil and occasionally Peru. Its natural habitats are temperate grassland and sandy shores.
Size: 4162px × 2775px
Location: Sealion Island Falklands
Photo credit: © Philip Jones / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: _d, atlantic, birds, charadrius, dotterel, falkland, falklands, horizontal, island, islands, land, malvinas, modestus, rufous-chested, sealion, south
