Baily Head
Baily Head is a prominent headland, 525 feet high, forming the easternmost extremity of Deception Island, in the South Shetland Islands, part of the British Antarctic Territory.
Surveys
The headland was charted by Kendall in January-March 1829.
Following survey by the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1953-54 it was named 'Baily Head' after Francis Baily (1774-1844), the astronomer who reported on Foster's pendulum observations made at Deception Island in 1829.[1] The name of Baily was originally applied to Ohlin Island.
The Argentine Antarctic Expedition of 1947 called the point Punta Rancho, meaning "Camp point", because the feature resembles a camp. The González-Ferrán charts of 1970 name it Punta Este and Cráter Punta Este, the latter referring to the volcanic crater of which the present feature forms a part.
Important Bird Area
The headland, over an area of 193 acres, has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports a very large breeding colony of chinstrap penguins (100,000 pairs). The area comprises the ice-free headland and about 875 yards of black sand beach on either side of it.
Other birds known to nest at the site include brown skuas, Cape petrels and snowy sheathbills. Antarctic fur seals frequently hauling-out|haul out along the beaches, while Weddell, crabeater, leopard and southern elephant seals have also been recorded.[2]
Location
- Location map:62°58’0"S, 60°29’47"W
References
- ↑ Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 7, 1834
- ↑ Baily Head, Deception Island IBA: BirdLife International
