Tame birds
Come close to visitors.
nomis-simon — CC BY 2.0 · nomis-simon — CC BY 2.0 · nomis-simon — CC BY 2.0 · Se Mo — CC BY-SA 2.0 · chris lovelock — CC BY 2.0
Carcass Island is the largest of the West Point Island group off the north-west coast of West Falkland, about 193 km in a straight line west of Stanley. It is 10 km long and up to 2.5 km wide, covering about 19 square kilometres, and its two highest points, Stanley Hill and Mount Byng, rise to 220 m. Its grim-sounding name comes from the British ship HMS Carcass, which surveyed the island in 1766. It has been run as a sheep farm for more than a century, and its small settlement on Port Patterson, on the south-west coast, is known for its gardens, where Monterey cypress trees and New Zealand cabbage palms form one of the few stands of trees in the Falklands. The island is free of rats and cats, so its wildlife is rich and its birds unusually tame. Gentoo and Magellanic penguins breed here, black-crowned night herons nest in the trees, and small birds such as Cobb's wren and the blackish cinclodes come close to visitors. Leopard Beach, a wide sandy bay, is the usual landing point. The island is reached by small plane from Stanley or by expedition-cruise landing. Accommodation is limited and should be booked well ahead, and the weather is changeable, so bring layers.
Come close to visitors.
A wide sandy bay.
Rare trees for the islands.
West Point Island group
The island has no rats or cats.
By small plane from Stanley or on an expedition cruise.