Proposal for the Monte Loayza (IBA) in Santa Cruz, Argentina

The IBA Monte Loayza coincides with the Monte Loayza Conservation Unit (MLCU), which is the junction of the Monte Loayza Provincial Park and the Cañadón del Duraznillo Natural Reserve. With 87,136 Ha of open water and 10,000 Ha of coasts and shrubby steppes, MLCU protects the largest reproductive colony of Sea Lion (Otaria flasvecens) in the Atlantic Ocean and the most diverse settlement of coastal-marine birds of the San Jorge Gulf. According to internationally agreed criteria the site holds eight globally threatened species (A1); one typical species from the «Southern Patagonia» (EBA 062; A2); 16 endemic birds of the «Patagonia» biome (A3); and two endemic species of Argentina (C2). We have accounted for 1900 nests of Imperial Cormorant (Phalacrocorax atriceps), 120 nests of Magellanic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax magellanicus), 58 nests of Red-legged Cormorant (Phalacrocorax gaimardi), more than 2300 nests of South American Tern (Sterna hirundinacea), as well as colonies of Gray Gull (Leucophaeus scoresbii) and Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis). The coast is visited by the Magellanic Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes chrysochrome), and the breeding of marine mammals attracts the Southern Giant-Petrel (Macronectes giganteus). The steppe is the habitat of Darwin’s Rhea (Rhea pennata), Patagonian Tinamou (Tinamotis ingoufi), and Band-tailed Earthcreeper (Ochetorhynchus phoenicurus). The area has high tourist and educational potential and its recognition as an IBA will increase the interest of the local community in the area and the conservation of its nature.