Kidney Island

Kidney Island sits at the eastern end of Berkeley Sound near Stanley and is covered in tussac grass to a height of two metres or more, never having been grazed, which makes it the clearest surviving example of what the Falklands coast looked like before sheep. Sooty shearwaters nest in burrows under the tussac in enormous numbers and return at dusk. Rockhopper penguins and sea lions use the shore.

What you actually see

• The tussac - ungrazed native grass standing two metres and more.
• The shearwater burrows - sooty shearwaters returning at dusk in vast numbers.
• The sea lions - the animals hauling out along the shore.
• The reference condition - what the Falklands coast looked like before grazing.

When to go

November to March is the seabird breeding season. Shearwaters return at dusk through the summer. Winter access is limited and the wildlife absent.

Honest expectations

A permit is required from the government and must be arranged in advance. Landing depends on swell and is often not possible. Walking through two metre tussac is genuinely hard going.

Nearby

Stanley is west, and Cape Pembroke is southwest.