Low numbers and apparent long-term stability of South Polar Skuas Stercorarius maccormicki at Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica

We censused breeding South Polar Skuas Stercorarius maccormicki at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica, in 2013, and collated all available South Polar Skua counts in the wider Commonwealth Bay area, including previously unpublished records from the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911–1914. Counts made in 1912, 1913, 1982, 2002 and 2013 indicate that the population has remained stable over the last century. These counts also indicate that the density of the resident skua population in this region is lower than the densities recorded in other parts of Antarctica.