Birnie Island

Central Pacific Ocean, Kiribati

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Birnie Island is a small and uninhabited coral island in the central Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Phoenix Islands group in the Republic of Kiribati. The island measures about 1.2 kilometers long and 0.5 kilometers wide, with a total area of 20 hectares. Birnie Island lies roughly 100 kilometers southeast of Kanton Island and 90 kilometers west-northwest of Rawaki Island.

The island is flat and low, with a dry, shallow lagoon in its southeast sector. Birnie Island has no trees; instead, it is covered by low shrubs and grasses. There is no fresh water and no permanent settlement. It once had a small colony of rabbits, which have been removed, and it was also home to Polynesian rats, which were eradicated in recent years. Large colonies of seabirds make Birnie their home, as the island is protected and mostly undisturbed by human activity.

Birnie Island was discovered in 1823 by a British whaling ship and later named after James Birnie. Although it was claimed by the British and the United States in the 19th century, no major human activity or development ever took place. Birnie became part of British possessions in 1889 and then joined the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony in 1937. When Kiribati gained independence in 1979, Birnie Island became part of the new nation after the United States dropped its claim.

The entire island is now a wildlife sanctuary and forms part of the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, one of the largest marine reserves in the world. The sanctuary helps protect its seabird colonies and contributes to the preservation of the unique natural environment of Kiribati.