Snapshot #82: Newfoundland Birding Sites, Part 1

Posted by: Allison Helps Cats on: August 5, 2016

• In: Teasers
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Saturday Snapshot invites bloggers to share photos. Avalon Peninsula, here we come! This year, for our annual vacation to my home province of Newfoundland, Andy and I started on the Eastern side. This is the best region for seeing puffins and other native birds.

Normally, Andy and I take the ferry from Nova Scotia to Channel Port-aux-Basques on Newfoundland’s western coast, and then drive the few hours to my family’s home in Central. This past July, we instead took the ferry to Argentia. After that, we drove to St. Johns, from where we visited various birding sites. This post is the first of several about those adventures!

Cape St. Mary’s is one of seven seabird ecological reserves protected by provincial legislation. After driving several miles of isolated road to St. Mary’s, Andy and I donned our windbreakers to protect ourselves from bird poop and gusty winds. We walked this dirt path surrounded by flattened grass out to rugged cliffs.

The closer we got to our destination, the louder the squawks of birds grew. We spied broken eggs and minute feathers. and we met other tourists loaded down with camera equipment. Reaching the edge of the cliff, we were amazed at the mass of birds that blanketed bird island.

Thousands of gulls, cormorants, gannets, kittiwakes, murres, and razorbills reside at Bird Island. Picking what to focus on proved a challenge. There were solitary birds. And individual groups of birds. Finally, there were mixed groups of birds.

None of the birds stayed still for long and it was fun to watch them fly. So high up, winds tended to buffet them. We snapped photos and shoot video, until we could barely move our hands from the chill in the air.

Back at the Information Center, we checked out the gift shop and I buy some animal books. Then we explored the rest of the area. Sheep greeted us as we head towards the light house. When they wandered off, we soaked in the atmosphere. And then it was off to our hotel and to our further adventures on the Avalon Peninsula!

Tags: Allison's Book Bag, Bird Island, Newfoundland, Saturday Snapshot meme, St. Mary's Ecological Reserve