Seabirds in Head Harbour Passage and Vicinity

8/3/2019 Seabirds in Head Harbour Passage and Vicinity

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D.E. GASKIN G.J.D. SMITH ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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A REPORT TO THE UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

STATUS OF RESIDENT AND TRANSIENTSEA BIRDS

IN HEAD HARBOUR PASSAGE ANDVICINITY NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA

D.E.GASKING.J.D.SMITHBM B.RAUNEW.G.HALINA

B.VARIDEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGYUNIVERSITY OF GUELPHGUELPH ONTARIO CANADA

N1G 2W1

SEPTEMBER 1979@

DATA IN THIS REPORT MAY ONLYBE CITED WITH THEWRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE SENIOR AUTHOR


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2CONTENTS

1.0 CURRICULUM VITAE OF SENIOR AUTHOR 420 I NT ROD UCT ION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53.0 METHODS 84.0 INVENTORY OF MARINE BIRDS (EXCLUDING

SHORE BIRDS SUCH AS SANDPIPERS) 104.1. BALD EAGLE 114.1.1 . BREEDING . . . . . . . . . . 114.1.2 . FEEDING . . . . . . 13

4.2. OSPREy ...... . . . . . . . . . 154.2.1 . BREEDING .................. 154.2 .2 . FEEDING

4.3. HERRING GULL . . . 194.3.1 . BREEDING . . . . . . . . . . 194.3.2. FEEDING . . . 19

4.4. GREATER BLACK-BACKED GULL. . . . . . . 251'"'.-4.\.4 ~ : 1 ' : 5 BREEDIN G. . . . . . . . . 25

.. ~ . 0 :- . :.; ._:.- : , ' ~ ,

4.4.2 . FEEDING . . . . . . . . . . . . 254.5. BONAPARTE'S GULL . . . . . . 29

4.5.1 . BREEDING . . . . . 294.5 .2 . FEEDING 30

4.5.2 .1 . POPULATION ESTIMATES ANDGENERAL DISTRIBUTIONS . . . 304.5.2 .2 . FEEDING BEHAVIOUR .......... 304 5. 2. 3. PRE Y SPECI ES ......... 354.5.2 .4 . DISTRIBUTION OF FEEDING BIRDS . . 36

4.6. BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE. .......... 394.6.1 . BREEDING . . . . . . 394.6.2 . FEEDING . . . . . . . . 39

4.7. COMMON AND ARCTIC TERNS 414.7.1 . BREEDING 414.7.2. FE ED ING 41

4.7.2 .1 . PREY SPE CI ES 464.7.2 .2 . DISTRIBUTION OF FEEDING BIRDS . 46

4.8. NORTHERN PHALAROPE 474.8.1. BREEDING 474.8 .2 . FEEDING ,. 47

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1.0 CURRICULUM VITAE OF S E ~ I O R AUTHORDr. D.E. Gaskin, born 21 June 1939, presently Associate Professor_of Marine Biology at the University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

N1G 2Wl. He has held a position at the University of Guelph sinceDecember 1968. Currently Dr. Gaskin is responsible for the MarineBiology Option and :ts facilities at the University of Guelph, and operates a small research station at Lord1s Cove, Deer Island, New Brunswickas a base for cetacean studies by the University.Dr. Gaskin graduated vlith Speci al Honours in Zoology at theUniversity of Bristol, England, in early 1961. FollovJing this, hejoined the Institute of Oceanography of the United Kingdom and theMinistry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, holding a joint appointmentduring 1961 and 1962 \'/hile he served with the floating \'/haling factoryexpedition "Southern Venturer", operating in the Southern Ocean in the

vicinity of the Falkland Islands Dependencies. After this appointmenthe accepted a post with the Fisheries Research Division of the NewZealand Government and, based in Wellington, studied the humpback andsperm whale populations of the Western South Pacific and the Ross Seauntil early 1965. He returned to this region again in 196&-67 on appointment with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, towork the s u n ~ e r season as a biologist on the Japanese whale researchvessel Chiyoda Maru #5 in the South Pacific.With the cessation of whaling in New Zealand Dr. Gaskin accepteda faculty appointment at r'1assey University, Nev.J Zealand, and lectured inecology, fisheries, ~ n population dynamics until December 1968, when he

moved to Canada. Dr. Gaskin received his Ph.D. after part-time study atMassey, in 1968.As well as the degree of Ph.D., Dr. Gaskin is M.I.Biol. (London)and F.R.E.S.(London). He has published about 65 papers, most of themconcerning Cetacea, in refereed primary scientific literature, haspublished t\'!o books on the Cetacea, and is currently \'!riting another forHeinemann Educational Books International. Dr. Gaskin has worked invarious capacities with the International Whaling Commission since 1962,including being New Zealand scientific representative until 1968, and anadvisor to the Small Whale Subcommittee of the Scientific Committee ofthe IWC.He is currently a member of the Population Biology Grants Committee

of the National Research Council of Canada.

' ' 4


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2.0 INTRODUCT10NThe University of Guelph, Department of Zoology, has maintained aresearch presence on the southern New Brunswick coast since 1968-69. Thecetacean research unit moved its summer base of operations to Lords Cove,

Deer Island in 1970-71. Since that time we have collected cetacean sight ing data, carried out species collections, and studied the environmentalcharacteristics of the Quoddy region and adjacent ~ r e a s . In 1974 we began a pilot study of the seabird and cetacean concentra-tions off Long I and Brier I, on the Fundy coast of Nova Scotia in conjunctionwith the Canadian Wildlife Service. In 1976, with funding from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, we started a comparative study of the interrelationshipsof upper trophic level animals and their prey species in three selected areasof the Bay of Fundy, one of which was the Inner Quoddy region.In 1977 we carried out an inventory of seabird species in the Inner

Quoddy region; coverage was limited to the area directly adjacent to DeerIsland and Campobello Island because of manpower and time restrictions.Since then, more sporadic attention has been given to all speci, butintensive studies of Bonaparte's Gull and Common and Arctic Terns were madein 1978.The Pittston Company has filed application to build a supertanker ter minal and oil refinery at Eastport, Me, at the lower end of Head HarbourPassage, New Brunswick, Canada. The government agencies of both the UnitedStates and Canada are seriously concerned about the possible deleteriouseffects on the-physical marine environment and the wildlife of the regionwhich would result from such a development.Since we have many new data on seabi rd di stri buti on and abundance in -- .- .this area, and supporting environmental data related to feeding conditions,we have agreed to make these data available through the medium of the presentreport, to the appropriate working groups of the United States Fish andWildlife Service.The study area, demarcated by latitudes 44 0 54 1 45 11 - 450 04 1 25 11 N andlongitudes 6650 1 40" - 670 00 1 20"W, is encompassed by the Western Islesdistrict of Deer Island off southwestern New Brunswick (Fig. 1). Deer Islandplus approximately 40 smaller islands and ledges straddles the mouth of. Passamaquoddy Bay, funnelling the tidally driven waters through two main

passages, Letite Passage and Western Passage, respectively, northeast and. ' ~ o u t h w e s t of Deer Island. Campobello Island acts as an outer barrier to theoutflow from Western Passage deflecting tidal waters around both its extremities through Head Harbour Passage to the northwest and Lubec Narrows Friar Roads to the west.Anomalistic, semi-diurnal tides of between 5.6 m and 8.3 m, with an . average monthly range of 6.4 m, are characteristic of the area (Forrester,1960; Macmillan, 1966). Strong currents generated by these large tides areof the order of 4.8 knots in Letite Passage and 3.0 knots in Head HarbourPassage and Cobscook Entrance (Forrester, 1960).


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Preliminary results of an intensive oceanographic study initiated inthe area during 1977 have been summarized by G.J.D. Smith (unpublisheddata). Surface temperatures for June show the area of highest temperaturesduring the flood tide being overrun by colder water on the ebb tide. Thelarge volume of colder water moving offshore creates a mearisurface temperature 0.50 lower than during the flood tide mean of 7 . 6 0 C . ~ M i d - J u l y toSeptember conditions are more stable; no difference was recorded in the meansurface temperature of 10.80 for flood and ebb tides, possibly suggestingstratification of the water column. The area of relatively cold water,though more restricted in extent than in June, st i l l lies north of CampobelloIsland and moves offshore during the ebb tide. Cold water is oftenassociated with vigorous upwellings, many of which are the result of topographic resistance to strong tidal flow (Fig. 3). Deep channels (> 210 m)offshore and north of Campobello Island (Head Harbour Passage) shoal qUicklytowards Deer Island and many of the small outer islands.

Euphausiid surface swarms have been recorded for the Bay of Fundy (Smith,1878-1882; Bigelow, 1924; Graham, 1936), and Gaskin (1973) has noted theirpresence in the study area annually during the late summer months. Theseconcentrations attract herring schools, commercially important in the area(Graham, 1936; Doucet, 1960; Mackenzie and Tibbo, 1960; Iles, 1975), whichfeed on the euphausiids (Smith, 1878-1882; Lebour, 1922; Bigelow, 1924;Graham, 1936; Gaskin, 1973; D.B. Yurick, personal communication). Consequently, as local accumulations of plankton build up, preferential feedingin these areas occurs (MacKay, 1973). Since feeding assemblages of uppertrophic animals including phalaropes (Lobipes lobatus, Phalaropus fulicarius) ,terns (Sterna hirundo, S. paradisaea), gulls (Larus phi ladelphia, L. argen ta tus , L. marinus), harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), and finback whales(Balaenoptera physalus) must establish themselves in only six hours (one tidephase), feeding activity is intense and brief, causing aggregations of seabirds and marine animals in the study area to be discontinuous and mobile.As the feeding zones expand and move, the animals tend to move with them.The accessibility of the feeding zones for observation, combined with thelarge numbers of migrating terns and gulls, creates a favourable situationfor the study of larid feeding ecology (Braune, 1979).


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3.0 METHODSThe basic inventory study extended throughout the summer of 1977 and1978, from 1 June to 10 October 1977 and the detailed study of Bonaparte'sGull and Common and Arctic Terns from 12 June to 2 December 1978.

Observations were recorded during these periods by experienced observersof the University of Guelph research team under the guidance of Dr. R.G.B.'Brown of the Canadian Wildlife Service. I n v e s t i g a ~ i o n s during 1977 werelargely of a preliminary and inventory nature, but included surface planktontow sampling, and observations of flock size, composition, behaviour, anddistribution of several species of seabirds. In 1978, the number of speciesunder observation was narrowed to three: Bonaparte1s Gulls (Larus phi ladel ph i a ) , Common Terns (Sterna h i rundo) , and Arctic Terns (s. paradi saea) .Specimens of all three species were taken for stomach content samples during1978 and 1979.

Most sightings were made at sea from a 6.5 m outboard cruiser. Majorshore observation sites included northeastern McMaster Island, and HoytIsland at the northern end of Letite Passage, the northeastern tip of EastQuoddy Head on Campobello Island and Deer Island Point on Deer Island (Fig.1). Binoculars (10 x 50) aided in sightings and species identification.

The complete tidal cycle (flood tide plus ebb tide) was divided intoeight phases: slow flood 1 (SF}), fast flood (FF), slow flood 2 (SF z ),slack high water (SH), slow ebb 1 (SE 1 ), fast ebb (FE), slow ebb 2 (SEz ), _and slack low water. (SL). Each phase is of approximately 90 minutes duration;Attempts were made to record observations in each study sector during eachtidal phase. Observations within a study sector were rarely feasible for awhole tidal cycle due to shifts in the loci of seabird activity and changesin weather conditions. Therefore, data on distributions of feeding birdsrelative to the tidal cycle were pooled for July - September. This treatmentof data can be justified by the stable oceanographic conditions during mid July - September.

Flock sizes and compositions were estimated and behaviour recorded sothat any activity levels could be related to flock characteristics. Forma tion of feeding assemblages of birds was also monitored for use in determiningkey food-finding species, that is, those species which actually locate afood source and by their feeding activity attract other avian species to thearea. This was done by noting the first species to commence feeding in anarea and record the subsequent arrival of other species, usually within onetide phase (approximately 90 minutes).Monthly population estimates were established by setting mlnlmum andmaximum limits to numbers. The minimum limit was taken as being the maximumnumber of birds of a given species recorded during one sighting (Vermeer,1977). The maximum limit was taken as being the sum of the maximum numbersof birds of a given species recorded during one sighting per study division.This method was used since many of the species under study do not breed inthe immediate area, thus usually eliminating the possibility of using nestcounts for breeding pairs to establish population size. Due to the unevend i s t r i b u t i o ~ of each species in the area, counts made in a s a n ~ l e sectorwould give highly erroneous estimates. Counts on roosts and on open water. were made visually, and by photography.


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Whenever possible meteorological conditions were recorded in conjunction with observations of bird flocks .. Estimates of percent cloud coverover the immediate area, wave height (cm) and wind speed (mph laterconverted to knots) were recorded for both years. A hand-held anemometerwas used to measure wind speed during 1978 .. For comparative purposes,light intensity (eV) was measured during 1978 using a light meter (ZeissIkophot-S) directed sky'tJard. These parameters were used in determining. meteorological effects on seabird feeding behavioL-. Daily air temperatureswere recorded during 1978 on a maximum-minimum thermometer (C ) located in ashaded area by the field station.


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4.0 INVENTORY OF MARINE BIRDS (EXCLUDING SHORE BIRDS SUCH AS SANDPIPERS).The most visible species of marine bird in the Inner Quoddy re9ion(which includes some of the rarer species, numerically), are the following;Bald Eagle, Osprey, Herring Gull, Greater Black-backed Gull, Bonaparte'sGull, Kittiwake, Common Tern, Arctic Tern, Northern Phalarope, BlackGui 11 emot, Daub 1e - c r ~ s t e d Cormorant, and Ei der Duck. Certain other ducksare encountered but were not considered in our study. A number of other seabirds occurred sporadically; some of these are much more abundant on theNova Scotia side of the Bay of Fundy (e.g. shearwaters), or in the vicinityof Grand Manan, especially the southern region. These have been consideredtogether in section 4.12., under "occasional sightings".The major species of interest, those listed above, are discussed insections 4.1 - 4.11. Some comments have been made on breeding, and feedingunder each heading. Many of the species which are numerically important

here, e.g. Bonaparte's Gull and Northern Phalarope, are in fact not residentsof the regi on , it seemed therefore, appropri ate .to keep i nformati on separatewith respect to the breeding phase of life.


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4.1 BALD EAGLE

4.1.1. BREEDINGBy combining our own data with those kindly supplied by Mrs. T. Bartoof Clam Cove, Deer Island, who has observed these cirds over many years,we think we have an inventory of all nesting sites in the general vicinityof the Passamaquoddy region.One pair has nested on White Island in recent years (see Fig. 2).Eagles were first seen off the east coast of Deer Island by the Universityof Guelph group in 1971, and again in 1973, on a regular basis. In 1974.two birds were seen in the specific vicinity of White Island, and again in1975. There was no evidence that they were nesting in these years, as far .as our own observations go. We believe, as does Mrs. Barto, that they nestedfor the first time in 1976, but with unknown results. There is a possibil ity that one chick was reared. These birds nested again in 1977, and successfully reared one young. In 1978 they reared two, and two more in 1979.Another pair has nested for a number of years behind Cummings Cove,Deer Island.Mrs. Barto reports that one nest is said to be in use on CampobelloIsland at the p r e s e ~ t time; we have no other information on this one.One nest exists not far from the Bocabec bridge at the head of Passamaquoddy Bay; this site was active in 1978, and young were reared.One nest exists at Cooksons Island in the St. Croix river, and is apparently active at the present time.Five nests have been reported by Mrs. Barto along the Canadian side ofthe St. Croix from St . Stephen northwards.One nest for certain, and quite possibly two, occur near Lake Utopia.Eagles have been seen in this area for many years by Mrs. Barto and herassociates.Barnes Island, Simpsons Island, McMaster Island, and Sprague's Hill,Deer Island are reported to us as sites at which eagles nested in past years,but not in the latter part of the 1970s.Persistent reports of nesting eagles along the Mascarene shore of Passamaquoddy Bay have. been carefully investigated by Mrs. Barto - she states cate gorically that these reports all proved to relate either to osprey sightingsor feeding eagles.The known number of nests in the Canadian territory of the immediateQuoddy region therefore, is either eleven or twelve, these being the onesknown to be active in 1978. Inactive nest sites are not included in thiscount.


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12Fig.2. Known nest s i tes of bald eagles. Arrows indicate si tes which areoff the map. We have not 'attempted to indicate Bocabec or St Croir iver si tes on this map.oon...

ooN

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4.1.2. FEEDINGThe eagles of White Island have been observed by us, or by Mrs. Barto,to range from Sandy Ledge, near Pope Island, up the Leonardville coast ofDeer Island as far perhaps as Stuarts Landing in the Irish Water. They are

not often seen feeding in the relatively deep water around White Islandi tself. In 1978 the two adults were often seen foraging with one or both-of the young eagles.The eagles from Cummings Cove feed from the Oak Head area of DeerIsland to the G1easons area, and are most often seen in the latter locality.The eagles reported breeding along the Mascarene shore are almost cer tainly feeding only, and are believed by Mrs. Barto to be birds from LakeUtopia, or perhaps the pair at Bocabec.Mr. A.A. MacKay of Lords Cove, reported that up to six eagles at onetime were observed feeding each winter between 1964 and 1971 in the Oak Bayarea of the St . Croix river.We have not observed eagles feeding in the vicinity of Campobello Island,but we rarely work the coastal belt of the east coast. We have observedeagles feeding on the Pendleton Island coast of Passamaquoddy Bay, and inthe shallow waters on the northern side of Letite Passage. We do not knowfrom which nesting sites these birds came.


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Table 1. Sightings of bald eagles at sea, 1978, 1979, in the InnerQuoddy region.Month # days on Total Freq. index

which the sightings (sightings perspecies sighting day)was sishted Flood Ebb1977

June 2 a 2 2 1.0July 5 11 a 11 2.2August 2 6 a 6 3.0September a a 0 0 0October 0 0 0 a 0Novembe r 0 0 0 0 0Totals/mean 9 17 2 19 2.1

1978June 0 0 0 0 0July 4 5 2 7 1. 75August 4 4 0 4 0.36September 0 0 0 0 0October 0 0 0 0 0Totals/mean 15 9 2 11 0.73I t is difficult to more accurately quantify these sighting data inthe time available. More sighting effort was put into some areasthan others in 1977, but generally not in areas where eagles mightbe expected to be seen more frequently. We did get a subjectiveimpression that eagles were ranging more widely in 1978 and werethus seen less often. This seems to be borne out by these figures.We have no evidence of fewer eagles in 1978 than 1977. The 1977figures are likely to be more complete, since this was a year inwhich a conscious inventory was made.


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4.2. OSPREY

4.2.1. BREEDINGOne nest has been in use on Spruce Island since the University ofGuelph group first began to make observations in ~ 9 6 9 ; in fact Mrs. Bartoadvised us that this nest has been used for at least 20 years. This nestwas not active in 1979; in fact several key nests in this area were inactivein 1979, we are rather alarmed at this sudden change in -events. 1978appeared to De a very successful year for osprey reproduction, judging bythe reports we have collected.A nest at Gardner's Point, Deer Island, has been active for 17 yearsaccording to Mrs. Barto; this nest, while producing 4 young in 1978, wasalso inactive in 1979.Two nests are known inland from Leonardville, on the eastern side ofDeer Island, one near the Beaver Dam, and the other near Leonard's Lake.Both nests produced 4 or more young in 1978; but the latter was inactive in1979.A nest on Parker Island was reliably reported to be active in 1979.One or two nests have been reported to exist on Barnes Island, one ofthem active in 1979.One active nest is believed to exist on Pope Islet, or rather, i t appear

ed to be active in 1978, but again, not in 1979 ..Two nests previously occurred on St . Croix Island, but have not beenactive for some years.Two nests were active on Pain Island in 1978, perhaps not in 1979.The tally of active l ist for 1978 is therefore ten, the active number of1979 seems only to have been three: There may be other nests along thePassamaquoddy shores, but we have not been able to verify these.See Fig. 3 for sites.


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I6 'Fig.3. Nest s i tes reported occupied by breeding ospreys during 1978in the Inner Quoddy region. There may be other nests onCampobello Island; we have no information.'8

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Eo


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4.2.2. FEEDINGSightings of ospreys in transit, or feeding were not uncommon during1977 and 1978, during the period worked by the University of Guelph team(see Table 2). Ospreys were usually seen working in relatively shallow

waters, and commonly frequented feeding sites including the Irish Water,shallows near Letite, Lords Cove and Fish Harbour, the southern end of BeansIsland, waters near Bar Island, Leonardville, N o r t ~ w e s t Harbour, the watersbetween Spruce and Sandy Island, Back Bay, and the approaches to LetangHarbour.


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Table 2. Sightings of ospreys at sea, 1978,1979, in the InnerQuoddy region.Month # days on Tide phase Total Freq. indexwhich the sightings (sightings perspecies sighting day)was sighted Flood Ebb

1977June 5 2 5 7 1.4July 7 8 9 17 2.4August 6 10 12 22 3.7September 1 1 1 2 2.0October 1 1 2 2.0Totals/mean 20 22 28 50

1978June 1 2 a 2 2.0July 4 4 5 1.3August 3 5 5 10 3.3September a a a a aOctober a a a a aTotals/mean 8 11 6 17 2.1

Our opinion is that these figures represent reasonable support forthe hypothesis that osprey numbers did not change greatly in thestudy area during these two years. It is sti l l difficult to be surehow accurate such quantification is in two different seasons.Observers were the same in both years.


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4.3. HERRING GULL4.3.1. BREEDING

We identify six major herring gull nesting islands in the Inner Quoddyregion; Whitehorse Is. , Spruce Is. , Sandy, Is., Hospital Is. , and North andSouth Spectacle Is . There is another colony in the Wolves Islands, this hasnot been examined by us. Our nest counts are only very approximate, sincewe have not had the manpower to carry out a full census.

Our approximations for nesting pairs on these islands are as follows:Whitehorse Island 500+ South Spectacle Is.: 250Hospital Island : 400 Sandy Island 250

J,North Spectacle Is.: 150 Spruce Island 150+?*-.''{. TOTAL: 1,700 pairs (minimum?)* The nesting population on Spruce Island is particularly difficult tocount, since the birds are nesting among the trees. These counts, which maybe on the high or low side by at least 50%, are, we believe, of the rightorder of magnitude, and are certainly not incompatible with the "standingpopulation" estimate of slightly over 9,000 birds given in the next section.Many of the gulls which feed in the Inner Quoddy region during the day may infact come from the Wolves; gulls are often seen flying towards the the WolvesIslands about one hour before dusk.

4.3.2. FEEDINGThis is a major feeding area for herring gulls, and the gross sightingsfor 1977 and 1978 during operations at sea are given in Table 3. In Table 4we have presented the results of counts of all the roosting islands and isletsin the Inner Quoddy region; our conservative estimate is that the herring gullpopulation which exploits this r e ~ i o n in the summer months is of at l e a ~ t . n i n e thousand individuals. The larges,,'flocksalwaysoccur ln Head Harbour,Flg.6).Herring gulls will take herring up to 25 cm in length in the Quoddy region, they follow fishing boats, as might be expected, and many hundreds use

the dumps on Deer Island and Campobello Island for supplementary, or in somecases perhaps main feeding. Leonardis Lake, Big Pond, and Little Pond arealso roosting sites which may support a thousand birds or more - these werenot included in our minimum estimates, since some of these birds may comefrom Passamaquoddy Bay.During the summer months herring gulls will join Bonaparte's gulls infrenzied feeding on euphausiid shrimp surface' swarms in the Head Harbour area,and the River. This is a strictly opportunistic process.Main feeding areas, and the major roosts, are shown in Figs. 4 and 5.


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Table 3. Sightings of herring gulls at sea, 1978, 1979, in the InnerQuoddy region.Month # days on Tide phase Total Freq. index

which sightings (sightings perspecies sighting day)was sighted Flood Ebb1977

July 4 850 282 1132 283.0August 13 6021 12105 18126 1394.3September 4 4845 3665 8510 2127 .5October 5 285 840 1125 225.0Total/mean 26 12001 16892 28893 1111.3

1978June 2 280 150 430 215.0July 11 663 1916 2579 234.4August 11 131 1768 1899 172.6September DATA I N C O ~ 1 P L E T E October DATA INCOMPLETENovember 3 1950 11700 13650 4550.0Total/mean 27 3024 15534 18558 687.3

The data for 1977 are quite complete. Those for 1978 must be treatedwith caution, since only those for November were made with comparablerecording effort. 1978 data in particular refer only to feedingconcentrations which were observed in areas worked by Bonaparte'sGulls; otherwise they are understated by about 80%, except in November.We recommend that only the 1977 data be used.


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21

Table 4. Conservative counts of roosting herring gulls in the month of August1977. This will include gulls w h i ~ h have been nesting on Hospitaland Whitehorse and the two Spectacle Islands. All slack water counts.t ; ; a ~ . . .Loca 1ity #counts #present* #counts #present~ : . - . _ 'C'!"

Thumb I., Letite 3 100 North Tinker 5 5ledgeMcMaster Ledge, 75 Tinker Islet 4 200Letite S. Tinker Ledge 3 25Crow I. 25 Sandy Ledge 6 150Green PO"j ntBeach 2 150 Green Islet 1 125Mohawk Island 2 200 Casco Ledges 3 125

2 .Dry Ledge 2 10 S. Casco Island 500Chattys Point 1 100 E. Casco Is 1and 2 500Hoyt I. 1 30 Sandy I. Beach 3 200Back Bay Ledges 1 150 Sandy I. Ledges 3 550Bliss Island 1 200 Spruce Island 3 800Whitehorse 3 900 Bl ack Rock 2 110Little Letite 2 50 Indian Island 5 1100Parker I. Ledges 4 150 Cherry Island 2 150Haddock Ledge 5 25 East Quoddy 5 150S. Bean I. Ledge 3 50 Wilsons Beach 2 150Bar Island 1 50 Windmill Point 3 100Simpson I. Ledge 2 25 Eastport Beach 7 6001 .Hospita1 Is1and 3 500 Chocolate Cove 30S. Spectacl e 1. 4 300 Lords Cove 10 50N. Spectac1e 1. 2 200 NW Harbour 1 150Mink 1. Ledges 7 75 Pope Islet 2 50Conservative est imate of standing herring gull population in Head Harbour Passage,Letite Passage and adjacent areas during August 1977: 9,185.* Estimates based on all counts, corrected upwards or downwards if the resultingmeans seem too low because of near-zero counts (gulls elsewhere), or too high'(gulls from other areas clustered for a big run of small herring).


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22Fig.4. Major roosting si tes of herring gulls and greater black-backedgulls in Inner Quoddy region. Herring gull breeding si tes +.

on..

on..

'" ,'" , '""

ooN

...

+

O fI- Q. .a ++++


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6 ' 00 '

Oc:::::;g

a f po

oKEY

SingleSingle

smallsmall

1000 0!SAARA

2000 '"


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I6700

atQ- < 1 .

~ o o '

=p- --.q Q

.,KEY

Flocks of 100-999(usually 500 or less).,

., II1I1IFlocks of 1000-10000(usually 1000-3000)

THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERDISTRIBUTION PATTERNS BETWEENTIDE PHASES'000 0IBAHHR

2000 ""


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25

4.4 GREATER BLACK-BACKED GULL

4.4.1. BREEDINGWhile there are major breeding colonies of the Greater Black-backedgull around Grand Manan, we regret we have no data or counts of nestingBlack-backs in the Inner Quoddy region, except to note that they are greatlyoutnumbered by herring gulls on all the islands. It would be a worthwhileshort-term project to accurately census nesting Black-backs in this region.

4.4.2. FEEDINGGreater B l ~ c k - b a c k e d gulls feed actively-in this region through thesummer months, and also appear to be present in the region throughout the restof the year.The population is substantially smaller than that of the Herring Gull;

our conservative estimate based on counts made on roosting areas is about 3,175individuals. This does not include animals roosting inland around fresh waterbodies on Deer Island. The distribution of the major roosts is shown in Fig.4 together with herring gulls. The two species often share roosting ledges,although careful observation will usually show that there is some degree ofsegregation between the two species actually on the ledge, or beach.

Sightings of Greater Black-backed gulls at sea are given in Table 5; werecommend that only 1977 data be used for population estimation. The relativechanges in numbers during that year are probably reasonably accurate, as thesame observers, using the same methods, worked throughout that season.Counts of "standing population", made from observation of all roostingpoints at slack water, are given in Table 6.


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26Table 5. Sightings of Great Black-backed gulls at sea, 1978,1979, in the Inner Quoddy region.

Month # days on Tide phase, Total Frq. indexwhich sightings (Sightings perspecies sighting day)was sighted Flood Ebb

\JulyAugustSeptemberOctober

Total/mean

JuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovember

Total/mean

2;r '

1175

25

21012DATADATA2

26

501714

740445

2949

31474371

INCOMPLETEINCOMPLETE

1700

2581

19772

3407440645

4494

19781267

1022

11450

12740

525121118010907443

32741

1393

13150

15321

26.0465.5168.6218.0297.7

16.074.1

116.1

6575.0

589.2

The crew working out of Deer Island during November 1978 remarkedon the extraordinary numbers of Black-backed gUlls seen on thetwo cruise days. The actual numerical values could be too highby 50%, because of the diff icul ty of making counts as the birdswere feeding. We do not know if this was part of a fall migrationphenomenon, but i t would certainly merit more study.


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27

Table 6. Conservative counts of roosting Greater Black-backed gulls in the monthof August 1977. This will include gulls which have been nesting onHospital and Whitehorse and the two Spectacle Islands. All slack watercounts.~ o c a l i t y #counts #present* Locality #counts #present

Thumb I ., LetiteMacMaster Ledge,Letite

31

8050

North TinkerLedgeTinker Islet

54

60Nil

Oak I. 1 Nil S. Tinker Ledge 3 NilGreen PointBeach 2 Nil Sandy LedgeGreen Islet

61

4075Mohawk Island

Dry Ledge22

50Nil Casco Ledges

S. Casco Island32

Nil50Chattys Point 1 25 E. Casco Island 2 50Hoyt I.

Back Bay LedgesBliss IslandWhitehorseLittle LetiteParker I. LedgesHaddock LedgeS. Bean I. LedgeBar IslandSimpson I. LedgeHospital IslandS. Spectacle I.N. Spectacle I.Mink I. Ledges

11132453123427

No

No

202525

countNil251030

countNilNilNil2050

Sandy I. BeachSandy I. LedgesSpruce IslandBlack RockIndian IslandCherry IslandEast QuoddyWilsons BeachWindmill PointEastport BeachChocolate CoveLords CoveNW HarbourPope Islet

33325252371

1012

500**525**250**220500Nil90100100200Nil5NilNil

Conservative estimate of standing Greater Black-backed gull population in Head.Harbour Passage, Letite Passage and adjacent areas during August 1977: 3,175.* Estimates based on all counts, corrected upwards or downwards if the resultingmeans seem too low because of near-zero counts (gulls elsewhere), or too high(gulls from other areas clustered for a big run of small herring).

** On Spruce I., Black-backs were concentrated at the N.E. &S.W. tips. On SandyI. and the related ledges, Black-backs were concentrated at the southern end.


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6100

o.c#,


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29

4.5. BONAPARTE'S GULL

4.5.1. BREEDINGThe Bonaparte's Gull (Larus philadelphia Ord.) is a widely distributedAmerican species. Little is known of this small gu:l on its breedinggrounds which are located in the northwestern regions of Canada (Bent, 1963).However, a study of sea bird feeding assemblages including Bonaparte's Gullshas been carried out on a wintering ground off California (Baltz andMorejohn, 1977). On the Atlantic coast, the wintering grounds of Bonaparte'sGulls range from South Carolina, with a few stragglers as fa r north as Maine,southward to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico (Bent, 1963).Bonaparte's Gulls pass through the Bay of Fundy during fall migrationto their respective southern wintering grounds. Their sojourn on the Bay

provides an opportunity to observe the feeding ecology of these birds, freefrom the energetic stresses imposed by defense of territory, courtship andrearing of chicks. Such observations complement information of feedingecology on the breeding grounds. The waters off southwestern New Brunswick,Canada, in particular host particularly large numbers of these migratinggulls.


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30

4.5.2. FEEDING

4.5.2.1. POPULATION ESTIMATES AND GENERAL DISTRIBUTIONSBonaparte's Gulls were present in the study area from 12 July to atleast 8 December 1977 (field season ended 10 October) and from 21 June toat least 2 December 1978 (field season ended 2 December). During 1978,post-nuptial moult in Bonaparte's Gulls, as monitored by changes in headfeathers, appeared to last from mid-August to the end of September. Minimumand maximum monthly population estimates for the study area (Table 7) indicate that numbers of Bonaparte's Gulls peaked rather abruptly in August at5,000 to 10,000 birds and stabilized between 2,000 to 5,000 birds duringthe fall season. Proportions of immature and adult gulls estimated on amonthly basis, for 1978, showed significant changes over the summer (Table8). Immature Bonaparte's Gulls were the first to arrive in June, followed

closely by the adults which predominated until at least September. Monthlydistributions of Bonaparte's Gulls by zone, based on the sum of the maximumnumber of birds recorded during one sighting per division, showed a significant trend during both 1977 and 1978 (Table 9). The birds arrived in ZonesI and II but quickly concentrated in Zone II I during the period July toSeptember, only to spread intermittently back into Zones I and II during thefall.*

4.5.2.2. FEEDING BEHAVIOURA survey of flock sizes for Bonaparte's Gulls showed a significantrelationship to feeding, non-feeding and r o o ~ t i n g activities (Braune, 1979,Table 6). Numbers per feeding flock commonly ranged from 3 to 500 birds.Numbers in non-feeding flocks frequently ranged from 3 to 50 birds withflocks up to 500 birds during 1977. Numbers of birds roosting togetherusually ranged from 21 to 500 birds.Bonaparte's Gulls were observed to utilize two main feeding methods:surface seizing and diving. In Head Harbour Passage, Indian Passage andLetete Passage, where tidal flow is strong, Bonaparte's and large gulls

(Larus argenta tus , L. marinus) fed by surface seizing, drifting with thetide to the edge of the food concentration, then flying back up the currentto the upstream edge of the concentration.

* The zones used by Braune (1979) are shown in outl ine in f ig .8 .


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Table 7.. Mi nimuma and maximumb month'ly population estimates for Bonaparte sComic Terns in the Inner Quoddy region,,1977 ,and 1978,. These datadirectly from Table 7 of Braune (1979).Bonaparte's Gulls Comic Tern

Minimum No. Maximum No. Minimum No.1977 1978 1977 1978 1977 1978

June -- 15 -- 17 2 --,Jul:y 150 500 :154 ,7,76 ,25 30,August '5000 '5000 10454 ,7920 300 :200Septenitre r '2500 ;1000 4150 :22BO ;200 nooOctober 2000 75 4530 260 20 '12

'November -- 3000 -- '5200December 1500 2000'- '-

,a :Max'imum number of birds 'recordea 'on any one 's:igl1ting 't!ur:tng ,a 'molith'b Sum of the maximum number of birds 'recorded 'on any 'onesigh'bing 'perdivision during a month.


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" J , I IIII I i

Table 8. Proportions of immature and adult Bonaparte's Gulls and Comic Terpopulations of the Inner Quoddy region during 1978. These data tadirectly from Table 2 of Braune (1979).Bonaparte's Gullsa Comic Tern

NC % Juveniles %Adults % JuvenilesJune 17 100.0July 617 7.3 92.7 124 21.0August 1436 20.1 79.9 610 18.7September 18 16.7 83.3 30 36.7

a X2 = 33.26; P < 0.001. Data pooled for June-July and August-Sepb X2 = 6.07; 0.05 > P > 0.01.c Cumulative sightings of individual birds.


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Table 9. Monthly distribution of Bonaparte's Gull and Comic Tern populations (%)aregion. These data taken directly from Table 3 of Braune (1979).

Bonaparte's Gulls b Comic TernZone I Zone II Zone I II Zone I Zone II

1977 1978 1977 1978 1977 1978 1977 1978 1977 19June -- 5.9 -- 94.1 -- -- -- -- -- --July -- 4. 1 2.6 16.4 97.4 79.5 -- 33.6 -- 42August 4.3 3.4 3.4 4.3 .92.3 92.3 55.6 54.8 10.3 11September 1.2 7.9 10.8 19.7 88.0 72.4 -- 68.7 80.0 30October 13.2 42.3 13.9 30.8 72 .9 26.9 -- 100.0 -- -November -- La -- 39.4 -- 59.6 -- -- -- -December -- 25.0 -- -- -- 75.0

a Based on maximum numbers given in Tableb 2X 1977 = 1338.19; P < 0.001. X2 1978 = 5302.27; P < 0.001. Data pooled foc X2 1978 = 196.60; p < 0.001. Data pooled for September-October 1978.


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34Fig.8. Major roosting si tes used' by Bonaparte1s gulls and Common and ArTerns, and the zone division boundaries used by Braune (1979).

'..,..0..,..,

'0oo" .,

.,..

'..,..0..,..,

Eo


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35

Relationships of flock size to feeding method fo r Bonaparte's Gullswere summarized by Braune (1979). Surface seizing appeared to be thepredominant feeding method in large flocks (100 - 1000+ birds) and amongscattered feeding birds (1 - 2 birds), whereas diving predominated in smallrflocks (3 to 20 birds). There seemed to be an intermediate flock size(21 to 500 birds) where both feeding methods were employed. A few flocks _(3 to 50 birds) were observed feeding on intertidal mud flats along thereceding water line.An analysis of feeding associations indicated that Bonaparte's Gullstended to feed either in a flock consisting of their own species only, orwith Comic Terns only, or with large gulls only, (Braune, 1979). The feedingmethods used by Bonaparte's Gulls also varied significantly with the feedingassociation. Surface seizing predominated in most associations other thanthose with terns, when diving appeared to predominate.Bonaparte1s Gulls, alone or in association with large gulls, most fre

quently functioned as the key food-finding species, even though Comic Ternstook on this role fairly frequently in the Letite- area (Braune, 1979). Keyspecies and attracted species were determined by analysis of a series ofcase histories of flock formation by Braune (1979).Roosting counts showed that Bonaparte's Gulls associated with their ownspecies on about half the occasions recorded, and with the terns and otherspecies (usually large gulls) on the other occasions (Braune, 1979).

4.5.2.3. PREY SPECIESEuphausiid swarms were found predominantly in the Head Harbour Passage River area (Zone III); most intermittent local concentrations of euphausiidswere also found in this area. Prey being eaten by the gulls and the terns

showed a significant disparate distribution by zone (Braune, 1979, Table 15).Small fish were taken mainly in Zone I, and euphausiids plus some insectsin Zone III. Zone II was a transitional intermediate area.Observed feeding behaviour changed with euphausiid concentration (deter mined from surface plankton samples) (8raune 1979). Very low euphausiid concentrations were exploited mainly by Comic Terns,* whereas heavy concentrationswere utilized by Bonaparte's and large gulls. As euphausiid concentrationsincreased, Bonaparte's Gulls changed their feeding tactic from diving toalmost exclusively surface seizing. Feeding frenzies, initiated by very dense


36/69

36

euphausiid concentrations (approximately 2 to 4 euphausiids m- 3 ), involvedboth Bonaparte's and large gulls which drove the terns, sti l l feeding bydiving, to the periphery of the main prey concentration.

4.5.2.4. DISTRIBUTION OF FEEDING BIRDSBirds feeding on euphausiids occurred mainly in the Head Harbour and

River areas (Zone III) of the Quoddy region, where the densest concentrationsof euphausiids were formed (Battle e t a l . , 1936; Graham, 1936; Kulka, 1977;personal observations). Consequently, Bonaparte1s Gulls whose stomachcontents indicate that they fed predominantly on euphausiids, concentratedin Zone III, the Head Harbour and River areas.


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oaJ@"

.KEY

0 Single small flock- floodFlocks 100-1000present on flood

IIIIII Flocks 1000+present on flood Flocks 100-1000present on ebb

% Flocks 1000+ present on ebb1000 0 2000'"

rR'""'R""RAk I

6700'


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-------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------

38

Table 10. Sightings of Bonaparte's Gulls at sea, 1978, 1979 in theInner Quoddy region.Month # days on Tide phase Total Freq. indexwhich the sightings (sightings perspecies sighting day)was sighted Flood Ebb

1977June 0 0 0 0 0July 4 320 324 324.0August 20 6900 16600 23500 1175.0September 6 740 1760 "2500 416.7October 5 3680 2700 6380 1276.0Total/mean 32 11324 21380 32704 1022.0

1978June 2 18 9.0July 13 5645 6022 463.2August 27 11532 26404 977.9September 12 6198 7306 608.8October 4 140 422 105.5November 7 3850 6940 991.4Total/mean 65 27366 47112 724.8

Bonaparte's gulls were intensively studied in both seasons, butparticularly in 1978. Both frequency indices are of the same orderof magnitude; we are reasonably confident that the relative numbersfrom month to month within years, and between years, are quitecomparable.


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39

4.6 KITTIWAKE

4.6.1. BREEDINGThe nearest breeding site of Black-legged Kittiwakes to this regionis probably at Cape breton Island (Brown et al. , 1975). While Kittiwakesspend several months roosting on Whitehorse ISland, we have no evidencethat they are nesting in this area.We have been unable to confirm the reports of Baird et al. (1973) andBrown et al. (1975) of large numbers of Kittiwakes aggregating in the westernapproacheS-to the Bay of Fundy, specifically in the Passamaquoddy regionduring the fall and winter. Our own observations revealed only large num bers of immature Bonaparte's gulls in the area in October and November. Weare forced to suggest therefore, that the previous statement was based on amisidentification, one which is easy to make at a distance.Our sighting data collected during routine operations are shown belowin Table

4.6.2. FEEDINGWe have few specific observations of feeding Kittiwakes, and thosemostly in the vicinity of Whitehorse, Barnes and vJhite Is . Their numbersare so low, relative to the other species, that at any distance' they passnotice among the herring gulls and Bonaparte's gulls. They are presumedto feed largely on small herring, but we have no data.


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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

40

Ta b1e 11. Sightings of Black-legged Kittiwakes at sea, 1978,1979, in the Inner Quoddy region.Month # days on Tide phase Total Freq. index

wh i c h sightings (Sightings perspecies sighting day)was sighted Flood Ebb1977

July a a a a aAugust 3 2 2 4 1 . 3September 1 a 6 6 6.0Total/mean 4 2 8 10 2.5

1978July 1 2 0 2 2.0August 3 100 31 131 43.7September a a a a aTotal/mean 4 102 31 133 33.2


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41

4.7. COMMON AND ARCTIC TERNS4.7.1. BREEDING

The Common Tern breeds mainly from Cape Breton southwardsto North Carolina, and the Arctic Tern breeds from Massachusettsnorthward to the Arctic (Bent 1963). The southern hemisphere serves as the wintering ground for both species, withthe Common Tern ranging from the Straits of Magellan northwards;some birds only going as far south as Florida. The ArcticTern winters primarily in the Antarctic to 74 0 S, and thenorthern winter l imit of i ts range is not known.The nearest breeding colony of terns to the Quoddy R e ~ i o n is at Machias Seal Island, to the south of Grand Manan.

4.7.2. FEEDINGDifficul t ies arise in distinguishing between Common andArctic Terns at a distance, or in f l ight (Wynne-Edwards 1935,- --Guiget 1971). Since close-range observation of feeding ternswas not always possible, Common and Arctic Terns are referredto col lect ively as IIComic ll Terns, a name used for convenienceby Grant and Scott (1969).Comic Terns were present from- 25 June to 9 October 1977and from 19 July to 8 October 1978 in the Inner Quoddy region.The numbers sighted at sea during ratine operations are givenin Table 12, together with the sighting frequency indices foreach month. Sighting data- for both seasons are bel ieved by us

to be very re l iable , and represent a real measure of relat iveabundance. In this case 1979 data have also been included;special at tent ion was paid to the birds in this season by thesenior author. Terns were far less abundant in the InnerQuoddy region in 1979; we relate this to the very poor quali tyof the euphausiid surface populations in this season. Only oneor two low-concentration surface swarms were recorded, comparedwith many in 1977 and 1978 .. Terns were presumably dispefsedand feeding over a much wider area in 1979.During 1978 and 1979 some corrected population estimateswere made; these are shown in Table 7 with those for Bonaparte'sgul l . The proportions of juveniles to adults through thesummer of 1978 are shown in Table 8, and the monthly dist r ibut ionof Comic Terns by Zones (following Braune,1979) is comparedwith Bonaparte1s gulls in Table 9. Major roosting si tes ofComic Terns are shown in Fig.8; they were usually roosting withBonaparte's gul ls , but not invariably.Based on the samples in which Common and Arctic Ternscould be ident i f ied, we show the proportions of adults of thetwo species in July-September 1978 in Table 13, and the monthlydist r ibut ion of the two species by zone, in table 14.


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- - - - - - - - -

42Table 12. Sightings at sea of Common and Arctic Terns (notdistinguished) in the Inner Quoddy region, 1977-79.

. . .:8


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43

Table 13. Proportion of adult Common and Arctic Terns in thetern population of the Inner Quoddy region during1978a. These data taken directly from Table 4 ofBraun A (1979).

Nb %Common %Arctic" Terns Terns

July 23 69.6 30.4

August 456 26.5 73.5September 25 52.0 .48.0

a X2 = 25.95; P < 0.001.-b Cumulative sightings of. individual birds.


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Table 14. Monthly distribution of Common and Arctic Terns in the Inner Quoddduring 1978a . These data taken directly from Table 5 of Braune (1Common Terns Arctic Terns

Zone I Zone II Zone II I Zone I Zone II

July 100.0 57.1 42.9August 28.9 43.8 27.3 21.0 42.6September 100.0 16.7 83.3

a expressed as percentages of Commonpopulation, respectively, as shown Tern population and Arctic Ternin Table


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45Fig.lO. Feeding areas of Common & Arctic Terns on ebb and flood t ide ithe Quoddy region. Areas of high and low concentration indicated.

, . 0 ~ () , . 0 .. O 0 .V0 0~ 0 '. c::l, ' .

0

's.., .,, ..

'8 ,,......

C b D ~ ~ . , .

0

' ~ ~ C b 0 GI~

'0

en en OQJ o QJt: t: . . -S . .-s

' r - ' r - LL n. LL n.V ) V ) 00 111111 02

"000,....4

Iti l

..:.::

u0,....4.,....,....roEti lQJ,....

. 0.0QJI

ti l..:.::

u04,....roEti lQJ

"0000.. 04L[')It:00L[')

+..>t i lt:": ' : :QJUtIl

. 00.0OQ JL[')It:00 EL[') 0+..> 0:::ti l t:": ' : :QJUtIl


46/69

46

4.7.2.1. PREY SPECIESThe diet of Common and Arctic Terns was studied in thisregion by Braune (1979). Visual, film, and direct stomachcontent sampling methods were used.Common Terns feed almost exclusively on small f ish, inpart icular small herring, but also small smelt and pollack.Arctic Terns take a mixture of fish'and euphausiid shrimp.Comic Terns appeared to feed o n l ~ by diving, rather thanusing surface feeding, as was commonly observed in Bonaparte'sgulls. Larger feeding flocks predominated in 1977 as comparedto 1978 and 1979. In the l a t te r year, terns were present onlyin small, scattered flocks of 5-10, or even sol i tary birds.

4.7.2.2. DISTRIBUTION OF FEEDING BIRDSComic Terns tended to feed in flocks composed only oftheir own species, or in company with Bonaparte's gulls.They were rarely seen in feeding f l o ~ k s with other species.The dist r ibut ion of feeding birds was dependent mainlyupon food distr ibut ion. Braune (1979) pointed out thatherring sizes reported by Battle et a l. (1936)and Graham(1936) decreased from the Head Harbour Region to Back Bayand Leti te. Herring of about IDem appear round about lateAugust in the area, and grow until ~ c t o b e r . Herring in thestomachs of terns ranged from 8 - 12cm in length. Fish muchlarger than this probably cannot be swallowed easily by thesmaller larid species. Bent (1963) maintained that a fish

of about IDem was the largest that a tern could consume.Braune therefore did not find i t surprising that mostterns feeding on fish were confined to the northern part ofthe Inner Quoddy region. .Numbers of feeding terns peaked rapidly in August at 200to 1,000 birds. Number declined sl ightly in September, and thenvery rapidly in October to zero as all birds lef t the area.Common terns were the f i rs t to arr ive, but Arctic ternspredominated in numbers during August. In 1977 Terns appearedearl ies t in Zone III , shifted to Zone I in August, and dispersedback into Zones II and III in the la te summer and early fal l .During 1978 however, they arrived f i r s t in Zone II , and thenrapidly concentrated in Zone I. In August and September, whenfeeding terns were most numerous, Arctic terns predominated inZones II and III (the euphausiid-rich areas), while CommonTerns predominated in Zone I .


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474.8. NORTHERN PHALAROPE

4.8.1. BREEDINGBoth Red Phalaropes and Northern Phalaropes occur in theapproaches to the Bay of Fundy; the former however, is usuallyfound in large numbers on the Nova Scotian side of the Bay. In

the Inner Quoddy region Northern Phalaropes are overwhelminglypredominant. For this reason we have ignored the occasionalpresence of Red Phalaropes in our counts.The Northern Phalarope is a bird of the 18w A6ctic, with abreeding d i s t r i b u t ~ o n extending from about 54 -65 N in Canada,and up to about 71 N in western Greenland (Brown et a1. 1975).Phalaropes move northwards into Arctic regions in May, and thef i r s t migrants returning through the Atlantic reach the watersoff southern New Brunswick in late June (see Table 15).4.8.2. FEEDING

Northern Phalaropes in the Quoddy region appear to be takingcopepods and the smaller size classes of euphausiids. Studies onthe feeding ecology of the two Phalarope populations in the Bayof Fundy during the summer months are being actively pursued byDr R.G.B.Brown of the Canadian Wildlife Service, Dartmouth, N.S.,at the present time, with the co-operation of the present authors.These birds are intensely gregarious during feeding, andthe Head Harbour Passage and i ts appnBches and adjcent waterssurely form one of the most important feeding grounds for NorthernPhalaropes in the Atlantic Provinces. They are closely a s s o c i ~ ated with the upwelling zones of that part of the Inner Quoddyregion.

They feed in much more localized zones than the other speciesconsidered in this report ( f ig . l l ) . Feeding flocks have neverbeen observed by us in Letite Passage. The reason for this isnot known, but the phenomenon is of great interest to us, and isbeing investigated. The lee of White Island is a feeding groundof importance on the flood only; the northern River area, southernHead Harbour and the approaches to Eastport are important only onthe ebb t ide . The area of Head Harbour Passage from Casco I tosouthern Spruce I is a vital feeding area to this population ona ll running s u b ~ p h a s e s of the t idal cycle ( f ig . l l ) .


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-----------------------------------------------------------------

- - - - - - - - - - -

48Table 15. Sightings of Northern Phalaropes at sea, 1977-79,in the Inner Quoddy Region.

Month # days on Tide phase Total Freq.indexwhich sightings (Sightings perspecies sighting day)was sighted Flood Ebb ~ - f , . ; '.. :' ,;.. "-1977June 3 o 95 95 31.7

July 6 20058 5049 25107 4184.5August 17 44492 103496 147988 8705.2September 7 1500 174 1674 239.1October 1 o 12 12 12.0Total/mean 34 66050 108826 174876 5143.4

1978June 2 o 7 7 3.5July 14 74000 108847 182847 13060.5August 23 46110 82509 128619 5592.2September 5 16548 3000 19548 3909.6October o o o o oNovember 1 o 20* 20 20.0- ~ - ~ - ~ - - - ~ - - - ~ - - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ~ - - - - - - - - - - - -Total/mean 45 136658 194383 331041 7356.5

1979June 0 0 0 0 0July 8 915 354 1269 158.6August 17 115142 71870 187012 11000.7September 1 0 600 600 600.0Total/mean 26 116057 72824 188881 7264.6

Sighting data collected during 1979 are for this species ofcomparable quali ty to the previous years; an intensive effor tto col lec t "data o A ~ t h i s species was maintained through all 3 yearCounts are of course reflecting that small flocks were countedaccurately, large flocks were e ~ t i m a t e d by density and area, bothVisually and by photographic methods.*These stragglers were almost certainly Red Phalaropes.


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49Fig. l l . Feeding distr ibutions of Northern Phalaropes in the Inner Quoddregion, 1978, 1979. Only flocks of 1,000+ have been included in these

-.,- ~ C C E....... + 'r + ~ a 0 -a 081 O J o O J oO Jo O J olJ.... r - l lJ.... r - l~ 11111111 g

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------------------------------------------------------------------

50

4.9. BLACK GUILLEMOT4.9.1. BREEDING

I t is quite possible that Black Gui11emots are breedingwithin the Inner Quoddy region, but we have no positive dataourselves to that effect . None of thefie1d teams recall everseeing the character is t ic return behaviour of birds which havebeen feeding and are returning to the nest with fish in theirbeaks. If nests occur on the islands, they are scattered.Baird et al. (1973) showed nesting si tes at an unspecifiedlocation between Campobello and Deer Islands. We have noreason to doubt this information.

4.9.2. FEEDINGBlack Guil1emots usually feed in small scattered groupsin the Inner Quoddy region, but not invariably so. We have a

number of records of quite large feeding concentrations, butthese are sporadic in occurrence. The total numbers sightedby us during normal operations in 1977 only are presentedin Table 16. Our records of the feeding dis tr ibutions ofblack guillemots when presence in concentrations (10-200 birdstogether) , are displayed in fig.12.Ta b1 e 16. Sightings at sea of B1ac k Guillemots dud ng 1977.io tbeInner Quoddy region.

Month # days on Tide phase Total Freq. i nd exwhich sightings (Sightings perspecies sighting day)was sighted Flood Ebb1977

June 11 115 125 240 21.8July 6 73 143 216 36.0August 12 348 73 421 35. 1September 5 3 35 38 7.6October 1 21 2 23 23.0Total/mean 35 560 378 938 26.8Data are available for 1978 but arenot presented here. We believethese data to be very incomplete and misleading. Some observersceased to record gui11emots during that season on certain cruises ,because of pressure of other work.


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51Fig.12. D i s t ~ i b u t i o n s of f e e d i n ~ concentrations of Black Guillemotsin the Inner Quoddy region by flood and ebb tide phases, 1977.'8.

' ...- 00 Vl Vl0 -0 -0r ~ - 4 'r 0 'r r ..00 ..0 ..0Vl r .. 0

04 00)U 0 00 "-!OJ "-!OJr- I ..c I ..c4 o+-> o +->

.---i .---ir- s::: s:::r 4-0 4-0tt lEVl

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-. ,.8....0


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4.10 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT.4.10.1. BREEDING

Nesting s i tes of this species are probably scattered throughthe region, but Whitehorse Island is the only substantialcolony with which we are fami1ar. In 1977-79 there appeared tobe (by photographic count), at least 400 pairs nesting on theis land. At least a similar number are ~ e 1 i e v e d to nest at theWolves Is .This species, unfortunately, has not greatly occupied ourat tent ion, except during the 1977 inventory. The roosting si tesof this species shown in fig.13 certainly include at least one,and probably more nesting si tes . Further detailed census workis required. One of the problems is that this species isregularly shot at by fishermen because of the prbblems i t causesin herring weirs. As a resul t , they are exceedingly wary ofboats, and a group will take flighteven:when a vessel is somehundred of metres away.

4.10.2. FEEDINGThe gross counts made during our 1977 inventory are givenin Table 16; the species was largely ignored by recorders in1978 and 1979 because of concentration of effort on a fewspecies, and pressure of other c o m m i t m e n ~ . Feeding concentrationare displayed. in fig.14, representing groups of 10-500 birds.The western fringe of Head Harbour Passage and the northernpart of the River area appear to be the most important feedingareas.

Table 16. Sightings at sea of Double-crested Cormorants in 1977in the Inner Quoddy region.Month # days on Tide pha se Total Freq. indexwhich sighted (Sight ingsperspecies sighting'day)was sighted Flood Ebb

June 10 221 269 490 49.0July 9 187 454 641 71.2August 19 1088 556 1644 86.5September 13 540 961 1501 115.5October 5 120 220 340 68.0Total/mean 56 2156 2460 4616 82.4


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53Fig.I3. Roosting and breeding si tes of the Double-crested Cormorant

in the Inner Quoddy region.

'" ,..

0" ,

'"


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54Fig.14. Feeding distr ibution ~ double-crested cormorants in theInner Quoddy region, by flood and ebb t ide, in 1977.'8'

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'",'"

Ul Ul- 0 -0s...-o s....'- 0 .r

- 0 .00 . 0 . 00 r -00 -0 04 00)r -0 0 04 0) L . { )O) L . { )O)

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4.11. EIDER DUCK4.11.1. BREEDING

Eider breed in a large number of scattered local i t iesr ight through the Inner Quoddy region, and females with a t ra in of y o u n ~ , sometimes as many as fif teen or m o r ~ , are a commonsight during the summer. Unfortunately this species has notbee n gi ven. a hi 9h prio r i t y. i n 0 ur s tu die s, and we hav e n0 c0 un tof nesting b i r d ~ .

4.11.2. FEEDINGWe have made however, an inventory count of eidersduring 1977 and mapped the major feeding zones of this ~ a t h e r gregarious species. I t is always seen feeding close to smallspi ts of land or islands, presumably because the young cannotcope with the strong current conditions which prevail in openwater. We have no data relating to diet for the species in

this area. The numbers noted during 1977 are given in Table17, and the dis tr ibution of feeding birds in fig.15.Table 17 . Sightings a t sea of Eider Ducks during 1977 i nthe Inner Quoddy region.

Month # days on Tide phase Total Freq. indexwhich sightings (Sightings perspecies sighting day)\'1as sighted Flood Ebb

June 10 437 618 1055 105.5July 9 683 371 1054 117 . 1August 15 748 971 1719 114.6September 12 70 309 379 31. 6October 2 310 0 310 155.0Total/mean 48 2248 2269 4517 94.1


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ooaj5.

KEY,

" o Single small flocks - flood Single small flocks - ebb,

Flocks of 10-100 birdspresent on the flood tide 0 Flocks of 10-100 birdspresent on the ebb t ide, 111111j',

I, '000 0 2000'"IAHAAB


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4.12. OCCASIONAL SIGHTINGSApart from shore b i r d s ~ we have recorded nine other marine

species in the Inner Quoddy region in 1977-79 ( f ig.16) . Alls i g ht in 9s were of no more than 4 i ndt-v idua1s at o-n e time. No-tshown since we have restr ic ted oursel \'es to recent data areGreater S h e a r w a t e r s ~ ; a stream of perhaps 250 passed throughthe area justnortheast . to seaward of Whitehorse I in August 1971, flyingThe species shown in fig.16 are:D - Dovekie MS - Manx shearwaterG - Gannet* P - PuffinJ - Parasitic jaeger R - Razorbill

LP - Leach's Petrel S - SkuaM - Common Murre

* The Gannet . is an intefis t ing record. In 1977, 1978 and 1979a pair of Gannets have been nesting on Whitehorse Island; asfar as we know, the only pair in Canadian waters south of theSt Lawrence. Unfortunately we have no evidence that they havebeen able to rear young successfully. We have not approachedthe nest closely for fear of disturbing the si t t ing bird andexposing the nest to marauding herring gulls , which were nestingall round the gannets.


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58Fig. 16. Sighting local i t ies of occasional visi tors to the Inner Quoddy

region; specimens recorded 1977-79.on..

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59

5.0 IMPACT OF OIL ON FEEDING AREAS ~ BIRDS IN THE INNER QUODDYREGION, WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO HEAD HARBOUR PASSAGE ANDADJACENT AREASTwo aspects of possible oil pollution must be addressed

i f the Eastport refinery is constructed a n put into o p e r a t ~ o n , f i rs t ly the chronic level of spillage and l ts effect on marlnebirds, and secor


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experience to guide those corrections. Even t h e n ~ we presentin this report only minimum estimates.I t is e v i d e n t ~ if one reviews the data presented in thefigures in this r e p o r t ~ that of all the marine birds d i s c u s s e d ~ the only species which might not be immediately affected is the

Common Tern, which primarily feeds in the Letite Passage.The problem of chronic spillage is more dif f icu l t toassess. In their impact r e p o r t ~ the Pittston Company have claimedthat bacterial action will take care of the minimal spillageat the diffusor s i te . The EPA permit grants casual and u n a v o i d - ~ able spillage of 2 barrels per day - ie. 700-750 b a r r e l s ~ or2 4 ~ 5 0 0 - 2 6 ~ 2 5 0 gallons per a n n u m ~ year in and year out. Inthe cold water temperatures that prevail in this region wesimplydo not believe that this will be readily taken care of by naturalbacterial a c t i o n ~ without demonstrable p r o o f ~ which is not forthcoming as yet. Nor do we b e l i e v e ~ from s ta t i s t ics on normalrefinery operations around the w o r l d ~ that casual spillage willbe limited to an average of only 2 barrels per day. This wouldrequire a level of standards of operation that are simply beyondbel ief in a cold temperate c l i m a t e ~ in winters which freeze v a l v e scrack l ines , and in a region that has such poor vis ibi l i ty fornearly a third of the year that one can hardly see from one sideof a wharf to the other.

Apart from deterioration of the e n v i r o n m e n t ~ which i inevitable in any major port a r e a ~ the major feeding zone foralmost all the marine species is Head Harbour Passage i t s e l f ~ and the closely adjacent River area. As the t ide c h a n g e s ~ themajor feeding masses of b i r d s ~ especially Herring and Blackbacked gulls , Bonaparte's g u l l s ~ terns and p h a l a r o p e s ~ move withthe f o o d ~ moving down the Passage towards the Eastport area withthe flood p h a s e ~ and back towards the mouth again on the ebb.The movement of Bonaparte's gulls and terns was accuratelymapped by Braune (1979); these movements are summarized in fig.17.The major feeding movements of the b i r d s ~ and the preferredareas, all relate to the complex local oceanography of the r e g i o n ~which has been hitheto very poorly known from a very few stationsi tes . In fig.18 we show the major anomalous areas of the InnerQuoddy region. The areas of upwel l i n g ~ and the adjacent sl icks

which trap masses of w e e d ~ are prime feeding areas for all thebirds, in the case of the la t te r a r e a s ~ especially the phalaropesThese sl icks may be rotating at up to 2 knots or more at theperiphery; with no hope of oil c o n t a i n m e n t ~ even though oil l ikethe weed and debris, would accumulate within them. The ~ h e a r zones and suspected shear zones are believed to be areas of downwelling which would take oil into the water column. More wouldbe mixed into the water column by displacement beside and aroundthe upwelling areas. The close association of the major feedingareas with the Head Harbour and Letite upwelling zones is veryexact (see fig.IS and equivalent species distr ibut ions). The shezone in the River is another margin of the main concentration zon


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61Fig.I7. Tidally related movements of gulls and terns in feedingaggregations, following prey movements in the Inner Quoddy reg

o':i

EoooN

~


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62Fig.18. DISTRIBUTION OF IMPORTANT RIPS, SHEARS, UPWELLINGS AND SLICKS.

"8 C l0:;1 V'l V'l V'l lLJlLJ 2 : lLJQ...VlC:::2 : l L C O ~ O Z l- i ::> lLJOOCOU l - i OC: : : lL l N lLJ l- i1- N Ze t :- J et: u- 03:V'l::E:,1 ..-: . ex::. . . . . . . 0.. ; .. ,'. . u"," .. f/Jfi

C'-. ( ! ) I - 2 : ' ~

(1) 2 : V'l l- i 0"lLJ I r- lLJ Vl lLJ - J : gU S- c::: .a::: Z lL - Jc: l l / ) tt l et:


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I t has been suggested that the birds will avoid the areaof an oil s l ick; in the case of birds w h i ~ h feed in an opportunisand often frenzied way, such as the s p ~ i e s in question here,we believe this to be extremely unlikely. Food in suchsi tuations is patchy. Birds search mainly iD the most profitableareas, and less time in other areas. The zone of maximumfeeding - Head Harbour Passage - is one of the " re l iable" foodzones (Braune,1979). I t is also the region of maximum oil I ~ i s k . Braune observed that numbers of Bonaparte 1 s gulls were often.noted as peaking up to 90 minutes before the peak avai labi l i tyof food, indicating probable habituation and ant ic ipat ion.At the r ight time of t ide , t ~ e s e birds will leaves the i r rooststo move into Head Harbour Passage and the other usual feedingareas. If there is oil there, then those birds will become oiledas the i r normal behaviour is to se t t le on the water and waitfor local food patches to come near the surface.

The conclusion of the authors is that we have here theworst possible combination of circumstances for an ecologicaldisaster i f a spil l occurred, and occur i t certainly wil l ; eventhe EPA recognized this when i t f i r s t granted the permit.Even in the case of birds which might be considered shorebirds, for example the bald eagles, the benaviour patterns areessential ly the same. The eagles and ospreys leave the i r roostssome time before the peak. feeding period, and move into what arefavourable positions for feeding on an average day. These birdsare all shallow water feeders; these are the areas where oil. isl ikely to be deposited in thick layers on the surface , in viewof the large t idal amplitudes here. The wide-ranging foragingbehaviour of the eagles would.mitigate against designating highrisk and low risk areas for impaction of eagles by a sp i l l . Ifthere is any kind of a fish ki l l , with moribund fish strugglingat the surface, the eagles and ospreys will inevitable be drawnto them, even into areas beyond the i r normal foraging range.I t is the belief of the c u r r ~ n t authors that , taking a llaspects of this proposed development into account, we are nottalking of risks and probabi l i t ies , but of certain disaster sooneor 1a ter . As the seni or author indicated in hi s report to theBiological Station in 1973, the only factor that is unknown isexactly when the disaster will occur, and what form i t will take.


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6.0 LITERATURE REVIEW AND LIST OF ALL PUBLICATIONS, ANDTHESES, RELATING TO BIRDS AND FEEDING AREAS IN THEINNER QUODDY REGION.

To avoid duplication, those ar t ic les directly relat ingto this region's birds and their feeding, have been markedclearly with aster isks in the references (section 8.0).Suffice i t to say that the relevant l i tera ture makesup only a small body. Even basic data are lacking for manyspecies in this region, and the major mark le f t by successiveCanadian Governments on research into upper trophic levelspecies of animal in the Bay of fundy is one of almost totalneglect .Too often, in such l i tera ture as exists , the same pioneerworks are cited over and over again for lack of any alternative

or fresh data, works which were published in far differenttimes. Most local residents of long standing will confirmthat the Quoddy region is not the productive region i t wasf i f ty years ago. Nevertheless, by the standards of many otherparts of the Bay of Fundy, i t is one of Canada's treasures.


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7.0 THE UNIQUENESS OF THE QUODDY REGION AND APPROACHES TOPASSAMAQUODDY BAY FOR FEEDING BIRDS, ITS VALUE TO THESESPECIES, AND THE ACCESSIBILITY OF SPECIES IN THIS REGIONFOR RESEARCH

Many workers have remarked, in both popular and technicalpublications, on the very high seasonal concentrations of birdsthat can be found in the western approar.hes to the Bay of F u n d y ~ Such research as has been carried out has shown that this areais one of the important staging zones in the western Atlanticcoastal fly-way to the Canadian Arctic.Biologists on retainer for Pit ts ton have remarked that theBay of Fundy actually appears to have relat ively low primaryproductivity, and no unique features. While i t may have relat ivelow primary productivity in most areas, i t shows a most extraordinary concentration of secondary productivi ty, and this

productivi ty presents i t se l f in such a way as to provide a basisto support one of Canada's most important fishing industr ies ,and very large populations of feeding migrating birds. Thevery physiography of the Bay, i ts great t idal amplitudes, andthe diversi ty of marine temperate fauna concentrated in a rathersmall area, at tes t to a degree of uniqueness that makes thestatements of Pittston a p o ~ g i s t s almost incomprehensible.The numbers of marine birds that pass through this regionare so large that the very fact that they are there forces oneto accept that th i s region must be v i t a l to them J or they wouldbe somewhere e l se . The key, we think, is the remarkableconcentration of surface phenomena in a small compass. This is

one of the few areas in the world other than the coast of Japanand the vicinity of the Antarctic Convergence, that re l iab lesur face swarming and concentra t ion o f euphausi id shrimp takesplace. The birds which arrive in this region have evolved thepresent pattern of behaviour over a long period of time, perhapssince the las t major climatic warming period, about five to sixthousand years ago. Selection for the optimal pattern of migratis severe. If an individual bird does not "balance i ts annualenergy budget", i t does not survive the migration, and does notpass on i ts particular gene pool fragment.The approaches to Passamaquoddy, with their abundant smallherring shoals and large biomass of euphausiids and copepods,concentrated by the interplay of water masses in the westernapproaches to the Bay of Fundy, provide a valuable source ofprotein and l ipid to these bird populations, which, having suffersubstantial depletion of their reserves through the stress ofbreeding in the Arctic, must make good these losses quickly, i fthey are to survive in what are often food-poor wintering grJundI t may be that in such a feeding ground as th is , they canobtain cer tain types of nutr i t ion which they cannot obtain inother areas, at least at the same minimal energy expenditure(0r V. G.Tho mas. , per s . com m. ) .


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The resul ts of damage to these feeding grounds are l ikelyto go quite a way beyond the loss of a high percentage of severalyear classes of a number of species of birds. We are not, wemust s tress , talking about a few thousands of local birds inthe Bay of Fundy, but in some cases a s ub s t an j i a l f rac t ion o fth e t o ta l popu la t ions o f the North American eas te rn s eaboard which must feed in this area if the populations are to maintainanything l ike their present numbers. Loss of these feedinggrounds would inevitably resul t in thousands of birds, even i fthey survived the in i t ia l disas ter , having to forage furtheraf ie ld , at higher energy costs, in sUb-optimal feeding areas,for diminishing returns. Population drop is q ~ i t e natural andinevitable under these conditions. Pit ts ton 's biolpgists assureus that the development will have no effect on this region.Data from refinery areas a l love r the wonld clearly indicateotherwise.

There is no other part of coastal Canada which reallyresembles the ecological si tuation found in the Bay of Fundy;from the Canadian point of view the combina t ion of factors ,rather than the existence of any s i ~ l e factor or species ofanimal, makes i t completely unique. The University of Guelphgroup has worked at about seven other local i t ies in the AtlanticProvinces, and has long since sett led on this area as the onewhich provides the optimum balance of favourable conditionsfor the kind of ecological research which we wish to undertakeon upper trophic level marine animals. The presence of thef isheries and Oceans Canada Biological Station in St Andrews,and the closely related university-sponsored Huntsman MarineLaboratory, provides a very strong and f lexible investigatoryresearch structure in the area. The fact that the Bay of Fundyis of relat ively small size, has a high level of concentrationof secondary marine productivity that at t rac ts and supports alarge fraction of the migratory seabirds of the eastern seaboard,and also supports several major f isher ies of great local economicimp 0 r tan c e, ma ke s t his reg ion a 11 f ie 1d 1abo ra t 0 r y II 0 f i n est i ma b1evalue to the nation of Canada.


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8.0 REFERENCES DIRECTLY CITED IN THE TEXT, AND OTHERPUBLICATIONS RELEVANT TO SEA BIRDS IN THE QUODDY REGION(THOSE OF SPECIAL RELEVANCE ARE MARKED WITH A *).* Baird, J .C. , et al. 1972. Birds and Mammals, pp. 131-174 in:

Lorneville Environmental Impact Study, Environment Canadaand New Brunswick Department of the Environment, Vol.II.Baltz, D.M., and G.V.Morejohn. 1977. Food habits and nicheoverlap of seabirds wintering in Monterey Bay, California.Auk 94: 5 2 6 ~ 5 4 3 .

* Barker, S.P. 1976. Comparative feeding ecology of Puffinus(Order Prcoellariformes) in the Bay of Fundy. M.Sc thesis ,University of Guelph.Batt le , H.I. , et al. 1936. F-tness, digestion and food of* Passamaquoddy young herring. J.Fish.Res.Bd Canada 2:401-429Bent, A.C. 1963. Life histories of North American Gulls and Tern* Ne\ York, Dover Publ. Inc., 337 pp.

* Bigelow, H.B. 1924. Plankton of the offshore waters of the Gulfof Maine. Bull. U.S.Bur.Fish., 40(pt II) ; 1-509.Braune, B.M. 1979. Dynamic feedingecology of migrating* populations of Bonaparte's gulls , common terns andarctic terns. M.Sc*thesis, U n i ~ e r s i t y of Guelph.*(With dist inct ion).

* Brown, R.G.B., et al. Atlas of Eastern Canadian Seabirds.Canadian Wildlife Service, 1975, 220 pp.* Brown, R.G.B. e t a l . 1979 in press. Daytime surface-swarmingby Me an cti hanes norve ica(M.Sars) (Crustacea,Euphausiacea off Brier Island, Bay of Fundy. Can. J.Zool.

Brown, R.G.B. et al. 1979 in prep. The foods and feeding of* Great and Sooty shearwaters Puffinus gravis and P.griseusin eastern Canadian waters.

* Charlotte County Bird Sighting Records, New Brunswick Museum,St.John, N.B.Cooke, W . W ~ 1915. ITistribution and migration of North Americangulls and their al l ies . U.S.Dept.Agric.Bull 292, 70 pp.

* Doucet, W.F. 1960. Economic study of the herring fishery ofCharlotte County, New B r u n s w i ~ k , 1956-1957. J . F i s h . R e ~ . Bd. Canada 17: 815-870.


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~ i : ~ ~ .-..* For res t e r , W.O. 1960 . Cur ten t .meas urem en t s in Pas sam aquo ddyBay and the Bay of Fundy 1957-1958. J.Fish. Res.Bd.Canada 17: 727-729.* Gaskin, D.E. 1973. The marine mammals of the Grand Manan

Passamaquoddy region, with special reference to the HeadHarbour Passage approaches, and the- probable impact ofaproposed oil refinery at E a s t p o r ~ , Me, on these a n i m a l s . ~ Report to Environmental Impact Committee, FisheriesResearch Board Biological Stat ion, St.Andrews, N.B.Gaskin, D.E., et al.1978. Organochlorine residues in shearwaters* from the approaches to the Bay of Fundy, Canada. Arch.Environm.Contam.Toxicol.7: 505-513.Graham, M. 1936. Investigations of the herring of Passamaquoddy*

and adjacent regions. J.Fish.Res.Bd. Canada. 2: 95-140.S.Corey. 1974. Aspects of the l i fe history* (M.Sars) Crustaceain Passamaquoddy Bay. Can.J.Zool.52: 495-5

l l es , T.D. 1975. The New Brunswick weir f isheries for juvenile* herring: a preliminary analysis of catch data for theyears 1957-1962. I.C.E.S. Pelagic Fish/Norther/Comll.,C.M. 1975?Doc.H:54.Kulka, D.\4. 1977. The l i fe history of Thysanoessa inermis (Kroyer* and the community st ructure of euphausiids in the Bay ofFundy. M.Sc thes i s , University of Guelph.Lebour, M.V. 1922. The food of YOJlg clupeoids. J.Mar.Biol.Assoc.* U.K. 12: 458-467.

* Lord, J.S. 1925. St Stephen, N.B. to Deer Is , N.B. and return.Can.Field-Nat. 39: 24-25.* MacMillan, D.H. 1966. Tides. Elsevier Publ.Co., New York, 240 pp

McKenzie, R.A. & S.N.Tibbo. 1960. Herring fishery .in southern* New Brunswick. J.Fish.Res.Bd.Canada 17: 133-168.Scot t , D.M. 1959. Observations on marine birds off southwestern* Nova Scotia. Can Field-Nat. ,73: 15-20.Seymour, N.R. 1972. Success of three gull species feeding on* swarming ants in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia.Can. Field-Nat. 86: 391-392.Smith, S. l . 1878-1882. The stalk-eyed crustaceans of the Atlanticoast of North Ametica north of Cape Cod. Trans.Conn.Acad. Art sSe i . 5: 27 - 138.


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Snyder, L.L. 1957. Arctic Birds of Canada. University of TorontoPress, Toronto, 310 pp.* Townsend, C.W. 1923.Notes on the bint of Grand Manan, NewBrunswick, Can.Field-Nat., 37: 1 4 1 - ~ 4 4 .

Tuck, L.M. 1960. The Murres. Canadian Wildlife Series I . , Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, 260 pp.Verbeek, N.A.M. 1977. Comparative feeding behaviour of immatureand adult herring gulls . Wilson Bull. 89: 415-421.Vermeer, K. 1973. Comparison of food habits and mercury residuesof Caspian and common terns. Can.Field-Nat.87: 305.Wynne-Edwards, V.C. 1935. On thehabits and distribution of birds

on the North Atlanti

Documents

Seabirds in Head Harbour Passage and Vicinity