Saturday, July 30, 2011

Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve

 

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At the southwest tip of the Avalon Peninsula lies Cape St. Mary’s--

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--home of one of the most spectacular and most accessible seabird colonies in North America--

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-- and one of the best places in the world to see nesting seabirds. 

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The air is full of the sight, sound and smell of tens of thousands of birds.

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The main cliff-top viewing area faces a nest-covered sea stack.

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  Bird rock and adjacent cliffs are like avian high rise apartment towers.

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The ledges, outcrops, overhangs and plateaus offer a variety of accommodations for a variety of birds species. 

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   It was foggy and wet today but we had no problem seeing the 11,000 plus nesting pairs of northern gannets--

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-- 10,000 pairs of common murres--

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  -- and 10,000 pairs of black-legged Kittiwake.

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  The path to the cliffs was lined with many meadow flowers.

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Map picture

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