Comments and/or questions?
Web Master

by
Brian Dalzall

      During a special pelagic birding trip south of Grand Manan on Tuesday, Feb. 3rd, our boat captain took us as close as possible to the Yellow Murre Ledge. On the south side we observed two large GRAY SEALS and a much smaller one. As we came closer, one of the large grays moved defensively to the side of the little seal. The smaller seal immediately made nursing motions toward the (apparently) mother seal.

      I know that Gray Seals breed on the ice off eastern New Brunswick at this time of year, but I was unaware they did so in the Bay of Fundy. Is anyone else aware of Gray Seals having bred in the Bay in the past? This pup was likely 3-4 weeks old, so had to have been whelped shortly after the New Year. We also saw about 65 HARBOUR SEALS on another nearby ledge (Long Ledge) along with four more GRAY SEALS. This is a good number for winter, as it appears the seal population in the Bay of Fundy is only about 20 per cent or less of what it is in summer.

     As an aside, it is also interesting to note that the top of Yellow Murre Ledge is much less cluttered than I recall it from my last close encounter in 1988. Apparently, it has been regularly overwashed during heavy seas in the recent past. For example, the storm surge associated with Tropical Storm Bertha that washed half the Black-legged Kittiwake nests off the face of South Wolf Island on July 13, 1996 no doubt washed over the Yellow Murre Ledge several times, and may have drowned most of the young Common Murres and Razorbills nesting under the boulders atop the ledge.

      A trip to the ledge in mid-July of 1993 by personnel from Bowdoin Scientific Station on nearby Kent Island estimated 125 pairs each of Common Murre and Razorbill nesting there. From my close vantage on February 3rd, it would now appear that not more than 50 pairs of each could find room to nest under the remaining boulders on top of Yellow Murre Ledge. Certainly, rising sea levels will eventually doom this nesting site for the Bay of Fundy's only Common Murre colony. It may also explain why more and more have been seen propagating at nearby Machias Seal Island in recent years.