Newfoundland and Labrador is home to an enormous array of interesting and beautiful sea and shore birds. Here are some facts about our birds:

• Newfoundland and Labrador has:
  • over half of Canada’s Atlantic Puffins;
  • 80% of North America’s Atlantic Murre population;
  • over half of the world’s population of Leech’s storm-petrels; and
  • the most accessible Northern Gannet colony in North America.
• Newfoundland and Labrador is home to six internationally recognized breeding sites within its ecological reserves - Funk Island, Gannet Island, Baccalieu Island, Cape St. Mary’s, Hare Bay, and Witless Bay – as well as a number of ecological reserves and nesting sites.
• The extinct Great Auk, the only flightless bird in the Auk family, was the original penguin. European sailors named the black-and-white, flightless birds of the southern hemisphere after the Newfoundland penguin. Interestingly, despite their similar appearance and breeding habits, the families of birds are not related.
• More than seven million storm-petrels, the largest known colony in the world, live on Baccalieu Island in Newfoundland.
• Newfoundland has 311 known seabird breeding colonies. There are over 1,000 seabird breeding colonies in Labrador, including the world's largest Razorbill colony at Gannet Islands Ecological Reserve.
• The Bald Eagle is not really bald. Its feathers are quite heavy – they make up 1/6th of its total weight!
• Birds in the gull family are often called “sea gulls” even though some individuals of this family travel thousands of kilometres inland from the ocean and others are rarely seen near the coast once breeding season has past.
• Marine coastal areas are naturally good places to see seagulls, but St. John's is one of the best places to see gulls in winter when up to a dozen species can be observed at various places around the city in a single day.
• Sailors have had superstitions about storm-petrels for centuries. These small birds are often called “Cary chicks”, “Mother Cary’s chickens” or Mother Cary’s Children”. These common names are believed to be derived from an ancient Norse tale about a spirit that moved on the water and terrorized Viking sailors. An old Irish legend holds that the birds were the souls of lost sailors. The storm-petrels’ mysterious songs, oily odour, and unfortunate habit of crashing by the thousands onto ships at sea provide some modern understand of these ancient superstitions.
• There are over 400 nesting pairs of Bald Eagles in Newfoundland and Labrador.
• The best ways to see birds in Newfoundland and Labrador is to take a boat tour or visit an ecological reserve or nesting site. Boat tour operators will take you places to see birds in the province and provide you with entertainment along the way. Ecological reserves such as Cape St. Mary’s offers hiking trails and walking tours as well as an interpretation centre that allow you to get a close look.
• Gannet Island, off the coast of Labrador, does not have any gannets. It is named after the 19th century British survey ship HMS Gannet. It is, however, home to twenty-four thousand razorbills.
• To many birders, the melodic call of a Fox Sparrow is the first sign of spring. These foxy-red birds migrate in large numbers to nest in Newfoundland and Labrador. Since Fox Sparrows are not nearly so common in Southern Canada, their abundance in Newfoundland often fascinates visiting bird watchers.
• The Harlequin Duck and the Piping Plover are two birds found in our province which are endangered in Canada. Recovery teams have been established in an attempt to prevent the loss of the two species from their Canadian range.
• We know very little about the Labrador Duck which became extinct in 1878. It is thought that its disappearance is due to the collection of its eggs for food and the use of its feathers in the fashion industry.
• Dawn and dusk are the best times to see birds.
• Most birds have an oil gland at the base of their tails which they use to preen their feathers and keep them supple and waterproof. Birds such as herons do not have an oil gland but produce a “powder puff” which they use to groom. A special “comb” on one of their claws removes any clogged powder.
• Birds are more active in the breeding season (spring) than in nesting season (summer). Some are more active in autumn as they prepare to migrate.