Island
"Bed and Breakfasts" for the Birds
The refuge's islands are as individual as finger prints. Some support spruce-fir forests. Others are treeless, covered by shrubs and grasses. Still others are mostly bedrock, with little vegetation. Some combine the three. The various habitat types appeal to a variety of bird species.
In addition to seabirds, refuge islands provide
habitat for raptors, wading birds, shorebirds, and songbirds. Some of the
forested islands, including Outer Heron, Little Marshall, Bois Bubert, and
Mink, have active bald eagle nests. Outer White Island supports a black-crowned
night heron rookery. Migrating peregrine falcons stop on rocky Seal Island
to hunt seabirds and rest. Warblers such as the bay-breasted and blackpoll,
and shorebirds, including ruddy turnstones and semi-palmated plovers, rely
on the islands as stepping stones on their long trips north and south
All images credit FWS
