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A nest of laughing gull eggs. Credit: Mao Lin/USFWS

Wildlife and Habitat

Approximately ninety-four percent of the refuge is designated as a Wilderness Area. The visitor to this wilderness refuge encounters a very special place -- a sanctuary that supports an amazing diversity of wildlife and plant species. Monomoy has been listed as a Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network Regional site and an Important Bird Area due to its importance to migratory shorebirds. Monomoy's beaches provide important spawning habitat for horseshoe crabs. During the fall and winter, thousands of seaducks congregate in offshore areas around the refuge. The refuge is the largest haul-out site of gray seals on the Atlantic Seaboard with approximately 5,000 seals. Largely protected from human intrusion, Monomoy offers some of the most desirable habitat for seals in the region and harbor and gray seals now thrive on Monomoy. A restored Coast Guard lighthouse is located on South Monomoy and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Gray seals at Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: Tom Eagle/USFWS