— 2004 Season —
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| Atlantic puffin on Seal Island. Credit: USFWS |
Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge is a 65 acre rocky island located just six miles east of Matinicus Rock, in outer Penobscot Bay. Seal Island was once the largest Atlantic puffin colony in the Gulf of Maine. For over 200 years it was also a summer campsite for fishermen harvesting herring, groundfish, and lobster. The fishermen also used their nets to harvest the nesting seabirds, which led to the demise of the colony by 1887. The island was eventually recolonized by cormorants, gulls, and terns. However, by 1953 the growing gull population had completely displaced all nesting terns. From the 1940s to the early 1960s the Navy used the island as a bombing target. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acquired the island in 1972. After six years of gull control and tern attraction using decoys and tape recordings, 20 pairs of Arctic and Common Terns nested at Seal Island in 1989.
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| Tern feeding its young. Credit: USFWS |
The colony has increased dramatically since 1989, with 1,172 pairs of Arctic Terns and 1,167 pairs of Common Terns nesting in 2004. In recent years, a single pair of Roseate Terns has also nested on the island. Between 1984 - 1989, NAS translocated 950 puffin chicks from Newfoundland to Seal Island. Puffins first successfully bred on Seal Island in 1992. In 2004, the island also supported 290 pairs of puffins and two pairs of Razorbills. Five pairs of laughing gulls also attempted to nest on Seal Island in 2004. The National Audubon Society and the Service continue to cooperatively manage the island.
