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1
Population status, distribution, and trends
of gulls and kittiwakes breeding in eastern
Canada, 1998–2007
Occasional Paper
Number 120
Canadian Wildlife Service
R. C. Cotter
J.-F. Rail
A. W. Boyne
G. J. Robertson
D. V. C. Weseloh
K. G. Chaulk
Canadian Wildlife Service Occasional Papers
Occasional Papers report the peer-reviewed results of original research carried out by members
of the Canadian Wildlife Service or supported by the Canadian Wildlife Service.
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A.J. Gaston
Science and Technology Branch
Environment Canada
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Science and Technology Branch
Environment Canada
A.W. Diamond
Atlantic Co-operative Wildlife Ecology
Research Network
University of New Brunswick
R. Letcher
Science and Technology Branch
Environment Canada
H. Meltofte
National Environmental Research Institute
Danish
Ministry of the Environment
P. Mineau
Science and Technology Branch
Environment Canada
E. Nol
Department of Biology
Trent University
G.J. Robertson
Science and Technology Branch
Environment Canada
J.-P. Savard
Science and Technology Branch
Environment Canada
R. Ydenberg
Centre for Wildlife Ecology
Simon Fraser University
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Population status,
distribution, and trends
of gulls and kittiwakes
breeding in eastern Canada,
1998–2007
Richard C. Cotter1, Jean-François Rail1, Andrew W.
Boyne2, Gregory J. Robertson3, D.V. Chip Weseloh4,
and Keith G. Chaulk5
Occasional Paper
Number 120
Canadian Wildlife Service
December 2012
Également disponible en français sous le titre :
Statut, répartition et tendance des populations nicheuses de
goélands et de mouettes dans l’est du Canada, 1998-2007
Service canadien de la faune, Publication hors série no 120
1 Canadian Wildlife Service, Environmental Stewardship Branch,
Environment Canada, 801-1550 d’Estimauville Avenue, Québec City,
Québec G1J 0C3
2 Canadian Wildlife Service, Environmental Stewardship Branch,
Environment Canada, 45 Alderney Drive, 16th floor, Dartmouth,
Nova Scotia B2Y 2N6
3 Wildlife and Landscape Science Directorate, Science and Technology
Branch, Environment Canada, 6 Bruce St., Mount Pearl, Newfoundland
and Labrador A1N 4T3
4 Canadian Wildlife Service, Environmental Stewardship Branch,
Environment Canada, 4905 Dufferin St., Toronto, Ontario M3H 5T4
5 Labrador Institute, Department of Biology, Memorial University of
Newfoundland, 219 Hamilton River Road, P.O. Box 490, Stn "B",
Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador A0P 1E0
2
Online at www.ec.gc.ca/publications
Cat. No. CW69-1/120E-PDF
ISBN: 978-1-100-99952-4
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Front cover photos:
Ring-billed Gull © Richard Cotter
Black-legged Kittiwake, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull © Jean-François Rail
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of the Environment, 2012
Aussi disponible en français
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Abstract
Along freshwater and marine coasts of eastern Canada, as a group gulls are among the
most commonly observed and best known bird species. There are four main gull, or
larid, species that breed along the shores and coastlines of this area: three gregarious
and wide-ranging species, the Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis, the Herring Gull
L. argentatus, and the Great Black-backed Gull L. marinus, and one truly marine
species, the Black-legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla. In the 1970s, the first large-scale
surveys of breeding gulls along the major freshwater and coastal shorelines of eastern
Canada were carried out, and in the intervening years most have been repeated at least
once, although many two or more times. While some regional census results have been
presented in peer-reviewed scientific articles, most have only been published in
Canadian Wildlife Service Technical Reports or simply remain in seabird colony
databases. The objective of this report is two-fold: first, to compile in one report census
data of gull colonies—most collected between 1998 and 2007—from eastern Canada,
specifically the area extending from the Great Lakes eastward along the St. Lawrence
River, to the Atlantic Ocean and coastline of Labrador, in order to obtain population
estimates for each species and province; secondly, to compile all the census data on
each species from the 1970s (and for some species even earlier) to 2000s to compute
trends of each species overall and for the major coastlines of each of the six provinces
within eastern Canada.
The censuses covered by this report have produced a total population estimate (all four
species combined) of approximately 790,000 nesting pairs in 2570 colonies. Not
surprisingly these pairs are not evenly distributed in numbers, neither among provinces
nor species—nearly half (48%) of all gulls are Ring-billed Gulls breeding on the Great
Lakes system in Ontario. In all there are nearly 506,000 pairs of Ring-billed Gulls,
129,000 pairs of Herring Gulls, 124,000 pairs of Black-legged Kittiwakes, and 31,000
pairs of Great Black-backed Gulls. In Québec, as in Ontario, the Ring-billed Gull is the
most abundant species, while in Atlantic Canada the Herring Gull and Black-legged
Kittiwake are the most common and have similar populations. In terms of distribution,
the Herring Gull is by far the most widespread species in eastern Canada, nesting in
sizable numbers in all provinces and at more sites (colonies) than the other three species
combined. This gull often nests in mixed colonies with its larger congeneric, the Great
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Black-backed Gull, as well as with Ring-billed Gulls on the Great Lakes and Upper St.
Lawrence. The Great Black-backed Gull nests in relatively small colonies (single or
mixed-species), and is fairly widely distributed across Atlantic Canada and Québec. The
Black-legged Kittiwake is nearly as abundant as the Herring Gull, however, its
distribution is very different—it is absent in Ontario and nearly absent from the three
Maritime provinces (<1% of total population). The core of the breeding population is in
Québec and Newfoundland, in particular Anticosti Island, Gaspé Peninsula, and
Newfoundland. In terms of trends, most gull populations grew and expanded in the
1970s and 1980s as food resources were abundant (forage fish stocks, discards and offal
from the thriving cod Gadus morhua fishery, human refuse) but then declined in the
1990s as food became scarcer (overfishing of forage fish and cod stocks, closure or
changes to municipal dumps) and/or where overabundant populations in urban areas
became a nuisance (or a hazard) and thus control programs were implemented. While
recent censuses (since 2000) have shown that some populations continue to decline,
many have stabilized or even increased.
Four additional, rare gull species currently breed or have nested in the region covered
by this report: Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus, Little Gull
Hydrocoloeus minutus, Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla, and Glaucous Gull Larus
hyperboreus. The latter breeds only in Labrador and is the most abundant of these four
species, with an estimated population of nearly 3300 pairs in 1978. The Black-headed
Gull has one active colony, on Îles-de-la-Madeleine in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
Québec, with 17 pairs counted in 2007. The Little Gull bred sporadically on a number
of islands in Georgian Bay, Ontario, from 1979–1991, while the Laughing Gull has
nested in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, as recently as 2001 on Sable Island, Nova
Scotia.
5
Résumé
Sur les rives d’eau douce et les littoraux marins de l’est du Canada, les goélands et les
mouettes constituent un des groupes d’oiseaux les plus souvent observés et les mieux
connus. Quatre espèces principales de goélands ou de mouettes, ou Laridés, y nichent :
trois espèces grégaires à aire de répartition étendue, à savoir le Goéland à bec cerclé
(Larus delawarensis), le Goéland argenté (L. argentatus) et le Goéland marin
(L. marinus), et une espèce véritablement marine, la Mouette tridactyle (Rissa
tridactyla). Durant les années 1970, les premiers inventaires à grande échelle de
mouettes et de goélands nicheurs ont été effectués sur les principales rives d’eau douce
et les principaux littoraux de l’est du Canada; la plupart des inventaires ont été répétés
au moins une fois par la suite, et même plus de deux fois dans de nombreux cas. Bien
que certains résultats des recensements régionaux aient été présentés dans des articles
scientifiques examinés par des pairs, la plupart des résultats ont été publiés seulement
dans les Rapports techniques du Service canadien de la faune ou stockés dans les bases
de données sur les colonies d’oiseaux marins. L’objectif du présent rapport est double :
premièrement, compiler en un seul rapport les données de recensement portant sur
l’ensemble des colonies de goélands et de mouettes—la plupart des données ont été
recueillies entre 1998 et 2007—dans l‘est du Canada, une région s’étendant depuis les
Grands Lacs, vers l’est le long du fleuve Saint-Laurent, jusqu’à l’océan Atlantique et
jusqu’au littoral du Labrador, afin d’obtenir des estimations de la population par espèce
et par province; deuxièmement, compiler toutes les données de recensement sur chaque
espèce recueillies des années 1970 (et même avant pour certaines espèces) jusqu’aux
années 2000 afin de calculer les tendances générales pour chaque espèce et pour les
principaux littoraux de chacune des six provinces de l’est du Canada. Les recensements
visés par le rapport ont mené à une estimation de la population totale (les quatre espèces
confondues) d’environ 790 000 couples nicheurs dans 2 570 colonies. Comme il fallait
s’y attendre, l’effectif des couples nicheurs n’est pas réparti également, ni entre les
provinces ni entre les espèces—près de la moitié (48 %) de tous les goélands et de
toutes les mouettes sont des Goélands à bec cerclé qui nichent dans le réseau
hydrographique des Grands Lacs (Ontario). En tout, on compte près de 506 000 couples
de Goélands à bec cerclé, 129 000 couples de Goélands argentés, 124 000 couples de
Mouettes tridactyles et 31 000 couples de Goélands marins. Au Québec, comme en
6
Ontario, le Goéland à bec cerclé est l’espèce la plus abondante, alors que dans le
Canada atlantique ce sont le Goéland argenté et la Mouette tridactyle qui sont les
espèces les plus communes et aux effectifs comparables. En ce qui concerne la
répartition, le Goéland argenté est de loin l’espèce la plus largement répandue dans l‘est
du Canada, car des populations appréciables nichent dans toutes les provinces et à un
plus grand nombre de sites (colonies) que les trois autres espèces confondues. Le
Goéland argenté niche souvent en colonies mixtes avec une autre espèce de plus grande
taille appartenant au même genre, le Goéland marin, ainsi qu’avec des Goélands à bec
cerclé dans la région des Grands Lacs et du cours supérieur du fleuve Saint-Laurent. Le
Goéland marin niche en colonies relativement petites (renfermant une seule espèce ou
plus d’une espèce) et est réparti assez largement dans le Canada atlantique et au
Québec. Même si la Mouette tridactyle est presque aussi abondante que le Goéland
argenté, la répartition de l’une et l’autre espèce est fort différente—la Mouette tridactyle
est absente en Ontario et pratiquement absente des trois provinces maritimes (moins
de 1 % de la population totale). Le cœur de la population nicheuse se retrouve au
Québec et à Terre-Neuve, en particulier à l’île d’Anticosti, en Gaspésie et à
Terre-Neuve. Pour ce qui est des tendances, la plupart des populations de goélands et de
mouettes ont connu une augmentation et se sont étendues durant les années 1970 et
1980 en raison de l’abondance des ressources alimentaires (stocks de poissons
fourragers, rejets et déchets de poisson provenant de la prospère pêche à la morue,
déchets laissés par les humains), puis ont diminué durant les années 1990 car la
nourriture est devenue plus rare (surpêche des stocks de poissons fourrage et des stocks
de morue (Gadus morhua), fermeture ou modifications des décharges municipales) ou
car la surabondance des populations d’oiseaux dans les zones urbaines est devenue une
nuisance (ou un danger), ce qui a mené à la mise en œuvre de programmes de contrôle
des oiseaux. Bien que les récents recensements (depuis 2000) aient montré que l’effectif
de certaines populations a continué à diminuer, bon nombre de populations se sont
stabilisées ou ont même augmenté.
Quatre autres espèces rares de goélands et de mouettes nichent actuellement ou ont déjà
niché dans la région visée par le rapport : il s’agit de la Mouette rieuse
(Chroicocephalus ridibundus), de la Mouette pygmée (Hydrocoloeus minutus), de la
Mouette atricille (Leucophaeus atricilla) et du Goéland bourgmestre (Larus
hyperboreus). La dernière espèce, qui niche seulement au Labrador, est la plus
abondante des quatre, et sa population était estimée à près de 3 300 couples en 1978. On
retrouve une colonie active de Mouettes rieuses aux îles de la Madeleine, dans le golfe
du Saint-Laurent (Québec); on y a compté 17 couples en 2007. La Mouette pygmée a
niché de temps à autre dans plusieurs îles de la baie Georgienne (Ontario), de 1979 à
1991, alors que la Mouette atricille a niché en Nouvelle-Écosse et au
Nouveau-Brunswick, aussi récemment qu’en 2001 à l’île de Sable (Nouvelle-Écosse).
7
Acknowledgements
The census results in this report were obtained primarily from surveys conducted
by or in collaboration with Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) personnel from
CWS-Atlantic Region, CWS-Québec Region, and CWS-Ontario Region. We wish to
thank all who participated in these surveys. The following is a list of the principal
personnel, apart from the authors, involved in the organization and carrying out of the
surveys and of organizations that provided data (undoubtedly we have missed many
who should have been included—our apologies): Atlantic Canada–R. Elliot,
S. Gilliland, P. Ryan, J. Chardine, S. Wilhelm, P. Taylor, B. Veitch, D. Fifield,
J. Beukens, J. McKnight, J. Hudson, B. Toms, Parks Canada, Prince Edward Island
Department of Environment, Energy, and Forestry, New Brunswick Department of
Natural Resources and Energy, Atlantic Cooperative Wildlife Ecology Research
Network (University of New Brunswick); Québec–G. Chapdelaine, P. Brousseau,
P. Mousseau, Parks Canada (B. Roberge), Société Duvetnor, Société Protectrice des
Eiders de l’Estuaire, Quebec-Labrador Foundation; Ontario–C. Pekarik, D. Moore,
R. Morris, L. Shutt, T. Havelka, G. Barrett, E. Walker, H. Blokpoel, G. Tessier.
8
Contents
1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………. 14
2 Study area………………………………………………………………………. 16
3 Methods…………………………………………………………………………. 18
4 Population size and distribution………………………………………………. 20
4.1 Overall larid population……………………………………………..................... 20
4.2 Ring-billed Gull……………………………………………………..................... 23
4.3 Herring Gull…………………………………………………………………....... 26
4.4 Great Black-backed Gull………………………………………………………… 30
4.5 Black-legged Kittiwake…………………………………………………………. 33
4.6 Other gull species………………………………………………………………... 36
4.6.1 Black-headed Gull……………………………………………………... 36
4.6.2 Little Gull………………………………………………………………. 36
4.6.3 Laughing Gull………………………………………………………….. 37
4.6.4 Glaucous Gull………………………………………………………….. 38
5 Analysis of population size and trends by geographic region (province)…... 39
5.1 Atlantic Canada………….…………………………………………..................... 39
5.1.1 Newfoundland and Labrador…………………………………………... 40
5.1.2 Nova Scotia…………………………………………………………….. 45
5.1.3 Prince Edward Island……………….………………………………….. 49
5.1.4 New Brunswick…………….………………………………………….. 51
5.2 Québec—St. Lawrence system………………………………………………….. 57
5.2.1 Ring-billed Gull………………………………………………………... 58
5.2.2 Herring Gull……………………………………………………………. 62
5.2.3 Great Black-backed…………………………………………………….. 64
5.2.4 Black-legged Kittiwake………………………………………………... 64
9
5.3 Ontario—Great Lakes system…………………………………………………… 65
5.3.1 Ring-billed Gull………………………………………………………... 66
5.3.2 Herring Gull……………………………………………………………. 69
6 Discussion and summary………………………………………………………. 72
Literature cited……………………………………………………………………….. 76
Appendix: Summary of survey methods and years………………...…………..…... 84
10
List of Figures
Figure 1. Map of eastern Canada with area surveyed (green) for breeding gulls
and kittiwakes …………………………………………………………………….... 17
Figure 2. Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of four gull
species in eastern Canada, by species (A) and geographic region (B) …..………… 22
Figure 3. Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of four gull
species in eastern Canada, by province (A) and waterbody (B) .......……………… 22
Figure 4. Distribution of Ring-billed Gull breeding colonies (number of pairs) in
eastern Canada (number of colonies in parentheses) ...……………………………. 23
Figure 5. Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of the Ring-
billed Gull in eastern Canada, by province (A) and waterbody (B) .………………. 25
Figure 6. Frequency of breeding colony size classes (number of pairs) of the
Ring billed Gull in eastern Canada, by geographic region (A) and waterbody (B) .. 26
Figure 7. Distribution of Herring Gull breeding colonies (number of pairs) in
eastern Canada (number of colonies in parentheses) …..………………………….. 27
Figure 8. Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of the Herring
Gull in eastern Canada, by province (A) and waterbody (B) ...……………………. 29
Figure 9. Frequency of colony size classes (number of pairs) of the Herring Gull
in eastern Canada, by geographic region (A) and waterbody (B) ...……………….. 29
Figure 10. Distribution of Great Black-backed Gull breeding colonies (number of
pairs) in eastern Canada (number of colonies in parentheses) .……………………. 31
Figure 11. Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of the Great
Black backed Gull in eastern Canada, by province (A) and waterbody (B) ...…….. 32
Figure 12. Frequency of colony size classes (number of pairs) of the Great Black-
backed Gull in eastern Canada, by geographic region (A) and waterbody (B) ........ 32
Figure 13. Distribution of Black-legged Kittiwake breeding colonies (number of
pairs) in eastern Canada (number of colonies in parentheses) ….…………………. 34
Figure 14. Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of the Black-
legged Kittiwake in eastern Canada, by province (A) and waterbody (B) ...……… 35
Figure 15. Frequency of colony size classes (number of pairs) of the Black-legged
Kittiwake in eastern Canada, by geographic region (A) and waterbody (B) ……… 35
Figure 16. Distribution of Black-headed Gull and Laughing Gull breeding
colonies (number of pairs) in eastern Canada (Number of colonies in parentheses) 37
Figure 17. Distribution of Glaucous Gull breeding colonies (number of pairs) in
eastern Canada (number of colonies in parentheses) …......……………………….. 38
11
Figure 18. Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of four gull
species in Atlantic Canada, by species (A) and province (B) …..…………….…… 39
Figure 19. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the proportion (%) of each gull
species of the province’s total breeding gull population (A) and the frequency of
colony size classes (number of pairs) by species (B) ……………………………… 42
Figure 20. Population trends of Ring-billed Gull (RBGU), Black-legged
Kittiwake (BLKI), Herring Gull (HERG), and Great Black-backed Gull colonies
in Newfoundland …………………………………………………………………... 42
Figure 21. In Nova Scotia, the proportion (%) of each gull species of the
province’s total breeding gull population (A) and the number of breeding pairs of
each species by waterbody (B) ….…………………………………………………. 46
Figure 22. In Nova Scotia, for each gull species the proportion (%) of its total
breeding population by waterbody (A) and the frequency of colony size classes
(number of pairs) by species (B) ……..……………………………………………. 46
Figure 23. Population trends of the Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull in
Nova Scotia …………………………….………………………………………….. 48
Figure 24. In Prince Edward Island, the proportion (%) of each gull species of the
province’s total breeding gull population (A) and the frequency of colony size
classes (number of pairs) by species (B) ……...…………………………………… 51
Figure 25. Population trends of the Herring Gull (HERG), Great Black-backed
Gull (GBBG), and Ring-billed Gull (RBGU) in Prince Edward Island ..………….. 52
Figure 26. In New Brunswick, the proportion (%) of each gull species of the
province’s total breeding gull population (A) and the number of breeding pairs by
waterbody (B) …........................................................................................................ 52
Figure 27. In New Brunswick, for each gull species the proportion (%) of its total
breeding population by waterbody (A) and the frequency of colony size classes
(number of pairs) by species (B) …………………………………………………... 55
Figure 28. Population trends of the Ring-billed Gull in New Brunswick and of the
Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull in the Grand Manan Archipelago
(GMA) in the Bay of Fundy and along the entire Bay of Fundy (BoF) and Gulf of
St. Lawrence (GSL), New Brunswick ..……...…………………………………….. 56
Figure 29. In Québec, the proportion (%) of each gull species of the province’s
total breeding gull population (A) and the number of breeding pairs of each
species in each of the province’s main coastal regions (B) .……………………….. 57
Figure 30. In Québec, for each gull species the proportion (%) of its total breeding
population by region (A) and the frequency of colony size classes (number of
pairs) by species (B) ……………………………………………………………….. 58
Figure 31. Triennial survey estimates of breeding Ring-billed Gulls at seven
colonies along the St. Lawrence River and Estuary, Québec, 1991–2006 (an “*”
indicates survey carried out over two years) ………………………………………. 61
12
Figure 32. Population trends of the Ring-billed Gull and Black-legged Kittiwake
in Québec ……..……………………………………………………………………. 62
Figure 33. Population trends of the Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull in
Québec ...…………………………………………………………………………… 63
Figure 34. In Ontario, the proportion (%) of each gull species of the province’s
total breeding gull population (A) and the number of breeding pairs of each
species by waterbody (B) .…………………………………………………………. 65
Figure 35. In Ontario, for each gull species the proportion (%) of its total breeding
population by region (A) and the frequency of colony size classes (number of
pairs) by species (B) ……………………………………………………………….. 66
Figure 36. Population trends of the Ring-billed Gull in the Great Lakes system,
Ontario ……………………………………………………………………………... 69
Figure 37. Population trends of the Herring Gull in the Great Lakes system,
Ontario ……………………………………………………………………………... 71
13
List of Tables
Table 1. Estimated number of pairs of Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Great
Black-backed Gulls, and Black-legged Kittiwakes nesting in eastern Canada ….. 21
Table 2. Number and average size of Ring-billed Gull and Black-legged
Kittiwake colonies in eastern Canada ……………………..................................... 24
Table 3. Number and average size of Herring Gull and Great Black-backed
Gull colonies in eastern Canada …………………………...................................... 28
Table 4. Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-
backed Gull, and Black-legged Kittiwake pairs in the principal gull colonies in
Newfoundland, 2000–2006 ……………………………………............................. 41
Table 5. Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-
backed Gull, and Black-legged Kittiwake pairs from three census periods (C1,
C2, C3), and compound annual growth rates (CAGR), in Newfoundland (NF)
and Labrador (LB) gull colonies …………............................................................. 44
Table 6. Estimated number of Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull pairs
from two census periods (C1: 1987; C2: 2002–2004) and percent change
between censuses in the principal gull colonies in Nova Scotia ………................. 47
Table 7. Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, and Great Black-
backed Gull pairs from three census periods (C1: 1975; C2: 1986; C3: 2004) in
all gull colonies in Prince Edward Island ………………………………………... 50
Table 8. Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-
backed Gull, and Black-legged Kittiwake pairs in the principal gull colonies in
the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of St. Lawrence (census year in parentheses) in
New Brunswick, 1998-2005 ..……………………………………………………. 54
Table 9. Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-
backed Gull, and Black-legged Kittiwake pairs in the principal gull colonies in
the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Québec, 1996–2007 …………………………..………. 59
Table 10. Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-
backed Gull, and Black-legged Kittiwake pairs in the principal gull colonies in
the St. Lawrence River and Estuary, Québec, 2001–2007 ………………………. 60
Table 11. Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull and Herring Gull pairs in the
principal gull colonies in Ontario, 1999–2000 …………....................................... 67
Table 12. Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull and Herring Gull pairs on
Ontario’s Great Lakes and associated waterways from three census periods
(C1: 1976–80; C2: 1989–90; C3: 1999–00) and the percent change between
censuses. (Species and waterbody totals in bold; n=number of colonies; census
year(s) in parentheses) ……..………………………………………………………. 70
14
1 Introduction
Gulls are found almost everywhere; globally they have a very wide distribution,
occurring in most geographical areas and in all climatic zones except the Antarctic.
They generally live close to water, with fresh, brackish, and saltwater habitats all being
used (Harrison 1983, Olsen and Larsson 2004). Being relatively large birds, brightly
plumaged, very vociferous, and highly gregarious, gulls are conspicuous members of
the avifauna literally everywhere.
Species included in this report are members of the sub-family Larinae that breed along
coastal Atlantic Canada and along the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence system of Ontario and
Québec (hereafter, eastern Canada): Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis, Herring Gull
Larus argentatus, Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus, Black-legged Kittiwake
Rissa tridactyla, Black-headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus, Little Gull
Hydrocoloeus minutus, Laughing Gull Leucophaeus atricilla, and Glaucous Gull Larus
hyperboreus. This report deals primarily with the first four species, which combined
account for >99% of the region’s gull population, with a summary given for each of the
last four species.
The Black-legged Kittiwake is the least known and observed of the four main species,
due to its marine nature and more isolated and dispersed breeding colonies. The Larus
gulls, on the other hand, often live in close association with humans. Most gull species
readily use man-made habitats near cities and will take advantage of any artificial
source of food by following fishing boats and farm tilling machinery, exploiting dumps,
garbage bags or containers, sewage ponds, food left around restaurants or on beaches,
visiting fields of strawberries and other fruits, and so on (Godfrey 1986, Howell and
Dunn 2007). Their opportunistic behaviour will provide the first obvious sign of any
careless management of waste or garbage. Gull colonies are sometimes established near
industries or residential neighbourhoods, sometimes even on rooftops of buildings, and
such large aggregations of noisy birds can be disturbing or even intimidating to people,
all the more so when the colony surroundings are peppered with trashy nest materials
and faeces. Gulls can have a significant impact on other bird populations (e.g., terns
Sterna spp.), and as a consequence, in many areas they have been controlled and
included in management plans (see Blokpoel and Tessier 1986). As a result, gulls are
15
often thought of as overabundant and/or nuisance species, rather than being a symbol of
conservation concern.
It is true that many gull populations have thrived on our continent following the
adoption of the Migratory Bird Convention Act in Canada in 1917 and the Migratory
Bird Treaty in the United States the following year that granted them protection from
being hunted and harvested, and even later in the century when they took advantage of
the creation of new artificial habitats and anthropogenic food sources. However, this
general trend may have reversed in recent times, as some surveys in eastern Canada
have documented important declines (Chapdelaine and Rail 1997, Robertson et al.
2001, Morris et al. 2009). In some species, population trends are similar in contiguous
regions/jurisdictions, which suggest that large scale underlying factors may be involved.
These will have to be studied, but one can imagine that food may be less abundant
nowadays owing to better management of our domestic wastes, and to the collapse of
some major fisheries that once provided large amounts of discards and offal
(Chapdelaine and Rail 1997). Also, climate and oceanographic changes may be having
an impact on the availability of forage fish species (e.g., capelin Mallotus villosus,
sandlance Ammodytes americanus, herring Clupea harengus) that make up the bulk of
most gull species’ diets (Regehr and Rodway 1999). But every species occupies a
specific niche and population trends will invariably differ among species, especially at
the local scale.
Recently, additional efforts have been made in conducting gull surveys in eastern
Canada—nearly all gull colonies in this region were surveyed once between 1998 and
2007. The timing now seems appropriate to bring this information together in order to
assess the status and trends of our breeding gulls. It should be noted that this report is
based on geographic areas, and thus does not present range-wide assessments of each
species. Most species have ranges that span to the south, north, west and even east of
the area considered. Additionally, within the six provinces considered, birds nesting on
smaller inland water bodies are not included, as these dispersed nesting concentrations
have not been systematically evaluated in eastern Canada.
16
2 Study area
The area covered by this report encompasses the coastlines of the four provinces of
Atlantic Canada, that is, Newfoundland and Labrador and the three Maritime provinces
of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick, as well as the shoreline of
the St. Lawrence system in Québec and Ontario and the Great Lakes and associated
waterways in Ontario (Figure 1). This area of coast and shoreline stretches in the east
from northern Labrador on the Atlantic Ocean to the western end of Lake Superior in
Ontario. Connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes is the St. Lawrence
system, which is comprised of three sections: River, Estuary, and Gulf. The River
section is approximately 700 km in length from the outflow of Lake Ontario to the start
of the Estuary just east of Québec City. The St. Lawrence Estuary, where salt and fresh
water meet and mix, is nearly 500 km long and empties into the Gulf of St. Lawrence at
approximately Pointe-des-Monts and Matane, Québec (67º longitude; Bouchard and
Millet 1993). The Gulf encompasses the entire coastline from the Estuary up to the east
end of the Strait of Belle Isle between Newfoundland and Labrador and to Cape North
on Cape Breton Island. In this report, we present the population size, and where possible
population trends, of each gull species by broad geographic regions (i.e., Ontario,
Québec, and Atlantic Canada), by province, and by the major hydrographic divisions (or
waterbodies) within coastal eastern Canada: East Coast (coastline of Labrador, all of
insular Newfoundland, and eastern Nova Scotia), Bay of Fundy, Gulf of St. Lawrence
(in Québec includes Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Gaspé Peninsula, Anticosti Island, North
Shore), St. Lawrence River and Estuary, Lower Great Lakes system (includes
St. Lawrence, Niagara, and Detroit rivers, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie), Lake Huron
(including the North Channel and Georgian Bay), and Lake Superior. The waters of the
St. Lawrence Estuary, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Bay of Fundy, and East Coast lie within
one of two marine ecozones. In Canada, the Atlantic Marine ecozone begins in the
south at the Maine-New Brunswick border and includes the Bay of Fundy, the east coast
of Nova Scotia, and the south coast of Newfoundland (including the Avalon Peninsula).
The entire Gulf of St. Lawrence as well as Labrador and Newfoundland’s eastern shore
lie within the Northwest Atlantic ecozone (Wiken et al. 1996). Most of the inland
freshwater portions of the area covered by this report, i.e., Great Lakes–St. Lawrence
system, are located within the Mixedwood Plains terrestrial ecozone. However, the
north and south shores of the St. Lawrence Estuary fall within the Boreal Shield and
17
Atlantic Maritime ecozones, respectively, while the north shore of Georgian Bay and
the North Channel (Lake Huron) are also bordered by the Boreal Shield ecozone
(Wiken et al. 1996).
Figure 1
Map of eastern Canada with area surveyed (green) for breeding gulls and kittiwakes
18
3 Methods
Methods used to census gulls in Canada are well-established and have been amply
described in the literature (e.g., Cannell and Maddox 1983, Blokpoel and Tessier 1986,
Lock 1988, Rail and Chapdelaine 2002, Morris et al. 2003, Boyne et al. 2006). All
recent census results, with the following exceptions, are from surveys that obtained
complete counts of either nests or breeding pairs of colonies or stretches of shoreline. In
a 2001 survey of Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls nesting on islands in the Grand
Manan Archipelago, located in the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, complete counts
of small islands were obtained but for the larger islands transects were used and the
number of nests found along those transects were then extrapolated to the entire area of
the island (Ronconi and Wong 2003). Also, aerial surveys of mainland Nova Scotia in
2002 and Prince Edward Island in 2004 obtained total counts of adults on nests for
islands with small populations but at larger colonies birds were counted in clusters of 5,
10, or 25 (see Boyne and Beukens 2004, Boyne and McKnight 2005). Lastly, during an
aerial survey of coastal Newfoundland in 2000–2002, observers estimated the size of
each colony using size classes, specifically small (1–100 individuals), medium (101-500
individuals), large (501-1000 individuals), and very large (>1000 individuals), and then
by using these classes a population index (number of individuals) for all of coastal
Newfoundland was derived for each gull species (see Boyne et al. 2011 for details). In
this report, for each species we divided their population index by two to obtain a total
breeding pair population. In addition, in our gull colony database we assigned 25 pairs,
125 pairs, 375 pairs, and 500 pairs to these Newfoundland colonies that were classed as
small, medium, large, and very large, respectively. Because size classes were used in
this survey of insular Newfoundland, we excluded this region from calculations of
average colony sizes. They were included, however, in species distribution maps and
bar graphs of the following colony size classes: 1–9 pairs, 10–99 pairs, 100–999 pairs,
1000–9999 pairs, and ≥10,000 pairs.
The type of survey employed depended in part on the species’ nesting habit. The Black-
legged Kittiwake, unlike the other three gull species, nests only on vertical sea-cliffs.
While solitary-nesting Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls may also nest in cliffs,
colonies of these two species, as well as those of the Ring-billed Gull, nest typically in
open grassy areas on either islands or on the adjacent mainland (Godfrey 1986). For
19
colonies of all four species, the number of breeding pairs was obtained mostly by direct
visual count of nests or breeding pairs, either by direct ground count of the entire colony
(accessed by ground or boat) (ground survey) or by visually counting the nests (for
shoreline/cliff areas) using binoculars from an anchored or slow moving boat (boat
survey). For areas inaccessible by boat or ground vehicle, or for very large colonies or
for large stretches of coastline (e.g., Newfoundland, Nova Scotia), aerial surveys were
conducted. Typically these surveys involved two observers estimating the number of
either breeding pairs, nests, or individuals (aerial survey). Observers on boat or aerial
surveys sometimes photographed colonies and then later, with the use of computer
software, obtained counts from those photographs (e.g., large kittiwake colony on
Île Brion, Québec). In the censuses used in this report, one nest represents one breeding
pair, as does an adult suspected of sitting on a nest or an apparently occupied territory as
evidenced by the presence of a territorial individual or pair (e.g., see Boyne et al. 2006).
Many gull colonies surveyed contained both Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, and
regardless of survey type, unless nest density of one or both species was very low, it
would have been very difficult and time consuming to identify to species each nest
being counted. Typically for these colonies, the observer(s) simply counted the number
of nests as well as the number of adults of each species they believed were nesting in
that colony (loafers or non-breeders excluded). The ratio of Herring Gull adults to Great
Black-backed Gull adults was then applied to the number of nests counted.
In summary, the type of survey employed in each province was as follows (survey
year[s] in parentheses): Newfoundland and Labrador (1998–2006), New Brunswick
(1998–2005), Prince Edward Island (2004), and Québec (1990–2007) used aerial, boat,
and ground surveys, Nova Scotia (2002–2004) conducted aerial surveys, and Ontario
(1999–2000) conducted ground surveys. Details of the survey methodology as well as
the data source used for each species and province are presented in Appendix 1.
20
4 Population size and distribution
4.1 Overall larid population
Combining census data of Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls,
and Black-legged Kittiwakes in coastal eastern Canada yields a total population
estimate, as of 2007, of 789,774 breeding pairs, or 1.58 million birds (Table 1). Of the
four species, the Ring-billed Gull was the most abundant, comprising 64% of the total
larid population with 505,558 pairs (Table 1; Figure 2A). There are slightly more
Herring Gulls than Black-legged Kittiwakes, 128,705 pairs and 123,760 pairs,
respectively, and the Great Black-backed Gull is the least abundant species with only
30,980 pairs. About 75% of the total population of the Ring-billed Gull and the Great
Black-backed Gull are found in Ontario and Atlantic Canada, respectively, while half of
all Herring Gulls and Black-legged Kittiwakes breed in Atlantic Canada and Québec,
respectively (Figure 2B). For all four species combined, about half of all gulls breed in
Ontario and about a quarter each in Québec and in the four provinces of Atlantic
Canada (Table 1; Figure 3A). The nearly 790,000 pairs were found in 2570 “gull”
colonies at 1879 different sites, that is to say some sites (n=598) had two or more gull
species. There were 1281 sites with a single breeding gull species. In addition to these
four species, four other species currently breed or have bred in coastal eastern Canada,
although in very small numbers. The Glaucous Gull is the most common of these four
species. It is a regular breeder along the northern Labrador coast, and the most recent
comprehensive census, in 1978, obtained a count of nearly 3300 pairs at 77 colonies.
The Black-headed Gull is a very rare, but a relatively consistent, breeder in the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, with a single colony on Îles-de-la-Madeleine (17 pairs in 2007; Rail
2009); there are also recent breeding records for Labrador. Both the Laughing Gull and
Little Gull are sporadic breeders and have not nested in eastern Canada in recent years,
the former in the Maritimes and the latter in Québec and Ontario (Bannon and Robert
1996, Burger 1996, Taylor et al. 2002, Joos and Weseloh 2007). From a waterbody
perspective, slightly more than half (53%) of all gulls (the four major species combined)
are found on the Great Lakes in Ontario (418,980 pairs), with similar proportions
(~15%) breeding along the St. Lawrence River and Estuary (118,298 pairs), the Gulf of
St. Lawrence (109,285 pairs), and the East Coast (123,588 pairs), while 2% are found in
the smallest waterbody, the Bay of Fundy (19,623 pairs) (Table 1; Figure 3B).
21
Table 1
Estimated number of pairs of Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls, and Black-legged Kittiwakes nesting in
eastern Canada
1 This total is a minimum because Labrador has been only partially surveyed for nesting gulls; furthermore, this total includes 771 pairs from mixed Herring Gull and Great-Black-
backed Gull colonies for which species was not identified.
2 Includes a Black-legged Kittiwake colony (Cape St. Mary’s; 10,000 pairs) that was last censused in 1979.
3 Includes a Ring-billed Gull colony (Pointe de Sandy Beach; 1172 pairs; BIOMQ) that was surveyed in 2004; in 2002 this colony was unoccupied.
4 All Migratory Bird Sanctuaries were surveyed in 2005; colony data from Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve and elsewhere date from 1990–1999.
5 Most colonies surveyed between 2001 and 2007, however a few were last surveyed in 1990 or 1995.
Province
Waterbody — Region
Census Year(s)
Ring-billed
Gull
Herring
Gull
Great
Black-
backed Gull
Black-
legged
Kittiwake
Total
Reference(s)
ATLANTIC CANADA
Newfoundland and Labrador
East Coast — Labrador
East Coast and Gulf of
1998–2003
81
218
363
103
15361
Robertson and Elliot 2002; Robertson et al. 2002; CWS unpubl. (Robertson, Chaulk)
St. Lawrence — Newfoundland
2000–20062
10905
31975
6246
54690
103816
Boyne et al. 2011; Robertson et al. 2001; CWS unpubl. (Robertson)
Total:
10986
32193
6609
54793
105352
Nova Scotia
East Coast
2002–2004
0
7110
11044
82
18236
Boyne and Beukens 2004; CWS unpubl. (Boyne; Chardine, J., CWS)
Bay of Fundy
2002–2004
0
1127
1868
0
2995
Boyne and Beukens 2004; CWS unpubl. (Chardine, J., CWS)
Gulf of St. Lawrence
2002–2004
0
116
567
90
773
Boyne and Beukens 2004; CWS unpubl. (Chardine, J., CWS)
Total:
0
8353
13479
172
22004
Prince Edward Island
Gulf of St. Lawrence
2004
691
1795
1110
0
3596
Boyne and McKnight 2005
New Brunswick
Bay of Fundy
1998–2004
6
14233
2187
202
16628
Mawhinney et al. 1999; Kehoe and Diamond 2001; Ronconi
and Wong 2003; McAlpine et al. 2005; CWS unpubl. (Robertson)
Gulf of St. Lawrence
2005
4367
2406
1025
373
8171
Boyne et al. 2006; Davis et al. 2011
Total:
4373
16639
3212
575
24799
Atlantic Canada Total:
16050
58980
24410
55540
155751
QUÉBEC
Gulf of St. Lawrence —
Iles-de-la-Madeleine
2007
0
545
779
7175
8499
Rail 2009
Gaspé Peninsula
20023
2835
5134
1322
37649
46940
Cotter and Rail 2007
Anticosti Island
2004
0
20
0
16642
16662
CWS unpubl. (Banque Informatisée des Oiseaux Marins du Québec, BIOMQ);
North Shore
1990–20054
6561
12924
2022
3137
24644
Rail and Cotter 2007; Roberge 2004; Société Duvetnor 1999; Bédard and Nadeau 1995;
CWS unpubl. (BIOMQ)
Sub-total:
9396
18623
4123
64603
96745
St. Lawrence River and Estuary
1990–20075
99949
12321
2411
3617
118298
Bédard and Nadeau 1995; CWS and Société Duvetnor 2001, 2006; Mousseau 2007;
SPEE 2008; CWS unpubl. (Brousseau, BIOMQ)
Québec Total:
109345
30944
6534
68220
215043
ONTARIO
Great Lakes — Lake Superior
1999–2000
5857
11895
0
0
17752
Hebert et al. 2008; Morris et al. 2009; CWS unpubl. (Ontario database)
Lake Huron
1999–2000
99381
22389
9
0
121779
CWS unpubl. (Ontario database)
Lower Great Lakes
1999
274925
4497
27
0
279449
Morris et al. 2003; Weseloh et al. 2003; CWS unpubl. (Ontario database)
Ontario Total:
380163
38781
36
0
418980
GRAND TOTAL
505558
128705
30980
123760
789774
22
Figure 2
Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of four gull species in eastern Canada,
by species (A) and geographic region (B)
Figure 3
Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of four gull species in eastern Canada,
by province (A) and waterbody (B)
Black-
legged
Kittiwake
16%
Great Black-
backed Gull
4%
Herring Gull
16%
Ring-billed
Gull
64%
All Provinces Combined
(A)
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Ring-
billed Gull Herring
Gull Great
Black-
backed
Gull
Black-
legged
Kittiwake
Cumulative Percent
Atlantic Canada Québec Ontario
(B)
New
Brunswick
3%
Newfound-
land and
Labrador
13%
Nova Scotia
3%
Ontario
53%
Prince
Edward
Island
0.4%
Québec
27%
All Species Combined
(A)
Bay of
Fundy 2%
East Coast
16%
Great Lakes
53%
Gulf of St.
Lawrence
14%
St. Lawrence
River-
Estuary 15%
All Species Combined
(B)
23
4.2 Ring-billed Gull
The Ring-billed Gull is the most abundant of the four larid species with a breeding
population of approximately 505,558 pairs (or 1.01 million birds) (Table 1). Its
distribution is largely restricted to the Great Lakes in Ontario (75% of total population),
the St. Lawrence River and Estuary in Québec (20%), and Newfoundland (2%)
(Figures 4, 5). While Newfoundland has only one-tenth the number of Ring-billed Gulls
as Québec it has twice as many colonies (Table 2). There were 267 Ring-billed Gull
colonies in coastal eastern Canada, ranging in size from 1 to 51,000 pairs (Table 2). The
largest number of colonies is found in Ontario, especially Lake Huron which harbours
over a third of all colonies (96 of 267 colonies) in eastern Canada.
Figure 4
Distribution of Ring-billed Gull breeding colonies (number of pairs) in eastern Canada (number
of colonies in parentheses)
24
Table 2
Number and average size of Ring-billed Gull and Black-legged Kittiwake colonies in eastern Canada
1 na=not available; for most colonies only an approximate size was recorded (i.e., small, medium, large, or very large; see Methods).
Ring-billed Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
No.
Colony Size
No.
Colony Size
Province
Waterbody
Region
Colonies
Average
SD
Min
Max
Colonies
Average
SD
Min
Max
ATLANTIC CANADA
Newfoundland
East Coast
Labrador
3
27
24
3
50
2
52
4
49
54
and Labrador
East Coast and
Newfoundland
70
na1
95
na
Gulf of St. Lawrence
Total:
73
97
Nova Scotia
Bay of Fundy
0
0
East Coast
0
3
27
46
1
80
Gulf of St. Lawrence
0
1
90
90
90
Total:
0
4
43
49
1
90
Prince Edward
Island
Gulf of St. Lawrence Total:
3
230
253
69
522
0
New Brunswick
Bay of Fundy
1
6
6
6
2
101
47
68
134
Gulf of St. Lawrence
2
2184
64
2138
2229
3
124
57
59
166
Total:
3
1458
1258
6
2229
5
115
48
59
166
Maritime Provinces Total:
6
844
1054
1
2229
9
83
59
1
166
Atlantic Canada Total:
79
106
QUÉBEC
Gulf of St. Lawrence
Iles-de-la-Madeleine
0
9
797
946
3
2307
Gaspé Peninsula
2
1418
347
1172
1663
16
2353
5439
3
18550
Anticosti Island
0
5
3328
7013
23
15870
North Shore
18
365
871
1
3745
15
209
424
7
1659
Sub-total:
20
470
889
1
3745
45
1436
4011
3
18550
St. Lawrence River-Estuary
16
6247
12677
5
51000
12
301
717
2
2555
Québec Total:
36
3037
8819
1
51000
57
1197
3600
2
18550
ONTARIO
Great Lakes
Lake Superior
20
293
937
1
4234
0
Lake Huron
96
1035
2257
1
10578
0
Lower Great Lakes
36
7637
11824
1
45510
0
Ontario Total:
152
2501
6635
1
45510
0
Grand Total
267
163
25
There are four very large colonies, each with over 35,000 pairs. The largest is on
Île Deslauriers (St. Lawrence River, just east of Montreal) with approximately 51,000
pairs (in 2006), followed by colonies on the south end of Fighting Island (Detroit River)
with 45,510 pairs (1999), Gull Island in Presqu’ile Provincial Park along Lake Ontario
with 38,981 pairs (1999), and Port Colborne (mainland section; Lake Erie) with 37,637
pairs (1999) (see also section 5.3.1). Together these four colonies account for a third
(34%) of the total Ring-billed Gull breeding population. In Atlantic Canada the majority
of colonies (47 of 79; 59%) consisted of 100–999 pairs, while in Ontario and Québec,
except for the less frequent largest size class, there was a relatively even distribution of
colonies among the classes (Figure 6A). Not unexpectedly, distribution of colony size
classes in the principal waterbodies is similar to that of the region and province within
which the waterbody is located (Figure 6B). The average size of colonies in Ontario and
Québec were similar, 3037 and 2501 pairs, respectively; in the Maritimes however
colonies were considerably smaller, averaging only 844 pairs (Table 2).
Figure 5
Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of the Ring-billed Gull in eastern
Canada, by province (A) and waterbody (B)
New
Brunswick
1%
Newfound-
land and
Labrador 2%
Ontario
75%
Prince
Edward
Island
0.1%
Québec
22%
Ring-billed Gull
(A)
Bay of
Fundy
<0.1%
East Coast
2%
Great Lakes
75%
Gulf of St.
Lawrence
3%
St. Lawrence
River-
Estuary 20%
Ring-billed Gull
(B)
26
Figure 6
Frequency of breeding colony size classes (number of pairs) of the Ring-billed Gull in eastern
Canada, by geographic region (A) and waterbody (B)
4.3 Herring Gull
The Herring Gull is the second most abundant gull species in coastal eastern Canada,
with an estimated 128,705 breeding pairs (257,410 individuals) (Table 1). This species
is relatively evenly distributed, in terms of abundance, with Ontario, Québec, the three
Maritime provinces together, and Newfoundland and Labrador each comprising
between 21% and 30% of the total population (Figures 7, 8A). This distribution is
reflected amongst the waterbodies with the East Coast harbouring the largest number of
breeding pairs, followed closely by the Great Lakes (Figure 8B).
In terms of number of colonies, this large larid had more colonies than the other 3 main
species combined, 1377 versus 1194 (Tables 2, 3). However, over half (58%) of all
Herring Gull colonies were found in one province, Ontario (Table 3). Among all 1377
colonies, only 13 had 1000 or more pairs (Figure 9) (Tables 4–11). The three largest
colonies were located on Île Nue de Mingan, an island along Québec’s North Shore of
the Gulf of St. Lawrence (6900 pairs; censused in 1996), on Kent Island in New
Brunswick’s Bay of Fundy (5926 pairs in 2001), and on Chantry Island in Lake Huron
(3457 pairs in 1999). [Note: the Île Nue de Mingan colony is no longer active; a 2008
census found 0 nests (Yann Troutet, Parks Canada, pers. comm.)]. Over half of Herring
Gull colonies in Atlantic Canada (235 of 440; 53%) and Ontario (439 of 792; 55%)
consisted of 10–99 pairs, while in Québec the most common class size was 100–999
(66 of 145; 46%) (Figure 9). The average size of colonies in the Maritimes and Québec
8
4
34
21
10
39
47
10
37
3
9
31
03
11
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
ATLANTIC
CANADA QUEBEC ONTARIO
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
Ring-billed Gull 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
1000 to 9999
≥10000
(A)
7
131
34
20
0
9
2
39
45
0
8
4
37
10
56
31
0003
11
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
East Coast Bay of
Fundy Gulf of St.
Lawrence St.
Lawrence
River-
Estuary
Great
Lakes
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
Ring-billed Gull 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
1000 to 9999
≥10000
(B)
27
was similar, 173 pairs (n=155 colonies) and 213 pairs (n=145 colonies), respectively. In
Ontario, however, the average colony size was considerably smaller at only 49 pairs
(n=792 colonies) (Table 3).
Figure 7
Distribution of Herring Gull breeding colonies (number of pairs) in eastern Canada (number of
colonies in parentheses)
28
Table 3
Number and average size of Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull colonies in eastern Canada
1 na=not available; for most colonies only an approximate size was recorded (i.e., small, medium, large, or very large; see Methods).
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
No.
Colony Size
No.
Colony Size
Province
Waterbody
Region
Colonies
Average
SD
Min
Max
Colonies
Average
SD
Min
Max
ATLANTIC CANADA
Newfoundland
East Coast
Labrador
16
14
31
1
127
96
4
8
1
63
and Labrador
East Coast and
Newfoundland
269
na1
196
na
Gulf of St. Lawrence
Total:
285
292
Nova Scotia
Bay of Fundy
8
141
74
40
240
11
170
232
3
753
East Coast
82
87
131
1
707
194
57
87
1
628
Gulf of St. Lawrence
2
58
71
8
108
10
57
52
5
141
Total:
92
91
127
1
707
215
63
101
1
753
Prince Edward
Island
Gulf of St. Lawrence Total:
8
224
287
2
855
14
79
122
1
435
New Brunswick
Bay of Fundy
44
323
937
1
5926
44
50
65
1
285
Gulf of St. Lawrence
11
219
296
4
937
16
64
53
3
175
Total:
55
303
847
1
5926
60
54
62
1
285
Maritime Provinces Total:
155
173
524
1
5926
289
62
95
1
753
Atlantic Canada Total:
440
581
QUÉBEC
Gulf of St. Lawrence
Iles-de-la-Madeleine
14
39
59
2
196
15
52
143
1
558
Gaspé Peninsula
28
183
227
1
902
23
57
83
1
289
Anticosti Island
3
7
6
3
14
0
North Shore
43
301
1057
1
6900
67
30
57
1
329
Sub-total:
88
212
753
1
6900
105
39
80
1
558
St. Lawrence River-Estuary
57
216
212
1
899
59
41
62
1
286
Québec Total:
145
213
600
1
6900
164
40
74
1
558
ONTARIO
Great Lakes
Lake Superior
318
37
51
1
407
0
Lake Huron
413
54
217
1
3457
9
1
0
1
1
Lower Great Lakes
61
74
164
1
1067
9
3
3
1
11
Ontario Total:
792
49
166
1
3457
18
2
2
1
11
Grand Total
1377
763
29
Figure 8
Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of the Herring Gull in eastern Canada,
by province (A) and waterbody (B)
Figure 9
Frequency of colony size classes (number of pairs) of the Herring Gull in eastern Canada, by
geographic region (A) and waterbody (B)
New
Brunswick
13% Newfound-
land and
Labrador
25%
Nova Scotia
6%
Ontario
30%
Prince
Edward
Island
1%
Québec
24%
Herring Gull
(A)
Bay of
Fundy
12%
East Coast
31%
Great Lakes
30%
Gulf of St.
Lawrence
18%
St. Lawrence
River-
Estuary
10%
Herring Gull
(B)
49 29
269
235
48
439
149
66 80
724
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
ATLANTIC
CANADA QUEBEC ONTARIO
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
Herring Gull 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
1000 to 9999
(A)
36 730 5
269
208
23 34 18
439
119
19 43 34
80
43204
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
East Coast Bay of
Fundy Gulf of St.
Lawrence St.
Lawrence
River-
Estuary
Great
Lakes
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
Herring Gull 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
1000 to 9999
(B)
30
4.4 Great Black-backed Gull
It is the largest gull in North America. This predominantly marine gull is the least
abundant of the four main larids, with an estimated population of 30,980 pairs (61,960
individuals) (Table 1). Reflecting its marine origins, 79% of all Great Black-backed
Gulls were found in Atlantic Canada (24,410 pairs) and 13% along the Gulf of
St. Lawrence in Québec (4123 pairs) (Table 1; Figures 10, 11); only 8% (2447 pairs) of
its population nested along fresh or brackish water, mostly along the St. Lawrence River
and Estuary in Québec. Very few nest in the Great Lake system in Ontario; during a
comprehensive gull census in 1999–2000 only 36 pairs were counted, and the majority
of these were on the Lower Great Lakes system (especially Lake Ontario with 22 pairs).
In 2004–2006, there was a die-off of Great Black-backed Gulls due to an outbreak of
Type E botulism, and in 2007 only one pair was counted on Lake Ontario (Weseloh
2007a).
The coast and off-shore islands of Labrador, Newfoundland, and eastern Nova Scotia
(i.e., East Coast) harbour over half of all Great Black-backed Gulls breeding pairs
(57%, 17,653 of 30,980 pairs; Table 1) and colonies (64%, 486 of 763 colonies;
Table 3). In each province, with the exception of Ontario, the Great Black-backed Gull
has more colonies than any other gull species. Of the 763 colonies recorded during
recent censuses, only 21 had 250 or more pairs (Tables 4, 6–9) while 92 had 100 or
more pairs (Figure 12). Nova Scotia has 13 of these large colonies, including the two
largest—Boot Island in the Bay of Fundy with 753 pairs (censused in 2002) and Outer
Island in Shelburne County with 628 pairs (in 2002) (Table 6). The third largest colony
was found on Île du Chenal (Grande-Entrée lagoon) on Îles-de-la-Madeleine in the Gulf
of St. Lawrence in Québec, with 549 pairs (in 2007) (Table 9), while the fourth largest
colony was found on Prince Edward Island at Poverty Beach, with 435 pairs (in 2004)
(Table 7). The average colony size was slightly larger for the Maritimes, 62 pairs
(n=289 colonies), than for Québec, 40 pairs (n=164 colonies) (Table 3).
31
Figure 10
Distribution of Great Black-backed Gull breeding colonies (number of pairs) in eastern Canada
(number of colonies in parentheses)
32
Figure 11
Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of the Great Black-backed Gull in
eastern Canada, by province (A) and waterbody (B)
Figure 12
Frequency of colony size classes (number of pairs) of the Great Black-backed Gull in eastern
Canada, by geographic region (A) and waterbody (B)
New
Brunswick
10% Newfound-
land and
Labrador
21%
Nova Scotia
44%
Ontario
0.1%
Prince
Edward
Island
4%
Québec
21%
Great Black-backed Gull
(A)
Bay of
Fundy
13%
East Coast
57%
Great Lakes
0.1%
Gulf of St.
Lawrence
22%
St. Lawrence
River-
Estuary
8%
Great Black-backed Gull
(B)
181
83
17
331
58
1
69
23 0
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
ATLANTIC
CANADA QUEBEC ONTARIO
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
Great Black-backed Gull 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
(A)
154
18
71
21 17
286
25 47 31
1
46
12 27 70
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
East Coast Bay of
Fundy Gulf of St.
Lawrence St.
Lawrence
River-
Estuary
Great
Lakes
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
Great Black-backed Gull 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
(B)
33
4.5 Black-legged Kittiwake
Along coastal eastern Canada, this small gull is slightly less abundant than the Herring
Gull, with approximately 123,760 pairs (or 247,520 individuals) (Table 1). Unlike its
larger cousin, however, its distribution is fairly restricted; it is completely absent in
Ontario and Prince Edward Island and less than 1% of its total population breeds in
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (Figures 13, 14). In the remaining two provinces,
Québec’s population is larger than Newfoundland and Labrador’s, 68,220 pairs vs.
54,793 pairs; in the latter province the Black-legged Kittiwake is the most abundant gull
species (Table 1). Within these two provinces, three regions comprise 88% of the total
kittiwake population: Newfoundland (44%; 54,690 pairs), Gaspé Peninsula (30%;
37,649 pairs), and Anticosti Island (13%; 16,642 pairs).
Reflecting its restricted distribution, the Black-legged Kittiwake has the fewest number
of breeding colonies of the four principal gull species, with 163 recorded in the
censuses (Table 2). Seventeen kittiwake colonies had 1000 or more pairs, and 10 of
these are located in Québec (Tables 9, 10) and 7 along Newfoundland (Table 4). The
three largest colonies are found in Québec: 18,550 pairs at Bonaventure Island
(censused in 2002) and 13,411 pairs at Presqu’île de Forillon, both on the Gaspé
Peninsula (in 2002), and 15,870 pairs at Falaise aux Goélands on Anticosti Island (in
2004). Combined, these three colonies comprise 39% of the total kittiwake population
in eastern Canada. The next 6 largest colonies are all found along Newfoundland’s
Avalon Peninsula: Cape St. Mary’s with 10,000 pairs (last censused in 1979), Great
Island (Witless Bay) with 8524 pairs (in 2005), Baccalieu Island with 6456 pairs (in
2003), Gull Island (Witless Bay) with 5351 pairs (in 2006), The Drook/Freshwater Bay
with 3724 pairs (in 2005), and Deadmans Bay with 2866 pairs (in 2006) (Table 4). The
next largest colony is one of the westernmost of all kittiwake colonies, Île Laval with
2555 pairs (in 2006) (Table 10); this island is located approximately 275 km
downstream from Québec City along the north shore of the St. Lawrence Estuary. In
both Atlantic Canada and Québec, as well as among all waterbodies, the most common
size classes are 10–99 and 100–999 pairs, with similar number of colonies in each class
(Figure 15).
34
Figure 13
Distribution of Black-legged Kittiwake breeding colonies (number of pairs) in eastern Canada
(number of colonies in parentheses)
35
Figure 14
Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of the Black-legged Kittiwake in
eastern Canada, by province (A) and waterbody (B)
Figure 15
Frequency of colony size classes (number of pairs) of the Black-legged Kittiwake in eastern
Canada, by geographic region (A) and waterbody (B)
New
Brunswick
0.5% Newfound-
land and
Labrador
44%
Nova Scotia
0.1%
Québec
55%
Black-legged Kittiwake
(A)
Bay of
Fundy 0.2%
East Coast
44%
Gulf of St.
Lawrence
53%
St. Lawrence
River-
Estuary 3%
Black-legged Kittiwake
(B)
2
8
49
20
48
19
67
13
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
ATLANTIC CANADA QUEBEC
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
Black-legged Kittiwake 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
1000 to 9999
≥10000
(A)
20
6
2
46
1
17
5
45
1
17
4
6
0
6
11 030
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
East Coast Bay of Fundy Gulf of St.
Lawrence St. Lawrence
River-Estuary
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
Black-legged Kittiwake 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
1000 to 9999
≥10000
(B)
36
4.6 Other gull species
In coastal eastern Canada, there are confirmed breeding records for the Black-headed
Gull, Little Gull, Laughing Gull, and Glaucous Gull. The Bonaparte’s Gull
Larus philadelphia is another species that nests in Ontario and Québec but it is
restricted to boreal and subarctic regions, in particular the vast northern (inland)
peatlands in these two provinces (Burger and Gochfeld 2002), and will not be
considered here.
4.6.1 Black-headed Gull
The Black-headed Gull, an European gull, was first confirmed breeding in North
America (with the observation of juveniles) at Stephenville Crossing in western
Newfoundland in 1977 (Finch 1978), and over the next 10 years it was confirmed
breeding at a number of sites in the province (Montevecchi et al. 1987). But the first
nest of the species in North America was actually found in Québec, in 1981 on Îles-de-
la-Madeleine (Aubry 1984). At present, Québec has a single active breeding colony,
located within the Pointe de l’Est National Wildlife Area on Îles-de-la-Madeleine
(Figure 16). In 2007 there were 17 breeding pairs in this protected area (Rail 2009).
Also in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, this species has nested in the Mingan Archipelago
National Park Reserve, Québec, with the most recent nesting record (n=1) from 1998
(Roberge 2004), and at Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland, where in 2002 16 nests
were counted (Figure 16); the latter colony has apparently been active every year since
(CWS, unpubl. data). In 2002, a breeding pair was found on Edwards Island, in Lake
Melville, near North West River, Labrador, and represents the first breeding record for
Labrador (Chaulk et al. 2004). There are no records from Ontario or the Maritime
Provinces.
4.6.2 Little Gull
This, the smallest gull in the world, is an Eurasian species (Ewins and Weseloh 1999),
with North American breeding records dating from 1962 when nesting was first
confirmed near Oshawa, Ontario (Scott 1963). In Ontario it is a sporadic breeder,
having bred at Oshawa, Whitby, Bassett Island, and North Limestone Island on
Georgian Bay (Weseloh 1994). The latter site appears to be the site used most often and
consistently, having nested there for 9 of 13 years between 1979 and 1991, the last time
in 1989 (Weseloh 2007b). There is one confirmed breeding record from Québec, and
that was of one pair at the Lachine Rapids, near Montreal, from 1982 to 1986 (Bannon
and Robert 1996). There are no breeding records from Atlantic Canada.
37
4.6.3 Laughing Gull
This is a small black-headed gull that nests primarily along the coasts from northern
South America to Maine (Burger 1996). In Canada it is considered an irregular breeder
in the Maritime Provinces (Erskine 1992) and a visitor to both Québec (Gauthier and
Aubry 1996) and Ontario (Goodwin 1982). In Nova Scotia, in the early 1940s there was
a breeding colony of about 25 pairs on Bird Islands off Harrigan Cove, Halifax County,
that was active for a number of years (Tufts 1961), and a pair successfully nested on
Sable Island in 2001 (Taylor et al. 2002). This species has also nested sporadically on
Machias Seal Island in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick (Erskine 1992) (Figure 16),
including as recently as 2000 (CWS, unpubl. data).
Figure 16
Distribution of Black-headed Gull and Laughing Gull breeding colonies (number of pairs) in
eastern Canada (number of colonies in parentheses)
38
4.6.4 Glaucous Gull
This gull, nearly as large as the Great Black-backed Gull, has a circumpolar arctic
distribution, and within the area covered by this report it nests only along the coast of
Labrador (Godfrey 1986, Gilchrist 2001) (Figure 17). The most recent comprehensive
survey estimates for Labrador are from 1978. Surveys that year counted 3285 pairs at
77 colonies, for an average colony size of 43 pairs (SD=59); colonies ranged in size
from 3 to 371 pairs. Of the 77 colonies, only 6 contained 100 or more pairs: White Bear
Island (371 pairs), Ukallik Island (318), Saddle Island (138), Cape Harringan Island
(114), Kiuvik Island (114), and Mikak Island (106). The majority of colonies (74%;
57 of 77) contained 10–99 pairs, while only 14 (18%) had less than 10 pairs.
Figure 17
Distribution of Glaucous Gull breeding colonies (number of pairs) in eastern Canada (Number
of colonies in parentheses)
39
5 Analysis of population size and trends by geographic
region (province)
5.1 Atlantic Canada
There are approximately 156,000 breeding pairs (312,000 individuals) of gulls in
Atlantic Canada, with the Herring Gull and Black-legged Kittiwake comprising nearly
three-quarters (74%) of this total (Table 1; Figure 18A). Furthermore, this region
harbours 79% (24,410 of 30,980 pairs), 46% (58,980 of 128,705 pairs), and 45%
(55,540 of 123,760 pairs), respectively, of coastal eastern Canada’s total population of
Great Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, and Black-legged Kittiwakes. However, only
3% (16,050 of 505,558 pairs) of the total Ring-billed Gull population breeds in Atlantic
Canada; this is not unexpected as the first Maritime Ring-billed Gull colonies were only
established in the mid-1960s (Lock 1988).
Figure 18
Proportion (%) of the total breeding population estimate of four gull species in Atlantic Canada,
by species (A) and province (B)
Black-legged
Kittiwake
36%
Great Black-
backed Gull
16%
Herring Gull
38%
Ring-billed
Gull
10%
Atlantic Canada
(A)
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Ring-billed
Gull Herring
Gull Great Black-
backed Gull Black-
legged
Kittiwake
Cumulative Percent
Atlantic Canada New Brunswick
Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia
Newfoundland and Labrador
(B)
40
Reflecting its size and length of coastline, Newfoundland and Labrador has 68%
(105,352 pairs) of all breeding gulls (all 4 species) in Atlantic Canada, followed by
New Brunswick (16%; 24,799 pairs), Nova Scotia (14%; 22,004 pairs), and Prince
Edward Island (2%; 3596 pairs) (Table 1). Although similar numbers of gulls breed in
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, 24,799 pairs and 22,004 pairs respectively, the
species composition of the two provinces differ considerably (Figure 18B). In
New Brunswick, 67% of all nesting gulls are Herring Gulls (n=16,639 pairs) whereas
61% of Nova Scotia’s gull population are Great Black-backed Gulls (n=13,479 pairs).
On Prince Edward Island, these two species comprise 81% of its total gull population
(3596 pairs), with 1795 and 1110 pairs of Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls,
respectively (Table 1).
5.1.1 Newfoundland and Labrador
The coast of insular Newfoundland, with the exception of Belle Isle and Seabird
Ecological Reserves at Witless Bay, Cape St. Mary’s, Funk Island, and Baccalieu
Island, was systematically surveyed in 2000–2002 (Boyne et al. 2011) and combining
results from that survey and other published or unpublished data we obtain an
approximate gull population for Newfoundland of 104,000 pairs (Table 1). The estimate
for Labrador is only 1500 pairs, but this is almost certainly biased low as there has been
no systematic survey of its coast.
Of the six provinces covered by this report, Newfoundland and Labrador has the second
largest population of Herring Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls, and Black-legged
Kittiwakes, and the third largest population of Ring-billed Gulls (Table1). Black-legged
Kittiwakes are the most abundant species, accounting for half (52%) of the province’s
total gull population (Figure 19A).
Of the province’s 12 gull colonies with 1000 or more pairs (Table 4; Figure 19B), 8 are
located on the Avalon Peninsula, including Gull Island and Great Island—part of the
Witless Bay Islands Seabird Ecological Reserve—that each harbours over a thousand
pairs of both Herring Gulls and Black-legged Kittiwakes. For the two large Larus gulls,
Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull, most colonies in the province consisted of
<100 pairs (64% and 96%, respectively) while for the Ring-billed Gull and the
Black-legged Kittiwake over half of all colonies had ≥100 pairs (63% and 54%,
respectively) (Figure 19B).
41
Table 4
Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, and Black-
legged Kittiwake pairs in the principal gull colonies1 in Newfoundland, 2000–2006
Colony2
Ring-billed
Gull
Herring
Gull
Great Black-
backed Gull
Black-legged
Kittiwake
Baccalieu Island
.3
.
.
6456
Berry Head (NDB)
375
.
.
.
Big Cove (Port-aux-Port)
.
.
.
500
Brunette Island,N of Harbour Breton
.
125
125
.
Cape Pine Head
.
.
.
575
Cape St. Mary’s
.
1
1
10000
Carbonear Island
.
1556
63
.
Church Cove
.
.
.
500
Crawley Island
992
.
.
.
Deadmans Bay
.
.
.
2866
Devil Brook Island
.
25
125
.
Drop Cove
.
.
.
888
Duck Island, Port-aux-Basques
.
375
.
.
Duck Islands, south (NDB)
.
375
25
25
Duck Island, S (PB)
1010
.
.
.
East Grassy Island (NDB)
375
.
.
.
Flat Island (PB)
.
500
.
.
Freshwater Bay
.
.
.
820
Goose Island, S (PB)
291
153
5
929
Governors Island, Bay of Islands
.
375
25
.
Grassy Island, Baie Verte Peninsula
.
.
125
25
Great Colinet Island, South Point
.
375
25
.
Great Island (WB)
.
1640
28
8524
Green Island, Green Island Cove
.
125
125
.
Gull Island (WB)
.
2698
88
5351
Harbour Grace Island
.
375
.
500
Hiscock Rocks
.
500
.
.
Hopeall Island
.
125
125
83
James Island
.
125
125
.
Little Bald Head
.
.
.
1171
Little Bell Island
.
475
25
.
Little Fox Island
.
375
125
.
Little Green Island, S
500
500
.
.
Morgan’s Island
500
500
.
.
Pass Island
.
375
.
125
Perlican Island
.
500
25
.
Red Rocks
.
.
.
524
Rouge Island
.
125
125
.
Sandy Point
605
.
.
.
Savage Island
.
25
125
.
Seals Nest Islets
.
25
125
.
Shag Island, N of Port-aux-Port Bay
.
125
125
25
Ship Island
.
375
.
25
The Drook/Freshwater Bay
.
.
.
3724
The Rookery
.
.
.
500
Tin Pot Island, W
.
25
125
375
Tinkershare Island
.
375
25
.
Turr Islands, east
.
.
125
.
Turr Islands, west
125
125
.
.
Verge Island
.
375
.
.
Woody Island (NDB)
.
375
.
.
1 Colonies with ≥350 pairs of either Ring-billed or Herring Gulls, or ≥125 pairs of Great Black-backed Gulls, or
≥500 pairs of Black-legged Kittiwakes. Cape St. Mary’s colony census estimate from 1979.
2 In parentheses: NDB=Notre Dame Bay; PB=Placentia Bay; WB=Witless Bay.
3 A “.” indicates the species was not nesting at this colony during this period.
42
Figure 19
In Newfoundland and Labrador, the proportion (%) of each gull species of the province’s total
breeding gull population (A) and the frequency of colony size classes (number of pairs) by
species (B)
Figure 20
Population trends of Ring-billed Gull (RBGU), Black-legged Kittiwake (BLKI), Herring Gull
(HERG), and Great Black-backed Gull (GBBG) colonies in Newfoundland
Black-legged
Kittiwake
52%
Great Black-
backed Gull
6%
Herring Gull
31%
Ring-billed
Gull 11%
Newfoundland and
Labrador
(A)
715
101
0
20
168 178
4545
98
13
45
1406
0 0 0 1
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Ring-billed
Gull Herring
Gull Great Black-
backed Gull Black-
legged
Kittiwake
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
Newfoundland and
Labrador 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
1000 to 9999
≥10000
(B)
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Number of Pairs (dashed lines)
Number of Pairs (solid line)
RBGU: Duck Island
BLKI: Baccalieu Island
BLKI: Deadmans Bay
BLKI: Great I. (Witless Bay)
BLKI: Gull I. (Witless Bay)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
Number of Pairs (dashed lines)
Number of Pairs (solid lines)
HERG: Great I. (Witless Bay)
HERG: Gull I. (Witless Bay)
GBBG: Great I. (Witless Bay)
GBBG: Gull I. (Witless Bay)
43
There are insufficient data to compute province-wide trends for any species,
nevertheless there are good census data dating back to the 1970s and 1980s for a
number of colonies. For the Ring-billed Gull, the majority of colonies have increased;
there is one colony with data from 1975, Duck Island, off the south coast of the Burin
Peninsula, and this colony increased five-fold from 200 pairs to 1010 pairs in 2005
(Table 5; Figure 20). However, a few colonies experienced a decline—one example is
the colony at Riverhead, in St. Mary’s Bay, which declined from 222 pairs in 2001 to
zero pairs in 2006 (likely due to disturbance and predation). Probably the best index of
population trend for this species in Newfoundland is reflected in the number of
colonies. In the 1940s there was only one known colony, by the 1970s and 1980s there
were 16 documented colonies (Lock 1988), and in the 2000s there were 70 known
colonies (Boyne et al. 2011; CWS, unpubl. data).
The two most important Herring Gull colonies in the province are Great Island and Gull
Island, in Witless Bay, and both nearly doubled in size between 1968 and 1979 but then
declined between 1979 and 2000—Great Island by 41% and Gull Island by 30%
(see Table 1 in Robertson et al. 2001 for full details). Nevertheless, both colonies in
2000 had more pairs than they had in 1968 (Table 5; Figure 20).
Compared with the other three gull species, Great Black-backed Gull colonies are small,
with the largest containing only about 250 pairs. Data are not available for trend
analyses of these larger colonies, but there are data from Funk Island and Witless Bay in
Newfoundland and the Gannet Islands in Labrador. Breeding numbers on Funk Island
increased 35-fold between 1956 and 1987 (Montevecchi and Tuck 1987), while at
Witless Bay the number of pairs nesting on Great Island and Gull Island increased
considerably between the late 1960s and 1979, but then declined between 1979 and
2000 (Table 5; Figure 20). In Labrador, the number of pairs on the Gannet Clusters
declined from 100 pairs in 1983 to only 25 in 1999, while the small population on Outer
Gannet Island remained unchanged at 10 pairs (Table 5). At the Gannet Islands, some
gulls were shot and poisoned in the early 1980s to reduce predation on other seabird
species, so part of the decline may be due to culling. However, similar declines were
seen in the small seabird colonies to the north in Groswater Bay (62–75 pairs in 1978,
29 pairs in 2002, Robertson et al. 2002).
Newfoundland has the largest population of Black-legged Kittiwakes of any coastal
region with 54,690 pairs, representing 44% of eastern Canada’s total kittiwake
population (Table 1). Within this region, over nearly two-thirds (61%) of all kittiwakes
breed in five large colonies: Cape St. Mary’s, Great Island and Gull Island in Witless
Bay, Baccalieu Island, and Deadmans Bay (Table 4). The population at the latter two
colonies show very different trends from the mid-1980s to mid-2000s; Baccalieu Island
44
Table 5
Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, and Black-legged Kittiwake pairs from three census periods
(C1, C2, C3), and compound annual growth rates (CAGR), in Newfoundland (NF) and Labrador (LB) gull colonies
Species —
C1
C2
C3
CAGR
CAGR
Region
Colony1
Year
No. Pairs
Year
No. Pairs
Year
No. Pairs
C1 to C2
C2 to C3
Ring-billed Gull —
NF
Death's Head
.2
.
2001
0
2006
29
.
Duck Island, S (PB)
.
.
1975
200
2005
1010
.
5.5%
Goose Island, S (PB)
.
.
2000
0
2006
291
.
New Bridge
.
.
2003
130
2006
114
.
-4.3%
O'Donnells
.
.
2003
111
2006
199
.
21.5%
Riverhead
.
.
2001
222
2006
0
.
-100.0%
Herring Gull —
NF
Great Island (WB)
1968
1500
1979
2771
2000
1640
5.7%
-2.5%
Gull Island (WB)
1968
1983
1979
3852
2000
2698
6.2%
-1.7%
Pee Pee Island (WB)
.
.
1984
75
2000
134
.
3.7%
Great Black-backed Gull —
LB
Gannet Clusters
.
.
1983
100
1999
25
.
-8.3%
Outer Gannet Island
.
.
1983
10
1999
10
.
0.0%
NF
Great Island (WB)
1968
40
1979
80
2000
28
6.5%
-4.9%
Gull Island (WB)
1969
36
1979
118
2000
88
12.6%
-1.4%
Black-legged Kittiwake —
LB
Gannet Clusters
1972
0
1985
58
1999
54
.
-0.5%
Outer Gannet Island
1972
16
1985
40
1999
49
7.3%
1.5%
NF
Baccalieu Island
.
.
1983
12975
2003
6456
.
-3.4%
Cape Pine Head
.
.
1985
100
2005
575
.
9.1%
Deadmans Bay
.
.
1985
1375
2006
2866
.
2.4%
Freshwater Bay
.
.
1985
120
2006
820
.
9.6%
Great Island (WB)
1968
23229
1994
23787
2005
8524
0.1%
-8.9%
Gull Island (WB)
1969
6977
2001
5204
2006
5351
-0.9%
0.6%
Western Head
.
.
1980
514
1985
1065
.
15.7%
1 In parentheses: PB=Placentia Bay; WB=Witless Bay.
2 A “.” indicates no census data available.
45
declined by 50% while Deadmans Bay increased by 64% (Table 5; Figure 20). It must
be noted that the largest colony, Cape St. Mary’s, has not been censused since 1979. For
Great Island and Gull Island, the number of breeding pairs declined by 3% and 23%,
respectively, between the late 1960s and mid-2000s. On Great Island the size of the
breeding population was similar in 1968 and 1994, but since then it has declined
considerably—61% between 1994 and 2003 and 9% between 2003 and 2005 (Table 5;
see also Robertson et al. 2004). Kittiwakes have only recently expanded their breeding
range to Labrador, with the first breeding record dating from 1972 when 16 nests were
found on Outer Gannet (Nettleship and Lock 1974). By the early 1980s, there were
40-57 nests at this colony and 52-63 on the Gannet Clusters. Up to 1999, these colonies
have remained relatively stable in size (Table 5; see also Robertson and Elliot 2002).
5.1.2 Nova Scotia
Gull censuses in the province in 2002 and 2004 counted 13,479 pairs of Great Black-
backed Gulls, 8353 pairs of Herring Gulls, and 172 pairs of Black-legged Kittiwakes;
currently Nova Scotia is the only Canadian province without any breeding Ring-billed
Gulls (Table 1; Figure 21). The population of Great Black-backed Gulls is the largest in
Canada, and accounts for 44% of the species’ total population in eastern Canada
(Figure 11A). The two largest colonies of this species in Canada are located here, at
Boot Island in the Bay of Fundy (753 pairs in 2002) and on Outer Island (Shelburne
County) along the East Coast (628 pairs in 2002) (Table 6).
The East Coast region (i.e., Atlantic coast) harbours the bulk of breeding gulls in the
province with 18,236 pairs, representing for the Herring Gull and Great Black-backed
Gull over 80% of the province’s population of each species and approximately 50% of
the Black-legged Kittiwake’s population in the province (Table 1; Figure 22A). For the
latter species, in the last census, two sites had one pair while only two sites had more
than a single pair—an islet south of Baleine along the East Coast had 80 pairs (in 2004)
and Gros Cap, on Cheticamp Island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, had 90 pairs (in 2004).
For the two Larus species, 90% and 89% of Great Black-backed Gull and Herring Gull
colonies, respectively, are found on the East Coast (Table 3). Of the province’s 60 large
gull colonies, that is 100 or more pairs of Herring Gulls and/or Great Black-backed
Gulls, 49 are found along the East Coast, 8 in the Bay of Fundy, and 3 in the Gulf of
St. Lawrence. In Nova Scotia, the average colony size for the Herring Gull and the
Great Black-backed Gull was 91 pairs (n=92 colonies) and 63 pairs (n=215 colonies),
respectively (Table 3). Neither of these two species had colonies of 1000 or more pairs,
and only 29% (27 of 92) and 19% (41 of 215) of all Herring Gull and Great Black-
backed Gull colonies, respectively, contained 100 or more pairs (Figure 22B).
46
Figure 21
In Nova Scotia, the proportion (%) of each gull species of the province’s total breeding gull
population (A) and the number of breeding pairs of each species by waterbody (B)
Figure 22
In Nova Scotia, for each gull species the proportion (%) of its total breeding population by
waterbody (A) and the frequency of colony size classes (number of pairs) by species (B)
Black-legged
Kittiwake
1%
Great Black-
backed Gull
61%
Herring Gull
38%
Nova Scotia
(A)
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Bay of Fundy East Coast Gulf of St.
Lawrence
Number of Pairs
Nova Scotia Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
(B)
22
56
2
43
118
2
27
41
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Herring
Gull Great Black-
backed Gull Black-legged
Kittiwake
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
Nova Scotia 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
(B)
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Herring
Gull Great Black-
backed Gull Black-legged
Kittiwake
Cumulative Percent
Nova Scotia Gulf of St. Lawrence
East Coast
Bay of Fundy
(A)
47
Table 6
Estimated number of Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull pairs from two census periods (C1: 1987;
C2: 2002–2004) and percent change between censuses in the principal gull colonies1 in Nova Scotia
Herring Gull
(HERG)
Great Black-backed Gull
(GBBG)
% change
C1
C2
C1
C2
C1 to C24
Colony2
19873
2002
2004
19873
2002
2004
HERG
GBBG
Bear Island
68
71
. 5
490
283
.
4
-42
Bird Islands, Ciboux
573
.
0
1983
.
0
-100
-100
Bird Islands, Hertford
459
.
0
1618
.
0
-100
-100
Blanche Island
615
0
.
1258
367
.
-100
-71
Boot Island
621
0
.
1092
753
.
-100
-31
Brick Kiln Island
7
.
0
55
.
400
-100
634
Brier Island
4235
. 6
.
313
. 6
.
.
.
Canoe Island
124
301
.
32
13
.
-100
-59
Chockle Cap
39
193
350
131
83
30
804
-77
Devils Island
.
707
.
.
79
.
.
.
Flat Island, Mahone Bay
344
6
.
53
113
.
-98
114
Green Island (Yarmouth Co.)
23
357
.
24
115
.
1458
385
Grey Island
370
393
.
427
262
.
6
-39
Hay Island
171
.
0
1278
.
1
-100
-100
Hopson Island
82
0
.
171
105
270
-100
58
Indian Island (SW)
412
22
.
105
63
350
-95
233
Ingonish Island
398
.
0
938
.
0
-100
-100
Lears Island
152
26
.
570
380
.
-83
-33
Marks Island
5
550
.
3
3
.
10900
0
Outer Island (Shelburne Co.)
774
93
.
766
628
.
-88
-18
Pearl Island
153
52
.
152
341
.
-66
124
Pennant Island
37
0
.
208
262
210
-100
1
Pinnacle Island
201
.
180
215
.
180
-11
-16
Pumpkin Isl. (Yarmouth Co.)
934
147
.
32
16
.
-84
-49
Ram Island (near Lockeport)
145
0
.
496
367
.
-100
-26
Ram Island, Little River Hbr
43
262
.
117
262
.
514
124
Reef Island
144
472
.
138
39
.
228
-72
St. John’s Island
882
114
.
555
384
.
-87
-31
Wedge Island (Halifax Co.)
42
100
125
28
31
15
497
-46
West Ironbound Island
576
0
0
257
131
0
-100
-100
MAINLAND
(2002 survey area)7
11569
6434
16608
11393
-44
-31
(-3.8)8
(-2.5)
NOVA SCOTIA
(province-wide)9
22464
11461
28274
18843
-49
-33
(-4.4)
(-2.7)
1 Includes all colonies with ≥125 pairs of either Herring or Great Black-backed Gulls in the 2002 or 2004 census.
2 Colonies in italics are located in the Bay of Fundy, while all other colonies are found along Nova Scotia’s East Coast region.
3 Data from A.R. Lock (CWS, unpublished) were corrected using the ratio of 1.266 territorial gulls counted on photos to number
of nests counted (i.e., number of individuals in Lock divided by 1.266).
4 Percent change in number of breeding pairs between 1987 and 2002 (or 2004, if available).
5 A “.” indicates no census data available.
6 This island was not surveyed in 2002 due to necessity of returning to airport because of low fuel.
7 The 2002 estimates are Observer #1 estimate from aerial survey multiplied by a correction factor of 1.31 (see Boyne and
Beukens 2004 for details).
8 Percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in parentheses.
9 From Boyne and Beukens 2004; 2002 population size are midpoint of estimates (Herring Gull: 10,548–12,373 pairs; Great
Black-backed Gull: 18,376–19,310 pairs).
48
For Nova Scotia there are excellent trend data available for the Herring Gull and
Great Black-backed Gull, over a period of about 30 years beginning in the early 1970s.
Most of the province’s mainland coastline (but excluding Cape Breton Island and also
Brier Island in the Bay of Fundy) has been surveyed three times: in 1971, 1987, and
2002. In 1971 there were 8720 and 9547 pairs of Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed
Gulls, respectively (Figure 23). By 1987 their respective populations had increased by
33% (to 11,569 Herring Gull pairs) and 74% (to 16,608 Great Black-backed Gull pairs),
but between 1987 and 2002 the population of each species declined down to close to the
1971 level—6434 Herring Gull pairs (95% CI: 5844–6970) (-26% change from 1971)
and 11,393 Great Black-backed Gull pairs (95% CI: 10,476–12,342) (+19%) (Table 6;
Figure 23) (see also Boyne and Beukens 2004).
Figure 23
Population trends of the Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull in Nova Scotia
In 1987, possibly the largest Great Black-backed Gull colonies ever recorded were at
the two Bird Islands, Ciboux and Hertford, with 1983 pairs and 1618 pairs counted,
respectively (Table 6). Together they accounted for 22% of the total Great Black-
backed Gull population along the mainland coastline that year. In 2004, unfortunately,
these two colonies had ceased to exist and their disappearance account for a good part
of this species’ decline between 1987 and 2004. A similar decline occurred at Hay
Island, which in 1987 had 1278 pairs but in 2004 there was only a single pair (Table 6).
Elsewhere, among the larger Great Black-backed Gull colonies some remained
relatively unchanged in size between 1987 and 2002–2004 (e.g., Pennant Island) while
others showed strong increases (e.g., Flat Island in Mahone Bay, Green Island in
Yarmouth County, and Ram Island in Little River Harbour) (see Table 6). For all of
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
Number of Pairs
Year
Herring Gull - Mainland
coast (2002 study area)
Great Black-backed
Gull - Mainland coast
(2002 study area)
49
Nova Scotia, the province-wide population of Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed
Gulls was estimated at 14,200 and 15,300 pairs, respectively, in 1971, and at 22,464 and
28,274 pairs, respectively, in 1987. The whole province was not surveyed in 2002, but
by extrapolating the mainland census results there were an estimated 11,461 Herring
Gull pairs (midpoint of estimate range 10,548-12,373 pairs) and 18,843 Great Black-
backed Gull pairs (estimate range 18,376-19,310) breeding in the province in 2002 (see
Boyne and Beukens 2004 for details). The provincial population of Herring Gulls
increased between 1971 and 1987 by 58% and then declined 49% by 2002, while the
Great Black-backed Gull population increased by 85% between 1971 and 1987 and then
declined 33% by 2002 (see Table 6).
5.1.3 Prince Edward Island
The 2004 survey of Prince Edward Island’s coastline produced an estimate for the
province of 3596 breeding pairs, with 691 pairs of Ring-billed Gulls in 3 colonies,
1795 pairs of Herring Gulls (representing 50% of the province’s total breeding gull
population [Figure 24A]) at 8 colonies, and 1110 pairs of Great Black-backed Gulls at
14 sites (Tables 1, 7; see also Boyne and McKnight 2005). The Black-legged Kittiwake
does not breed in the province. This province lies completely within the Gulf of St.
Lawrence, and its ratio of Herring Gull to Great Black-backed Gull pairs (1.6:1) is
similar to the Gulf of St. Lawrence coastline of New Brunswick (2.3) but higher than
for Nova Scotia (0.2) and Îles-de-la-Madeleine (0.7). The Herring Gull colony at Indian
Point Sand Hills West is the Maritime’s second largest and the fifth largest within the
entire Gulf of St. Lawrence in Atlantic Canada and Québec. Colonies of this species
ranged in size from 2 to 855 pairs, with an average of 224 pairs per colony (Table 3).
Interestingly, of the 8 sites with nesting Herring Gulls in 2004, 3 had fewer than 10
pairs while the remaining 5 had 100 or more pairs (Table 7). For the Great Black-
backed Gull, of the 14 sites in the province where they nested in 2004, nine had more
than two pairs, and of these, eight were active in 1986 but only two were active in 1975
(Table 7). In 2004, nearly two-thirds (66%) of all breeding pairs of this species were
found in colonies situated in Murray Harbour (Poverty Beach and Cherry Island) in the
south-east corner of the province or in Alberton Harbour (Bernard, Gillis, Tern, and
Wagners Islands) on the north west side of the Island. Colonies of this gull ranged in
size from 1 to 435 pairs, with 79 pairs being the average (Table 3). The largest colony
was located at Poverty Beach and is Atlantic Canada’s third largest for this species,
after Boot Island and Outer Island in Nova Scotia (Tables 6, 7). As in Nova Scotia, in
Prince Edward Island there were not any Herring Gull or Great Black-backed Gull
colonies with 1000 or more pairs (Figure 24B). For both the Herring Gull and the Great
Black-backed Gull, populations in this province grew strongly (>10% per year) between
50
Table 7
Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, and Great Black-backed Gull pairs from three census periods (C1: 1975; C2: 1986; C3: 2004)
in all gull colonies in Prince Edward Island
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
C1
C2
C3
C1
C2
C3
C1
C2
C3
Colony
19751
1986
2004
1975
1986
2004
1975
1986
2004
Alberton Harbour Islands
.2
.
.
.
.
.
50
.
.
Bernards Island
.
.
.
.
.
4
.
149
114
Bird Island
.
.
69
.
4
118
.
6
4
Cascumpec Sand Hills
.
.
.
.
1412
2
.
157
.
Cherry Island
.
.
.
70
766
177
40
327
19
Christie Island, Pownal Bay
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1
.
Conway Sand Hills
.
.
.
.
46
.
.
2
.
Gillis Island
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
29
Gordons Island
.
.
.
.
2
.
.
.
.
Gull Island (Sandy Island)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
90
.
Hillsborough Bridge
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
2
.
Indian Point Sand Hills East
.
116
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Indian Point Sand Hills West
.
.
522
.
1263
855
.
146
198
Kildare Sand Hills
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1
.
Little Courtin Island
.
.
.
300
1430
296
200
571
168
MacPhee Beach Island
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1
Nail Pond
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1
.
Panmure Island
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
2
Poverty Beach
.
114
100
.
2200
339
.
531
435
Pownal Bay, unis in
.
.
.
.
.
.
20
1
.
Ram Island (Malpeque Bay)
.
.
.
200
25
.
100
300
.
Sable Point Island (Murray Harbour)
5
.
.
125
.
.
200
.
.
Sturgeon Bay
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1
Tern Island
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
11
75
Thornton Point
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
2
Wagners Island
.
.
.
.
.
4
.
30
61
Unnamed, East of Poverty Beach (mouth
of Murray Harbour)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1
Grand Total
5
230
691
820
7148
1795
610
2326
1110
Compound annual growth rate (CAGR)
41.6%
6.3%
21.8%
-7.4%
12.9%
-4.0%
1 1975 data from G. Hogan, PEI Fish and Wildlife Division; 1986 data from Lock 1987; 2004 data see Boyne and McKnight 2005.
2 A “.” indicates no census data available.
51
Figure 24
In Prince Edward Island, the proportion (%) of each gull species of the province’s total breeding
gull population (A) and the frequency of colony size classes (number of pairs) by species (B)
1975 and 1986 but then declined in the 20-year interval until the next census in 2004
(Table 7; Figure 25). Nevertheless, in 2004 the population of both species was nearly
double their level of thirty years earlier in 1975—82% higher for the Great Black-
backed Gull and 119% higher for the Herring Gull. As in New Brunswick, the
population of Ring-billed Gulls in this province is growing. This species is new to the
Maritimes, with breeding confirmed for the first time in 1965 in New Brunswick and in
1974 in Prince Edward Island (Lock 1988), although it is still absent from Nova Scotia.
On Prince Edward Island the population has grown very rapidly, from 5 pairs in 1975 to
230 pairs in 1986 and to 691 pairs in 2001 (Table 7).
5.1.4 New Brunswick
During the censuses of New Brunswick’s gull colonies, 24,799 pairs of gulls were
counted, specifically 16,639 pairs of Herring Gulls, 4373 pairs of Ring-billed Gulls,
3212 pairs of Great Black-backed Gulls, and 575 pairs of Black-legged Kittiwakes
(Table 1). The total gull population is similar in size to neighbouring Nova Scotia
(22,004 pairs), however, the species composition is quite different between these two
maritime provinces. In New Brunswick, two-thirds (67%) of all nesting gulls are
Herring Gulls (Table 1; Figure 26A), while in Nova Scotia the larger Great Black-
backed Gull is the most abundant gull (61% of total gull population). All four species
breed along both of New Brunswick’s coastal regions, that is, the Bay of Fundy and
Gulf of St. Lawrence, although the Ring-billed Gull has only recently been confirmed
nesting in the Bay of Fundy, on Manawagonish Island (McAlpine et al. 2005) (Table 8).
Ring-billed
Gull
19%
Herring Gull
50%
Great Black-
backed Gull
31%
Prince Edward Island
(A)
0
3
6
1
0
4
2
5
4
0
2
4
6
8
10
Ring-billed
Gull Herring
Gull Great Black-
backed Gull
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
Prince Edward Island 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
(B)
52
Figure 25
Population trends of the Herring Gull (HERG), Great Black-backed Gull (GBBG), and
Ring-billed Gull (RBGU) in Prince Edward Island
Figure 26
In New Brunswick, the proportion (%) of each gull species of the province’s total breeding gull
population (A) and the number of breeding pairs by waterbody (B)
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000
Number of Pairs (RBGU)
Number of Pairs (HERG, GBBG)
Year
Great Black-backed
and Herring Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed
Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Black-
legged
Kittiwake 2% Great Black-
backed Gull
13%
Herring Gull
67%
Ring-billed
Gull
18%
New Brunswick
(A)
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
Bay of Fundy Gulf of St. Lawrence
Number of Pairs
New Brunswick Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
(B)
53
The Bay of Fundy harbours 86% (14,233 of 16,639) and 68% (2187 of 2313) of all
Herring and Great Black-backed Gull pairs, respectively, in the province, but <1% (6 of
4373) and 35% (202 of 581) of the province’s population of Ring-billed Gulls and
Black-legged Kittiwakes (Tables 1, 8; Figures 26B, 27A). For the Herring Gull and
Great Black-backed Gull, the censuses of this coastline counted 1656 and 459 pairs,
respectively, in the Campobello region (in 1998) and 737 and 1125 pairs along the
coastline from St. Stephens to St. John (in 1998) (Mawhinney et al. 1999), 11,809 and
602 pairs in the Grand Manan Archipelago (in 2001), and 31 pairs and 1 pair on
Grindstone Island in Chignecto Bay (in 1998) (see Table 8 for all colonies with ≥100
pairs of one or both of these two species).
The Ring-billed Gull is a relatively newcomer to the Maritime Provinces, with the first
recorded nesting dating from 1965 when 9 nests were found at Bathurst Harbour in New
Brunswick. In 1986, a Maritime-wide census counted a total of 1434 nests at 5 sites in
New Brunswick, all located along the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Lock 1988). The 2000 and
2005 censuses of this coastline obtained estimates of 3544 nests at 6 colonies and
4367 nests at 2 colonies, respectively (Table 8; see also Table 4 in Boyne et al. 2006).
The two colonies in 2005, Tern Island and Tracadie Bay, were the largest in all of
Atlantic Canada and, along with a small colony at Manawagonish Island (6 pairs in
2004), are the only active colonies of this species in the province. New Brunswick’s
Ring-billed Gull population, therefore, grew at an annual rate of 6.5% between 1986
and 2000 and 4.2% between 2000 and 2005.
The Black-legged Kittiwake is also a recent addition to New Brunswick’s breeding
avifauna. The first colony was found in 1992 on South Wolf Island in the Bay of Fundy
and it had 12 breeding pairs (Kehoe 1994). Up until the last complete census of the Bay
of Fundy in 1999, kittiwakes had nested every year on this island, with 134 nests
counted in 1999 (Kehoe and Diamond 2001) (Table 8). In 1998, they also began nesting
on Whitehorse Island, and in a census of the island in 2002, 68 nests were counted
there. The species has also expanded its provincial range to the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
where in 2005 a total of 373 pairs was counted at 3 colonies (Tables 1, 8). From the
census data, the average colony size for all of New Brunswick kittiwake colonies was
115 pairs (n=5 colonies) (Table 2).
As of 2007, this province has eastern Canada’s second largest, and Atlantic Canada’s
largest, Herring Gull colony. It is found on Kent Island in the Grand Manan
Archipelago (GMA) in the Bay of Fundy; in a 2001 census, 5926 breeding pairs were
counted (Ronconi and Wong 2003). New Brunswick has two additional large Herring
Gull colonies (≥1000 pairs), and both are part of the GMA, Great Duck Island
(1910 pairs in 2001) and Outer Wood Island (1404 pairs in 2001) (see Ronconi and
54
Table 8
Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, and Black-legged
Kittiwake pairs in the principal gull colonies1 in the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of St. Lawrence
(census year in parentheses) in New Brunswick, 1998–2005
Region —
Colony
Ring-billed
Gull
Herring
Gull
Great Black-
backed Gull
Black-legged
Kittiwake
Bay of Fundy (1998) —
Dicks
.2
173
39
.
Flatpot
.
426
41
.
Gooseberry Island
.
0
119
.
Hog
.
0
137
.
Hospital-1
.
116
165
.
Hospital-2
.
365
76
.
Manawagonish Island
63
33
268
.
New River
.
178
72
.
Sandy
.
361
9
.
SE Salkeld
.
59
122
.
Salkeld, NW
.
14
116
.
South Wolf
.
173
99
1344
Whitehorse Island
.
.
.
685
Bay of Fundy: Grand Manan Archipelago (2001) —
Great Duck Island
.
1910
285
.
Hay Island
.
573
18
.
Kent Island
.
5926
23
.
Long Island
.
118
13
.
North Green Island
.
259
86
.
Outer Wood Island
.
1404
14
.
Sheep Island
.
442
55
.
South Green Island
.
144
34
.
Western Green Island
.
192
4
.
Wood Island
.
587
0
.
Gulf of St. Lawrence (2005) —
Bathurst Harbour Island6
.
254
94
.
Cap Pele
.
.
.
166
Egg Island
.
52
142
.
Fox Dens Beach
2627
937
175
.
Grindstone Point
.
.
.
59
Maisonnette Dune
2687
198
37
.
Pokeshaw Island
.
0
3
08
Neguac Bar
.
592
101
.
New Bandon
.
.
.
148
Tern Island, Tabusintac
2138
0
12
.
Tracadie
.
304
46
.
Tracadie Bay
2229
0
58
.
Unnamed island west of
Tracadie S. Beach
.
29
155
.
1 All Ring-billed Gull and Black-legged Kittiwake colonies in addition to all colonies with ≥100 pairs of either
Herring or Great Black-backed Gulls.
2 A “.” indicates the species was not nesting at this colony during this census.
3 Censused in 2004.
4 Censused in 1999.
5 Censused in 2002.
6 Includes Bathurst Harbour Island 2 and Bathurst Harbour Island 3.
7 Censused in 2000 and inactive (0 pairs) in 2005.
8 Initially 6 pairs of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Boyne et al. 2006) but a re-examination of the aerial photographs
showed that these individuals were roosting Herring Gulls (see Davis et al. 2011).
55
Wong 2003). Great Duck Island has also New Brunswick’s largest Great Black-backed
Gull colony, with 285 pairs in 2005. The majority of Herring Gull (60%; 33 of 55
colonies) and Great Black-backed Gull (82%; 49 of 60) colonies had fewer than 100
breeding pairs (Figure 27B). The average colony size, among all of New Brunswick
colonies, was 303 pairs for the Herring Gull (n=55 colonies) and 54 pairs
(n=60 colonies) for the Great Black-backed Gull (Table 3).
Figure 27
In New Brunswick, for each gull species the proportion (%) of its total breeding population by
waterbody (A) and the frequency of colony size classes (number of pairs) by species (B)
Gull colonies along New Brunswick’s two main coastal regions have been censused
three times: the Bay of Fundy in 1979, 1998, and 2001, although in 2001 only the
Grand Manan Archipelago (GMA) was censused, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1986,
2000, and 2005 (Figure 28). For the Bay of Fundy, the size of the Great Black-backed
Gull population was 600 pairs in 1979 (A.R. Lock, CWS unpublished data) and
1787 pairs in 1998, an increase of 198% (or 5.9% annually). The Herring Gull
population in this region showed the opposite trend, that is the population decreased by
61% (or -4.8% annually) from 13,800 pairs in 1979 to 5399 pairs in 1998 (A.R. Lock,
CWS unpublished data; Mawhinney et al. 1999). For the Grand Manan Archipelago
(GMA), there are population estimates for the Great Black-backed Gull and Herring
Gull from 1965, 1972 (Drury 1973, 1974), 1979 (Lock 1982), 1998 (Mawhinney et al.
1999), and 2001 (Ronconi and Wong 2003). Up until the 2001 census, the population of
Great Black-backed Gulls in the GMA was fairly stable, with an estimated 100 pairs,
60 pairs, 61 pairs, and 202 pairs breeding in 1965, 1972, 1979, and 1998, respectively.
In 2001 a census recorded nearly three times as many pairs, 602 (Figure 28). In 1965
there were an estimated 11,900 Herring Gull pairs in the GMA, and nearly four decades
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Ring-billed
Gull Herring
Gull Great Black-
backed Gull Black-
legged
Kittiwake
Cumulative Percent
New Brunswick Bay of Fundy
Gulf of St. Lawrence
(A)
1
9
18
00
24
31
2
0
19
11
3
23
0 0
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Ring-billed
Gull Herring
Gull Great Black-
backed Gull Black-legged
Kittiwake
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
New Brunswick 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
1000 to 9999
(B)
56
Figure 28
Population trends of the Ring-billed Gull in New Brunswick and of the Herring Gull and Great
Black-backed Gull in the Grand Manan Archipelago (GMA) in the Bay of Fundy and along the
entire Bay of Fundy (BoF) and Gulf of St. Lawrence (GSL), New Brunswick
later, in 2001, the size of the population was almost identical, 11,809 pairs. However,
there were considerable differences among the intervening census estimates: 14,100
pairs in 1972, 7717 pairs in 1979, and 2975 pairs in 1998. It should be noted, however,
that there were differences in methodologies used among the censuses. In 1979 about
half of colony estimates, including the important Kent Island colony, were obtained
from ground counts and half from an aerial survey, in 1998 an aerial survey was
conducted (entire GMA), and in 2001 a ground survey was conducted of all colonies
(see Ronconi and Wong 2003 for further details). For the Herring Gull along the Gulf of
St. Lawrence, numbers fell between 1986 and 2000, from 5950 pairs to 2330 pairs, and
then increased, albeit only slightly, up to 2406 pairs in 2005. The Great Black-backed
Gull showed a similar trend in this region; its numbers declined from 1134 pairs in 1986
to 910 pairs in 2000 and then it increased slightly to 1025 pairs in 2005 (see Boyne and
Beukens 2004 and Boyne et al. 2006 for further details). In summary, for the Great
Black-backed Gull, the Bay of Fundy population nearly tripled in size between 1979
and 1998 while in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the population declined by 10% between
1986 and 2005. The Herring Gull numbers declined by 61% and 60% in the Bay of
Fundy (1979–1998) and Gulf of St. Lawrence (1986–2005), respectively. One of
Canada’s longest trend series for a gull species exists for the Herring Gull population on
Kent Island (GMA), with data from 1940 to 2001. This island’s population reached a
record high of 25,000 pairs in 1945, but then each successive census reported a decrease
until it reached its lowest levels in 1998 with only 940 pairs. Fortunately, the 2001
census showed a rebound in numbers, with the highest number of breeding pairs (5926)
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
Number of Pairs (dashed lines)
Number of Pairs (solid lines)
Year
Great Black-
backed Gull (GMA)
Great Black-
backed Gull (BoF)
Great Black-
backed Gull (GSL)
Herring Gull (GMA)
Herring Gull (BoF)
Herring Gull (GSL)
Ring-billed Gull
57
recorded since 1972 (see Cannell and Maddox 1983, Hébert 1989, and Ronconi and
Wong 2003 for additional details).
5.2 Québec—St. Lawrence system
The shoreline and islands of the St. Lawrence River, Estuary, and Gulf in southern
Québec are home to approximately 215,000 breeding pairs of gulls, representing 27% of
eastern Canada’s total gull population. For the Ring-billed, Herring, and Great
Black-backed Gulls, approximately a fifth of each species’ total population (in eastern
Canada) breeds in Québec, specifically 22% (109,345 pairs), 24% (30,944 pairs), and
21% (6534 pairs), respectively, while over half (55%) (68,220 pairs) of all Black-legged
Kittiwakes are found there. Of Québec’s total larid population, half is comprised of one
species only, the Ring-billed Gull (Figure 29A), and 91% of those nest along the
St. Lawrence River and Estuary (Table 1; Figure 29B). The Herring Gull and the Great
Black-backed Gull are found in similar proportions among Québec’s five main coastal
regions (Figure 30A). Furthermore, the population of each species has an almost 60% to
40% split between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River and Estuary.
Within the Gulf, over two-thirds (69%) of Herring Gulls breed along the North Shore
and, fortunately for this species, 95% of these birds are in areas with federal
government protection, specifically the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries (MBS) of the
Canadian Wildlife Service (2957 pairs) and the Mingan Archipelago National Park
Reserve of Canada (9368 pairs; excluding the two MBS located within).
Figure 29
In Québec, the proportion (%) of each gull species of the province’s total breeding gull
population (A) and the number of breeding pairs of each species in each of the province’s main
coastal regions (B)
Black-
legged
Kittiwake
32%
Great Black-
backed Gull
3%
Herring Gull
14%
Ring-billed
Gull
51%
Québec
(A)
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
Number of Pairs
Québec Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Black-legged Kittiwake
(B)
58
Figure 30
In Québec, for each gull species the proportion (%) of its total breeding population by region
(A) and the frequency of colony size classes (number of pairs) by species (B)
For the Great Black-backed Gull’s population in the Gulf, about half (49%) nest along
the North Shore and the other half on the Gaspé Peninsula and Îles-de-la-Madeleine.
Anticosti Island, also located in the Gulf, has a very small population of Herring Gulls
(20 pairs) and no Great Black-backed Gulls nor Ring-billed Gulls. This island, however,
has eastern Canada’s third largest regional population of Black-legged Kittiwakes with
16,642 pairs; only Newfoundland and Québec’s Gaspé Peninsula have larger
populations (Table 1). Together Anticosti Island and the Gaspé Peninsula harbour 80%
of Québec’s total kittiwake breeding population.
5.2.1 Ring-billed Gull
Although the Ring-billed Gull is Québec’s most abundant gull, it has the fewest
colonies with only 36. A third of them (12 of 36), however, have 1000 or more pairs
(Figure 30B; Tables 9, 10). There are slightly fewer colonies of this species in the River
and Estuary sections (n=16) of the St. Lawrence as compared to the Gulf (n=20),
however, colonies were on average over 10 times larger in the River and Estuary
(6247 pairs) than in the Gulf (470 pairs) (Table 2). The largest colony of any larid in
eastern Canada is a Ring-billed Gull colony located on Île Deslauriers, a small island in
the St. Lawrence River located just east of Montreal (Table 10). Nearly the whole island
is taken up by nesting Ring-billed Gulls; since 1991 this colony has been relatively
stable with a population between 47,000 and 52,000 pairs (Figure 31). In 2006 this
colony had 51,000 pairs, representing nearly half of Québec’s total Ring-billed Gull
population.
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Ring-billed
Gull Herring
Gull Great Black-
backed Gull Black-
legged
Kittiwake
Cumulative Percent
Québec Gulf North Shore
Iles-de-la-Madeleine
Anticosti Island
Gaspé Peninsula
St.Lawrence River-Estuary
(A)
4
29
83
8
10
48
58
20
10
66
23 19
9207
30 0 3
0
20
40
60
80
100
Ring-billed
Gull Herring
Gull Great Black-
backed Gull Black-
legged
Kittiwake
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
Québec 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
1000 to 9999
≥10000
(B)
59
Table 9
Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, and Black-legged
Kittiwake pairs in the principal gull colonies1 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Québec, 1996–2007
Region —
Colony
Year
censused
Ring-billed
Gull
Herring
Gull
Great
Black-
backed Gull
Black-
legged
Kittiwake
Gaspé Peninsula —
Anse à Beaufils (Cap d'Espoir-Percé)
2002
.2
125
4
.
Anse à Pierre Loiselle
2002
.
.
.
263
Cap d'Espoir
2002
.
13
2
2542
Île Bonaventure
2002
.
57
10
18550
Île Taylor
2002
.
351
124
.
Îles Mahy
2002
.
561
289
.
Les Trois Soeurs
2002
.
33
.
413
Marais de Paspébiac
2002
.
390
33
.
New Richmond to Bonaventure
2002
.
902
13
83
Pointe de Sandy Beach
2002
11723
429
151
.
Presqu'île de Forillon
2002
.
114
9
13411
Rocher Percé
2002
.
164
157
1094
Ruisseau Leblanc
2002
.
.
.
572
Saint-Godefroi
2002
.
.
.
288
Saint-Omer
2002
1663
703
104
.
North Shore —
Cayes à Meck
1999
630
1
.
.
Île à Calculot
1998
3745
6
16
.
Île à la Chasse
1998
572
3
30
.
Île aux Goélands (Mingan)
1998
.
1292
113
.
Île du Corossol
2005
.
639
329
1659
Île Nue de Mingan
1996
5
69004
2194
92
Refuge de baie des Loups
2005
.
263
119
.
Refuge de Betchouane
2005
.
502
78
73
Refuge de Saint-Augustin
2005
275
551
43
.
Refuge de Watshishou
2005
27
416
88
.
Refuge des îles aux Perroquets
2005
621
85
53
7
Refuge des îles Sainte-Marie
2005
.
103
85
258
Anticosti Island —
Cap Tunnel
2004
.
.
.
420
Falaise aux Goélands
2004
.
.
.
15870
Pointe du Renard
2004
.
3
.
304
Îles-de-la-Madeleine —
Île Brion
2007
.
.
1
1890
Île d'Entrée
2007
.
4
1
2307
Île Shag
2007
.
4
14
355
Île du Chenal (Grande-Entrée lagoon)
2007
.
196
549
.
Le Cap du Sud-Ouest
2007
.
8
2
511
Rocher aux Oiseaux
2007
.
.
2
1889
1 Colonies with ≥125 pairs of Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls, or Black-legged Kittiwakes.
2 A “.” indicates the species was not nesting at this colony during this census.
3 Censused in 2004.
4 A census in 2008 by Parks Canada personnel found 0 pairs.
60
Table 10
Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, and Black-legged
Kittiwake pairs in the principal gull colonies1 in the St. Lawrence River and Estuary, Québec,
2001–2007
Colony
Year
censused
Ring-billed
Gull
Herring
Gull
Great
Black-
backed Gull
Black-
legged
Kittiwake
Barrage de Beauharnois
2006
10016
.2
.
.
Battures aux Loups Marins
2006
2359
493
55
.
Île à Durand
2006
430
226
2
.
Île aux Pommes
2001
.
385
286
125
Île Bicquette
2007
.
482
259
350
Île Brûlée
2006
60
284
24
.
Île de Bellechasse
2006
374
337
10
.
Île de la Corneille
2006
.
278
11
.
Île de la Couvée
2006
9293
.
1
.
Île Deslauriers
2006
51000
113
33
.
Île du Moulin
2007
1375
.
.
.
Île Laval
2006
500
278
45
2555
Île Patience
2006
.
529
11
.
Île Rouge
2006
2363
722
122
.
Îles Brothers
2006
.
516
7
.
Îlet à Lefebvre
2006
13409
.
.
.
Îlet aux Alouettes
2001
.
385
82
.
La Grande Île
2006
.
453
21
.
Le Gros Pèlerin
2006
.
790
7
84
Le Gros Pot
2006
.
337
17
.
Le Pèlerin du Jardin
2006
.
363
23
.
Le Pilier de Pierre
2006
7255
104
15
.
Le Pot du Phare
2006
.
606
25
.
Les Rochers
2006
.
271
87
.
Les Trois Soeurs (Ragueneau)
2006
.
384
43
.
Terrain du Versant-Nord
2007
500
.
.
.
Trois-Rivières
2006
1000
.
.
.
1 Colonies with ≥125 pairs of Ring-billed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls, or Black-legged Kittiwakes.
2 A “.” indicates the species was not nesting at this colony during this census.
3 Censused in 2008.
61
Of the 16 colonies along the St. Lawrence River and Estuary, 14 had ≥60 pairs
(Table 10) while the other two were very small in size (5 pairs at Îles Mud Pie in 2007
and 10 pairs at Îlets du lac St-Pierre in 2006). Furthermore, 7 of the 16 colonies have
been active in each year that a triennial survey has been conducted since its inception in
the early 1990s (P. Brousseau, CWS, pers. comm.; Figure 31), and in each survey-year
these 7 colonies comprised 72–93% of all Ring-billed Gulls in the St. Lawrence River
and Estuary. There is no clear trend among these colonies: 4 have been slowly but
consistently increasing in size since 1991 while two have been decreasing (Figure 31).
Since the start of these triennial surveys, the overall population of Ring-billed Gulls in
Québec has declined from 125,000 pairs in 1990–1991 to 100,000 pairs in 2006, which
corresponds to an annual rate of decline of 1.5%. While this decline occurred in the
St. Lawrence River and Estuary, the smaller populations on the Gaspé Peninsula and
Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Gulf North Shore have been increasing
(Figure 32) (see also Rail and Cotter 2007, Cotter and Rail 2007). It must be noted,
however, that the decline in the St. Lawrence River and Estuary is attributable to a
control program in the 1990s at a single colony in Québec City. That single colony was
estimated at 21,714 pairs in 1991 and by 1998 it had ceased to exist. Excluding this
colony, the population in this region was stable, fluctuating by only ±5% of 103,000
pairs between 1991 and 2006.
Figure 31
Triennial survey estimates of breeding Ring-billed Gulls at seven colonies along the
St. Lawrence River and Estuary, Québec, 1991–2006 (an “*” indicates survey carried out over
two years)
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
50000
55000
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000
11000
Number of Pairs (dashed lines)
Number of Pairs (solid lines)
Year
Ring-billed Gull
Barrage de
Beauharnois
Île de Bellechasse
Île à Durand
Le Pillier de Pierre
Île de la Couvée
Îlets Lefebvre
Île Deslauriers
62
Figure 32
Population trends of the Ring-billed Gull and Black-legged Kittiwake in Québec
5.2.2 Herring Gull
There are approximately 31,000 pairs of Herring Gulls breeding in southern Québec,
and of all gull species it is the most widely distributed in the province. There is also no
single geographic region that harbours more than half of the total population; there are
approximately 12,300 pairs nesting along the St. Lawrence River and Estuary in
57 colonies and 18,600 pairs in 88 colonies in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Tables 1, 3).
On average, colonies in these two regions are similar in size, with means of 216 and 212
pairs for the River and Estuary and the Gulf, respectively. In the Gulf, 69% of all pairs
are found along the North Shore (12,924 pairs), 28% (5134 pairs) on the Gaspé
Peninsula, and 3% (545 pairs) on Îles-de-la-Madeleine (Table 1). Of all colonies in
Québec, about half (47%; 68 of 145) have ≥100 breeding pairs (Figure 30B), including
two very large colonies with ≥1000 pairs: Île aux Goélands (1292 pairs) and Île Nue de
Mingan (6900 pairs) (Table 9). Both of these are located within the Mingan
Archipelago National Park Reserve of Canada along the Gulf North Shore. [Note: the
Île Nue de Mingan colony is no longer active; a 2008 census found 0 nests (Yann
Troutet, Parks Canada, pers. comm.)].
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
0
20000
40000
60000
80000
100000
120000
140000
Number of Pairs (dashed lines)
Number of Pairs (solid line)
Ring-billed Gull
St. Lawrence River-
Estuary
Gaspé Peninsula
Mingan Archipelago
NPR, west
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
50000
Number of Pairs (dashed lines)
Number of Pairs (solid lines)
Black-legged Kittiwake
Gaspé Peninsula
Anticosti Island
North Shore MBS
Iles-de-la-Madeleine
63
Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Gaspé Peninsula, and the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the
Gulf North Shore each have population estimates for the Herring Gull dating back to the
1970s (Figure 33). Of all seabird species nesting on the Gaspé Peninsula, the Herring
Gull is the only species to have declined between the 1979 and 1989 surveys
(-1.8% annually) and again between the 1989 and 2002 surveys (-3.5% annually) (see
Cotter and Rail 2007). This decline is attributable to a decline in colony size as opposed
to a decline in the number of colonies; during the 2002 survey, 21 of 29 colonies had
fewer pairs than in 1989 (Cotter and Rail 2007). Surveys of the Gulf North Shore
Migratory Bird Sanctuaries in 1988 (Chapdelaine and Brousseau 1991) and of Îles-de-
la-Madeleine in 1990 (Bourque and Richard 1992) showed higher numbers of Herring
Gulls in both regions than surveys in the mid-70s. However, the Îles-de-la-Madeleine
surveys in 2000 and 2007 showed declines (Rail 2009). In the North Shore Migratory
Bird Sanctuaries, there was a 78% decline in the size of the population in just 5 years
between 1988 and 1993. Since then the population has stabilized, with the 2005 survey
finding 21% more Herring Gulls than in 1993. For all three regions, recent complete
regional surveys have yielded population estimates lower than estimates from the
1970s. Combined, these regions today (2002–2007) have 59% fewer Herring Gull pairs
than in 1988–1990 and 46% fewer pairs than in 1976–1979.
Figure 33
Population trends of the Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull in Québec
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Number of Pairs
Herring Gull
Gaspé Peninsula
North Shore MBS
Iles-de-la-Madeleine
0
250
500
750
1000
1250
1500
Number of Pairs
Great Black-backed Gull
Gaspé Peninsula
North Shore MBS
Iles-de-la-Madeleine
64
5.2.3 Great Black-backed Gull
In southern Québec, there are approximately 6500 breeding pairs of Great Black-backed
Gulls. It is Québec’s least abundant of the four main larid species, accounting for only
3% of the province’s total gull population of nearly 215,000 pairs. Presently this species
is completely absent from Anticosti Island, and in other regions it is the least common
species, with the exception of Îles-de-la-Madeleine where the Herring Gull is less
abundant and the Ring-billed Gull is absent (Table 1). In recent censuses, the Great
Black-backed Gull was found nesting at 105 sites in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and at
59 sites in the St. Lawrence River and Estuary. Mean colony size for these two areas
was similar, 39 and 41 pairs for the Gulf and the River and Estuary regions, respectively
(Table 3). Only 14% (23 of 164) of colonies contained ≥100 pairs (Figure 30B) with the
largest, Île du Chenal, having 549 pairs. This colony is found on Îles-de-la-Madeleine in
the Grande-Entrée lagoon (Table 9). As with the Herring Gull, Îles-de-la-Madeleine,
Gaspé Peninsula, and the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Gulf North Shore have
census data for the Great Black-backed Gull dating from the 1970s (Figure 33). From
the 1970s to the late 1980s, populations increased in all three regions, in particular on
the Gaspé Peninsula (23.7% annually; Cotter and Rail 2007). In the past 15 years or so,
populations have remained relatively stable on the Gaspé Peninsula and in the North
Shore Migratory Bird Sanctuaries, while they’ve declined to levels lower than in the
mid-1970s on Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Combined, these regions today (2002–2007) have
17% fewer Great Black-backed Gull pairs than in 1988–1990 but 70% more pairs than
in 1976–1979.
5.2.4 Black-legged Kittiwake
The Black-legged Kittiwake is the second most common larid in Québec, with
approximately 68,000 pairs counted in recent censuses. Whereas 91% of Ring-billed
Gulls in the province nest along the St. Lawrence River and Estuary, 95% of the
province’s kittiwakes nest along the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Although each of Québec’s
five coastal regions has breeding populations of Black-legged Kittiwakes, the Gaspé
Peninsula (37,649 pairs in 2002) and Anticosti Island (16,642 pairs) together account
for 80% (Table 1; Figure 30A). Of all colonies in Québec, about half (29 of 57 colonies)
have 100 or more breeding pairs (Figure 30B), including three very large colonies with
≥10,000 pairs: Presqu’Île de Forillon and Bonaventure Island on the Gaspé Peninsula
and Falaise aux Goélands on Anticosti Island (Table 9). These 3 colonies are the largest
in all of eastern Canada and account for 70% and 39% of Québec’s and eastern
Canada’s total kittiwake population, respectively. Overall, colonies are much larger in
the Gulf than in the River and Estuary—mean colony size was 1436 pairs
(n=45 colonies) in the Gulf and 301 pairs in the River and Estuary (n=12 colonies)
65
(Table 2). Trends from four regions in Québec that have been censused since the 1970s
show that, for each region, Black-legged Kittiwake numbers initially increased
(i.e., from surveys in the 1970s to surveys in the late-1980s/early 1990s) (see also
Chapdelaine and Brousseau 1989) and then decreased to this decade to close to 1970s
levels (Figure 32).
5.3 Ontario—Great Lakes system
Combining all four larid species in eastern Canada, slightly over half (53%) nest in
Ontario. One species, the Ring-billed Gull, however accounts for 91% of Ontario’s total
breeding gull population of 418,980 pairs, with an estimated 380,163 pairs nesting in
1999–2000 (Table 1; Figure 34A). Ontario’s Great Lakes population of Ring-billed
Gulls represent nearly half (48%) of all gulls in eastern Canada. Ontario also has a
sizable population of Herring Gulls with 38,781 pairs, which is slightly larger than
Québec’s and Newfoundland and Labrador’s (Table 1). On the Great Lakes system,
these two species usually nest alongside each other (Weseloh 2007c). The Great Black-
backed Gull occurs in very low numbers in Ontario (36 pairs in 1999–2000), and the
Black-legged Kittiwake is completely absent from the province.
Figure 34
In Ontario, the proportion (%) of each gull species of the province’s total breeding gull
population (A) and the number of breeding pairs of each species by waterbody (B)
During the 1999–2000 census of the Great Lakes and associated waterways, the Lower
Great Lakes system (encompassing Lakes Erie and Ontario as well the Detroit, Niagara,
and St. Lawrence Rivers) harboured 72% (274,925 pairs) of Ontario’s Great Lakes
Ring-billed Gulls, while Lake Huron (including Georgian Bay and the North Channel)
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
300000
Lower Great
Lakes Lake
Huron Lake
Superior
Number of Pairs
Ontario Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
(B)
Herring Gull
9%
Ring-billed
Gull
91%
Ontario
(A)
66
accounted for 26% and Lake Superior only 2% (Figures 34B, 35A). For the Herring
Gull, however, Lake Huron is the most important waterbody with 58% (22,389 pairs) of
the total population, while Lake Superior and the Lower Great Lakes system each
encompassing approximately 31% and 12%, respectively (see also Morris et al. 2003,
2009). While the Ring-billed Gull has recently extended its range eastward into the
Maritimes, the Great Black-backed Gull has only recently expanded westward into
Ontario. The first record of nesting in this province was in 1954 (Krug 1956
cf. Weseloh 2007a), and since then the species has slowly expanded and increased its
numbers. This is exemplified from the number of atlas squares in which it was recorded
in the first and second atlases of the province. The first, conducted from 1981 to 1985,
recorded the species in 15 atlas squares (Blokpoel 1987) while during the second,
conducted from 2001 to 2005, it was found in 38 squares (Weseloh 2007a).
Unfortunately in 2004–2006 there was a die-off of Great Black-backed Gulls in the
Great Lakes due to an outbreak of Type E botulism, and in 2007 the number of breeding
pairs was likely considerably lower than the 36 pairs counted in 1999–2000 (Weseloh
2007a). In the 1999–2000 census, only 3 sites (all in Lake Ontario) had >2 nesting
pairs: Pigeon Island (11 pairs), Scotch Bonnet Island (5 pairs), and Gull Island (3 pairs).
Figure 35
In Ontario, for each gull species the proportion (%) of its total breeding population by region
(A) and the frequency of colony size classes (number of pairs) by species (B)
5.3.1 Ring-billed Gull
In the Great Lakes system, 60% (227,622 of 380,163 pairs) of all Ring-billed Gulls
breed in five areas of the Lower Great Lakes: Tommy Thomson Park, Presqu’ile
Provincial Park, Fighting Island, Port Colborne, and Hamilton Harbour (Table 11).
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Ring-billed
Gull Herring
Gull Great Black-
backed Gull
Cumulative Percent
Ontario Lower Great Lakes
Lake Huron
Lake Superior
(A)
34
269
17
39
439
1
37
80
0
31 40
11 0 0
0
100
200
300
400
500
Ring-billed
Gull Herring
Gull Great Black-
backed Gull
Number of colonies
Colony Size
Classes:
Ontario 1 to 9
10 to 99
100 to 999
1000 to 9999
≥10000
(B)
67
Table 11
Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull and Herring Gull pairs in the principal gull colonies1 in
Ontario, 1999–2000
Waterbody
Colony
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Lake Superior
Buck Island
.2
305
Granite Island
4234
195
Hare Island
.
261
Island W of Chene Island3
2
407
Lake Huron
North Channel
Batture Island
6741
86
Egg Island
6638
79
Elm Island
5083
37
Gertrude Island
9586
154
Mouse Island
11
440
Susanne Island
2838
22
Georgian Bay
Barrier Island
1322
1064
Cherry Island
2863
42
Island 0.5 km SE of Eshpabekong I.
7289
7
N island of South Limestone Islands
6489
27
North Island
.
253
Nottawasaga Island
1741
2380
Papoose Island
10578
132
Snake Island and NW shoal
116
373
Main Body
Basswood Island (Deadman’s Island)
.
274
Chantry Island
7440
3457
Island NW of Burke Island
.
357
Mad Reef
3667
196
McCallum Island
2788
107
W island of the Argyle Islands
7624
122
Lower Great Lakes
Detroit River
S end of Fighting Island
45510
206
Lake Erie
East Sister Island
.
425
Middle Island
.
1067
Middle Sister Island
.
511
Mohawk Island
2382
253
Port Colborne4
41370
233
Lake Ontario
Hamilton Harbour5
23590
113
Presqu'ile Provincial Park6
57699
213
St. Mary's Cement, Bowmanville
13710
11
Tommy Thomson Park7
59453
111
St. Lawrence River
Bergin Island
4209
3
Island S of 31G006 (E of Strachan I)
9541
37
McNair Island
6831
4
Strachan Island
4190
10
1 Colonies with ≥1250 pairs of Ring-billed Gulls or ≥125 pairs of Herring Gulls.
2 A “.” indicates the species was not nesting at this colony during this census.
3 In the extreme eastern end of Lake Superior at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
4 Includes mainland and breakwall sub-colonies.
5 Includes the following subcolonies: Eastport piers 26 & 27; Windermere Basin; North, Centre and South islands.
6 Includes Gull and High Bluff Islands.
7 Toronto Harbour–includes the following sub-colonies: peninsulas A, B, and C, Endykement and Endykement Tip.
68
The Tommy Thomson Park is located on the City of Toronto waterfront, and in 1999
had 59,453 pairs nesting in a number of sub-colonies (3 subcolonies had ≥10,000 pairs).
This park is located on a man-made peninsula, known as the Leslie Street Spit, which
extends five km into Lake Ontario and is over 500 hectares in size. Presqu’ile Provincial
Park had 57,699 pairs in two colonies, one on Gull Island (38,981 pairs) and one on
High Bluff Island (18,718 pairs). Fighting Island, located in the Detroit River, is the
largest single colony in Ontario, with 45,510 pairs. Port Colborne, situated on Lake
Erie, had 37,637 pairs nesting on the mainland and 3733 pairs on the breakwall, for a
total of 41,370 pairs (Table 11). In Hamilton Harbour, at the west end of Lake Ontario,
23,590 pairs nested in a number of sub-colonies in 1999; two of these sub-colonies
individually had ≥10,000 breeding pairs. There were two additional colonies, in
Ontario, with ≥10,000 breeding pairs, one on Lake Ontario and one in Georgian Bay, on
Lake Huron (Table 11). The largest colony on Lake Superior was on Granite Island,
with 4234 pairs (Table 11). Though there were several very large colonies, about half
(73 of 152) of the Ring-billed Gull colonies had fewer than 100 pairs (Figure 35B).
Mean colony size, during the 1999–2000 census was 293 pairs (n=20 colonies) for Lake
Superior, 1035 pairs (n=96 colonies) for Lake Huron, and 7637 pairs (n=36 colonies)
for the Lower Great Lakes (Table 2).
The Ring-billed Gull population on the Great Lakes has increased more than 10-fold
since 1960, when it was estimated at only 27,000 pairs (Ludwig 1974). In the 1960s and
1970s the population continued to increase and expand its breeding range (Blokpoel and
Tessier 1986). From the 1970s to 2000 there have been three complete censuses of gulls
and other waterbirds along the Great Lakes and associated waterways in Ontario, at
approximately 10-year intervals: 1980 (surveys took place from 1976 to 1980), 1990
(1989 and 1990), and 2000 (1999 and 2000) (for further details see Blokpoel and
Tessier 1993, 1996, 1997, and Morris et al. 2003). For the Ring-billed Gull, the overall
population increased sharply in size between the 1980 and 1990 censuses (125%), but
then declined slightly between the 1990 and 2000 counts (13%) (Table 12; Figure 36).
In the first census (1976–80), two-thirds of all Ring-billed Gulls (128,849 pairs) nested
along Lake Huron and associated waterways. This population increased 17% by 1989
but then declined 34% to 99,381 pairs in 2000, which is almost 29,000 fewer pairs than
two decades earlier (Table 12). In the late 1970s, the Lower Great Lakes had half as
many Ring-billed Gulls as Lake Huron, with almost 61,000 pairs. This population over
the next 10 years or so grew very strongly (by 364%) and reached 282,000 pairs
(see Blokpoel and Tessier 1996), or almost twice as many as in the Lake Huron system
(see Blokpoel and Tessier 1997) (Table 12). And this Lower Great Lakes population,
unlike the Lake Huron population, remained stable in the 1990s. The strong growth in
this population between the first and second censuses was a result of an expansion in
distribution, from 20 to 34 colonies, as well as an increase in mean colony size, from
69
3042 pairs to 8825 pairs. In this region the strongest growth in the 1980s occurred on
Lake Ontario, where Ring-billed Gull numbers increased from approximately
41,000 pairs to 172,000 pairs in 1990 (Table 12). Lake Superior is the only waterbody
where Ring-billed Gulls are outnumbered by Herring Gulls. Numbers of breeding
Ring-billed Gull pairs on Lake Superior in each of the censuses accounted for <3% of
the species’ total population. Though small, this population has remained stable since
the late 1970s, with about 4900 pairs in 1978, 5000 pairs in 1989 (see Blokpoel and
Tessier 1993 for details), and 5900 pairs in 1999–2000 (Table 12).
Figure 36
Population trends of the Ring-billed Gull in the Great Lakes system, Ontario
5.3.2 Herring Gull
In the 1999–2000 Great Lakes waterbirds census, there were 38,781 pairs of Herring
Gulls counted nesting at 792 different colonies. Unlike with the Ring-billed Gull, most
Herring Gull colonies are quite small, with 89% (708 of 792) having <100 pairs
(Figure 35B). Of all the colonies or sites where this species nested in 1999–2000, only
four supported 1000 or more pairs: Chantry Island (the largest colony) on Lake Huron,
Nottawasaga Island and Barrier Island on Georgian Bay, and Middle Island on
Lake Erie (Table 11). Mean colony size from the 1999–2000 census was 37 pairs for
Lake Superior (n=318 colonies), 54 pairs for Lake Huron (n=413 colonies), and 75 pairs
for the Lower Great Lakes system (n=61 colonies) (Table 3). From the first to the
second census, the Herring Gull population on the Great Lakes in Ontario changed very
little, staying at about 42,000 pairs (Table 12; Figure 37). Between the second and third
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
250000
300000
350000
400000
450000
500000
Number of Pairs (dashed line)
Number of Pairs (solid lines)
Year
Ring-billed Gull
Great Lakes TOTAL
Lower Great Lakes
Lake Huron
Lake Superior
70
Table 12
Estimated number of Ring-billed Gull and Herring Gull pairs on Ontario’s Great Lakes and
associated waterways from three census periods (C1: 1976–80; C2: 1989–90; C3: 1999–00) and the
percent change between censuses. (Species and waterbody totals in bold; n=number of colonies;
census year(s) in parentheses)
Census
% change
Species —
Waterbody
C1
(1976–80)
C2
(1989–90)
C3
(1999–00)
C1 to C2
C2 to C3
Ring-billed Gull —
Great Lakes Total
203656
n=104
437604
n=140
380163
n=151
125
-13
Lake Superior
4935
4981
5857
1
18
(1978)
(1989)
(1999–00)
Lake Huron
137886
150218
99381
17
-34
(1978)
(1989)
(1999–00)
Georgian Bay
47866
64969
39307
36
-39
Main Body
36375
36843
24957
1
-32
North Channel
53645
48406
35117
-10
-27
Lower Great Lakes
60835
282405
274925
364
-3
(1976–77)
(1990)
(1999)
Detroit River
0
34021
45950
100
35
Lake Erie
14730
48208
43988
227
-9
Lake Ontario
40787
171712
155457
321
-9
Niagara River
400
400
317
0
-21
St. Lawrence River
4918
28064
29213
471
4
Herring Gull —
Great Lakes Total
41779
n=569
42358
n=757
38781
n=791
1
-14
Lake Superior
6409
12181
11895
90
-19
(1978)
(1989)
(1999–00)
Lake Huron
33845
24670
22389
-27
-11
(1980)
(1989)
(1999–00)
Georgian Bay
17036
13747
10670
-19
-22
Main Body
11161
7151
7254
-36
1
North Channel
5648
3772
4465
-33
18
Lower Great Lakes
1525
5507
4497
261
-18
(1976–77)
(1990)
(1999)
Detroit River
48
195
207
306
6
Lake Erie
1085
4203
2884
287
-31
Lake Ontario
309
907
1174
194
29
Niagara River
38
104
88
174
-16
St. Lawrence River
45
98
144
118
47
71
censuses, however, it declined 8% to nearly 39,000 pairs. In each census Lake Huron
and associated waterways, in particular Georgian Bay, had the largest population of
breeding Herring Gulls. While the overall Great Lakes population did not change
substantially between the first and second censuses, the Lake Huron population declined
27%. This decline was offset by strong increases on Lake Superior (+90%) and the
Lower Great Lakes system (+261%) (Table 12). The decline on Lake Huron continued
through the 1990s, with their being 9% fewer pairs in 1999–2000 than in a decade
earlier. A decline also occurred on Lake Superior (-2%) and the Lower Great Lakes
system (-18%) (Table 12).
Figure 37
Population trends of the Herring Gull in the Great Lakes system, Ontario
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
50000
Number of Pairs
Year
Herring Gull
Great Lakes TOTAL
Lower Great Lakes
Lake Huron
Lake Superior
72
6 Discussion and Summary
The history of the Ring-billed Gull in eastern Canada is one of perseverance. In the
1800s this gull nested across much of North America in a belt from the prairies to the
Atlantic seaboard, but human settlement, egging, and plumage exploitation took its toll
and by the end of the century there were but two small disjunct populations remaining,
one on the prairies in western Canada and United States, and the second was comprised
of small isolated colonies in Labrador, Québec (James Bay, North Shore of the Gulf of
St. Lawrence), and possibly Ontario (Georgian Bay) (Blokpoel and Tessier 1986, Ryder
1993). This species benefited greatly from the protective measures of the Migratory
Birds Convention signed in 1916 by Canada and the United States. In the second
quarter of the 20th century the Ring-billed Gull had re-established itself firmly on the
Great Lakes and grew strongly there over the next 50 years: 3000 pairs in 1930,
35,000 pairs in 1945, 325,000 pairs in 1967, and 648,000 pairs in 1984 (all estimates for
Canada and United States portions combined) (Ludwig 1974, Blokpoel and Tessier
1986). By the 1950s this growing population began expanding eastward, with first
nesting records as follows: Québec – Montreal, 1953, Gaspé Peninsula, 1989
(Brousseau 1996a); New Brunswick, 1965; Prince Edward Island, 1974 (Lock 1988).
As on the Great Lakes, populations in eastern Canada grew strongly through the 1970s
and 1980s. The large populations of the Great Lakes in Ontario and St. Lawrence River
in Québec, however, appeared to have peaked by the end of this decade (1980s); in the
1990s the Canadian Great Lakes population and Québec’s St. Lawrence River
population declined 13% and 18%, respectively. In the 2000s, censuses have shown that
the St. Lawrence River population in Québec has remained stable, while the smaller
populations of the Gaspé Peninsula, Gulf North Shore (Mingan Archipelago NPR),
Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland have all continued to grow
strongly. The species’ adaptability with respect to nesting sites and food sources (e.g.,
grain, mice, eggs, insects as well as scavenging in garbage dumps) is undoubtedly an
important factor behind its strong population growth. Nevertheless, Blokpoel and
Tessier (1986) observed that by the early 1980s natural nesting habitat was getting
scarce on the Lower Great Lakes, and they concluded that because of its adaptability,
food would not likely ever be a limiting factor to population growth, nor would
diseases, pollution, and predation over the long-term. Conflicts with man, however,
have led to artificial control of certain populations, in particular the very large
73
populations along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. These programs have arisen
in response to agricultural crop damage as well as nuisance (garbage dumps) or hazard
problems in municipal and industrial areas (in particular health concerns and hazards to
aircrafts) (Blokpoel and Tessier 1986). The latter were the principal reasons behind
implementing a program in the 1990s to eliminate a colony (22,641 pairs in 1992) in an
industrial yard in Québec City (Brousseau 1997). The next census of the Great Lakes
and St. Lawrence River will tell us if these areas have reached their carrying-capacity
for this species, as the 2000 census suggests. In eastern Québec and Atlantic Canada,
however, there is still room for the population to expand, in size and area; for example,
there is still not an active colony in the province of Nova Scotia. The outlook for this
gull, it would seem, appears positive.
After the Ring-billed Gull, the Herring Gull is the second most abundant larid breeding
along shoreline and coastal areas of eastern Canada. Unlike Ring-billed Gulls which
breeds mostly along the Great Lakes in Ontario and the St. Lawrence River in Québec
(i.e., freshwater), this gull is relatively evenly distributed in terms of numbers among
Ontario, Québec, the Maritime provinces, and Newfoundland and Labrador. That said,
about two-thirds of Herring Gulls breed along saltwater and only one-third along
freshwater, reflecting the greater amount (length) of marine coastline available (see also
Erskine 1992, Brousseau 1996b, Weseloh 2007d). Of the 16 subregions covered by this
report (Table 1), over half (53%) of all Herring Gulls breed in just three: insular
Newfoundland (25% of total population), Lake Huron (17%), and the Bay of Fundy in
New Brunswick (11%). In North America, this widely distributed species reached very
low numbers by the end of the 19th century due to egging and feather exploitation, but
rebounded back strongly in the 20th century after protection was afforded to it and other
gulls by the Migratory Bird Convention of 1916 (Pierotti and Good 1994). In eastern
North America, populations increased rapidly between the 1930s and 1960s, and then in
many areas stabilized through the 1970s and 1980s as food supply became a problem in
many areas (closure of municipal dumps, forage fish stocks destroyed due to
over-fishing) (Pierotti and Good 1994). The artificial food source derived from the cod
Gadus morhua fishery (fish offal and discards) also dried up after this fishery collapsed,
which may have contributed to regulate gull populations (Chapdelaine and Rail 1997).
In eastern Canada, the trend was similar across provinces; in the 1970s and 1980s most
Herring Gull populations grew (NL: Witless Bay colony doubled in size; NS: maincoast
increased 58%; PEI: increased >10% per year; QC: Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Gulf
North Shore MBS increased). Only Ontario’s Great Lakes population remained stable in
the 1980s, and Québec’s Gaspé Peninsula population actually declined during this
decade. In the 1990s populations everywhere declined, although in the Migratory Bird
Sanctuaries along Québec’s Gulf North Shore, which are surveyed every 5–6 years,
74
after a very substantial decline (78%) between 1988 and 1993, populations have since
remained stable (Rail and Cotter 2007).
Of the four principal larid species covered by this report, the least abundant is the Great
Black-backed Gull. It is largely restricted to Atlantic Canada (79% of total population),
in particular Newfoundland and the East Coast of Nova Scotia. Although in Atlantic
Canada there are over twice as many nesting Herring Gulls as Great Black-backed
Gulls, the latter is more widespread, that is, in the censuses Great Black-backed Gulls
were recorded nesting at 581 sites while Herring Gulls at only 440 sites. These two
species often nest in the same colony; in Atlantic Canada, 266 sites (or 60% of all
Herring Gull colonies) had both species while in Québec, 128 sites (or 88% of all
Herring Gull colonies) had both species. As observed in other gull species, the North
American population of the Great Black-backed Gull suffered a drastic decline in the
19th century due to exploitation but then recovered in the 20th century as a result of legal
protection and abundant food resources, in particular garbage dumps and fisheries waste
(Good 1998). Since the 1970s in eastern Canada, the trend for most provinces of this
gull is similar to that for the Herring Gull, that is, most populations increased in the
1970s to mid-1980s and then declined or remained stable up to the 2000s. Populations
in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Gaspé Peninsula, and in
the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries of the Gulf North Shore (Québec) all grew strongly in
the first period and then the easternmost three regions (Nova Scotia, Prince Edward
Island, and Îles-de-la-Madeleine) suffered strong declines while the populations in the
other two regions remained stable. Although the population on Îles-de-la-Madeleine fell
by 40% in the 1990s, it changed little in size (+2%) between the 2000 and 2007
censuses (Rail 2009). Census data from Newfoundland’s Witless Bay suggest a trend
similar to that observed elsewhere in Atlantic Canada. In New Brunswick,
encouragingly, in the Bay of Fundy there were nearly three times more Great Black-
backed Gulls nesting in 1998 than in 1979.
Unlike its 3 larger cousins, the Black-legged Kittiwake does not nests on the ground nor
typically as single pairs but only in colonies located on cliffs (Baird 1994). The latter
fact is undoubtedly one of the reasons for its relatively restricted range; it has the fewest
number of colonies of the 4 species and 88% of its population breeds in only 3 regions:
Anticosti Island, Gaspé Peninsula, and Newfoundland. In the Maritimes the Black-
legged Kittiwake is absent from Prince Edward Island while Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick have a combined population of about 750 pairs (<1% of total population). In
Québec, from the 1970s to about 2000, population trends among regions were similar,
that is, increases during the 1970s and 1980s and then declines in the 1990s to levels
near 1970s levels. In the 2000s, however, the population trend was rather stable on Îles-
de-la Madeleine (6% decline between 2000 and 2007) and in the Migratory Bird
75
Sanctuaries along the Gulf North Shore (4% increase between 1999 and 2005). In
Newfoundland, possibly the largest ever colony of the species in Canada, Great Island
in Witless Bay (~23,500 pairs), changed in size by only 2% (an increase) between
censuses in 1968 and 1994. However, a census in 2005 recorded 64% fewer nesting
pairs there than a decade earlier. Another very large colony in this province, Baccalieu
Island, also suffered a sizable decline, between 1983 and 2003 its numbers fell by 50%.
The moderately-sized colony on Gull Island (Witless Bay) declined in size by 25%
between 1969 and 2001, but has since increased slightly (3% in 2006). Interestingly,
while some of the largest colonies have declined small colonies in Newfoundland have
all appeared to have increased in size in the last twenty years. Notably the colonies that
have increased in Newfoundland tend to be mainland cliff-nesting sites where relatively
few other species nest, while the large declines have been noted at major seabird
colonies where 100,000s of auks and other large gulls also nest in relative abundance.
Predation of kittiwakes chicks by large gulls was shown to be an important driver of
reproductive success in Witless Bay, since the decline of the groundfish fishery and the
delayed arrival of capelin inshore (Regehr and Montevecchi 1997, Massaro et al. 2000)
and on the North Shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Rail and Chapdelaine 2004).
In conclusion, using census data up to and including 2007, there are about 790,000
breeding pairs of gulls and kittiwakes in eastern Canada. In broad terms, trends for all
four species are similar: sharp decline in the 19th century due to overharvesting (eggs,
feathers), strong recovery in the first half of the 20th century after the introduction of
legal protective measures, population growth and expansion in the 1970s and 1980s as
new artificial habitats were created and food resources were abundant (human refuse,
forage fish stocks, fish offal and discards), and, with the exception of the Ring-billed
Gull in eastern Québec and Atlantic Canada, declines in the 1990s as food resources
became scarcer (closure or changes to municipal dumps, overfishing of forage fish
stocks, collapse of cod fishery) and in certain areas due to control programs because of
conflicts with man in urban areas or to decrease gull predation on other species, in
particular terns. Encouragingly, recent censuses (in the 2000s) show a stabilization or
even slight increase for many populations: Ring-billed Gull in New Brunswick and
along the St. Lawrence River and Estuary in Québec, Herring Gull along the Gulf of
St. Lawrence in New Brunswick and in the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along Québec’s
Gulf North Shore, Great Black-backed Gull along the Gulf of St. Lawrence in New
Brunswick and on Îles-de-la-Madeleine, and Black-legged Kittiwake in Îles-de-la-
Madeleine, Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along Québec’s Gulf North Shore, and Great
Island (Witless Bay) in Newfoundland. Nevertheless, some populations have continued
to decline and for others census data are lacking. Monitoring of the gull and kittiwake
populations in eastern Canada is necessary to guide management decisions of these
populations.
76
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Appendix
Summary of survey methods and years
PROVINCE
Waterbody
Species1
Region
Reference(s)
Survey type
Survey year(s)
Colony(ies)
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
East Coast
–Labrador
GBBG/BLKI
Gannet Islands
Robertson and Elliot 2002
Nests counted from a boat or from the
ground
1999
Gannet Clusters; Outer Gannet I.
GBBG
Groswater Bay
Robertson et al. 2002
Ground count of all nests; conducted
post-hatch
2002
All colonies
GBBG/HERG
Labrador
Chaulk (data file)
Ground count of nests; conducted
during Common Eider (Somateria
mollissima) study (see Chaulk et al.
2005a, b)
1998–2002
Complete count: Hopedale,
Makkovik, and Nain; Partial count:
St. Peter’s Bay and Northwest River;
Mix of complete and partial counts:
Rigolet
–Newfound-
land
GBBG/HERG
Witless Bay Seabird
Ecological Reserve
Robertson et al. 2001
Ground count of all nests
2000
Gull, Great, and Pee Pee Islands
ALL
Region-wide (NOTE:
excludes 6 colonies of St-
Pierre-et-Miquelon,
France)
Boyne et al. 2011
Aerial survey (Cessna 185); counts
limited to size categories: small
colonies with 1–100 individuals (=25
pairs); medium, 101–500 individuals
(=125 pairs); large, 501–1000
individuals (=375 pairs); very large,
>1000 individuals (=500 pairs)
2000–2002
All colonies of insular
Newfoundland, except Belle Isle and
Seabird Ecological Reserves at
Witless Bay, Cape St. Mary’s, Funk
Island, and Baccalieu Island
ALL
Region-wide
Robertson (data file)
Ground count of all nests
2000–2006
Select colonies. NOTE: Cape St.
Mary’s surveyed in 1979
RBGU
Northern Peninsula
Robertson (data file)
Ground count of all nests
2005
Mutton Island
NOVA SCOTIA
Bay of Fundy
GBBG/HERG
Annapolis, Digby, and
Kings Counties
Boyne and Beukens 2004
Aerial survey (Cessna 172) with
visual estimate of number of
individuals multiplied by correction
factor of 1.31 (obtained from aerial
and ground counts of subset of
colonies) to obtain number of
breeding pairs
2002
All colonies
GBBG/HERG
Colchester and
Cumberland Counties
Chardine, J. (CWS; data
file)
Aerial survey (Cessna) by A.R. Lock
2004
All colonies
85
Appendix
Summary of survey methods and years
PROVINCE
Waterbody
Species1
Region
Reference(s)
Survey type
Survey year(s)
Colony(ies)
Gulf of St.
Lawrence
BLKI
Inverness County
Chardine, J. (CWS; data
file)
Aerial survey (Cessna) by A.R. Lock
2004
Gros Cap (Cheticamp I.)
GBBG/HERG
Antigonish County
Boyne and Beukens 2004
Aerial survey (Cessna 172) with
visual estimate of number of
individuals multiplied by correction
factor of 1.31 (obtained from aerial
and ground counts of subset of
colonies) to obtain number of
breeding pairs
2002
All colonies
GBBG/HERG
Antigonish County
Chardine, J. (CWS; data
file)
Aerial survey (Cessna) by A.R. Lock
2004
Gooseberry I.; Grahams I.
GBBG
Pictou County
Boyne and Beukens 2004
Aerial survey (Cessna 172) with
visual estimate of number of
individuals multiplied by correction
factor of 1.31 (obtained from aerial
and ground counts of subset of
colonies) to obtain number of
breeding pairs
2002
Amet I.
HERG
Pictou County
Chardine, J. (CWS; data
file)
Aerial survey (Cessna) by A.R. Lock
2004
Amet I.
East Coast
BLKI
Cape Breton County
Chardine, J. (CWS; data
file)
Aerial survey (Cessna) by A.R. Lock
2004
Baleine; Flint I.
BLKI
Lunenburg County
Boyne (data file)
—
2003
Pearl I. (Mahone Bay)
GBBG/HERG
Guysborough, Halifax,
Lunenburg, Queens,
Shelburne, and Yarmouth
Counties
Boyne and Beukens 2004
Aerial survey (Cessna 172) with
visual estimate multiplied by
correction factor of 1.31 obtained
from aerial and ground counts of
subset of colonies
2002
All colonies
GBBG/HERG
Guysborough, Halifax,
Lunenburg, Queens,
Richmond, and Victoria
Counties
Chardine, J. (CWS; data
file)
Aerial survey (Cessna) by A.R. Lock
2004
All colonies
GBBG
Halifax
Boyne (data file)
—
2002
Simmons I.
86
Appendix
Summary of survey methods and years
PROVINCE
Waterbody
Species1
Region
Reference(s)
Survey type
Survey year(s)
Colony(ies)
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Gulf of St.
Lawrence
ALL
Region-wide
Boyne and McKnight 2005
Ground count of all nests
2004
All colonies
NEW BRUNSWICK
Bay of Fundy
RBGU
Musquash/
St. George/
St. Stephen
McAlpine et al. 2005
Ground count of all nests
2004
Manawagonish I.
BLKI
Campobello
Kehoe and Diamond 2001
Nests counted from boat; 15–20m
from nesting cliffs
1999
South Wolf I.
BLKI
Campobello
Robertson (data file)
—
2002
Whitehorse I.
GBBG/HERG
Campobello and
Musquash/
St. George/
St. Stephen
Mawhinney et al. 1999
Aerial survey (Cessna 150); corrected
with ratio established from ground
counts: GBBG 1.01:1; HERG 0.904:1
1998
All colonies
GBBG/HERG
Grand Manan
Archipelago
Ronconi and Wong 2003
Ground count; all nests counted on
small islands while transects used on
large islands and count extrapolated
2001
All colonies
GBBG/HERG
Chignecto Bay
Robertson (data file)
—
1998
Grindstone Island
Gulf of St.
Lawrence
RBGU
Region-wide
Boyne et al. 2006
Ground count of all nests
2005
Tern Island; Tracadie
GBBG/HERG/
BLKI
Region-wide
Boyne et al. 2006
Aerial survey (Cessna 172) with
counts of apparently occupied nests
derived from photos
2005
All colonies
QUÉBEC
Gulf of St. Lawrence
–Îles-de-la-
Madeleine
GBBG/HERG
Region-wide
Rail 2009
Aerial survey (B-N Islander) with
counts of occupied nests derived from
photos)
2007
Îlot B, Le Corp Morts, Île Shag (top
surface), boat wreck (Étang-du-Nord)
87
Appendix
Summary of survey methods and years
PROVINCE
Waterbody
Species1
Region
Reference(s)
Survey type
Survey year(s)
Colony(ies)
ALL
Region-wide
Rail 2009
Boat survey (Boston Whaler) at low
speed along coast; visual counts of
occupied nests. For BLKI, areas of
high densities counts derived from
photos
2007
Île du Havre-aux-Maisons, Île du
Cap-aux-Meules, Île aux Goélands,
Cap du Sud, Cap du Sud-Ouest, Cap
Noir, Rochers aux Oiseaux, Île Brion,
Pointe-aux-Loups, Île-d’Entrée, Le
Corps-Mort
GBBG/HERG/
BHGU
Region-wide
Rail 2009; Shaffer, F.
(CWS; BHGU data)
Ground count of all nests. For
colonies with both GBBG and HERG,
ratio of adults applied to nest count
2007
Île du Havre-aux-Maisons, Cap-aux-
Meules marina, Îlots de la lagune de
Havre-aux-Basques, Pointe de l’Est
NWA, Île du Bassin, Îlot C
–Gaspé
Peninsula
RBGU
Baie des Chaleurs
Cotter and Rail 2007
Ground count of all nests
2002
Saint-Omer
RBGU
Baie de Gaspé
Rail (data file; Banque
Informatisée des Oiseaux
Marins du Québec, BIOMQ)
Ground count of all nests
2004
Pointe de Sandy Beach
GBBG/HERG
Region-wide
Cotter and Rail 2007
Ground count or boat survey (Boston
Whaler); all nests. For colonies with
both species, ratio of adults applied to
nest count
2002
All colonies
GBBG/HERG
Baie de Gaspé
Rail (data file; BIOMQ)
Ground count of all nests
2006
Pointe de Sandy Beach
BLKI
Region-wide
Cotter and Rail 2007
Boat survey (Boston Whaler) at low
speed along coast; visual counts of
nests. For Bonaventure I., Cap
d’Espoir, and Forillon Peninsula
counts derived from photos
2002
All colonies
–Anticosti
Island
ALL
Region-wide
Rail (data file; BIOMQ)
Boat survey (Zodiac) at low speed
along coast; visual counts of nests
except for areas of high BLKI
densities, where counts were derived
from photos
2004
All colonies
–North Shore
ALL
CWS Migratory Bird
Sanctuaries (MBS)
Rail and Cotter 2007
Ground survey; counts of nests or
adults. For colonies with HERG and
GBBG, ratio of adults applied to nest
count
2005
All colonies
88
Appendix
Summary of survey methods and years
PROVINCE
Waterbody
Species1
Region
Reference(s)
Survey type
Survey year(s)
Colony(ies)
GBBG/HERG
Mingan Archipelago
National Park Reserve
(Mingan Archipelago
NPR)
Roberge 2004
Ground survey; counts of nests or
adults. For some colonies with HERG
and GBBG, ratio of adults applied to
nest count
1990
Île de la Fausse Passe, Grosse île au
Marteau, Île à Bouleaux de Terre,
Île à Bouleaux du Large, Île à Firmin,
Île à Mouton, Île du Fantôme, Île
Herbée, Île Jaune, Île Niapiskau, Île
Quarry, Île Sainte-Geneviève, La
Grande Île, La Grosse Romaine, La
Petite Romaine, Petite île au Marteau
GBBG/HERG
Mingan Archipelago NPR
Roberge 2004
Ground survey; count of nests; ratio of
adults applied to nest count
1996
Île Nue de Mngan
GBBG/HERG
Mingan Archipelago NPR
Roberge 2004
Ground survey; count of nests
1998
Caye à Foin, Cayes à Cochon, Cayes
à Meck, Île à Calculot, Île à la
Chasse, Île aux Goélands (Mingan),
Île aux Oiseaux, Île aux Perroquets,
Île de la Maison, Île de la Pointe aux
Morts, Île du Wreck, Île Pogomo,
Îlots du Petit Passage, Le Pain de
Sucre, L'Îlot, Petite île Sainte-
Geneviève
BLKI
Mingan Archipelago NPR
Roberge 2004
Ground survey; count of nests
1996
Cap Ferré, Grosse île au Marteau, Île
à Bouleaux du Large, Île à Firmin, Île
aux Perroquets, Île du Fantôme, Île
Nue de Mingan, Le Pain de Sucre,
L'Îlot, Petite île Sainte-Geneviève
RBGU
Mingan Archipelago NPR
Roberge 2004
Ground survey; count of nests
1996
Île Nue de Mngan
1998
Île à Calculot, Île à la Chasse, Île de
la Maison
1999
Cayes à Meck, Île du Wreck, Îlots du
Petit Passage
89
Appendix
Summary of survey methods and years
PROVINCE
Waterbody
Species1
Region
Reference(s)
Survey type
Survey year(s)
Colony(ies)
GBBG/HERG
Region-wide (outside of
MBS and Mingan
Archipelago NPR)
Rail (data file; BIOMQ)
Ground survey; count of nests
1991
Rivière de la Trinité
1995
Cayes Joncas, Cayes Rouges, Île à la
Croix (Baie-Trinité), Île Cairntorr, Île
du Brisant South, Île du Grand
Caouis, Île du Petit Caoui, Île
Matchiatic Sud, île Upuamitukaiahtet,
Îles de Ouapitagone du Large, Îles du
Détroit, Îles Galibois, Îles Puzzle,
Îlets Galibois, Îlot du Havre Jones,
Îlot Matchiatic Ouest, Îlots
d'Audubon, Îlots de la baie des
Loups, Les Jumeaux, Pointe Emery,
Récifs aux Cormorans, Whale Islands
1999
Île aux Oeufs
2005
Cayes de l'Est, Île Manowin, Îles aux
Oeufs (Cap Whittle), Îlets Dequen,
La Grande Basque, La Grosse Boule,
La Petite Basque, La Petite Boule
BLKI
Region-wide
Rail (data file; BIOMQ)
Ground survey; count of nests
2005
Île de Ouapitagone du Large Ouest,
La Petite Boule
RBGU
Region-wide
Rail (data file; BIOMQ)
Ground survey; count of nests
1995
Baie des Loups, Île Matchiatic Sud,
île Upuamitukaiahtet, Îles du Havre
de Ouapitagone, Îles Puzzle
1996
Île du Brisant South
1997
Îlet Sealnet, Île des Récifs Noirs
St. Lawrence River and Estuary
RBGU
Region-wide
Brousseau (data file;
BIOMQ)
Aerial survey with counts of
apparently occupied nests derived
from photos
2006
Île Deslauriers
RBGU
Region-wide
Brousseau (data file;
BIOMQ)
Ground survey; count of nests
2006
All colonies
2007
Terrain du Versant-Nord, Îles Mud
Pie, Île du Moulin
90
Appendix
Summary of survey methods and years
PROVINCE
Waterbody
Species1
Region
Reference(s)
Survey type
Survey year(s)
Colony(ies)
GBBG/HERG
Region-wide
Rail (data file; BIOMQ)
Ground survey; count of nests
1990
Île à l'Oignon, Île aux Basques, Île
aux Lièvres, Île Saint-Barnabé, Îles
Bare, Îlets D'Amours, Îlots sud de
Bicquette, Le Pilier de Bois, Récif de
l'Ouest
1995
Banc de Portneuf, Îlot de
Bergeronnes
2001
Île aux Fraises, Île aux Pommes, Île
Blanche, Île Rasade Nord-Est (en-
Bas), Île Rasade Sud-Ouest (en-
Haut), Îlet aux Alouettes
2003
Baie des Anglais, Baie des écluses de
Sainte-Catherine, Île Deslauriers
2004
Les récifs de Ragueneau
2005
Caye des Oiseaux
2006
ALL (other active colonies)
2007
Île Bicquette, Îlot nord du pont
Champlain
BLKI
Region-wide
Rail (data file; BIOMQ)
Ground survey; count of nests
1990
Îlots sud de Bicquette
2001
Île aux Pommes
2004
Anse du Moulin
2006
La Grande Caye, Ruisseau-à-Sem,
Grande Caye à Brisson, Petite Caye à
Brisson
2007
Île Bicquette
BLKI
Region-wide
Rail (data file; BIOMQ)
Boat survey (Boston Whaler) at low
speed along coast
2006
Île Laval, Le Gros Pèlerin, Le Petit
Pèlerin, Le Petit Pot
ONTARIO
Great Lakes
system
RBGU/GBBG
Region-wide
Weseloh (data file)
Ground survey; count of nests
1999–2000
All colonies
HERG
Region-wide
Morris et al. 2003
Ground survey; count of nests
1999–2000
All colonies
1 RBGU: Ring-billed Gull; HERG: Herring Gull; GBBG: Great Black-backed Gull; BLKI: Black-legged Kittiwake; ALL: all four principal larid species; BHGU: Black-headed Gull
91
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