Cormorants, Dovekies and Leach's Storm Petrel

Double Crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) (Shag) length: 77.5 cm wing-span: 128.5 cm bill: 5.8 cm
A cormorant on the wing looks like a large duck with too long a neck. Coal black with a long snake-like neck, it perches in an upright position in low trees or rocks close to shore in isolated areas. The double-crested cormorant does not dive from the wing to feed on fish, it prefers instead to dive from a swimming position. You may see them at Sandy Point in St. George's on the West Coast and Cappahayden on the southern Avalon. It breeds here on the island building large nests inland on ponds or close to shore on cliffs and in trees.


Dovekie (Alle alle) (Bullbird) length: 20 cm wing-span: 32 cm bill: 1.3 cm
The dovekie is our smallest seabird. Its scientific name is Alle alle and if you listen closely you can hear the dovekie low shrill call of ale-ale-ale. It is easily approached as it swims along picking plankton from the water. The dovekie looks like a miniature murre with a similar colour pattern. It nests in Greenland and estimates of 25 million overwinter in our waters. During severe winter storms some are occasionally blown onto the roads in low-lying areas such as Spaniard's Bay. Look for them on the ferry runs to Newfoundland and especially around L'Anse aux Meadows.


Leach's storm petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) (Mother Cary's) length: 20.5 cm wing-span: 46.5 cm bill: 1.6 cm
Baccalieu Island, on the northeastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula, is home to about 3.5 million pairs of Leach's storm petrels. This may be the world's largest colony. Small and delicate looking, the storm petrel is dark brown with a white patch on the rump and a forked tail. Like puffins, they make their nests by burrowing into grassy turf. Leach's storm petrels look as light as cork on the water as they dance erratically about, picking here and there and just touching their feet on the water.

More Newfoundland & Labrador Flyers

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