Gulf of Maine Seabird Working Group 25th Annual Summer Meeting Hog Island, Bremen, Maine August 12, 2009 Table of Contents Seabird Islands – Gulf of Maine (map) ..........................................................................................................................i Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................1 Summer 2010.................................................................................................................................................................1 Gulf of Maine Seabird Summary...................................................................................................................................1 Island and Site Reports..................................................................................................................................................2 Massachusetts .............................................................................................................................................................2 Massachusetts Summary .......................................................................................................................................2 Monomoy Islands..................................................................................................................................................3 New Hampshire ..........................................................................................................................................................6 White and Seavey Islands .....................................................................................................................................6 Maine..........................................................................................................................................................................9 2009 Maine State Synopsis of Nesting Least Terns..............................................................................................9 Stratton Island .....................................................................................................................................................13 Western Casco Bay .............................................................................................................................................16 Outer Green Island..............................................................................................................................................16 Jenny Island ........................................................................................................................................................18 Hen Island (Unmanaged) ....................................................................................................................................20 Pond Island..........................................................................................................................................................20 Muscle Ridge to Mouth of Kennebec River........................................................................................................21 Eastern Egg Rock................................................................................................................................................22 Metinic Island .....................................................................................................................................................24 Outreach and Boat Tours ....................................................................................................................................26 Penobscot Bay.....................................................................................................................................................26 2009 Colonial Wading Bird Surveys ..................................................................................................................26 Matinicus Rock ...................................................................................................................................................27 Seal Island...........................................................................................................................................................29 Notes on Some Seabirds .....................................................................................................................................31 Petit Manan Island ..............................................................................................................................................33 Eastern Brothers Island .......................................................................................................................................35 Canada ......................................................................................................................................................................35 Machias Seal Island ............................................................................................................................................35 North Brothers Island..........................................................................................................................................36 Afternoon Session/Research Abstracts........................................................................................................................37 Wind power ..............................................................................................................................................................37 Seabird food web dynamics in the Bay of Fundy .....................................................................................................37 Cormorants ...............................................................................................................................................................37 Managing vegetation to restore tern nesting habitat in the Gulf of Maine................................................................38 Foraging & reproductive ecology of Razorbills (Alca torda) on Matinicus Rock, Maine........................................39 Spatial distribution and key habitat characteristics of the seabirds in the Gulf of Maine .........................................40 Life history variation in common terns: foraging inputs and thermal expenditures .................................................40 Monitoring seabird behavior on a coastal Maine island: An update.........................................................................41 Trapping and TDRs: Techniques from Petit Manan Island ......................................................................................41 2009 Update for the 2008 Maine coast gull and cormorant census ..........................................................................41 Appendix A. 2009 GOMSWG Attendees....................................................................................................................43 Compiled by Bob Houston and Mao Teng Lin USFWS Gulf of Maine Coastal Program Falmouth, ME Seabird Nesting Islands New Brunswick Quebec Gulf of Maine ! ! Maine ! ! ! ! !! ! !!! Vermont ! Nova Scotia ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! !! ! ! !! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! !! ! !!! ! ! ! !! ! !!!!!!!! !!!! !!!! ! !! !! !! !! !! ! ! ! !! !!!! ! ! !! !! ! ! !! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !!! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! !!! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! New Hampshire ! ! ! !!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! !!! ! !! ! !!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! !! ! !! !! ! ! ! ! ! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! !! !! ! G u l f o f M a i n e ! ! ! Massachusetts ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 0 25 50 100 ! ! !! ! ! Miles ! ! ! ! ! ! Rhode !! 025 50 100 ! Island ! ! ! Kilometers ! ! ! Connecticut ! !! ! ! ! ± Island data from Gulf of Maine ! Seabird Working Group. ! ! ! ! ! BHouston 07 Jan 2010 Map #392 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Introduction Introduction This report highlights the 2009 seabird nesting season in the Gulf of Maine, as reported by seabird biologists at the Gulf of Maine Seabird Working Group (GOMSWG) summer meeting hosted by Maine Audubon on Hog Island. The information in this report is generally organized by island, from outer Cape Cod, Massachusetts northward to Nova Scotia. Seabird biologists reported on productivity monitoring, feeding studies, and predator activity from the colonies that they managed. Abstracts and progress reports from research projects within the Gulf of Maine and surrounding areas are also included (Afternoon Session/Research Abstracts). Steve Kress of National Audubon Society welcomed everyone to the 2009 meeting and announced that this was the 25th anniversary of GOMSWG! Summer 2010 The 2010 GOMSWG meeting will be held on Thursday, August 12 on Hog Island. The compiler for next summer’s meeting minutes will be the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, with Brad Allen being the contact. Previous compilers were: 2001-Atlantic Cooperative Wildlife Ecology Research Network; 2002- ME Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife; 2003-USFWS Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge; 2004-National Audubon Society--SRP; 2005-Biodiversity Research Institute; 2006-Shoals Marine Laboratory; 2007-Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge; 2008-Mass Audubon Coastal Waterbird Program; 2009-USFWS Gulf of Maine Coastal Program. Gulf of Maine Seabird Summary Final 2008 tern numbers became available in late 2009