2016 Road Trip: Cape Saint Mary’s
See Seabirds on the Seastack!
The day dawned to fog but was clearing at breakfast. We headed out … up and around the bit of Avalon we were on and down another peninsula leg to Cape Saint Mary’s Ecological (Bird) Reserve. The road there was very sparsely populated but had sections of gorgeous housing with a scattering of lesser dwellings. (The size and construction of homes here in Newfoundland has been a surprise on the “rich” front!).
Along the way we encountered our first moose crossing hazard… a Moose was on the side of the road down a hill from us, contemplating crossing, as we slowed to get a better view. The moose choose to exit the way it came.
Under a beautiful sunny sky we made the turn off on to what looks like a single lane road to get to the reserve. For the 13 kms there we encountered no one, but on the return we meet one car and it did prove there was enough room for both of us.
Very friendly and knowledgeable staff greeted us at the interpretive centre and off we went on the 1.4 km walk along the cliff tops out to the viewpoint overlooking the seastacks with the colonies of birds. Guide Chris met us and talked with a lovely Newfoundland accent about the huge colonies of Gannets, Common Murres and Black-Legged Kittiwakes, as well as the smaller one of Thick Billed Murres, Razorbills, and Black Guillemots. We only saw the Gannets, both Murres and a Razorbill.
Along the top of the cliffs several families of sheep were doing there bit to mow the vegetation (and to provide bits for us to slip on).
We followed this fantastic stop with a longish drive to just north of Clarenville on the south side of Boavista Peninsula for our overnight stop.
