Over the past three summers, Bird Conservation staff have been participating in seabird surveys within the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. This 842-square mile ocean sanctuary is a protected area lying approximately twenty miles off the coast of Massachusetts between Cape Ann and Cape Cod. This incredibly rich region hosts over 575 species of fish, sea turtles, marine mammals, and birds.
Humpback Whale, Stellwagen Sanctuary by Shannon Currie.
The sanctuary is an important feeding ground for no fewer than 53 species of summering, wintering, and migratory seabirds and has been designated by Mass Audubon as an Important Bird Area (IBA).
In order to better understand the role and importance of seabirds in the Stellwagen ecosystem, Mass Audubon is partnering with the sanctuary’s S4 Program (Stellwagen Sanctuary Seabird Stewards) to systematically collect seasonal, temporal, and distributional seabird data.
The S4 program engages citizen scientists to collect baseline seabird data that will be used to compare the status and relative abundance of seabirds in the region over time. These data will help better understand any population changes that may occur within the sanctuary and the possible significance of such changes to the marine ecosystem as a whole.
This summer has proven to be an exceptional season for seabirds within the Stellwagen Sanctuary. Most notably Cory’s, Great, and Manx shearwaters have been present in increased numbers, along with lesser numbers of Sooty Shearwaters and Wilson’s Storm-Petrels. Fin and Humback whales were also more numerous than in recent years were. All of these species have been responding to a huge spike in the population of a little pencil-sized baitfish called sand lance. Both seabirds and whales feed very heavily on these fish while they are in Stellwagen waters, so when there is a population explosion in the sand lance population like this summer, the numbers of seabirds and whales increase substantially. Many of the seabirds will start their seasonal migration soon so be sure to try and get out to see them over the next several weeks.
Great Shearwaters, Stellwagen Sanctuary.
Humpback Whale, Stellwagen Sanctuary by Rosemary Mosco.