Baccalieu Island
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Baccalieu Island Conception Bay near the community of Bay de Verde, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is separated from the island of Newfoundland by Baccalieu Tickle, a small strait and an abundant fishing ground.
is a small uninhabited island at the northern extremities ofThe name 'Baccalieu' is derived either from the Spanish bacalao or the Basque baccalos, both terms meaning "codfish".
There were two lighthouses located on Baccalieu Island of which today only one is operational, the Southern End lighthouse station. The lighthouse on the northern end is not now operational and was extinguished in the early 1990's. This lighthouse was replaced as an aid to navigation by an automated light on a skeletal tower. It was originally a brick tower and was later encased in iron.
- Tower Height: 36
- Height of Focal Plane: 443
- Description of Tower: Red, conical cast iron tower.
- Date Established: 1859
- Date Present Tower Built: 1859
- Date Deactivated: 1990s
- Current Use: Unknown
- Open To Public? No.
Keepers: Four generations of Ryans kept the light at Baccalieu from 1858 to 1950. Other keepers at Baccalieu included Alphonsus and Vincent Keough, Joseph Hatch, Felix Noonan, Eric Blundon and John Hyde.
[edit] Baccalieu Island Ecological Reserve
Baccalieu Island is the largest seabird island in Newfoundland and supports the greatest diversity of breeding seabirds in Eastern North America. The island supports the largest known colony of Leach's Storm-Petrel in the world, approximately 40% of the global population and about 70% of the western Atlantic population of this species. It is a nesting area for 11 breeding species:
- Atlantic Puffin (45,000 pairs - approximately 12% of the eastern North America population);
- Black-legged Kittiwake (13,000 - approximately 5 to 7% of the western Atlantic breeding population); and
- Northern Gannet (677 pairs - approximately 1.5% of the North American population).
- Northern Fulmar
- Black Guillemot
- Common Murre
- Thick-billed Murre
- Razorbill
- Herring Gull
- Great Black-backed Gull
- The island also includes one of the largest winter populations of Eider in Newfoundland.