Baccalieu Island
Encyclopedia
Baccalieu Island is a 5 km² uninhabited island at the northern extremities of Conception Bay
near the community of Red Head Cove
, Canada
. It is separated from the island of Newfoundland by Baccalieu Tickle, a small strait
and an abundant fishing ground.
The name 'Baccalieu' is derived either from the Portuguese
bacalhau
, Spanish
bacalao
or the Basque
baccalos, all meaning "codfish". It was known to Europeans since at least 1556, when it was drawn on the Gastaldi
map as "Bacalaos"..
Four generations of the Ryan family kept the light at Baccalieu from 1858 to 1950. Other keepers at Baccalieu included Felix Noonan, Eric Blundon, John Hyde, Linus Walsh, Joseph Hatch, Pat Rice and principal lightkeeper Raymond Hyde.
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:
The island has a surface of 5 km², and the reserve spans 23 km², including all of the island and one kilometer of ocean around the coast.
Conception Bay
Conception Bay is a Canadian bay located on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland. The bay indents the Avalon Peninsula with the opening of the bay to the Atlantic Ocean at the northeast. It is bounded by Cape St. Francis in the south and Split Point near Bay de Verde in the north...
near the community of Red Head Cove
Red Head Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador
Red Head Cove is a fishing village in Newfoundland and Labrador located near the tip of the Bay de Verde Peninsula separating Trinity Bay and Conception Bay, in a steep valley north of Bay de Verde. Red Head Cove is a fishing community. The cove provides very little shelter or level ground for...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is separated from the island of Newfoundland by Baccalieu Tickle, a small strait
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
and an abundant fishing ground.
The name 'Baccalieu' is derived either from the Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
bacalhau
Bacalhau
Bacalhau is the Portuguese word for codfish and—in a culinary context—dried and salted codfish. Fresh cod is referred to as bacalhau fresco .-Use:...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
bacalao
Bacalao
Bacallao was a phantom island depicted on several early 16th century maps and nautical charts. The name first appears on a chart in 1508, but there are earlier accounts of Bacalao...
or the Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
baccalos, all meaning "codfish". It was known to Europeans since at least 1556, when it was drawn on the Gastaldi
Giacomo Gastaldi
Giacomo Gastaldi was an Italian cartographer of the 16th century. Gastaldi began his career as an engineer, serving the Venetian Republic in that capacity until the fourth decade of the sixteenth century...
map as "Bacalaos"..
Lighthouses
There were two lighthouses located on Baccalieu Island of which today both are automated. The lighthouse on the northern end is not operational any more and was extinguished in the early 1990s. 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. The old tower's data:- Tower Height: 36 feet (11 m)
- Height of Focal Plane: 443 feet (135 m)
- Description of Tower: Red, conical cast iron tower.
- Date Established: 1859
- Date Present Tower Built: 1858
- Date Deactivated: 1990s
- Current Use: Unknown
- Open To Public? No.
Four generations of the Ryan family kept the light at Baccalieu from 1858 to 1950. Other keepers at Baccalieu included Felix Noonan, Eric Blundon, John Hyde, Linus Walsh, Joseph Hatch, Pat Rice and principal lightkeeper Raymond Hyde.
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
Leach's Storm-petrel
The Leach's Storm Petrel or Leach's Petrel is a small seabird of the tubenose family. It is named after the British zoologist William Elford Leach....
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 PuffinAtlantic PuffinThe Atlantic Puffin is a seabird species in the auk family. It is a pelagic bird that feeds primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans. Its most obvious characteristic during the breeding season is its brightly coloured bill...
(45,000 pairs - approximately 12% of the eastern North America population) - Black-legged KittiwakeBlack-legged KittiwakeThe Black-legged Kittiwake is a seabird species in the gull family Laridae.This species was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Larus tridactylus....
(13,000 - approximately 5 to 7% of the western Atlantic breeding population); and - Northern GannetNorthern GannetThe Northern Gannet is a seabird and is the largest member of the gannet family, Sulidae.- Description :Young birds are dark brown in their first year, and gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years.Adults are long, weigh and have a wingspan...
(677 pairs - approximately 1.5% of the North American population). - Northern FulmarNorthern FulmarThe Northern Fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis, Fulmar, or Arctic Fulmar is a highly abundant sea bird found primarily in subarctic regions of the north Atlantic and north Pacific oceans. Fulmars come in one of two color morphs: a light one which is almost entirely white, and a dark one which is...
- Black GuillemotBlack GuillemotThe Black Guillemot or Tystie is a medium-sized alcid.Adult birds have black bodies with a white wing patch, a thin dark bill, and red legs and feet. They show white wing linings in flight. In winter, the upperparts are pale grey and the underparts are white. The wings remain black with the large...
- Common Murre
- Thick-billed Murre
- RazorbillRazorbillThe Razorbill is colonial seabird that will only come to land in order to breed. It is the largest living member of the Auk family. This agile bird will choose only one partner for life and females will lay one egg per year. Razorbills will nest along coastal cliffs in enclosed or slightly exposed...
- Herring GullAmerican Herring GullThe American Herring Gull or Smithsonian Gull is a large gull which breeds in North America. It is often treated as a subspecies of the European Herring Gull but is now regarded as a separate species by some authorities.Adults are white with gray back and wings, black wingtips with white spots,...
- Great Black-backed GullGreat Black-backed GullThe Great Black-backed Gull is the largest gull in the world, which breeds on the European and North American coasts and islands of the North Atlantic...
- The island also includes one of the largest winter populations of EiderEiderEiders are large seaducks in the genus Somateria. Steller's Eider, despite its name, is in a different genus.The three extant species all breed in the cooler latitudes of the Northern hemisphere....
in Newfoundland.
The island has a surface of 5 km², and the reserve spans 23 km², including all of the island and one kilometer of ocean around the coast.