The Bird Rocks of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1887

THE AUK

:

A Q_UARTERLY JOURNAL OF

ORNITHOLOGY.

VOL.

V.

April, 1888.

No. 2.

THE BIRD ROCKS OF THE GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE

IN

1SS7.

BY FREDERIC

A, LUCAS.

Three

hundred andthirty-twoyearsago Jacques^Cartier,voy- aguigintheGulfofSt.Lawrence, wroteas follows:

"We came

tothree islands,

two

of

which

are as steep

and

upright as any wall,so that it

was

not possible to climb them, and between

them

thereisalittlerock.

These

islands

were

as fullof birds asany

meadow

isof grass,

which

theredo

make

their nests,and inthe greatest of

them

there

was

a great andinfinite

number

of those thatw^e callMargaulx,that arewhiteand bigger than any geese,

which were

sevei-ed inonepart. In the other

were

only Godetz,but toward the shore there

were

of those Godetz and greatApponatz,like to those ofthat island that

we

above have mentioned;

we went down

tothelowest part of theleast island,

where we

killedaboveathousand of those Godetz and

Appon-

atz.

We

putintoourboats so

many

of

them

as

we

pleased,for in lessthanonehour

we

might have filled thirty such boats of them.

We named them

the Islands ofMargaulx."

While

thisdescription, as well as the sentences

which

immedi- ately precede it, contains

some

statements that apparently areat variancewithexistingfacts,thereisnevertheless

good

reasonto believethatCartierhererefers totheBird

Rocks

in the Gulfof

I"20 Lucason theBirdRocks of^theGulfof^St.La-ivrencc. ^[April

St.

Lawrence.* The

birds called Margaulx,

"which

biteeven as dogs,"

were

Gannets

whose

descendants,in spiteof centuries of persecution, aretobe foundto-day, nesting

where

their ances- torsdid beforethem.

That

Cartier's description of the islandsdoes notaccordwith their presentappearanceisnottobe

wondered

at.

The

material of

which

they are

composed

isasoft,decomposing,red sand- stone that

succumbs

soeasily totheincessant attacks of the sea thatDr.Bryant's description of

them

iniS6o does not hold

good

to-day. If, then,theBird

Rocks

have undergonevisiblechanges in twenty-five years,itiseasy to imagine

how

greatalterations the islets

may

have undergone during three andaquarter cen- turies.

Dr. Bryantin1861wrote asfollows:

"These

[theBird

Rocks]

are

two

innumber,calledthe Great Bird or

Gannet Rock,

and theLittleor

North

Bird; theyareaboutthree-quarters of a mile apart,thewater between

them

very shoal,

showing

that, at no very distant epoch, they

formed

a single island....

The North

Bird is

much

the smallestandthoughthebaseis

more

accessible, the

summit

cannot,Ibelieve,bereached,at least,I

was

unable todoso; itisthemostirregular in itsoutline, presenting

many enormous

detached fragments,and is divided inoneplaceinto

two

separate islands at high water; the northerly one several timeshigher thanbroad, so as to present the appearance of a

huge

rockypillar.

"Gannet Rock

is a quarter ofamile initslongest diameter fromS.

W.

to

N.

E.

The

highest point of the rock is atthe northerlyend where, accordingtothe chart,it is 140feethigh,

and

from

which

itgraduallyslopes to the southerly end,

where

itisfrom 80to100.

"The

sides are nearlyvertical,the

summit

in

many

places over- hanging.

There

are

two

beaches at its base on the south- erly and westerly sides, the most westerly one comparatively

smooth

and

composed

ofrounded stones.

The

easterlyone,on the contrary, is very rough and covered

by

irregular blocks,

many

of largesizeandstillangular,

showing

thatthey have but recentlyfallenfromthecliffsabove. This beachisverydifficult

*Iamindebtedtothecourtesy ofCommanderJ.R.Bartlett,Chief of the Hydro- graphicOffice,andtoMr.G.W.Littlehales,of theDivision ofChartConstruction,for very kindly supplyingmewithdatatoaidinsolvingthisproblem.

iSSS.l Lucason theBirdRocks of^the Gulfof^St. Lazvrcncc. I^'2 1

toland on, but the other presents no great difficulty inordinary weather; thetop of therock cannot,however, be reached from either ofthem.

The

only spotfrom

which

atpresent the ascent can be made,isthei-ockypointbetweenthe

two

beaches ;...."

The

Great

Rock

hasapparently altered but little during the past twenty-five year's, but such changes as have takenplace have tended to improve the character of the southerly beach,

which

hasbeenselectedbythe keeper of the lighthouse erected here,forthecustomarylanding-place.

Two

longladders, bolted totherock,

now

lead to the summit,to which,

by means

of a

winch

andafall, the lightkeeperraises hislittleboat.

The

westerly beach,is,however,the most accessible,and it is here thatthe heavy lighthouse supplies are landed,a large hoisting apparatus having been placed at the top of the over- hangingcliff.

IftheGreat

Rock

isbut little changed, its lesser relative has suffered greatlyfromtheravagesof time,and seaandfrost, rain and ice,have

wrought

sad havoc with it. It cannot becalled aneasy spottoland on in any but the smoothest of seas,but oncealanding has been effected it is

now

an easy matter to climbtothe

summit

of either of the

two

portions into

which

it is divided.

The wide

cleft

which

forms the division seems tobeof

com-

paratively recentorigin,anditisonlyaquestion of time

when

thereshallbe

two

isletsinsteadof one.

The

rockypillaroffthe northeasternendstillstands, butisseparatedfrom^thelittlerock evenat

low

tide,althoughifone does not

mind

coldwaterand slippery rocks,it is then easy to

wade

across the connecting ledge.

It isquite possible, oreven probable, that the shoal running fromLittletoward Great Bird

Rock marks

the ^siteof the third islandandlittlerockmentionedbyCartier.

Or

againCartier

may

have been at the islands only during floodtide, in

which

case thePillar

would

represent the thirdisland,thenundoubtedlyof

much

greater extent.

The

birds donot

seem

to be divided intocoloniesaccording tospecies, Gannets

and Murres

being found inclose juxtaposi- tion,and althoughtheGannetsprefer theupperledges,yettheir distribution is toa great extent regulated

by

thewidth of the rockyshelves, the

Murres

taking possession

where

there isnot

132

^{L.VCASon theBird}Rocks of^tkeGulfofSt. La-cvreiice. [April

sufficient

room

to

accommodate

their largercompanions.

There

is,however,a tendency of birds ofa feather to flock together in little groupsof adozen or two, and at a distance thecHfts appear

seamed

withwhite,

owing

tothelinesofperching

Gan-

nets.

The

top of therockis

now

entirely desertedbyallbirdsexcept the little Leach's Petrels,

who burrow

in security

among

the fragmentsof stone that everywhere

show

through theshallow

soil. Likealltheirkindthese little birds stayat

home

all day inorderto indulgein the reprehensible practice of stayingout all night. Consequently none

were

visible at the timeofour landing, late in the afternoon, although a

few

minutes digging unearthed, at the extremity ofa single rat-like burrow, four birdsandfiveeggs.

Itisveryevidentfromalittlecomparison that the interesting colonyattheBird

Rocks

has

become

sadly diminishedin

num-

bers.

At

the time of Cartier's visit, every inch of available space

seems

to have been occupied

by

breedingbirds,and even solateas thetimeof

Audubon

thisstillappearstohave beenthe case.

The

Gannets were thenlargelyusedforbait

by

thefisher-

men

of

Byron

Island,and itisrelated

how

aparty of six killed withclubs640birds in less thanan hour. In1S60 Dr.Bryant estimated the

number

ofGannets breedingon top of the Great

Rock

aloneat50,000pairs.,althoughthisisverylikelytoohigh a ^figure. In 1872,

owing

tothe erection of a lighthouse, the colony on top of therock had

become

reduced to5000,andin 1881

Mr.

Brewster found that the Gannets had been entirely driven from the summit, although the Little

Rock was

still thickly populated.

He

places the total

Gannet

populationof the

Rocks

at50,000

which

isstill anextraordinaryand impres- sive

number,

though

much

less than the figures of previous observers.

At

the timeof

Mr.

Brewster'svisit the

Murres were

rapidly decreasing in

number owing

"to the recent introduction ofa

cannon which

is fired every half-hourin foggy weather.

At

eachdischarge the frightened

Murres

^flyfromtherockinclouds, nearlyeverysitting birdtaking its

e^^

intotheair

between

its thighs

and

dropping itafter flyinga fewyards. This

was

re- peatedly observed during ourvisit

and more

thanoncea perfect

shower

ofeggsfellinto thewateraround ourboat.

So

serious-

iSSS.] Lucason theBird_{Rocks of}theGulf of^St.La-vrencc. I•J

^

ly had the

Murres

suffered from this cause that

many

of the ledgeson thesideof theroci-c

where

the

gun was

hredhad been swept ahnostclearof eggs."*

Mr.

Turbid,

who

very kindly afforded usallthe assistanceand information in hispower,told us that the birds

were

gradually

becoming

usedto thecannon and that the destruction from its

use

was now

comparativelysmall.

In 1SS7, only sixyearslater,notasingle

Gannet

bredonthe Little

Rock

although perhaps, a hundred and fifty

may

have foundnesting placeson the Pillar,while accordingto

Mr.

Tur- bid's figures not

more

than 10,000 dwelton ^the ledges of the Great Rock.

The

decrease of the Gannets ismost apparent, butthe smaller birds have doubtless suftered in the

same

pro- portion. Scarceadaypasses

when

^theweatherisatallfavora- ble,without avisit from

some

party offishermen desirous,like those

we met

atthe Little

Rock,

ofobtaininga few

Murres

for their table. In fact, while

we

were on the rock, thi-ee

men

landed on thewesterly beach and opened fire on the

Murres

perched alongtheoverhangingledges, killing

some

and

wound-

ingmore.

Many

barrels of eggsare alsogathered duringthe season, so thataltogether the birds lead a precarious existence. Stillalarge portion of the island is,practically, so inaccessible that unless the feather hunters afflict this interestingspot with theirpres- encethe birds

may

continuetobreedhereindiminished

numbers

for alongtimetocome.

Besidesthatof theBird

Rocks

the onlylargecolonyofGannets intheGulfofSt.

Lawrence

isatBonaventureIsland,where, on theloftyandvertical cliflsof the easternside,these birdsbreed inastateof semi-security. Dr.Bryantinadvertentlylocates this colonyatPerc6Rock,butalthoughthiscuriousandinaccessible island isonlyamile or sodistant,and thebirds breeding on its

summit

are perfectlysafe,not a single

Gannet

is to be found

among

them.

During

thelasttwentyyears theniunberof Gannetsat Bona- venture Island has greatly diminished, and Capt._J.

W.

Collins told

me when we

visited theisland in September,18S7,thathe

was

surprisedtosee

how

the colony

had

fallenoff.

Brewster. Proc. Bost.Soc.iVat.Hist.\'ol.,XXII,p.410.

134

^{^vc\^071theBird}Rocks oftheGulfof^St.La-wrcncc. [April

That

itever

compared

inextentwith theBird

Rock

colonies seems to

me

extremely doubtful, although Dr. Bryant has so stated.

At

Bonaventure

some

of the ledges are accessible toa

good

climber,while

many

others

may

bereached by the aid of ropes, so thatby thecontinuedpillagingoftheirnests the

Gan-

netshavegreatlydecreasedin

number.

A

fewGannetsstilllingerat PerroquetIsland, of the

Mingan

group,inspiteof thefactthatDr.Bryantpredictedtwenty-seven yearsagothatit

would

soon be deserted. In 1881

Mr.

Brewster speaksofhavingseen several

hundred

birds,butin 1887 Capt.

Collinsfound but adozenorfifteensitting

by

their

empty

nests.

The

Indians regularly

make

aclean

sweep

ofthis island,and it

seems

wonderfulthata single

Gannet

shouldstillexisthere.

It

was my

fortuneto visittheBird

Rocks

on the 9th ofJuly in

company

^{with Capt.} J.

W.

Collinsand

Mr. William

Palmer, ourobjectbeingthatof everyone

who

lands there,tokillbirds andgather eggs.

We ^were

^favoredwith an unusually light

wind

and calmsea, and withalittle precaution succeeded in beaching our boat on the shelving ledgeonthesoutherly side of theLittle

Rock,

with no farther accident than that ofshippingabucketful or so of water.

We

found that

we had

been preceded

by

a party of three fishermen,

who

had killeda

few Murres

andRazorbillsinorder to

make

alittlechangeintheirdaily bill offare,stewed

Murre

beingadish

by

no

means

to be despised. Scores of Gannets

were

seatedonthetop of theisletor wheeling anxiously over- head, butacarefulsearch revealed the fact that not an egg or nestling ofthisbird

was

tobefound. Neither did thereappear atfirstsighttobeeither^^'gor

young

of the

Murre

orRazorbill inanyspot accessibleto

man,

althoughbydintof

much

peering underledgesand peeping

among

themassesoffiillenrockafew ofeach

were

brought to light.

Some

of these little nestlings

were

foundincrevices of the rocks scarcely above thelevelof thetide,and had ^itnotbeenfor their faint but continuous peep- ing, theirpresence

would

have beenquite unsuspected.

On

the northern side,under the overhanging clifls,a small

number

of Murres, Razorbills,and Puffins had their nesting placesonthe inaccessible ledges,and ontheperpendicularwalls of thesouthernside afew Kittiwakes

had

literally reared their young.

iSSS.] Lucason theBirdRocks oftheGulfofSt.Laxvretice. I^^C

The

top of the Pillar

was

closelyjDacked with breeding

Gan-

nets, whilehereandthereafew

were

dottedalongitssides.

As

thisisolatedrockis not particularly easy to reach, these birds, togetherwithaconsiderablecolonyofMurres, probably succeeded inraisingtheir young, although their

number was

small

com-

pared with the

number

that might have been raised on the Little

Rock

had^itnotbeensweptcleanbythefishermen.

Three young

Gannets, varying in age from one to three days,

were

secured from the sloping side of thePillar, these, accordingto

Mr.

Turbid, thelightkeeper,beingthefirstof the season,as the Gannet's period of incubation is

much

longer than that of the other birdsbreedingin

company

withit.

A

visittoGreat Bird

Rock showed

itto betherealbreeding- ground of the birds, Gannets, Murres, Razorbills,and Pufiins being both abundant and

tame

inspiteof thefactthatthey are subjectedtocontinual persecution.

No

Gannets

were

seenonthe Labradorcoasteastof

Mingan,

and none onthe easterncoastof

Newfoundland. At

thetime of Cartier thereseemstohave beenacolonyof these birdson

Funk

Island,andifone

may

credit thetestimonyof thefishermen, they

were

breedingthere thirtyyears ago.

But

after theextermina- tionof the Great

Auk

the fishermenand eggersseem to have

done

theirbesttoextirpatetheremaining denizensofthisisolated spot,and it

may

well be that the Gannets

were

as efiectually annihilated as the unfortunateGarefowl. Certain itis that no Gannetsaretobefoundon

Funk

Island to-day,and but compar- ativelyfew

Murres

and Razorbills.

Twenty

yearsago one boat took

away

eleven barrels of eggs onone trip; this year it is

much

tobe doubtedif (asidefromthe Puffins) therehave been

two

barrelfulslaidon the island. Gannetsare peculiarly liable toextermination from thepertinacitywith

which

they cling to theirold established breedingplaces; for once they have

made

aspottheir

home

nothingshort ofcomplete destructionseems todrive

them

fromit;and while there are

many

^{islands inthe} GulfofSt.

Lawrence which would

furnish suitable nesting-places forthem, yet,year

by

year,they return to BonaventureIsland and BirdRock.