Stellwagen Bank Final EIS and Management Plan 



Page 34 



primarily on fish. 



Phalaropes - Of the two species known to occur 

 occasionally in the vicinity of Georges 

 Bank/Stellwagen Bank, the Red phalarope 

 (Phalaropus full car i a ) is more frequently observed 

 than the Red-necked, or Northern, phalarope 

 (Phalaropus Jobatus). Both species are most 

 common during April to June, and again during 

 August to October, during migratory passages. The 

 spring migration northward occurs largely along the 

 outer edge of the shelf (60 to 200 meters, or 1%.8 

 to 656 feet); although some of both species have 

 been known to follow the coast into the western 

 Gulf of Maine on their northward migration 

 (Powers, 1983). Both species feed at the surface as 

 secondary carnivores on planktonic crustaceans, fish 

 and squid eggs, and larvae. 



Alcids - At least five, and possibly six species of 

 alcids occur in the Gulf of Maine/Stellwagen Bank 

 vicinity. Razorbills (Alca torda ) are pursuit-diving 

 birds, feeding as secondary and tertiary carnivores 

 on crustaceans and fish. The species is present in 

 the area from late November to May, most 

 commonly in shoal areas around Cape Cod, over 

 the Great South Channel, and along northern parts 

 of Georges Bank. The Georges Bank area appears 

 to be an important wintering area for this species 

 (Powers and Brown, 1983). 



Two species of murres, the Thin-billed, or 

 Common (Uria aalge ) and the Thick-billed, or 

 Brunnich's (Uria Jomvia), are occasionally seen 

 during the winter in the southern Gulf of Maine, 

 including areas around Stellwagen Bank. By March, 

 these species are more common on northeast 

 Georges Bank and over the Northeast Channel to 

 the north. Murres and razorbills are all large auks, 

 vkith similar feeding habits. Murres are pursuit- 

 divers, feeding as secondary and tertiary carnivores 

 on crustaceans, fish and cephalopods. 



Dovekies (AUe ) are generally observed from 

 December to May in the Gulf of Maine, and also 

 south across the Nantucket Shoals. The species 

 feeds as a secondary carnivore on crustaceans, and 

 may also eat zooplankton. 



Black guillemot (Depphus grylle ) are also a 



pursuit-diving birds, feeding as secondary and 

 tertiary carnivores on benthic crustaceans and 

 moUusks, and fish. The Black guiUemot is primarily 

 a coastal inhabitant, but is occasionally seen over 

 Stellwagen Bank. 



The Atlantic, or Common, pufTm (Fratercula 

 arctica) is found between November and early June 

 over Georges Bank; Uttle is known about its 

 distribution. Like other alcids, puffins are pursuit- 

 divers, feeding almost exclusively on fish as tertiary 

 carnivores. 



Gulls, Jaegers, and Skuas - Eight species of gulls 

 occur with regularity in the southwestern Gulf of 

 Maine, and over Stellwagen Bank. Among these, 

 the Herring gull (Larus argentatus) and the Great 

 black-backed gull (Larus marinus ) occur in greatest 

 numbers over Stellwagen Bank. Both species are 

 omnivorous, feeding as secondary, tertiary, and 

 upper level carnivores on crustaceans, insects, fish, 

 squids, birds and eggs, and as scavengers on offal 

 and carrion. Large numbers of both species are 

 closely associated with fishing vessel activities 

 throughout the year. 



Glaucous gulls (Larus hvperboreus ) and Iceland 

 gulls (Larus glauacoides glaucoids ) also feed as 

 secondary, tertiary, and upper level carnivores on 

 macrozooplankton, fish, and offal, as well as on the 

 eggs and young of other seabirds. Both species are 

 seen in the Gulf of Maine region from the autumn 

 through the spring, commonly in association with 

 Herring and Great black-backed gulls following 

 fishing vessels. 



Laughing gulls (Larus atricilla) are usually seen 

 during summer months in the Gulf of Maine, 

 surface feeding on small fish and scavenging on 

 offal. This species is also known to take the eggs of 

 terns on land. 



Ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis ). 

 Bonaparte's gulls (Larus philadelphis ^. and Sabine's 

 gulls (Xema sabini) all appear in offshore areas 

 throughout the Gulf of Maine during migratory 

 periods only. 



Like the gulls, the Black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa 

 tridactvla ) feed as secondary and tertiary carnivores 



