is not considered a colonially-nesting seabird by some authors; however, 

 because of its nesting habits and its dependence upon Maine islands for 

 breeding sites, the eider has been included in this report. Active nest- 

 ing sites of ospreys ( Pandion haliaetus ) are listed and appear in APPENDIX A, 

 although the osprey is not a colonial waterbird. 



COLONY HISTORICAL INFORMATION 



The general ornithological literature and other existing records were 

 searched to provide background information for locations and population trends 

 of colonies in Maine. Since most seabird and wadi^ig bird colonies in Maine 

 have been located on small coastal islands, data pertaining to specific 

 islands, or island groups, could be organized. Seventy-five years of histori- 

 cal information were available for some colonies. Most of the historical data 

 were found in unpublished reports. A compilation of the historical information 

 is on microfiche at the back of this report. 



Many biologists have conducted nesting bird surveys along the coast of 

 Maine in the last 75 years. William Dutcher (1901, 1902, 1903) summarized 

 reports of special wardens who were assigned to protect gull and tern breeding 

 sites. Arthur H. Norton wrote many published and unpublished accounts of 

 seabirds in Maine from 1907 to 1932. Alfred 0. Gross published status reports 

 for many species of seabirds in Maine in the early 1940's. He also summarized 

 annually his work on the gull and cormorant control project from 1944 to 1952 

 (mimeo. reports). William Drury has censused gulls and terns and to a lesser 

 extent other seabirds in Maine from 1962 to 1974. In accounts of New England 

 seabird populations, Drury (1973, 1974) compiled the work of previous 

 researchers and estimated the numbers of most seabirds based upon his inter- 

 pretation of historical records. 



Other biologists have contributed significantly to documenting particular 

 seabird populations in Maine. Howard Mendall has compiled records of nesting 

 eiders on islands since 1965 and double-crested cormorants during the mid- 

 1930's. Seabirds nesting on Matinicus Rock have been censused periodically 

 since the 1940's by Carl Buchheister. Ralph Palmer studied nesting common 

 terns in the early 1940's. The staff of the National Audubon Society Camp at 

 Hog Island has censused seabird populations on islands in Muscongus Bay since 

 the 1940's. 



FIELD SURVEYS 



To locate nesting colonies an aerial survey was flown during the first 

 week of May. A pilot and airplane were provided by the Law Enforcement Divi- 

 sion, District 13, of Region 5 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The 

 surveys were flown in a De Havilland Beaver and Cessna 180 in 1976 and 1977, 

 respectively. Both aircraft were amphibious and capable of flight speeds as 

 low as 80 knots. The surveys were flown at an altitude of less than 100 

 meters. Colony site, location, species composition, and population estimate 

 data were recorded on tape with a battery-operated tape recorder. 



