Baccalieu Island (11193)
Canada, North America
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: A1b, A1d, B1, D1a
Year of last assessment: 2008
National site name: Baccalieu Island
Central coordinates: Latitude: 48.1310, Longitude: -52.7892
System: marine, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 0 to 137
Area of KBA (km2): 45.22079
Protected area coverage (%): 50.59
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Baccalieu Island is located 5.5 km off the northern tip of the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland. It is characterized by rugged topography, with cliffs rising over 100 metres from sea level to a maximum elevation of 137 metres. The vegetation community is dominated by heath, with large areas of grassy turf and patches of old growth black spruce and balsam fir forests.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs.
Additional biodiversity: Baccalieu Island hosts a globally significant breeding population of Leachs Storm-Petrel. Approximately 3.4 million breeding pairs have been estimated, which represents approximately 40% of the global population and about 70% of the western Atlantic population of this species. Baccalieu Island supports the largest Leach's Storm-Petrel colony in Canada, the largest known colony in the world. The island also supports continentally and globally significant populations of 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). The island has the greatest abundance and species diversity of seabirds in eastern North America. Other seabirds nesting on the island include Common Murre, Thick-billed Murre, Razorbill, Black Guillemot, Northern Fulmar, Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull.
Delineation rationale: 2011-06-06 (BL Secretariat): site area updated from 2300 ha to 4600 ha, following GIS analysis of site polygon by Bird Studies Canada (J. Moore & S. Marquez in litt. 2009). Type 1 marine IBA: suitable for the seaward extension approach to marine IBAs.
Habitats
Land use: nature conservation and research | tourism/recreation
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Marine Coastal/Supratidal | 50 | |
| Grassland | 50 |