Northern Gannet Decoys
Northern Gannet – Hollow, rotomolded polyethylene
with stick mount. Custom metal stand available at additional
cost. Available in standing and nesting postures.
In 1995, Audubon’s Seabird Restoration program began
a project aimed at establishing a Northern Gannet colony off
the coast of Maine on Seal Island NWR. Historically, gannets
once bred in this area but were extirpated in the late 19th
century. A decoy colony with sound system was created in a
suitable habitat. Beginning in 1997 the Seabird Restoration
Program teamed up with the Quebec-Labrador Foundation and
the Mingan Island Cetacean Society to work towards re-establishing
a breeding colony of Northern Gannets at their historic nesting
location at Île aux Perroquets in the Mingan Island
National Park Reserve (northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec).
The gannet colony at Île aux Perroquets was lost during
the 19th century as a result of hunting, egg collecting, disturbance
and the construction of the lighthouse. With only six Northern
Gannet breeding colonies left in the northwest Atlantic, the
species remains vulnerable to disease, epidemics, oil spills,
disturbance and nest site predation. A “colony”
was created using our decoys in nesting and courtship poses
along with continuous-play broadcast of the vocalizations
of nesting birds.
(Source: www.bsc-eoc.org/organization/bfproj99.html,
Egg Rock Updates 1995 and 1997)
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