Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

Cape St. Mary’s, located on the western tip of the Avalon Peninsula, rises 250 feet above the ocean surface. As early as 1530 it was known to fishermen as the Cape of Storms and eventually as Cabo de Santa Maria on early maps. The waters around this cape are home to some of the richest fishing grounds in Newfoundland.

A lighthouse was built on the cape in 1860 due to dangerous shoals just off-shore and frequent dense fog. (Cape St. Mary’s averages around 200 days of fog per year.) Until a road was built in 1966, the only way to supply the light station was with a winch-operated cable car up the side of the sheer cliffs.

Cape St. Mary’s is also home to a large colony of sea birds. These include gulls, razorbills, the common murre, several varieties of kittiwakes and cormorants and, most notably, the northern gannet. Although not the largest colony of sea birds, it is (thanks to that aforementioned road) one of the most accessible. Moreover, a trail leads to within 30 feet of the colony! You can do some bird-watching without binoculars (but bring them anyway).

The ecological reserve was established in 1983. There’s a visitor’s center at the end of the road near the lighthouse. It contains several informative displays and a glass-enclosed viewing area. A three-quarter mile trail leads to “Bird Rock,” home to thousands of northern gannets.

You really have to see this place to believe it. A picture may be worth a thousand words but no picture can capture the sound (and the smell!) of 50,000 birds in close proximity. A glance at license plates in the parking lot reveals that people come from all over to see the birds. And although it may seem well off the beaten path, it’s actually not that far from the ferry terminal at Argentia and makes a nice pre-ferry excursion.

Stamp Issuing Country: Canada Date of Issue: 30-Jun-1993 Denomination: 43 cents Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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