The rarest bird sighted in 2018 was the purple gallinule on the Waterford River in St. John’s. There have been more than a dozen recorded sightings in the past, typically on a ship or in a random back garden only to be seen briefly and never again. This bird was different. It was present for about six weeks from mid-May and into June.

As 2018 comes to a close it is time to look back at the birding year in Newfoundland. According to my calculations 272 species of birds were observed on the island of Newfoundland in 2018. This grand total is on par with recent years.

Over 100 dead puffins, mostly tufted, have been found in Saint George, Alaska.

Several ill or dead tufted and horned puffins were found on the shores of St. Paul Island.

Dead murres on beach

A large number of bird die-offs

Dead seagulls, puffins, murres

Wayward Murre