Witless Bay Ecological Reserve
Witless Bay Ecological Reserve is an ecological preserve close to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
| Witless Bay Ecological Reserve | |
|---|---|
IUCN category Ia (strict nature reserve) | |
 Gull Island (largest of four islands in reserve) | |
| Location | Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada |
| Nearest city | St. John's |
| Coordinates | 47°13′47″N 52°47′27″W |
| Established | 1964 (Wildlife Reserve), 1983 (Ecological Reserve) [1] |
| Governing body | Newfoundland and Labrador, Dept. of Environment and Conservation |
The Witless Bay Ecological Reserve consists of four islands: Gull Island, Green Island, Great Island, and Pee Pee Island. Immense numbers of birds nest on these islands during the seabird breeding season, roughly from 1 April through 1 September.
The Witless Bay reserve contains North America´s largest Atlantic puffin colony. It is estimated that more than 260,000 pairs of Atlantic puffins nest there during the late spring and summer. The reserve also hosts the world's second-largest colony of Leach's storm-petrels. More than 620,000 pairs of these birds come here to nest every year. Thousands of black-legged kittiwakes and common murres arrive for the nesting season.
A tourism information centre is located in the reserve, by Lower Pond in the town of Witless Bay.