Project Description
This land acquisition is in the town of Deer Isle, Maine and is known as "Hardhead Island". The island is approximately 5.25 acres located in western Penobscot Bay and has a long history of supporting a variety of seabirds including: black guillemots, common eiders, common terns, double-crested cormorants, great black-backed gulls, and herring gulls. Over 90 pairs of common terns have nested on the island within the past 10 years. In Maine, common terns nest on less than 20 of the 4,500 islands and ledges along the coast. The Service has identified tern nesting islands as our highest priority for acquisition by conservation agencies.
Seabird nesting records for this island go back to the early 1970’s, when the island supported 250 pairs of gulls, 475 pairs of cormorants, 200 pairs of common eiders, and about 20 pairs of black guillemot. Recent survey information indicates that the number of seabirds nesting on the island has declined in recent years, but the cause of that decline is not known. The island continues to provide suitable nesting habitat for all six species of seabirds documented to nest on the island. It is possible that simply limiting public access to the island during the nesting season will allow the seabird populations to recover. Seasonal closures are standard management practices for all Service-owned seabird nesting islands.
The land will be added to the Fish and Wildlife Service's Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge where it will be managed to ensure nesting seabirds are protected.
Restoration Land Ownership
Fish and Wildlife Service
Parties Implementing Restoration
Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge
DOI Project Representatives
Fish and Wildlife Service