Seavey Island
photo by Jim Cerny
Seavey Island has been dubbed White’s “low tide sibling” because of the thin bridge of land that connects them at low tide and Seavey’s roughly 3.7 acre size.
It is home to a thriving tern colony due to restoration efforts initiated by N.H. Audubon and N.H. Fish and Game in 1997. Prior to that, there weren’t any terns on Seavey Island at all, and several species were endangered. Now, 99% of New Hampshire’s common terns nest there.
The N.H. Fish and Game Department oversees the island in partnership with the Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML), which is jointly operated by Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire.
Managing for common terns also addresses the needs of other coastal island species including Arctic terns, common eiders, black guillemots, and purple sandpipers.
The tern nesting colony is intensively managed. The island is posted against trespassing from May 1st - September 1st to minimize disturbance. Biologists live on the island during the breeding season to control predators and monitor the productivity of the colony. The biologists stay at the keepers’ cottage on White Island and go to Seavey Island during low tide when it is accessible by foot.
Seavey Island is named after an early Shoals’ resident.