Newfoundland Birding with Canadian Geographic
June 3 – 11, 2026
Our Newfoundland birding tour with Canadian Geographic offers spectacular scenery and fabulous wildlife.
Seabird colonies dot the Avalon and Bonavista Peninsulas – thousands of Atlantic Puffins, Northern Gannets, Black-legged Kittiwakes and both murres, with lesser numbers of Razorbills and Black Guillemots, are nesting at this time. Landbirds include interesting species such as Gray-cheeked Thrush, Boreal Chickadee, Blackpoll Warbler, crossbills, and Willow Ptarmigan. Caribou and moose are often photographable along the roadsides.
We explore historic fishing villages and quaint, colourful outports along the way. We also visit the rugged and beautiful Mistaken Point UNESCO World Heritage Site – the unique fossils here are internationally significant and represent the oldest evidence of multicellular life on the planet.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Start with an evening meet & greet in St. John’s, North America’s oldest city. Visit Signal Hill for a panoramic view of the city (time and weather permitting).
Day 2: Start at Cape Spear, the most easterly point in North America, scanning for icebergs, seabirds and migrating whales. Cape Spear also includes a variety of songbird habitats. After lunch, a boat tour in the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, a series of islands that is home to more than 4 million seabirds.
Days 3-4: Explore the “Irish Loop” in the southeast Avalon Peninsula, home to a variety of songbirds and seabirds. Enjoy a guided hike to see the ancient fossils of the Mistaken Point UNESCO World Heritage Site, the oldest evidence of multicellular life.
Day 5: Visit the Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve, home to one of the largest colonies of Northern Gannets in North America and thousands of other seabirds. Move on to the Castle Hill National Historic Site.
Day 6: Explore a variety of bird habitats in Terra Nova National Park.
Day 7: Vist the colourful town of Trinity, followed by a boat tour to Trinity Bay and Elliston, looking for seabirds, whales and one of the most accessible Atlantic Puffin colonies in North America.
Day 8: Travel from Trinity to St. John’s, via Cape Bonavista, with many opportunities to look for whales and seabirds.
Day 9: Return home from St. John’s.
Meet your RCGS Travel Ambassador
Myrna Pearman
Myrna Pearman was raised on a farm northeast of Rimbey, Alberta. A Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, she became interested in photography while in high school and her love of nature was inspired by a local self-taught naturalist, Fred Schutz.
In 1987, Myrna started a dream career as Biologist and Site Services Manager at Ellis Bird Farm (EBF). Under her leadership, EBF became an internationally recognized conservation, education and research centre. She retired in 2020 and is now the Resident Naturalist for Chin Ridge Seeds in Taber, Alberta and Coordinator of the Nature Central program for the Red Deer River Naturalists.
Myrna has received recognition for her conservation and education work from the Red Deer River Naturalists, Nature Alberta, the North American Bluebird Society, the Alberta chapter of the Wildlife Society and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute. She was made a Fellow of the RCGS in 2019.
Her extensive writing and public speaking experience, management expertise, and her long-term efforts to showcase and promote the Indigenous, cultural and natural history of Central Alberta emulates the RCGS’s core goal of “making Canada better known to Canadians.”
Myrna writes a monthly photo essay in the Red Deer Advocate and is a columnist for Nature Alberta and The Gardener. She contributes to several wildlife and photography Facebook groups and has a growing social media following. She has authored or co-authored several scientific publications and has written several books.
Myrna has traveled extensively (always with her cameras) and is especially interested in photographing — and sharing— her love for wildlife and wild places. She is in demand as a speaker and enjoys mountain biking, kayaking snowshoeing and spending time at her cabin.