SEA BIRDS FIND A REFUGE IN NEWFOUNDLAND : ON LOCATION.

Byline: Larry Bleiberg Dallas Morning News

Even before you see them, you can hear the baby birds: a distant squawking, carried on the ocean breeze.

Step closer to the sea and the adults come into view, circling above a towering rock that looks speckled white, as if covered with barnacles or sea salt.

Then, from the edge of a 330-foot cliff, it's finally clear. You're looking at a giant nursery of sea birds.

The birds are Northern gannets, and more than 10,000 of them live at the Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, a two-hour drive southwest of St. John's, Newfoundland.

The preserve, the most accessible sea-bird colony in North America, gives land-bound visitors a chance to watch the lively blue-eyed, lemon-headed species in action.

From an oceanside cliff, humans and birds are separated by just 9 yards. But the birds are indifferent to the stream of visitors because they live on a sea stack, an offshore rock that has been separated from the mainland by erosion.

Another 40,000 sea birds nest on the side of the cliffs, crowded together like neighbors in a Manhattan high-rise. Residents include common and thick-billed mures, black-legged kittiwakes, black guillemots and razorbills, an uncommon species that resembles the extinct Great Auk.

From the overlook, the view to sea is stunning. A steady wind whips through the air, carrying a chill, even on a sunny day. Fog is common and the nearby rocks have wrecked many ships.

But the birds command the most attention.

Visitors can't miss the adult gannets, with a wingspan of 6 feet, zooming overhead to reach their nests. Their comings and goings are constant, like jumbo jets barreling down to an airport runway.

A father bird will hover over the nest and display his feet, asking permission to land. Once on the rock, he will take his turn keeping his unhatched offspring warm by covering the light-blue egg with his webbed feet. The mother in turn will ``sky point'' - lifting her bill and shifting her feet to announce plans to take off. She'll then leave in search of nourishment herself.

Voracious fish eaters, the birds will plunge into the water from heights of up to 125 feet, searching for herring, squid and other prey.

The ecological reserve has long been a stop for serious birders. A new visitors center and site improvements are attracting a fresh wave of Newfoundland tourists, drawn by the chance to see wildlife close up.

A viewing area with telescopes and binoculars welcomes those who don't want to make the half-mile hike across mossy barrens to Bird Rock, as the gannet nursery is known.

As part of the improvements, the government has paved the 8.5-mile road that leads to the Cape. The $1.5-million project comes in anticipation of Newfoundland's celebration next year to commemorate the 500th anniversary of its discovery by European John Cabot.

Despite the new construction, this remains a wild place. Visitors follow a trail through a sheep pasture to reach the overlook. When they arrive, they'll find no guard rails, just a few cliff-edge rocks.

Some visitors have traveled as far as birds, who winter in the Gulf of Mexico.

``There are other, closer, places to see gannets, but not like this,'' says Sharon Toochin of Richmond, British Columbia. ``There's no easier way to see a breeding colony of sea birds.

The seabirds arrive in Newfoundland around St. Patrick's Day, and immediately begin breeding and setting up a nursery. There hexagonal nests, a pile of seaweed, moss and fish skeletons crowd against other, separated by less than an inch.

The chicks are born in late June or early July. Helpless and hungry, at first they peck at their parents' feet to demand food. Born without feathers, the young are defenseless. But within six weeks they're covered with plumage, and by September they're flying themselves.

A month later the nests are abandoned, the birds bound for warmer waters. The following spring they'll return, and the cycle will continue for as long as the birds live, sometimes 25 years or more.

Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve is open from early May to early October. Information: [phone].

The cape is easily visited in a day trip from St. John's. It's also near Argentia, a terminal for ferries from Nova Scotia.

Information on Newfoundland is available from the Newfoundland Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, [phone], or from Canada's Atlantic Coast, a group promoting tourism to Canada's Maritime provinces, [phone].

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Photo, Box

Photo: Visitors watch the birds at Cape St. Mary's in Newfoundland, Canada. More than 40,000 sea birds converge on the area each year.

Larry Bleiberg/Dallas Morning News

Box: ON LOCATION (see text)