Seal Island is now the site of a joint project involving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Audubon Society and the Canadian Wildlife Service to restore the puffin and tern colonies. Wildlife of the Coast Refuge forests, grasslands, rocky outcrops, tidal wetlands and mud flats and the rich fish resources of surrounding waters attract wildlife throughout the year. Spring and fall migrations draw flocks of waterfowl, particularly black ducks, common eiders, goldeneyes and oldsquaws. Raptors and songbirds also use the islands to rest and feed during migration. Shorebirds feast on invertebrate animals in the marshes and mud flats, putting on fat to carry them on their long flight to South America.
Some migratory birds stay here in other seasons.
Rafts of black ducks and eiders spend the winter feeding offshore and in protected bays. Songbirds, eiders and ospreys stay through the summer to nest in grass, thickets or trees. One special group of nesting birds is the seabirds. The offshore islands, particularly treeless ones, offer valuable nesting sites for a great variety of seabirds. The islands are crucial to nesting success because they are usually free of mammalian predators and are surrounded by the ocean's rich fisheries resources for a food base.